Eucharist.

The Eucharist is an example to the church to serve others.

John 3: 16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Is the world that God so loves seeing and experiencing this kind of love from us (the church) today?

God's love is for the world, all of it, everyone, everywhere.

At the center of our faith is the understanding of the giving of the Son.

And at the center of our faith is the idea and worldview that people are worth dying for (rob bell in Sex God).

The way that God fixes things is not through power and empire but through Jesus, a broken man on a donkey. It is a power that does not coerce with a sword but serves with a towel.

John 13: 1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.[a] 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. "Do you understand what I have done for you?" he asked them. 13"You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord,' and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus now shows his disciples the full extent of his love.

Having taken off his outer garment, Jesus was left with his tunic, a shorter garment like a long undershirt. Slaves would be so dressed to serve a meal. Jesus tied a linen cloth around his waist with which to dry their feet, obviously not what one would expect a master to do. A Jewish text says this is something a Gentile slave could be required to do, but not a Jewish slave. On the other hand, footwashing is something wives did for their husbands, children for their parents, and disciples for their teachers. A level of intimacy is involved in these cases, unlike when Gentile slaves would do the washing. In Jesus' case, there is an obvious reversal of roles with his disciples. The one into whose hands the Father had given all now takes his disciples' feet into his hands to wash them.

1 John 3: 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

For the love that is evident in the laying down of life at the crucifixion is also demonstrated in the laying down of life in humble service in the footwashing. In the footwashing we have "an acted parable of the Lord's humiliation unto death" This is what God himself is like--he washes feet, even the feet of the one who will betray him!

Philippians 2:1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6Who, being in very nature[a] God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7but made himself nothing, taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Luke 22: 19And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

Maybe He meant do this - do what you have seen Me doing. Be a living Eucharist. Think of the Eucharist not just as a ritual but as a way of life. Eucharist means “be thankful.”
Whenever you serve, you are breaking your body and pouring your blood. It is Jesus through us.

The Eucharist is not a product. Everybody has to ask the difficult question, “How can I be a Eucharist?” There is danger in churches copying what other churches are doing because it is not their Eucharist.

EU (Good)CHARIS (Gift/Grace)EUCHARIST

The Eucharist is usually thought of as a ritual in which we acknowledge and reflect on this good gift of God. It's seen as a "thing" you do... But what if the Eucharist were to become a whole way of life?

A leader's life is an endless process of constantly being broken and poured out.

The Eucharist is not just a ritual - it is a whole way of life.

A church is invited to be a Eucharist to its community - broken and poured out...

The church is the only organization that exists for the benefits of it's non-members.

Jesus makes it clear that his way, unlike conventional religion, judges its effectiveness based on the benefits it brings to non-adherents.

The church is only the church when it exists for others.

Does the church exist for itself or as a good gift for the world?

Luke 22:18 - "Do this in remembrance of me."

What does it mean to be a "good gift" to our community?

There is always a cost... If Eucharist is "pouring out" you must allow time to pour back in.

John 15:9"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. 11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.