“We” Focused
Notes
Transcript
The last few weeks we have been looking at the 4 pillars of the church.
We began with understanding that the church is the ekklesia, the gathering of believers
Christ is the head of the church, the cornerstone
With Him at the center, we gather together!
As a reminder, they are:
Evangelism
Discipleship
Worship
Community
We ended last week talking about how much time we have in a week. We ended on the thought that if each of us were to “tithe” give 10% of our time to serving God by serving the church, that would be 4 hours a week!
This morning we are going to talk a little more in depth about how we can engage with each other.
Let’s talk a little bit about fences
I talked about this awhile back, but it is probably good to revisit it.
How many of you have a fence in your yard?
What is the purpose of a fence?
Mark a boundary
Keep people out
Keep animals out
Keep animals/children in
Keep people from looking in
I’m not trying to make anyone feel bad for having a fence, but we see there are clear purposes for them
How many of us have metaphorical fences up?
We are trying to keep people out or not allow people into our lives?
Sometimes those fences are there for good reasons, sometimes not.
When we become a part of the church, though, we are called to take some fences down, or move them!
Our culture itself, has a challenge with community
According to the authors of SoulShift:
“In 1974, nearly one-fourth of Americans visited their neighbor several times a week. By 1994, that figure had dropped to 16 percent, and there was shocking increase in the number of people who had “never spent and evening with their neighbor” - from one in 5 to nearly one in three, a 41 percent increase.”
If this is true of our culture, how much is true of our church?
The Christian walk is not as much about “me” as it is about “we”
I want to give you some scripture about one another-ing
In Paul’s letters to the churches, there are 88 verses in the NIV, 139 in the ESV that have to do with one another. Now, some of those may have the words “one” and “another” in them, but not necessarily together
And, some of those verses are about sin. So, obviously not talking about those
But, you take those out, and you’re still left with a lot of commands to “one another”
So, here’s some scripture:
10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.
13 Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.
5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.
14 I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
This is my favorite one, that every one of you fail to do!
16 Greet one another with a holy kiss. All the churches of Christ send greetings.
10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.
11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.
21 Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.
So, these are just some of the examples of commands to be with one another.
So, how much community do we share?
What prevents us from being with one another?
Here are a few fences that we put up!
1. Busyness
1. Busyness
Here in a few weeks, I am going to spend a little more time talking about sabbath.
For now, how busy are we? Do we have time to one another?
2. Comfort
2. Comfort
We spend time with the people that we know and we build a fence around others. It is comfortable where we are!
3. Fear
3. Fear
I don’t know them. What will they think of me? What if they don’t like me? What if I don’t like them?
These kinds of thing are an indication of some areas where we need deliverance and freedom! I would encourage you to seek some help!
So, which of these three fences do we need to tear down or move?
Michael Yaconelli articulates this powerful story in his book, Messy Spirituality—God’s Annoying Love for Imperfect People.
“During an intense battle, one of the American soldiers was killed. His comrades did not want to leave his body on the battlefield and decided to give him a Christian burial. They remembered a church a few miles behind the front lines whose grounds included a small cemetery surrounded by a white fence. After receiving permission to take their friend’s body to the cemetery, they set out for the church arriving just before sunset.
“A priest, his bent-over back and frail body betraying his many years, responded to their knocking. His face, deeply wrinkled and tan, was the home to fierce eyes that flashed wisdom and passion. Our friend was killed in battle,’ they blurted out, ‘and we wanted to give him a church burial.’
“Apparently the priest understood what they were asking, although he spoke in very broken English. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said, ‘but we can only bury those of the same faith here.’ Weary after many months of war, the soldiers simply turned to walk away. ‘But,’ the old priest called after them, ‘you can bury him outside the fence.’
“Cynical and exhausted, the soldiers dug a grave and buried their friend just outside the white fence. They finished after nightfall. They next morning, the entire unit was ordered to move on, and the group raced back to the little church for one final good-bye to their friend. When they arrived, they couldn’t find the gravesite. Tired and confused, they knocked on the door of the church. They asked the old priest if he knew where they had buried their friend. ‘It was dark last night and we were exhausted. We must have been disoriented.’
“A smile flashed across the old priest’s face. ‘After you left last night, I could not sleep, so I went outside early this morning and I moved the fence.’”
It is possible that this church had this policy out of comfort or out of fear.
Obviously, the priest was convicted and went out and moved the fence to include the american soldier’s grave.
So, as we think about our own involvement in the church, the ekklesia, this morning, what fences do we need to move?
How can we make time in our schedule to prioritize being with one another?
How can we get out of our comfort zone to include others, or maybe, serve in a capacity in the church?
Let’s catch some vision this morning:
What would our church look like if we all spent 4 hours serving the church a week?
That’s a cumulative of 400 hours a week?
I don’t think we would have some of the needs that we have in the church!
And, what would our community look like, if some of those hours were spent on evangelism?
How many children, youth, college students, young adults, families, and retired people could we pour into?
What would Goodland look like?
Jesus used 12 to change the world, what could He do with 100, if we were willing to move some fences?
So, how can you serve in our church?
Nursery Director
Nursery Volunteer
Sunday School Director
Sunday School Teacher
JAM Director
JAM Teacher
Youth Group Director
College Director
Treasurer
Nominating Chairperson
Fellowship Chairperson
Financial Secretary
Flower and Card
Church Clerk
Christian Education Chairperson
Sound Booth Director
Sound Booth Volunteer
Deacon
Trustee
Other ways:
Prayer Warriors
Give Financially
Call/Check-in on
Pastor Bob feels led to run for our Christian Ed. chairperson and next week he is going to share more of his vision for christian ed.
Having met and had several discussions with him, I am excited to see what God is going to do through his leadership!
But, before we get there, we need to ask 2 huge questions:
1. How is God calling me to serve?
1. How is God calling me to serve?
2. What fences need torn down/moved so I can do what God has called me to do?
2. What fences need torn down/moved so I can do what God has called me to do?
I encourage you this week to spend some time praying and asking how God wants to use you!
And allow Him to reveal fences that need to be dealt with!
