After Jesus washed the disciple’s feet, He became troubled in His spirit and He announced, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.” This announcement was overwhelming for them. John says that they stared at each other at a loss for words. Matthew and Mark both say that the disciples were saddened and that each of them asked Jesus, “Surely, not I?” Jesus had created a community, an environment based on relationships of love. He had created a place that was so safe, that the absolutely worst news ever heard led to sadness rather than anger, to self-examination rather than defensiveness and where there was not a single accusation made. These men that had, at times, pridefully argued over which of them was the greatest were suddenly humbly asking if they were the one that would betray their Lord and their Friend. Jesus had taught the disciples how much He loved them, and His example had led them to be a small community that loved each other, even in the midst of disagreements, differences, arguments and at this moment we are reading about, painful change. Being loved by Jesus was the basis of how they treated each other and lived together. On His last night with the apostles, because remember, after the resurrection things were not as they had been before, He visited them, He appeared to them, but this was the last night that He lived with them, Jesus showed the apostles the full extent of His love by serving them and then, He called them to show each other the full extent of their love by serving each other. This is the second of three sermons in which we are reminding some and establishing for others our identity as a church, as one member of the Body of Christ here in Burlington. Why are we here in this community? What is our part? Who are we to be? I believe all of this is established in the night of Jesus’ arrest. First and foremost, We Serve Christ. Just as Jesus came do the will of the Father we are here to follow the example and obey the commands of Christ. We are here to abide and remain in Jesus’ love and to make disciples, to live in His character and to enlarge His kingdom, to submit to Him by living in submission to others. Today, I pray that we will see that Jesus didn’t love us so that we would simply be loved, but He loved us so that we would love each other. If we serve Christ then we must serve the church, if we are going to love Jesus then we must love His Body, His bride. Here at City of Refuge, it must be understood that We Serve the Church.