Comm/unity

Without vision, the people perish.

The purpose of this sermon series is twofold:

To provide biblical foundations for who we are and what we should be doing.

To look forward at what God would have us do because of who we are.

The very name of our church contains the foundation for who we are and what we do. The word community is a combination of two words; common and unity. The biblical foundation for this comes from two places:

John 17:11 (NIV84)

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.

Acts 2:44 NIV84

All the believers were together and had everything in common.

a. The first was the prayer of Jesus for all of his believers, that we should be united in one purpose.

The apostle Paul echoed this sentiment when he wrote his letter to the Ephesian Church:

Ephesians 4:4–6 NIV84

There is one body and one Spirit— just as you were called to one hope when you were called— one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

In one of Aesops fables he describes an old man who had several sons, who were always falling out with one another. He had often, but to no purpose, exhorted them to live together in harmony. One day he called them together, and he gathered a bundle of sticks and tied them together and asked each one of them to try to break them. Each one tried as hard as they cold but none of them could break the bundle of sticks. Then the father cut the cord that he tied them together with and told his sons to break them separately. This was done with the greatest ease. “See, my sons,” the old man said “the power of unity!” Bound together by brotherly love, you may defy almost every mortal danger, but divided, you will fall prey to your enemies. “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Eccl.4:12)

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b. The second (common) comes from the early church and how they operated according to their faith. Their radical approach to helping others in need was illust (an idiom, literally ‘to have in common’) to share with one another equitably—‘to share, to share with one another

Louw, J. P., & Nida, E. A. (1996). In Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: based on semantic domains (electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., Vol. 1, p. 568). United Bible Societies.

So, In the context of these two scriptures God gives us a snapshot of what the early church did: they had everything in common and were unified in the same purpose.

At the beginning of the church, Peter brings together lots of Jewish people along with gentiles and redefines what community is all about. He preaches a sermon that convinces many that change is needed in their lives.

Acts 2:37–41 NIV84

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

A couple of things of note here:

1. They understood that their exclusive community was about to be radically transformed.

-Likewise, I think we, as a church, need to realize that our definition of community should change for the entire community. I’m not merely talking about our church but the overall church within our community. Dress code, life situations, whatever the case may be...it will not keep us from welcoming you among us!! Nor should it.

2. The Lord calls ALL people to himself!

1 Timothy 2:3–6 NIV84

This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men—the testimony given in its proper time.

The “church” ekklesia ἐκκλησία is used by Paul in multiple letters to signify the church as a specific gathering of people (think local church) for a purpose in their specific context. It literally means “the called out ones”

So here is what the church “called out ones” is supposed to do...

Acts 2:42–47 NIV84

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

As the church began, Luke records things that happened inside and outside the church body.

1. Inside activities involved shared experiences.

-Fellowship simply means “close association involving mutual involvement and relationships.”

-Study of the inspired word of God to guide those relationships and experiences.

2. Outside activities involved sharing experiences

- having all things in common to meet needs of those inside and outside the fellowship.

When these two come together and operate in harmony, the church functions as it should.

We are not called to be the same, but to come together as we seek the same savior.

Google had an ad campaign for Android a few years ago that illustrates this concept perfectly.

Show video “be together”

This is a prefect metaphor for how the church should operate together.

Two students. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, sat in their dorm room at Stanford University and pledged themselves to the following mission statement: "To organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful." The result was Google, the most powerful and widely used search engine in the world. Today, it seems that both large and small businesses are all adopting mission statements. Even businesses with an unambiguous and widely known purpose such as Federal Express, Barnes & Noble, and Nike all have mission statements. Nike's mission statement, for example, is "to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world." The mission craze has even begun to influence the government. For example, the state department now has a mission statement—"to create a more secure, democratic, and prosperous world for the benefit of the American people and the international community.”

Our purpose as a church is to be unified as a community that keeps the Great Commission as the main focus…not our personal preferences. This isn’t about us and what we can get out of church...it’s about what we can give to it in biblical community.

Invitation