A Call To Small

Announcements

Thank you for everyone who made Fall Fest a success

For those who are regular givers, I feel led to specifically thank you for your faithfulness that is so much a part of why these things can happen.

Well maintained buildings, cared for staff, and all the supplies invovled are essential to ministry and outreach. So thank you.

Operation Christmas Child

Cookling

December 16th

Cookies

Carols

And the best part: your gifts to one another in talent and creativity.

Skits, songs, dance, however you are gifted to share

We have limited slots

We’re asking for you to submit your song/script/etc to the church office for review. It’s important that it’s appropriate and in keeping with the spirit of the event.

Sign-up forms will be available very soon, so be thinking about how you or a group of you might contribute.

Dismiss Kids

How many of you came to Fall Fest?

Did any of you think Monica and I’s trunk was weird? Why?

Right? Christmas in October? SO weird!

Do you know that God loves it when we remember him? That thinking about Christmas and Easter especially, the birth and resurrection of Jesus helps us to connect to God, to be thankful for his grace, and learn to love him more?

So maybe not so weird? Ok…still weird, but that ok. I’m cool being weird if it’s for Jesus.

Let me pray for you.

Sermon

oops

In June of 2020 we traded in my old Volvo for the Santa Fe I’m now driving. Which means in June of 2021 we renewed the tags. Which then follows that in June of 2022 I misplaced the paper…then remembered in August.

Still didn’t have the paper, so as I passed the licensing store, I thought, “I’ll just go in with a picture of my license plate.”

Here’s where it gets weird.

First, that I waited like a second before my number was called, then the weirdness continues

I give her my name and the plate picture. No problem, this happens.

…These plates don’t exist. Then we go through 5 minutes of verifying every detail.

The Santa Fe is registered to me, but with different plates.

Supervisor joins in

We spend several minutes thinking my plates had been swapped.

Other possibilities occurred...

Long story shorter. We realized that when we did the trade in, I told the dealership to just use my old plates. They accidentally grabbed new ones and put them on. Then realized the mistake, gave me back the old plates to put on…but didn’t take back the new ones.

Those new ones they finally found had been declared missing from the dealer.

Year one, I brought in the paper, never noticing the plate number was wrong.

Sometimes we can get the right result with the wrong methods and it will work…for a while. But eventually, you spend a healthy chunk of time in the DMV to fix it.

Here’s another one.

Around 2013 or 14 my 94 Escort got a flat tire.

I pulled the spare out, set in on the ground.

Jacked up the deflated wheel and went to work removing lug nuts and then the wheel.

All good so far…now this one gets weird.

I grab the spare and line up one of the bolts from the hub. No problem, now to line up the rest, far easier with one lined up…only none of them did.

The other 3 holes would not line up with the bolts…they weren’t even close.

As my mind raced at the impossibility the number floated through my mind. other 3....other 3 holes… That makes 4…I removed 5 lug nuts from the flat… 5 and 4…are not the same…then click!

The spare didn’t match the hub.

I have learned since that 94 ford escorts were built with 4 bolt hubs…but this was a rebuilt title…somewhere in the piecing together of this car they converted it to 5…but didn’t change the spare.

Sometimes we can have what appears to the be right part, and we can try and try to make it fit, but never get the results we are looking for.

Jesus gave an example when people asked why the Pharisees and John’s disciples fasted but Jesus’ didn’t

After explaining first that they will fast when he’s gone, he makes a curious statement:

Mark 2:21-22 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. Otherwise, the new patch pulls away from the old cloth, and a worse tear is made. And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost as well as the skins. No, new wine is put into fresh wineskins.””

The physics make sense. New wine is still fermenting. They stored wine in leather skins to age, rather than bottles or barrels.

Fermenting creates expansion, which new leather can handle as it stretches over time.

Old wine skins…they are done stretching. To put new wine there is a disaster waiting to happen.

Fasting wasn’t a problem, but fasting as a ritual didn’t have the results the Kingdom was looking for…simply put, old behaviors can’t give you new results and new ideas can’t fit into rigid mindsets.

In every area of our lives, we need to be sure we aren’t just trying to force Jesus in to what exists in our lives, but create new patterns, new practices to match new life.

This series in particular is focused on the church as a group of individual threads being woven into a common story by the sovereign hand of a glorious God who loves us. The story is one of reconciliation.

2 Corinthians 5, God reconciling man to himself because of his great love.

That means our lives in that transaction are transformed. In that passage on reconciliation Paul makes this amazing statement:

2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come!”

New wine…but old behaviors. old patterns.

…in any weaving there is not just the big picture, but you will notice patterns in the detail. Consistent methods used by the crafter to get the big picture assembled.

ugh

If the church is a woven together fabric that God is putting together we should expect to see God working through patterns.

Over the next several weeks, as we finish this series we are going to look closely at God’s patterns for the church, what are the rhythms and priorities we need to lean into if we are going to accomplish the mission...

stop a moment…It is a mission. A clear command from the one we call Lord in our songs. A mission that only the church accomplishes…only the church can accomplish…but

Sometimes it’s like we’re me with my plate (and I mean we by the church in general, not just HCC) It kind works by accident…but eventually you pay a late fee and for replacement plates.

worse it can sometimes be like me and my tire, It’s a tire…it should work…and we just keep going despite not accomplishing the mission.

This morning we are going to look at one set of the roles of the church, and then look at God’s pattern for us to follow in living those out as new creation threads woven together.

In the new testament there are a whole bunch of phrases pastors refer to as the:

One Anothers

Verses that describe what believers are to be and do for…one another.

Let’s look at a sampling

Honor ONE ANOTHER Romans 12:10.

Love ONE ANOTHER Romans 13:8.

Instruct ONE ANOTHER Romans 15:14.

Have concern for ONE ANOTHER 1 Cor 12:25.

Carry ONE ANOTHER’s burdens Galatians 6:2.

Forgiving ONE ANOTHER Ephesians 4:32.

Teach and Admonish ONE ANOTHER Colossians 3:16.

Encourage ONE ANOTHER daily Hebrews 3:13.

Confess your sins to ONE ANOTHER James 5:16.

Offer hospitality to ONE ANOTHER 1 Peter 4:9.

Over all there are 100 uses in 94 verses. Some are about what we don’t do to ONE ANOTHER, grumbling, offending, being selfish toward, etc.

So this whole WOVEN thing…pretty important. Seems like we can’t be the church without...ONE ANOTHER.

aha

Andy Stanley noted it this way:

The primary activity of the church was “One-Anothering One Another”

He went on to make this statement:

When everyone is sitting in rows…you can’t do any one anothers.

If our primary aim is to get people in this building on Sunday mornings, we will not have an abundance of opportunities to be the church.

The New Testament does not lay out detailed instructions for church life. Every congregation can, will, and should develop according to what accomplishes the mission in the setting where they exist. However…there are some practices…wineskins that were described, and are fundamental regardless of the setting.

Let’s look to the source. The very beginning of the church in Acts 2.

Let’s look at the picture in context and then focus in on a key idea:

Acts 2:41-47 “So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles. Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as any had need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. Every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved.”

First, big picture thing: This passage starts with people being saved, then gathering, and then ends with people being saved. We’ll come back to that in a couple weeks.

But what happened in the interim.

They learned - Sunday service can do that

To the fellowship…ooh, well you have before and after service…and the 90 seconds before the sermon...

To the breaking of bread…that means a meal…not communion…I know some moms who bring snacks…not sure it’s enough to share...

and to prayer…Eric prays…I pray…our offering meditator prays...

Our key comes in verse 46

Acts 2:46 “Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts,”

They came together in a large group, and then they connected in small ones.

In fact, we have no New Testament model for the church that does not include or consist primarily of small groups.

whee

Next week we will be unveiling the first part of our Threads Woven center in the back there.

Ultimately it will consist of opportunities to serve, both here and in the community

A path for more deeply growing into God’s story in your life, your families life, and the lives of those around you

And the first part that will be up and running will be all the information on our various life groups, how to get involved, and how to get trained in leading Life Groups

So today, I want to persuade you that joining a Life Group, even if you have tried them before and had something less than a fantastic experience, is worthwhile nonetheless.

yeah

Why we “One-Another”

Encouragement

There was a man early in the church named Joseph. We read about him first in

Acts 4:36-37 “Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus by birth, the one the apostles called Barnabas (which is translated Son of Encouragement), sold a field he owned, brought the money, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.”

His first appearance is marked by financial generosity, helping the early church to not only function but generously provide for the needs of those around them.

He helped the church act like the church.

Later we find him after Saul of Tarsus, the great persecuter of the church, comes to know Jesus. Others were fearful of this new leaf Saul, now Paul had turned over…Barnabas attached himself to Paul to use his credibility and reputation to help others accept Paul.

No wonder he got that nickname. And we all need a Barnabas or two in our lives. They are hard to find.

But we can all be some part of Barnabas to ONE ANOTHER.

When we are a part of a small group we are being generous with our presence. Sharing our person with others in a way that lifts them up.

You may notice I’m not promising you will be encouraged. That would be better salesmanship…but I can’t promise that.

I’m promising that you CAN BE an encouragement.

It is vital that we do this for one another, not just one in the group…but neither you nor I can control another’s behavior.

But if you don’t engage in a small group and choose to be an encourager…where does it start?

Here’s the rubber meeting the road: You have been called to be encouragement for others. To give others “courage” for the lives they lead.

It’s only in smaller groups that you can exercise that calling. So even if no one else is, your calling remains, and here is your opportunity to be blessed by living it out.

Another benefit of Life Groups is an increase in...

Fruitfulness

Jesus offers a clear promise slash warning.

John 15:1-6 ““I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Every branch in me that does not produce fruit he removes, and he prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I in you. Just as a branch is unable to produce fruit by itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, he is thrown aside like a branch and he withers. They gather them, throw them into the fire, and they are burned.”

There is something about being in Jesus that causes us to produce fruit.

Without a whole other sermon on fruit, the fruit Jesus is looking for is reconciled and transformed lives. Yours and ONE ANOTHERs.

Are you reconciled to God, and is your life bearing evidence of change as you walk as a disciple? Are you kind, are you forgiving, are you gracious, are you quick to repent, do you demonstrate

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.”

The second part of the fruit is that your life also leads to those in others. Are the lost being reconciled to God? How are you helping others bear that same fruit?

Try to do those things without ONE ANOTHER. You can’t even evaluate yourself without it. How do you know if your behavior is harmful if no one is able to tell you? How can you practice gentleness alone?

In Galatians 5:19-21, we read about the works of the flesh…who is going to call us out for moral impurity, outbursts of anger, envy, dissensions, and all the rest if we don’t get vulnerable with others?

Proverbs tells us:

Proverbs 27:6 “The wounds of a friend are trustworthy, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.”

We need friends to wound us…and receive them as blessings instead of burdens.

HARD…but essential. Those who don’t love us won’t bother to correct us. They will let us get away with bad behavior until it impacts them.

Our fruitfulness in Christ is dependent on ONE ANOTHER in our lives. Both for giving and receiving.

Finally, in:

Perseverance

Faith is hard. I have been in full time ministry most of my adult life. I have seen God do the miraculous in my own and others lives...

I still have moments where I wonder if the God we worship even exists. I have questions, doubts, even anger at God sometimes.

God has never given up on me…but I will admit to doubts and struggles.

In every letter in the New Testament there is some emphasis on holding fast

When Paul describes the armor of God in Ephesians 6 he says it this way:

Ephesians 6:13-14a “For this reason take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore…”

We need ONE ANOTHER to strengthen our faith, to remind us who Jesus is and what he has already done in us, to keep us rooted in truth when our doubts press against us...

I’ve shared before the statistics regarding young people who graduate and fall away.

Consider for a moment that this is a primary cause: In High school they are rooted deep in community that strengthens their faith, relationships that hold when their own strength struggles.

After graduation, they leave, those relationships lose their hold, and new ones form that don’t support, but instead add to the doubt and difficulty.

Any surprise the majority of our graduates struggle?

Do we think we’re stronger as adults? We may not lose our convictions of doctrine, but we can quickly lose our love for Jesus that results in any kind of effective faith outside of relationships that help us to persevere.

We also need ONE ANOTHER to perervere in our

Family

In our world the family continues to fall apart. It’s a source of shame to recognize that divorce rates among believers isn’t much different than it is in the world.

But here is the thing, without ONE ANOTHER in vulnerable, meaningful relationships,

who will know if our marriages are struggling?

Who will hear the hurts that are beginning to fester and intervene before those hurts turn to a bitterness that puts a marriage beyond help?

In the same way individually we need ONE ANOTHER, families need ONE ANOTHER to help them grow, to see new ways of relating, to see how Christ can change and deepen a marriage, can transform the way we parent.

Now it’s worth noting…this is true for every benefit of small groups…we have to be willing to be impacted, willing to be vulnerable, to build relationships and confess where we struggle…if we only protect…these won’t be true, and we’ll harm others by not being able to serve them in honesty.

Finally, we need ONE ANOTHER to have perseverance in the

Fellowship

I read an article written by a pastor of a thriving church. 500 people and new people coming to know Jesus all the time.

but somehow despite new believers…they weren’t growing…They were on a treadmill…new steps with new believers and yet no growth?

They found that after a period of time, people were falling away. Many not going to another church. It was like they were evangelizing and de-evangelizing their neighborhood at the same time.

So the pastor invited the last 12 people to be baptized to his house. After dinner he asked if they wanted to know the future. They said yes!

So he said, statistically speaking in the next 2-3 years… two of your marriages will have broken up and the shame will cause you to leave the church, three of you will have a conflict with someone in the church and you will leave the church, one will have a tragedy and lose faith and leave, two will have a moral failing and leave, and two will lose interest and drift away. In two to three years, out of this group only two of you will be attending church, and only one of you at this church.

There was silence. He then told them they had the opportunity to change that.

They formed a small group. They connected, and got vulnerable, and shared life.

After 4 years one member left the church.

They went from losing 10 of 12 to 1 of 12 over the next few years as they formed more and more of these groups.

Church was never meant to be a gathered group in rows. It was meant to be people woven into relationships for encouragement, fruitfulness, and strengthening for perseverance.

The early church met in houses AND in large groups

During Jesus’ 3 years of ministry, he spoke to crowds…and he chose 12 to do life with and disciple.

It would be the greatest arrogance for me to think my teaching once a week is what you need most in order to grow your faith.

That 5 worship songs a week is all loving Jesus needs to keep that fire hot.

This week I have a task for you.

If you are in a Life Group, pray about who you can invite to join.

Pray about if you are called to learn to lead. If we add people enough, we will need new groups to hold them all.

Pray about hosting

If you are not in a life group, pray about participating. Even if the idea is the last thing you want to do.

Next week our Threads Woven Center will be ready for you to see our current groups, and to fill out an interest card.

If there isn’t a group that works for you, fill out the card with when/where/what works for you so as we form new groups we can work to fill those gaps.

So pray in advance of that,

Pray about what is keeping you out now.

If you have questions about getting involved, call me.

We need one another. Not just in rows, but in circles.

As we pray and sing a last song, I’ll invite our prayer team forward. They are here to pray with you regarding this message, other hurts or joys in your life, to recieve Jesus and anything else you need to come to the Lord about.

Pray