The Cost and Call of True Service

Preaching from John 12:21-26 on March 15, 2026, Pastor Dan Gardner delivered a searching and practical message on what it genuinely means to serve Jesus Christ. Opening with the image of a grain of wheat that must die before it can produce fruit, Pastor Gardner established the sermon’s central theme: authentic Christian service is inseparable from dying to self. Pastor Gardner grounded this principle in Galatians 2:20, where the apostle Paul declares that he has been crucified with Christ and that it is no longer he who lives but Christ who lives in him. This, Pastor Gardner emphasized, is not a one-time crisis experience but a daily posture of surrender in which believers consciously yield control of their lives to God. He reinforced this call to new life with 2 Corinthians 5:14-17, reminding the congregation that those who are in Christ are new creatures, no longer living for themselves but for the One who died and rose again on their behalf. The sermon also addressed the dangers of living for the approval of men rather than the honor of God, drawing a warning from John 12:42 against the kind of secret belief that shrinks from open confession out of fear of social or professional consequences. Pastor Gardner urged the congregation to measure themselves not against other Christians but against Christ alone as the standard of faithfulness. Drawing on his own experience answering the call to missionary service in Japan, Pastor Gardner spoke candidly about the practical difficulties of obedience and the absolute necessity of relying on God’s strength rather than one’s own. He reminded listeners that faithful service is often quiet, unglamorous, and costly, yet it is precisely this kind of humble commitment that God honors with eternal fruit. The sermon closed with a heartfelt challenge for every believer to honestly evaluate their willingness to give Christ total control, and to respond without reservation to whatever He may ask of them.