The Gospel at The Center - Fundamentals - Living Word Bible Church

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The Gospel at The Center - Fundamentals

May 1, 2022 • Andrey Bulanov

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Main idea:
The center of the christian life and the christian church is the glorious message of the gospel - Jesus finished work, and God's work of renewal and salvation. This message is supposed to be the anchor and drive of our daily lives and the main way we check the success and health of our churches, ministries and families.

1. What is the gospel?
◦ Broadly - the unified message of the Bible which tells the story of creation, fall, redemption and restoration.
◦ Narrowly - the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and the hope he gives today.
2. What do we do with the gospel?
◦ Knowledge, belief and trust
◦ Repentance and faith
◦ Rest and labor
◦ Make disciples
◦ Tell the world
3. What is a gospel centered church?
◦ A church who's mission is defined by the gospel.
◦ A church that is clear on the message of what is means to be a christian.
◦ A church that focuses its resources and energy on gospel work.
◦ A church that is not performance oriented.
◦ A church that is focused on internal maturity and outward growth.

Application:
• What is your relationship to the gospel today?
◦ Are you resting in Jesus and his victory?
◦ Are you laboring for his kingdom out of the joy and freedom that Jesus gives?
• Does the gospel unify your whole life? Or does it have a side role?
◦ "I do all things for the sake of the gospel...."
• Do you get bored with the gospel?
◦ The only way that you can become bored with the gospel is that you have become blind to your own in desperate need for its restorative power in your life every day.
• Are you learning a rhythm of life that is constantly turning to the good news as the truth that restores and fuels your transformation?
• How do you measure a healthy church? Do you seek for the church to be more and more centered on the gospel?

Scripture References:
• 1 Corinthians 2:1-2
• 1 Corinthians 15:1-5
• Mark 1:14-15
• Galatians 1:6-8
• Acts 2:37-38
• Matthew 11:28-30

Key Concepts:
• gospel
• the finished work of Christ
• faith
• sanctification/spiritual growth
• church ministry

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Reminder - all the sermon content is on our app. You can always review it. Also, I want to encourage you to relisten to the sermons when you can. The recording of the live service is available right away on our youtube channel. and the edited recored version of the sermon is up on the app usually by monday.

Beat Bobby Flay - different cooks try to challenge the top chef - and he wins not by doing crazy new recipes - but by sticking to the basic, time tested ways.

This is how it works in our spiritual lives.

The strength and success of a Christian life, the strength and success of a church - does not depend on new and unique things and techniques - it depends on the depth to which you are rooted in the basics, the fundamentals of the faith.

Today we start a new series of sermons that will hit at the core values that we hold as a church.

This year has been a blessing and a year of God working in new ways.

This is a year when we come to reevaluate our core convictions and values as a church.

What is Living Word Bible Church?

The answer to this question is seen in our core values. What are the things that we want to cultivate and emphasize in our life as a church?

This series will cover six core fundamentals to our church - and it will give us a renewed vision of our mission and focus as a church.

Gospel, Scripture, Community, Discipleship, Historic Confessionalism and Mission.

If we are not careful to define exactly what we believe and what we stand for - we will be easily sidetracked and loose our direction.

Over the next 6 weeks, we want to look back on 7 years of God's provision and leadership among us, and we want to clearly define 6 core emphases that we see emerging for us.

Today - The Gospel at the Center.

the most important thing about your life - is not your daily habits, its not your power of self control, its not your priorities and goals.

The most important thing about you is the mental story that you inhabit. It is what you percieve to be the story of the world.

The most important thing about you is how you answer the question: what is this world? where did it come from and where is it all going? How do I fit in?

Most of us do not spend a lot of time in deep study and reflection on these questions. We just live our lives.

And we absorb the answers that we hold through our daily lives: through the media, through entertainment, through our family lives and expereinces, through our pains and our suffering - we are always crafting a story of life.

And this is what determines what we do, how we act.

You are always walking in obedience to some creed, to some message. even if you dont realize what that message is.

At the heart of christianity - is not a set of dos and donts, its not a social club, its not a system of how to be a better you and have a successful life - it is a MESSAGE about a person.

And that message, about that person, transforms how you see EVERYTHING else.

It is crazy to see how common it is for people to spend their lives in the church and still have a distorted or confused understanding about what the main message of Christianity is, and how exactly do we live that out.

The most important thing to the faith is also the thing that Satan will work hardest to confuse and substitute.

At the center of the christian faith is a single message.

This message defines who we are and what we do.

This message defines what the church is all about.

It defines our priorities and our goals.

A church that is not clear on the gospel, is a church that has lost its way.

1. What is the gospel?
Gospel - greek - euongelion - good news. A proclamation of victory, often after a war or battle between nations.

The story of the NT church is the story of the proclamation of a message. A message that turned the world upside down.

1 Cor. 2:1-2
"When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. 2 I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified."

1 Cor. 15:1-5
"Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel I preached to you, which you received, on which you have taken your stand 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold to the message I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve."

Gospel: Jesus' life on earth, his death for our sins, and his victory over death in the resurrection and ascension.

Some careful listener may ask the following question:

Mark 1:14-15
"...Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God: 15 “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

Here many other translations say "gospel" instead of "good news" - the greek work here is the same one - euongelion.

How can Jesus be proclaiming the gospel here if he is just getting started? He hasn't gone to the cross yet?

Well here Jesus is pointing to the bigger message of the whole Bible
• Creation - Fall - Redemption - Restoration

This is the passage where you realize you can't understand the message of the NT without understanding the tension and the story of the OT.

Jesus begins his ministry, bursting onto the scene with a message of good news - after all the pain and suffering, after all the darkness, after all the waiting - God has not forgotten the world he created, God has not forgotten his promises.

Even though man has sinned and rebelled in his heart against his Creator - God has been working through all history to make a way to redeem sinners and restore his creation.

This is why I love how Mark starts the story of Jesus - from the very beginning of his story he is here for one reason - proclamation of good news - God's plan of salvation and restoration is here in JESUS.

The bible uses the term gospel in two senses - a broad one and a narrow one.

Broad - includes the whole message of the Bible, the promises of God to restore the world, and Jesus as the fuliflment of those promises.

The narrow focuses on Jesus himself and what he accomplishes.

But the two are never separable.

At the center of the true story of the world is Jesus - who he is and what he has done.

"this is of first importance..."

"I decided to know NOTHING among you, except Christ and him crucified..."

the true story of the world has Jesus at the center. Is Jesus at the center of your story?
Also - please take the really awesome evangelism class that Victor has put together and we will probably be offering in the fall again.

2. What do we do with this message?

Another massive blind spot. So many ppl don't realize they are not living in the power of the gospel.

The message of Jesus is at the center of the christian life and the life of the church. But to many people who claim to follow Jesus, and to many churches sadly - the gospel takes a side role.

We see this trend even in the earliest days of christianity. The apostle Paul rebukes some of the early churches for so quickly loosing site of the central message.

Galatians 1:6-8
6 I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7 not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him!

• Knowledge, belief, and trust

IF the gospel is true, it demands our attention...
Knowledge

This is foundational - do you understand the message? Many people skip this step, assuming they do, and get stuck in a loop trying to live a false narrative of christianity.

If you find yourself stuck spiritually - you gotta just come back to the Word, asking the basic question - what is the core message here? What is the story? Why is it so important?

Belief

Do you believe this really happened in THIS WORLD? Do you look at this world as the continuation of the story of Scripture? Or does the biblical story exist in some spiritual detached reality.

The message is that Jesus was a real man. He lived and died in the middle east 2000 years ago and the historical evidence supports these facts.

He is the Creator of the world, he made you and he came to save you. It all really happened and it matters today.

Trust

Its not enough to say Jesus really happened. Do you trust in him?

I want to zoom in on this.

The message of Jesus demands a response. Its not just something you can agree with. It is something that you have a specific kind of relationship with. You respond to his message one way or another, and how you respond to his message determines who you are today.

• Repentance and faith

Acts 2:37-38
"37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized all of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit..."

IF the gospel is true - it exposes our sin.
Jesus demands a response because his message catches us ALL in the act of rebellion.

You will do one of two things: you will continue on your own way of rebelling against God, or you turn away from your sin and turn to Jesus - you repent, you confess your sins, you acknowledge your false ways - and you will run to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation.

But not only this, if the gospel is true, if Jesus is the King of Kings who has died for us, who works in us by his Spirit today, then we understand the repentance and faith is a way of life.

Every day we are going to war with sin - another way to say that is that we are going to war with unbelief - we are tempted to follow after false saviors.

Everyday we are turning away from sin and following the Savior. As we stumble and fail - we are welcomed back through the gospel.

Repentance and faith is a daily practice for christians who have rooted their life in the gospel.

• Rest and labor

Matthew 11:28-30
28 “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

If the gospel is true it transforms our identity.

Rest in the finished work of Christ
When we turn to Jesus in repentance and faith and begin to follow him with our lives - there is an immediate transformation of our identity.

We are justified from our sin - forgiven completely!

We are adopted into his family - accepted by God!

We are regenerated in our hearts - we are made new!

When you rest in the finished work of Jesus - it means you have finished the chase of achieving something that makes you feel right, good and satisfied - because JESUS has achieved it for you.

When you are learning to rest in Jesus - you are no longer feeling the need to say things like "I'll show them..." "If only I get this achievement/job/status in life - THEN I will be good..." "If only ppl liked and accepted me..."

You no longer feel the need to chase after those things because you realize that in Jesus you are restored. You are washed clean and accepted to God - you are a member of his family. You don't need to prove anything - because Jesus has done it in your place!

Labor for the kingdom

When your soul is truly learning to rest in Jesus' FINISHED work - it transforms your relationship to your life purpose and everything you do.

You are no longer trying to prove yourself to anyone. You have a freedom and joy in your heart - a sense of peace. A sense of deep contentment about it.

And you discover a new motivation - you want to serve people and love God as an expression of gratitude and joy. You want others to have the freedom you have.

You want to pursue change and growth - not because you need to prove yourself, but because you are excited to know more and more of God and his power in your life.

Rest --> Labor

This gospel process is completely against our sinful tendencies that are hard wired into us through years of practice.

Sin and selfishness is always working to reverse that process - Labor --> Rest; our pride always tries to click us back into the mode of trying to justify ourselves by our works - we find it most natural to trust in the work of our hands.

This happens in two ways - the two enemies of the gospel - legalism and license.

Legalism says, "I will follow the rules and I will be good. I will show how good I can be."

License says, "Forget the rules, I will make my own way."

Both are ways for us to labor for our own rest.

Both are ways of self salvation.

Are you resting in Jesus' finished work on the cross? Or are you trying to labor for your own rest?

This is a process for all of us. Even after we are following Jesus for many years - we have a tendency to kick back into old patterns of thinking - we measure our worth, our joy, our success - based on what we can do rather than what Jesus has already done.

Learning to find rest in the victory of the cross and the empty tomb is a daily process - this is the essential process that keeps us laboring powerfully for God and his kingdom.

If you are not resting in Jesus - your job, your family, your friends - will all be poisoned by your fear and insecurity. As you rest in Jesus, your labor in all areas of life is transformed.

You come to work as one who seeks to honor God in your hard work - because your heart is already grateful and rooted in him.

You labor at home in your family with strength - because the gospel gives you joy and hope.

• Make disciples

If the gospel is true - our mission in life is the mission of building others up in him.

Our whole life is a process of helping others follow Jesus better - as we ourselves are learning.

• Tell the world

If the gospel is true - we will be telling the world. We will be praying for opportunity to make him known. To speak the message.

If the gospels through all of these become essentials.

3. What is a gospel-centered church?

• our mission is the mission of the gospel - to make Jesus known, to call people to repentance, and to build up believers in Jesus into maturity
• we are clear on the gospel -
◦ are you clear on the gospel?
◦ this is especially important for ministry leaders
◦ this is especially important in our homes - is the gospel the central story of your family life?
• we focus our money and our energy on the work of the gospel
◦ we sift our programs and plans based on this priority
• we are not performance oriented
◦ real spiritual growth is often messy
◦ we are not about preserving image - we are about honest, genuine spiritual growth and freedom in Jesus
◦ we are messy sometimes - not everything is always perfectly ironed out - thats ok. We are not here to put on a show. We are here to love each other and worship Jesus.
• we are outward and growth focused
◦ we don't live for comfort, we live for our mission to make disciples of Jesus.

Heres a rough draft of our mission statement - we are still working on editing it and we welcome your feedback -

"We seek to be a community that forms mature followers of Jesus who delight in the life - changing message that Jesus gives freedom from sin and death and new life in God, as they grow together in love and carry this message to our neighbors and nations.
We do this in the love of the Father, by the power of the Holy Spirit and in the glorious anticipation of the return of the Son who is making all things new."

Application:
• What is your relationship to the gospel today?
◦ Are you resting in Jesus and his victory?
◦ Are you laboring for his kingdom out of the joy and freedom that Jesus gives?
• Does the gospel unify your whole life? Or does it have a side role?
◦ "I do all things for the sake of the gospel...."
• Do you get bored with the gospel?
◦ this is NONSENSE!!
◦ The only way that you can become bored with the gospel is that you have become blind to your own in desperate need for its restorative power in your life every day.
• Are you learning a rhythm of life that is constantly turning to the good news as the truth that restores and fuels your transformation?
• How do you measure a healthy church? Do you seek for the church to be more and more centered on the gospel?

God's Mission - Fundamentals

June 12, 2022 • Vitaly Kunda

Rooted in the Past - Fundamentals

June 5, 2022 • Andrey Bulanov

Main idea: Healthy christian discipleship is rooted in the witness and example of the past as it seeks to faithfully understand Scripture and live out the mission of Jesus. Outline: 1. The Bible commands us to be rooted in the past i. The biblical idea of discipleship includes one generation passing on its understanding of the faith to another ii. The Holy Spirit is continually active in history, building the church 2. Faithful Christians have always been rooted in the past. i. Creed/Rule of Faith, Confession/Statement of faith, Catechism 3. Practical implications ◦ A great sense of security in seeing God's work in history ◦ A deeper sense of unity with the body of Christ ◦ A rich heritage of examples and wisdom Practical steps: • Understand that you are part of a greater story of faith ◦ consider the faith and life of others, imitate them • Learn church history ◦ Books ◦ Podcasts • New City Catechism • Get a cool print out of the Nicene Creed Scripture References: • Matt. 28:19-20 • 2 Thess. 2:15 • Hebrews 13:7 • Jeremiah 6:16 • Acts 28:28-31 • Hebrews 12:1-2 ----------- We continue our series on the fundamentals of what we as a church value as of prime importance. We have covered some solid ground - Gospel, Scripture, Discipleship, Community Today we hit our fifth point: Historically rooted. We believe it is very important to the health of the church and of the individual christian that our discipleship, our spiritual growth - our whole life be rooted and informed in the story of the church in the past. Some may be skeptical of this kind of thing being essential to the life of the church. Why do we need other christians and other traditions and creeds? Isn't the Bible enough? Isn't the Bible our only standard? Isn't the past generations of the church all corrupt and incorrect? Weren't there just a bunch of traditions and ideas that ruined people's view of the church? 1. The Bible commands us to be rooted in the past • The biblical idea of discipleship includes one generation passing on its understanding of the faith to another Matt. 28:19-20 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. Notice, when we speak of the process of christian discipleship - we are not just talking about memorizing the Bible. We are talking about us teaching each other our understanding and life in the Bible. That means that we are using our own works to summarize, clarify and explain biblical truth. God's command of discipleship includes US studying Scripture, and then using our own words, ideas and summaries to explain Scripture. Human summaries of the faith are not bad - they are actually ESSENTIAL to healthy discipleship. The NT has a number of phrases that refer to human summaries of biblical truth. Here is one example. 2 Thess. 2:15 "So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.” Traditions - good traditions are faithful examples and summaries of biblical truth. Hebrews 13:7 "7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith." People say, "We only need the Bible!" - point them to this verse. Notice here that there is a generational element to healthy faith - examples and teachings of saints who come before you being passed on and on. "as you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith...." There is an inevitable historic component to God's plan of the church. There is a deep interconnectedness with previous generations - with their wisdom, with their experience, with their examples and their faith. Jeremiah 6:16 This is what the Lord says: Stand by the roadways and look. Ask about the ancient paths, “Which is the way to what is good?” Then take it and find rest for yourselves. But they protested, “We won’t!” God is calling the people back to faithfulness to his Word - how does he do it? He does it by calling them to a historic expression of that faithfulness. • The Holy Spirit is continually active in history, building the church The book of Acts ends on a very interesting note - Paul is a prisoner in Rome, he preaches a message of conviction to the Jews, and his closing words are - Acts 28:28-31 28 Therefore, let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.” And then Luke closes with these words: 30 Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house. And he welcomed all who visited him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. This great book, this great story of the birth of the church - of the spread of the gospel to the empire in ONE generation - it gets to the end and leaves you hanging. The story is unfinished. The word of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit to build the church continues on to today. And we are all part of that story. One of the reasons the church struggles is because every generation thinks that its the only one. Its not. We are not the only christians who ever lived. God has been faithfully building the church for 2000 years. And when he calls you into discipleship, when he calls you into the fellowship of his love, into the community of his people, he is inviting you into a loooooong story in which he has been working from generation to generation to preserve his faith. Healthy discipleship is based on faithfulness from one generation to the next. The Holy Spirit is active in history. That means that if you are serious about following Jesus, you will be very interested about how previous generations have done it. We are ALWAYS passing on the teaching of the Bible with a certain historic expression of the faith. This is why the author of Hebrews 2. Faithful Christians have always been rooted in the past. There is a general pattern in church history - the worst seasons in the church are the seasons when the focus on the church and its traditions became exclusively focused on itself, and was cut off from the history pattern of faith that came before it. This is the only way that cults and heresies are born - to take some Bible passage and twist it to a totally new idea. The only people who will be convinced of that will be people who don't know the story of the church and its beliefs. There is also a pattern of awakening in the church when christians return to the authority of Scripture AND a rediscovery of old historic voices in the church. This is how it happened for Luther and Calvin in the Reformation. The only way they were able to stand up to the foolish and corrupt teachings of the catholic church is by reading the bible themselves AND by listening to older voices in the story of the church. They went back to Augustine and to the early church fathers. How did generational discipleship happen in the church? • Creed/Rule of Faith - a short summary of the faith that can be easily memorized. ◦ Ex. Apostles Creed and Nicene Creed • Confession of Faith/Statement of Faith - a longer more extensive summary of detailed doctrines and teachings, usually broken down into topics. ◦ Ex. Westminster Confession of Faith, London Baptist Confession of Faith 1689, Living Word Bible Church Statement of Faith • Catechism - Question/Answer format statement of faith meant to be memorized, often used for new believers and children. ◦ Ex. New City Catechism Why are all these necessary and why do we have to write new ones all the time? Because each generation has to battle slightly different challenges to the truth. There are two ways that christians get this wrong. one the one hand we think "well our battles today are totally new, so we don't care what they said back then..." So they completely ignore the story of the church and foolishly try to figure out there own answers. On the other hand, poeple say, "The saints of history are the faithful ones. We need to stick to what THEY said. Stop inventing new ideas and new answers. The biblical example is in the past!" These people fail to face the actual challenges that stand before us. "imitate their faith..." Watch how they battled against lies in thier times and learn to do the same in YOUR time. The correct approach is to learn from the generations of the past to face the future! There is a generational wisdom and power that is passed on in the church. Turtullian - He is battling against a false teacher named Praxeas who teaches that God is NOT three in one - that God is just one person - just the father (no Son no Holy Spirit) Turtullian: "In various ways has the devil rivalled and resisted the truth. ... We, however, as we indeed always have done ... believe that there is one only http://god...that this one only God has also a Son, His Word, who proceeded from Himself, by whom all things were made, and without whom nothing was made. Him we believe to have been sent by the Father into the Virgin, and to have been born of her— being both Man and God, the Son of Man and the Son of God, and to have been called by the name of Jesus Christ; we believe Him to have suffered, died, and been buried, according to the Scriptures, and, after He had been raised again by the Father and taken back to heaven, to be sitting at the right hand of the Father, and that He will come to judge the quick and the dead; who sent also from heaven from the Father, according to His own promise, the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, the sanctifier of the faith of those who believe in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost." Notice that his statement of faith is VERY similar to the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed. When you look at early church history you see all these little summaries of faith - and they all say the same thing. They all look at the Bible, and try to summarize it best as they can, and they stand together against the lies that come at them from the world. Notice his conclusion: Turtullian: "That this rule of faith has come down to us from the beginning of the gospel, even before any of the older heretics, much more before Praxeas, a pretender of yesterday, will be apparent both from the lateness of date which marks all heresies, and also from the absolutely novel character of our new-fangled Praxeas." How does he battle false ideas? • Scripture • Creed He says, "This is not what Scripture teaches, and this is not what Christians have taught from the http://beginning...this idea is NEW, just like all the heresies." Orthodoxy precedes heresy. Truth is older than error. How do we answer people who say they are christians, but they have all these new ideas?? "God accepts everyone" "there is no such thing as judgement for sin and hell" "God accepts all - no matter what there gender ideology is..." This is not christianity. Orothdoxy precedes heresy. Truth is older than error. Practical implications • A great sense of security in seeing God's work in history ◦ there is a way of truth - the rule of faith • A deeper sense of unity with the body of Christ • A rich heritage of examples and wisdom ◦ powerful against doubt and attacks on the faith ◦ you are not alone in the spiritual struggles you experience ◦ John Bunyan was imprisoned many years - he had two books. the Bible and Foxe's Book of Martyrs. Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, 2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. Hebrews 12:1-2 Christian life that is rooted in the past is a life that cherishes Jesus all the more. Practical steps: • Understand that you are part of a greater story of faith ◦ consider the faith and life of others, imitate them • Learn church history ◦ Books ◦ Podcasts • New City Catechism • Get a cool print out of the Nicene Creed

True Community - Fundamentals

May 29, 2022 • Andrey Bulanov

Main idea: The christian life is an invitation into a life of community with God and his people. It is a shared common life in Christ which draws us together as Christians, gives us a deep sense of belonging, encouragement and purpose as disciples. Outline: 1. True community starts with God 2. True community is central to the life of the church ◦ Assume the best about others ◦ Reject performance and be real ◦ Commit to people as the most important investment of your life 3. True community is for the world Questions: • Do you feel a deep sense of belonging to the church family? Is your heart wide open to the church family in your life? What are the barriers to that? • Do you enjoy the church? Do you strive to make it a place that others enjoy as well? • Do you see yourself as someone who is actively building the life of the church? Scripture References: • John 17:21 • Revelation 21:1-3 • 1 John 1:3 • Ephesians 4:1-3 • 2 Corinthians 6:11 ---------- We are continuing our series on our fundamental values as a church. We have discussed Gospel, Scripture, Discipleship - and today we come to community. In many ways community falls UNDER the umbrella of discipleship. Our life as christians in the community of the church is PART of our whole life of discipleship. At the same time, community is such an important aspect of our discipleship that it deserves its own sermon. Desert monastics - an ironic birth of powerful community St. Anthony - was born in a small village on the left side of the Nile to relatively wealthy parents. Although his parents died when he was young he inherited enough money for a comfortable life. But his life changed when he walked into a church one day and heard the reading of Matt. 19:21 "if you want to be perfect, sell all you have and give it to the poor, and you will have treasure in the kingdom of heaven..." During the mid 300's when christianity became the state religion of Rome, a number of people were dissatisfied with the way that christianity was becoming the popular norm, and in thier view was being watered down. So these individuals set out to live alone in the desert and devote themselves to spiritual growth, prayer and meditation. Some of these early hermits lived alone for years is rock caves. But their devotion was very attractive to many others and no matter how they tried to get away from civilization - devoted disciples always found them. And so this movement grew from isolated people to form communities out in the Egyptian desert. These communities came to be called monasteries from the greek word that means "solitary". These desert monastic communities lived by a strict code, with clearly defined leadership, daily schedules and roles for everyone in the community. They gathered twice a daily for prayer and worship. They sang psalms while they worked. Joining these communities was not easy. People who wanted to join had to spend at least a few days outside by the gate begging to be let in. They they spent a year or so with the gatekeeper, learning the doctrines of the faith before they were admitted as true members. What started as a effort by some to escape social presence turned into a powerful movement of social spiritual community that permanently impacted Western civilization and christian practice for all of history. Why such appeal? Who wants to reject their freedom and riches, live in poverty and seclusion? We see in this a powerful attraction to the human need for social and spiritual belonging. what is community? The word community is used in a variety of ways to describe a group of people that have something in common that draws them into a shared life together. Christian community: a shared common life that draws us together based on our shared identity as followers of Jesus. A shared common life in Christ which draws us together as christians, gives us a deep sense of belonging, encouragement and purpose as disciples. Christian community demonstrates that following Jesus is not an individualistic process. That knowing God is not something that is experienced through a program or a class. That life with God inevitably carries with it a certain kind of social experience. Why is this so important to the life of the church? 1. True community starts with God Although community is a social experience its roots go far beyond any human experience. John 17:21 21 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. Jesus' intention for the community and love of the church is rooted in the love and unity that exists within the trinitarian relationship. The Bible does not present God is a isolated solitary old man floating in the sky. This goes way back to Genesis 1 "let US create man in our image after our likeness..." Man, created as a social creature is created in the image of a God who is, at his core relational, and lives in a life of communal partnership and belonging. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one in essence and nature, three in person - living in a state of unity, oneness, joy. Jesus' goal for his disciples to live in community, belonging and love is rooted in his own life within the Trinity. The biblical God is a community of love within himself. Why do cults have such power to make people change their lives and do crazy things? Because their is something transcendental in a deep experience of spiritual belonging. Not only is God social within himself, he creates so that he may dwell with us. Why did God create the world? Often our practical, results oriented view of life makes us frame God in a way that is too results oriented. God is perfect and does not need anything. He creates the world not to get some specific result. He creates to spread and share what he already has. All thoughout the Bible we see the idea that God desires to dwell with his people - to live among them, to share his life, his presence with them. To belong to them and to have himself belong to them. "http://....and they heard the sound of the Lord walking in the garden in the cool evening breeze..." Notice how this is clearly highlighted in Revelation 21 as the GOAL of all history - Revelation 21:1-3 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 I also saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 What does it mean that he will be "with them"? If we trace the biblical story and follow the idea of God's presence, we see a God who is not always seeking some sort of practical result - his mind does not work like a business man. He is a God who desires to dwell with his people. To live among them. To share a common life - he seeks to belong to them, and he seeks for them to belong to him. Maybe one reason modern culture is so sad and lonely is because we are always so excessively busy. We are running from one thing to the next. We don't have time to just be, to belong, to put down roots, to enjoy the company of others. We can learn from God. 2. True community is essential to the life of the church John 17:21 21 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. God desires and God works for this goal - not just so that individuals will be saved from hell, not just so that they would be changed to be more like Jesus - but that they may experience among each other, what God experiences within himself. One of the most important goals of the church is not just that we have correct theology, good preaching, a good building - but that there exist a certain kind of spiritual oneness among us. Jesus prays that the church experience a certain kind of social experience that mirrors God's own inner community. 1 John 1:3 3 what we have seen and heard we also declare to you, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. How do we get to this? What is your view of the church? Is it a place you have to perform? Is it a place you have to be careful to please certain people? Is it a place where you see others as obstacles to your own goals? Is it a place you come to get what you need personally? Have a correct perspective of the church: • we are one in Christ • we have the same story of salvation from sin • we are adopted into the family of God • we all have the same Holy Spirit dwelling in our • we have the same battles with sin and temptation • we are on the same team against the forces of darkness • we are partners in the mission of the gospel to the world • we are all loved by the same Father When you think of the church, do you think of it as the place of deepest spiritual oneness in your life? But theres a second step. its not enough just to acknowledge our common spiritual foundation. We must work to build a community of love and belonging. Ephesians 4:1-3 Therefore I, the prisoner in the Lord, urge you to walk worthy of the calling you have received, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. For many christians, experiencing spiritual community in the church is viewed as a bonus, but not as an essential. We are busy, we have jobs, families, plans - having a good church community is seen as a great bonus that we can plan on in some seasons of life, but not in others. Another thing we commonly see is that people want to come to church or a small group where there is a really good sense of community - a space that is encouraging, loving, genuine - but they don't want to build it. They just expect it to be that way so they can come and enjoy it. Paul says that when we understand our spiritual unity in Jesus, we commit to building a life of love, unity and peace among the christians in our life. "http://...make every effort..." Its great that we all agree that we have one foundation - but how do we actually become the kind of church that is marked by love, joy and acceptance? How we act in a social setting is a reflection of how your heart is oriented toward those people. • assume the best not the worst - love hopes all things believes all things, rather than fear and criticism bring joy and encouragement We can never see into people's hearts. But we act like we can. We look at their actions and we make assumptions about what we think their motives are. Maybe because you have been hurt in the past. Maybe for other reasons - we often fall into the temptation of assuming the worst about others. when someone said something critical of us, we may assume they are set against us, they dont like us, they are prideful, etc. What kind of community does this create? Prioritizing personal safety, distance from others, a spirit of criticism. "bearing with one another in love" "love hopes all things, beleives all things..." when I assume the best about others i learn to see them as struggling saints - as those who are battling with sin but deep down seeking growth in God. This is not naive. It makes forgiveness much easier. It makes me a lot less afriad or suspicsious of others. It makes me more likely to bring joy and encouragement instead of constant correction. Encouragement is very very powerful. When you assume the best about others, you are much more like to be an encourager. • reject performance and be real - even if people misunderstand me at times, i know that deep down we are all seeking to be more like Jesus Do you worry what others think of you? Do you feel like you need to put on a certain look? That you need to act a certain way to gain acceptance? A spirit of performance kills true community because it breeds an atmosphere of being fake and shallow. 2 Corinthians 6:11 11 We have spoken openly to you, Corinthians; our heart has been opened wide. What if they misunderstand me? what if they judge me? Its ok. We can't fully control how others view us. The most important thing is that i am truly walking before God, I am loving people, I am opening my heart to them - Ill let God do the rest. Paul was misunderstood a lot. But you know what also happened through his miinistry - a lot of people were encouraged and built up. We think that its the pastors who are smart and know everything that build others up. The reality is that its often someone right next to you who is honest about how they are struggling, how they are battling sin, and how God is helping them. • make a commitment to people as the most important investment of your life community is built by people who show up, people who are committed to serve and to give even when no one is looking and even when it seems that it was all pointless. Jesus said what you did for the least of the brothers - you have done for me. Has that ever sunk in to your heart? Serving the church, loving people - its not always glamorous. Ask the people who keep our property looking so good. As the guy who rebuilt the kitchen. Ask a group leader. The most important investment you make will often not FEEL like the most important investment. It will feel like an inconvenience. Real community is built by people who show up, who don't let others down, who change their schedule to help, to love, to lend a hand, to give money, to grieve and pray... What is your heart orientation to the church? Do you desire to build up the community of Christ, to create an atmosphere marked by the love, care and presence of Christ? 3. True community is for the world look at the world and the culture, the decline of institutions has rapidly increased a sense of loneliness. There is very little that deeply holds people together people want total freedom and total belonging and the two are mutually exclusive. John 17:21 21 May they all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us, so that the world may believe you sent me. "by this all men will know that you are my disciples..." The world is in need. But in need of WHAT? Not another big church. Not another great program or a nice sermon. Its in need of a place where people come and witness the love and presence of God in how ordinary people accept, care and welcome them. "Come to me all...." That invitation is directed through the body of Christ. Our calling is not to worry about what the world will think of us. Its on building such a beautiful life together that others will find it irresistible. So much worry about how to fight back the hyper work liberals in politics. So little energy to building place where the love and wisdom of Christ compels them to come and want a taste. Questions: • Do you feel a deep sense of belonging to the church family? Is your heart wide open to the church family in your life? What are the barriers to that? • Do you enjoy the church? Do you strive to make it a place that others enjoy as well? • Do you see yourself as someone who is actively building the life of the church?