Identity — Pierce My Ear

Part of a November series on identity in Christ, this message argues that because believers identify in Christ, they ought to be a genuinely servanthood-minded people. The greatest example is Jesus himself, with the central text the hymn of Christ in Philippians 2:5-11 . The thesis is that true servanthood is rooted in genuine submission. Three postures are unpacked: submission to one another, beginning in the household and flowing from humility and forgiveness; submission through self-denial, putting the flesh to death and sharing in the cross; and submission to the Father, modeled by Jesus in the wilderness and in Gethsemane's "not what I will, but what you will." Practices are offered to make these postures tangible, prayer and fasting, asceticism understood as self-denial that loosens our grip on control, and celebration that returns every victory to God. None of these earn grace; they help us see God at work and live as true servants.