The Service
This past Sunday I slid into church in my hometown of Cleveland, Ohio, with a still spirit and open heart. When the pastor took to the pulpit and dropped the title of his sermon: “Project 25,” and the congregation responded with a deep, collective “wooooo,” in unison… I was definitely interested in where we were headed.
He smiled and said, “Before the current administration rolled out Project 2025, Christ rolled out Project 25… while He was physically on the scene.” His project is found in Matthew 25, and he took us straight to the blueprint:
Matthew 25:35–40
“For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
The blueprint was clear before he began to expand on the text. Because the deeper I go into adulthood, the more I realize: we’re all in service to something.
The question is who or what are we serving?
In a world obsessed with visibility, we’ve traded servanthood for status. It seems we want followers more than fruit. It seems we chase influence more than impact. But true authority… the kind Heaven recognizes… is measured by how we love others, not how many others love us.
1 Peter 4:10–11, helps sink it deeper:
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”
Our gifts aren’t just skills, they’re a conduit for grace. Every melody you write, every meal you cook, every word you speak in encouragement, every errand you run, and every moment you spend with someone in need… is God distributing Himself through you.
And when you show up for someone else, He shows up through you.
That’s why Ephesians 6:7–8 reminds us:
“Render service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord.”
It’s not just work…. It’s worship. And the return isn’t measured in applause… it’s measured in alignment. I love when people say, “You’re a God-send,” because that’s confirmation that service is sacred. It’s God saying, “I can trust you with people.”
When the world is losing jobs, losing health, losing hope… love has to clock in!
Kindness has to punch the timecard. We are the hands that heal, the eyes that see, the hearts that give. To serve is to say, “God, use me today.”
And when you let Him… He will.
We’re all responsible for ourselves… and part of that responsibility is recognizing that we are all also responsible for each other.
To feed.
To clothe.
To comfort.
To show up.
That’s Project 25.
That’s Kingdom work.
That’s what it means to be glad to be in the service.
Service isn’t glamorous. It’s gritty. It’s cleaning up what others overlook, forgiving before it’s earned, showing up when no one notices.
But what if the next miracle God performs doesn’t happen to you… What if it happens through you?