Men's Night 11.16.23

Genesis 2:18 ESV

18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.”

Loneliness is something we all feel but no one wants to admit it.

We were created for community.

Something in us longs for connection with other people.

We were created to be fully known and fully loved.

Think of our relationships; our closest friends are the people that know everything about us.

The good, bad, and ugly.

When we sit with friends and loved ones at Thanksgiving or Christmas, we get this sense of delight.

I’d love to have that overjoyed feeling around a table all the time, but often I just can’t get there.

We want to be accepted and known by people, but we have this fear of being fully known, because that would require people to know my dirt and my struggles.

The dark, sinful parts of myself that require an explanation so that people don’t leave.

It’s easier to remain hidden.

Isolation has no prejudice.

No one grows in isolation.

Social media has trapped us into this facade of a connected society

We see the best of people because we’re able to show them our best sides.

“Social-networking sites like Facebook may provide people a false sense of connection that ultimately increases loneliness in people who feel alone. These sites should serve as a supplement, but not replacement for, face-to-face interaction”

Newsweek interview with neuroscientist John T. Cacioppo, Uni. of Chicago

We’re now more connected than we ever have been, yet people feel more alone than they ever have been.

Social media has tricked our society to believe that we can have the connection we need.

I end up spending more time reading posts and updates from other people who make me aware that their lives are cooler than mine.

Duke University conducted a study

27.2 million people live alone

More people say they feel alone than any other time in history

25 percent say they have no one they can turn to as a confidant.

More people link their depression to loneliness

The number of “socially isolated” Americans has doubled since 1985

Our culture has built itself on individualism. The inevitable fruit of that, is loneliness.

Instead of sitting on the porch and talking with neighbors and friends as it was in the good ole days, often we now enter our homes as the garage door closes behind us, surrounded by our privacy fence, we eat dinner alone and then vicariously live out community by watching TV “reality” shows (as our neighbors do the same).

Life in Community

We have this innate longing for community, yet we ask ourselves questions like “What if I get hurt? rejected? betrayed? ignored? neglected?”

As Christians, we’ve found a profoundly different answer to this longing for community in the good news of Jesus.

We know that God has given us this yearning for community.

God is not alone in Himself. We believe in the Trinity, which is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Dwelling in perfect community and love with one another.

God created us in His image, so when He says Genesis 2:18 “18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.””

We were created to be in community with people.

To love, serve, confess our sins, watch in grace and truth with one another.

Ephesians 2:11-22

Community is more than just a Sunday and mission is more than just a trip.

It’s people going somewhere together.

Acts 2:46–47 “46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.”

Communities centered on the gospel defy the culture of isolation.

It’s a community that walks together, eats together, rejoices together mourns together.

Imagine the birth of the church and the people that were coming to the Lord.

They weren’t polished or had their crap together.

It was a community for the lonely and hurting. A community for the has-beens and have-nots, the accomplished, the rebellious, the self-righteous. This is a picture of God leading a ragtag group and forming them together on the greatest mission ever.

God redeeming all things to Himself.

This is our role in God’s story of redemption.

Run toward Jesus together and invite people to join us in the mission.

Discussion

What do you normally substitute for community?

What personal barriers have you created to community?

What unhealthy ways have you processed loneliness in your past?

Ephesians 2

What key verses/phrases from this passage speak to living in community?

What verse did God want you to see/hear/apply?

What verse would be a great gift for someone close to you?

Debrief

What benefits of community would help you most now?

What adjustments do you need to make to give space for community?

What steps will you take to implement those adjustments?