Together Session 1

Session 1

When we think of being together, we think of certain ties that bind us.

Maybe we think of our family, or our friends.

Maybe we think of our sports team or theatre or choir group.

Maybe you think of a boyfriend or girlfriend.

We tend to think of “together” in terms of the groups of people we enjoy being a part of.

The opposite of being together is being apart. Much of the pain or discomfort we feel in our lives results from separation of relationships; the same relationships that are supposed to be defined by togetherness.

When marriages fall apart, we hurt.

When friendships fall apart, we hurt.

When we have division on our teams or in our groups, it hurts.

Division where there is supposed to be togetherness always results in frustration.

But what about divisions in your church? What about divisions in your youth group? Do you ever really stop to think about the togetherness you are called to have as a group of people drawn together by your common love for God?

Over the next few sessions, both in large group and small group, we’re going to take a really good look at what it means to be together as a Church.

If you have come to faith in Christ, this is the body of people God has called you to be a part. There is something really profound about this. It’s not an accident because that’s not how God works. It’s a big deal that this is the group of people God has called you to be a part of and so we need to make sure we know what is expected of us. That’s what Together is all about.

We are going to spend time studying what it means to live our lives as the Church.

[Transition]

There are 3 truths about living in Christ-Centered Community that we will look at today. The first is this:

Teaching Point 1: The foundations of the Church began when God called Israel to be His people.

Turn to Deuteronomy 28:1-9.

Moses spends a lot of the book writing about Israel’s mistakes that caused them to have to wander in the wilderness for 40 years and not enter into the Promised Land immediately after they escaped slavery in Egypt.

In this section, Moses is reminding the people of the blessings that will be theirs if they obey God.

Read Deuteronomy 28:1-9.

We know that Israel was God’s chosen people. God had promised Abraham and Sarah they would have offspring as many as the stars in the sky.

The descendants of Abraham would eventually be enslaved in Egypt for 400 years but the Israelites would grow in number.

God rescued His people from slavery and led them to the Promised Land, but not without them wandering in the desert for two generations because of their unfaithfulness to God.

In this passage, Moses is reminding the Israelites of the special relationship they have with God.

Look at what Moses says in verses 1-2.

“Now if you faithfully obey the LORD your God and are careful to follow all his commands I am giving you today, the LORD your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth.

All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the LORD your God:

He helps the Israelites understand that keeping their covenant with God, will lead them to this right relationship with God.

Of course, we know that as human beings, just like us, the Israelites were incapable of perfectly obeying God. But God still wanted to make the expectation clear to them that there were major benefits to being His chosen people with whom He had formed a covenant. Verses 3-8 highlight some of these blessings.

The city

The land

Their offspring

Their produce

Their livestock

Enemies defeated

In verse 9, Moses reminds the people that they are “his holy people,” and that God had made a promise to them.

This is Moses alluding to the fact that the Israelites were God’s people, set apart for His purposes. Israel had a unique relationship with God in the Old Testament. They were alone among all people groups as having this close, personal, covenant with God.

Through calling Israel as a nation unto Himself, God was laying the foundation for growing His family. What God knew is that thousands of years in the future, He would send His Son Jesus as the Savior for all humankind.

Through faith in Christ, God’s people would grow from being just Israel to anyone who would believe in Christ. But it all started with God calling a people to Himself.

How do you plant a forest? How do you grow a vast, dense forest like the one you see? If your goal is to have this magnificent body of trees and plants that host an innumerable amount of wildlife, how do you go about doing it?

How do you grow a forest? You plant a seed. The crazy thing about a forest is that it’s possible to grow one, given time, from just a single seedling. The seed turns into a tree that grows and drops more seedlings.

Given time an the right conditions, what results is a forest. God’s church is the same way. God started with one man, Abraham. In calling Abraham to be the father of a great nation, God was planting the seedling. The seedling grew and grew.

Through faith in Jesus, the church has grown one person at a time for centuries. Today it is a vast forest of people. But it started with God planting the “seed” and growing it little by little.

[Transition]

The first truth of living in Christ-Centered Community is that the foundation of the church began when God called Israel to be His people.

The next truth is this:

Teaching Point 2: God’s plan all along was to make a way for all people to have the possibility of becoming His people.

Turn to Galatians 3:26-29

Now we are going to see Paul bridge the gap between the Israelites as God’s chosen people and anyone who has professed faith in Christ.

Read Galatians 3:26-29

for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.

For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male and female; since you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise.

Look at verses 26-27 at what Paul says about our identity as Christ-followers.

for through faith you are all sons of God in Christ Jesus.

For those of you who were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ.

PUT ON SHIRT

Paul says that when we profess faith in Jesus as Savior, we are welcomed as children (Paul uses the word “sons”) into God’s family.

Our identities fundamentally change. We become God’s people. This is what Paul means when he says we have been “clothed with Christ.” It’s an identity shift. We are new people with a new look.

When we come to saving faith in Jesus, we are God’s.

Verse 28 helps us understand the progression from God’s children being exclusively the Jews, to now being extended to all who come to faith in Jesus.

Here Paul is saying that admission into God’s family by faith in Jesus trumps any claim to nationality, race, or gender. All who come to faith in Jesus are welcomed into God’s family.

And Paul makes an awesome statement in verse 29. He says that even non-Jews who come to faith in Christ can trace their spiritual heritage back to Abraham.

When God called the Israelites to Himself through Abraham, He always had a day in mind where His family would include countless other people groups. Jesus makes this possible.

God never intended His Church to lack diversity. From the beginning, God planned to open up membership into His family to all who would believe in Jesus.

Have you ever considered that you could travel just about anywhere in the world and find another Christian who would welcome you in the name of Christ?

We sometimes have such a small view of the church but God’s view of the Church is of an amazingly diverse group of His children that stretches throughout time and space. You are a part of that if you have come to saving faith in Christ.

[Transition]

The final truth I want to share is this:

Teaching Point 3: When we come to faith in Jesus, God welcomes us into the Church.

Read Ephesians 2:19-22

So, then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with the saints, and members of God’s household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the cornerstone. In him the whole building, being put together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In him you are also being built together for God’s dwelling in the Spirit.

Paul ties a bow on what we’ve been talking about up to this point and once again describes our place as God’s people, this time bringing in the concept of citizens as well as family members.

Verse 20 paints the picture of the historical nature of this family: it’s built on the foundation of the great people of faith who have gone before us and is held together by Jesus Himself.

The picture Paul is painting here, especially in verse 21, is of a building where the “bricks,” if you will, are made up of all of God’s children, past, present, and future. We can think of this “building” as the Church.

This picture above is of the Sagrada Familia Church in Barcelona Spain. Look at this video of the church. It has been under construction for 137 years. It began construction in 1882 and is expected to be complete sometime after 2026. This is a beautiful work of art. A beautiful church building. But what is more beautiful than this building is the actual body of Christ. It is each member who has put their faith and hope in Jesus Christ. This church is located in one place, the body of Christ covers the globe.

The powerful truth is that salvation in Christ does more than save us from our sins. It welcomes us into a new life, one that is lived out as a part of vast body of believers we call the Church. And it is a welcoming group!

As we’re going to learn over the next few sessions, God’s plan to call you “together” as a group of Christ-followers is a sign of His love and care for you. He has provided you with an amazing body to be a part of.

We’re going to explore what that looks like, but for now, it’s enough to know that saving faith in Jesus ushers you into an awesome and unique relationship with other Christ-followers.

When we come to saving faith in Jesus, not only are we freed from the death our sins earn us, we are welcomed into membership in one of the most powerful groups we would ever hope to be a part of: the Church. There is no privilege like the privilege to be called God’s child and to be gathered together as the Church.

Closing Challenges

Make the most of this event. You will only learn and be changed if you are willing to,

Put yourself in the mindset to be moved by God and to be changed by knowing and applying His Word in your lives.