Minister Garrett Bookout introduces a new, three-month sermon series titled *"In The Upper Room,"* focusing on the intimate final teachings of Jesus found in John chapters 13–17. Bookout challenges the congregation to actively read along with the weekly passages and to memorize John 13:33-35, focusing on Jesus' explicit "new commandment" to love one another. This foundational lesson details Jesus washing his disciples' feet on the night prior to his crucifixion. Bookout explores how Jesus deliberately uses this culturally demeaning task as a profound object lesson to reframe greatness in the Kingdom of God. By kneeling before his fallible followers—including Judas Iscariot who would betray him—Jesus demonstrates that true discipleship requires active, self-sacrificing service. Bookout concludes by asserting that service is not merely an optional bonus to the Christian faith but a core, defining characteristic of an authentic relationship with Christ.

In this inaugural message of the series, Garrett Bookout anchors the study by evaluating what it truly means to be a disciple of Jesus: someone who follows Christ, is being changed by him, and is unconditionally committed to his mission. Set against the highly emotional backdrop of Jesus’ impending death, Bookout places the listener directly into the Upper Room as a "fly on the wall."

He unpacks the striking cultural weight of foot washing in the ancient world, explaining how it was a task legally reserved for the lowest possible servants due to its humiliating and disgusting nature. Bookout draws attention to the tension between Peter and Jesus, explaining that Peter’s refusal to be washed stems from his deep respect for Jesus' dignity. However, Jesus' correction reveals a deeper human problem: the inclination toward pride and self-exaltation. Bookout demonstrates the staggering depth of Jesus' humility, highlighting that Christ held ultimate cosmic authority yet chose to wash the feet of imperfect men—including his betrayer, Judas. The sermon closes with a direct application, challenging believers to find the "foot washing tasks" in their modern homes, churches, and workplaces—the vital, undesirable actions driven strictly by love.

I. Introduction to the Series: "In The Upper Room"
* **A Three-Month Journey:** An invitation to study John 13–17 sequentially, capturing the final, most crucial instructions Jesus left his disciples before his arrest.
* **The Memorization Challenge:** A request for the congregation to memorize John 13:33-35, which contains Jesus' central "new commandment" to love one another.
* **Defining a Disciple:** Exploring a three-part framework for authentic discipleship: following Jesus, being systematically changed by Jesus, and being fully committed to his mission.
* **The Setting's Gravity:** Considering the intimacy and weight of the Upper Room, knowing that Jesus had less than twenty-four hours to live and chose to spend them instructing those handpicked to carry out his mission.

II. The Object Lesson: Jesus Washes Feet (John 13:1-5)
* **The Arrival of the Hour:** Recognizing a major structural shift in the Gospel of John; while Jesus previously noted his "hour had not yet come," the resurrection of Lazarus sparked the final plot to take his life.
* **An All-Inclusive Group:** Noting that Jesus did not exclude anyone from the room; he intentionally washed the feet of his closest friends, those who would abandon him, and Judas Iscariot, who had already resolved to betray him.
* **The Acts of Submission:** Observing the deliberate movements of Jesus as he lays aside his outer garments, wraps a towel around his waist, pours water into a basin, and assumes the posture of a slave.

III. The Conflict with Peter (John 13:6-11)
* **Peter's Refusal:** Understanding Peter's vehement objection as a cultural defense of Jesus' status, recognizing that the lower-status individual always washed the feet of the higher-status individual.
* **The Human Filth Problem:** Analyzing Jesus' statement, *"If I do not wash you, you have no share with me."* Bookout exposes pride, selfishness, and the desire to "have things our way" as the foundational spiritual filth of mankind.
* **Clean vs. Unclean:** Dissecting the distinction Jesus makes between the eleven apostles, who had already embraced his transforming way of life but needed minor correction, and Judas, who had entirely rejected it in pursuit of money.

IV. The Application of Kingdom Greatness (John 13:12-17)
* **The Reversal of Authority:** Confronting the upside-down nature of the Kingdom of God, where true greatness is defined by how well you serve others rather than how many people serve you.
* **Service as a Defining Characteristic:** Correcting the modern misconception that active service is merely a "bonus feature" of faith, asserting instead that it is a non-negotiable metric of a faithful church and individual.
* **Identifying Modern "Foot Washing":** Posing the practical question of what tasks at home, in the workplace, or within the local church are actively avoided by others but driven forward by Christian love.

V. Conclusion and Invitation
* **The Inverted Prominence Rule:** Highlighting that the higher a Christian rises in leadership or prominence, the more they are obligated to kneel and serve.
* **An Invitation to Follow:** Extending the call for non-believers to be baptized and for struggling believers to seek prayers and alignment with the mission of Jesus.