Build Us Up

What do I need to know?

Last week we found that we were created to be in community.

Romans 1:11–12 ESV

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

All people are built up in community

Why do I care?

God has designed you to be with other believers

Your faith is not meant to be alone

What do I do?

Intro

One of my favorite things about middle school as that pretty much every person gets to be involved in something.

If you’re homeschooled this probably looks a little bit different, but in public or private middle school, there’s so many things to do that everybody is involved in at least one thing.

A lot of people play sports and most people even play multiple sports.

Or if you’re not into sports you can do band or choir.

Maybe it’s theatre, or chess club. I don’t know what all you’re into.

But the point is clear that theres so many things to be involved in in middle school and because of that, almost everybody is involved in something.

So I think almost every person has a shared experience. We’ve all been apart of a team or a group that has some performance.

Maybe that’s a concert or a show, for most of you it’s a game.

And I think for every team or group that you’re apart of, you know at least one person in that group that is so good that when they’re in the game or when they are dancing the whole skill level of the team is elevated.

But whether its soccer or volleyball or dance or choir, there is a reason that we have teams.

The game is not meant to be played alone. the song is more beautiful with different instruments and vocal ranges.

So not only does that really good or really skilled player bring up the level of the team, but the team also brings up the level of that person.

When he or she is a part of the team they’re even better than when they’re alone.

Transition

Well, last week we looked in the book of Genesis and saw that God created you and me and every person to be in community.

And we defined community as real relationships with real people.

Like we aren’t just in the same room. we don’t just live in the same house, or go to the same church, but we are actually investing in relationship with the people around us.

We are having real conversations about our faith and we are not putting on a mask and trying to make it look like we have it all together.

Today we are talking about what the purpose of community is.

Like we know that God has created us to be in community, but why is that. What do we need to get out of real relationships with real people?

Scripture

Today we’re looking at __________. This is the apostle Paul talking and if you don’t know who that is, he is like the best player on your team multiplied times a hundred.

He’s one of the wisest, smartest, kindest, and most Godly men to ever live. And the book of Romans, which we’re about to read out of is actually a really long letter that he wrote to a church that was in the city of Rome about 2000 years ago.

He’s actually never met these people, but he has this huge desire to go and see them because he has heard that they are awesome people and a great church.

So here is what he says in verses 11 and 12.

Romans 1:11–12 ESV

For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

So remember that Paul is a really awesome Godly man and he’s like the best player on the team. So the first thing he says is he wants to give these people a gift to strengthen them.

He is going to elevate the level that the team is playing at, but notice he doesn’t just say that he is going to make them better.

He says, “we may be mutually encouraged by each others faith.” So not only does the team get encouraged by him, but Paul actually gets better and grows and is strengthened by the team.

Transition

But this isn’t just the way that our sports teams work, its actually the way that the church works.

Like God’s design for the church is not just that you come here and listen to some random guy yap for 10 minutes then go home and you’re good.

Instead God’s design for the church is that you come and you experience relationships and you grow in your faith and also that you encourage others in their faith.

Application

So what does this tell us about how we do church?

Well it means that if you come here and you hang out or play outside, but you don’t really listen when someone is up here talking, and then you mess around and are not taking your small group seriously, you are missing out on the real purpose of church.

Like you are just scraping the surface of what church is for.

This place is designed for you to be able to experience this kind of community where you grow in your faith and you are encouraged by the other people here, but if I’m being honest its way to often that I sit in a small group and people are messing around or nobody really answers the questions honestly.

So I ask you how often do you have serious conversations about God with your friends or family outside of here?

Do you really want to use the only time that is created for you to be in community to mess around and tell funny jokes.

Maybe if you really want to go grow in your faith or you want to know God better, you’ll take small groups seriously.

You’re going to have that opportunity in small groups in just a minute, but first let me pray for us.