Community – Part 1

Intro:

The Church sits on a 3 legged stool.  If you take away any of the three legs it will fall to the ground.  The church must relate to God, itself, and the world.

• When we speak of our relationship to God we are speaking of Worship.
• When we speak of our relationship with one another we are speaking of Community.
• When we speak of our relationship with the world we are speaking of Mission.

Up – In – Out.

Up = Loving God

In = Loving One Another

Out = Loving the World

Remove Worship from the church and you have a secular social club.

Remove Community from the church and you have a cold and sterile organization.

Remove Mission from the church and you have an impotent group in the world.

We have taken a couple of studies to focus on the church’s Godward relationship – Worship.  We have seen that it is our ultimate priority. It is the chief end of man, and the chief end of the church. Worship is not a means to an end. It is the end. There is nothing greater or more important than worship of God.

We also saw that the worship includes all of life.  Last Sunday we saw that it includes loving your brother, evangelism, goodness, righteousness, truth, giving, prayer for governing leaders, praise, thanks, sharing, doing good.  In fact Romans 12:1 says that when we surrender our bodies to do God’s will, that is acceptable worship.

The great and oldest creed of the Church is “Jesus is Lord.”  Worship is to believe that and obey it. It is to surrender our will to His, and live under His lordship.

Let’s take that second leg of the stool this morning – Community.  This is the 2^nd Indispensable Component of the Church.

1. A Definition Of Community?

“Community is believers committed to knowing and loving one another.”

A group of believers that are not committed to knowing and loving one another, are not fulfilling the reason for their existence, in the same way as a group of believers who do not worship God are not fulfilling the reason for their existence.  And, as we will see in a future study, a group of believers who are not engaged in the mission of God in the world are not fulfilling the reason for their existence.

When we speak about Community, we are talking about a commitment to live out the one-anothers of the New Testament.

Elements:  a sense of belonging; a sense of being loved and supported and encouraged.

• If for whatever reason you stopped attending the meetings of the Church, and no one bothered to contact you to find out why, would you feel you were part of a Community?

• If you attended the meetings, and no one greeted you or talked to you, would you feel you were part of a Community?

• If you got caught up in sin, and no one went after you, would you feel you are part of a strong Community?

• If you went through a serious illness or had a serious injury or surgery, and no one from the Church did anything to reach out and help you, would you feel you are part of a strong Community?

2. A Description Of Community?

1. Acts 2:41-47, “So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls.They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and ^[signs were taking place through the apostles. And all the believers were together and had all things in common; and they would sell their property and possessions and share them with all, to the extent that anyone had need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.

1. I) In this description of the early church, what activities made up the life of this community?

Prayed with one another:  2:42

Shared their possessions with one another:  2:45

Shared meals with one another:  2:46

Praised God with one another:  2:47

2) Verse 46 describes them every day meeting either in the temple or from house to house.  What activity would work best at the temple grounds? (Apostolic teaching) What activities would work best in homes?  (meals, praying, praising God)

3) Will a commitment to knowing and loving one another be best lived out in large groups of thousands, or in small groups of a few dozen?  (small groups).  Why or why not?  (Because you can’t know thousands of people or love them, but you can know and love a handful of people.)

4) Why do megachurches start a small group ministry?  (They understand that true community can not be experienced in huge groups of people). What essential element of the Christian life must be experienced in small groups?  (really knowing and demonstrating love to others).

1. Hebrews 3:12-14, “Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.But encourage one another every day, as long as it is still called “today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we keep the beginning of our commitment firm until the end…”

1) What are we all called to do so that others do not develop an evil unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God?  3:12-13

2) How often are we to do it?  3:13

3) If we don’t do this, what is the danger?  3:13

4) Is perseverance necessary to final salvation?  3:14

5) Does God intend for us to persevere in faith all alone?  3:14

1. John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

1) To what degree are we called to love our neighbor?

2) To what degree did Jesus love us?  What did it involve for Him?

3) If all men will know that we are Jesus’ disciples by our love for one another, what does that tell us about the display of this love?  (It can be seen and witnessed. It is not just words or feelings. It is displayed in deeds)

1 John 3:16-18, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.”

1) What is our love for one another supposed to look like?  (Christ’s love for us).  If that is true, what elements will be found in our love for one another? (sacrifice and suffering).

2) What is a primary way we are to demonstrate this love for one another?  3:17 (by giving of this world’s goods to a brother in need)

3) How are we not to show this love?  (with word or tongue).

Conclusion

Often soldiers who have fought together in active combat tell us that they have the greatest bond with others they fought with. 40 years later they still feel that tremendous bond. Community for them took place in the challenge and terrors of war. If we try to directly pursue Community, it can elude us. But if we focus together on the Mission, Community follows. Have you ever found that to be true?

What did the Holy Spirit speak to you today from the Word?

What will you do in response to His word?

Who can you teach this truth to?

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