Identity = Servant

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:
Greetings. (James 1:1)

If you were to introduce yourself to someone for the first time, how would you describe
yourself? Would you say something like, “Hi there! My name is ______ and I am in ___
grade!” Or, “Hi there! My name is ______ and I am from ______.”

We all love to identify ourselves in specific ways. Like where we live, the school we go to, or
what we like to do for fun.

But did you notice how James identified himself in the opening verse of the book of James?
What word did he use? He used the word servant.

But what does a servant do? A servant exists to meet the needs of someone else. In ancient
times, if you had a servant in your home, they were there to meet the needs of your family. Most
people in our country don’t have servants anymore, but we are all called to serve one another.
In this way, James followed in the footsteps of his brother and savior, Jesus, and we should do
the same.

Read Philippians 2:3-8
1. How does Jesus serve us?
How are we to be like him?
Whose interests are we to look to first and foremost?

Prayer
Our Father, thank you that you have served us so well in the cross and empty tomb. We thank
you that you came not to be served, but to serve and to give your life as a ransom for us. Thank
you that you have given us a vision to the most life-giving way to live. Help us to believe it.
Help our unbelief. We want to honor you in the way we define ourselves. May we join you and
James as servants of all. In Jesus’ name, Amen.