This weekend we honor the life of Dr. King. There are alot of things I appreciate about Dr. King, but one of the greatest things I admire about him was his preaching. He did alot of wonderful things for our nation. He received hundreds of awards. But from his own words, Dr. King wanted to be remembered for his serving. One of my favorite sermons that he preached is called, "The Drum Major Instinct". He delivered this sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church on Feb. 4, 1968. This was just a few weeks before he was assasinated. He selected as his text Mark 10:43-45, "Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,and whoever wants to be first must be slave to all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." In this sermon he makes the point that everyone wants to be great (a drum major) but Jesus put a new definition on greatness - serving!
At the end of his sermon he imagines his own funeral and talks about what he wants said about himself. Here is an exerpt:
If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. (Yes) And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. (Yes)
I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. (Yes)
I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.
I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. (Amen)
I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. (Yes)
And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. (Yes)
I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. (Lord)
I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. (Yes)
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. (Amen) Say that I was a drum major for peace. (Yes) I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. (Yes) I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. (Amen) And that's all I want to say.
If I can help somebody as I pass along,
If I can cheer somebody with a word or song,
If I can show somebody he's traveling wrong,
Then my living will not be in vain.
If I can do my duty as a Christian ought,
If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought,
If I can spread the message as the master taught,
Then my living will not be in vain.
Yes, Jesus, I want to be on your right or your left side, (Yes) not for any selfish reason. I want to be on your right or your left side, not in terms of some political kingdom or ambition. But I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and in commitment to others, so that we can make of this old world a new world.

Dr. King was great because he served. What an example. Please enjoy an audio exerpt from this same sermon.


Thank God for Dr. King!
Pastor Tim