Living the Together Life
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
I want to share 4 words from Romans 15 tonight that can offer new perspective to your life with others
ACTION — EXAMPLE — SOURCE — CONNECTION (A.E.S.C.)
There is a life Jesus sets for us to live — That life is to encourage others so WE can be with him.
These four words directly mirror the passage and will lead you to look at others in a new way!
A.E.S.C. — say it with me A.E.S.C.
It is ACTION, EXAMPLE, SOURCE, CONNECTION
Lets read Romans 15:1-7:
1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
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.
I want you take 5 seconds and look around the room and make eye contact with people you know and maybe you don’t know.
There are some in this room that have been apart of a Student Group for couple years now and for some it is pretty new. When it comes to Student Groups, there a key parts that make it up: engaging games, worship, Bible study, small groups, AND (the one we talk about tonight) FELLOWSHIP/RELATIONSHIPS/ENCOURAGEMENT.
The Bible talks about LIVING THE TOGETHER LIFE - the Bible speaks something special about how we are to live together. Everyone that you looked at and even those you didn’t look we are to live together! BUT how do we do that with everyone at a dozen different schools, across different counties, with different lives?
INSERT WEDNESDAYS AND SUNDAYS — so we just show up and we’re Living the Together Life? NOPE, now we trace the pattern of Romans 15 and start with the ACTION that we are called to.
A.e.s.c. ACTION
A.e.s.c. ACTION
1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
There is a focus obligation of what to do and what not to do. The strong are to help the weak and avoid pleasing ourselves. That seems pretty simple and makes sense. Here is the important question: WHO are the STRONG and WHO are the WEAK?
STRONG — its not those who have life figured out or mastered the Christian faith. One who is steady at pursuing Christ.
WEAK — can be someone that is struggling with a major sin or struggling with establishing a faithful habit
The STORNG can be someone that is faithful in praying each day for their life and others.
The WEAK can be someone that has no idea what a prayer life is like.
This template can be laid out in any area of the Christian walk. Now I’m going to flip the template upside down, because sometimes the STRONG can be the WEAK. The STRONG can have a strong prayer life but face deep discouragement at school, home, church and have no friend to hold on to. The WEAK one that doesn’t currently have a prayer life established knows how to be a great friend and encourage.
One can be strong and weak at the same time. In our story of two people who are strong and weak in different ways greatly compliment each other! According to the 1st verse they have an OBLIGATION !
The action is to serve and please our neighbor and its a complementary relationship! No christian has it figured out and walking perfect. As a student group no-one of us have it figured but as a student ministry we are different puzzle pieces offering neighboring pieces insight onto the large puzzle. When we live the christian life together, we come closer to seeing the Christian walk in our lives and equipping each other.
To better see the EXAMPLE/ACTION Jesus calls to, we can look to the greatest EXAMPLE…
a.E.s.c. EXAMPLE
a.E.s.c. EXAMPLE
3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”
Romans 3. Among the Weak and the Strong (14:1–15:13)
The great example of self-denial for the sake of others is, of course, Jesus Christ (v. 3). If Christ, the very Son of God, did not order his life so as to please himself, how much more should we forego all personal advantage and follow the path of the Suffering Servant.
The selfless life of Christ is reflected in
The example for us is established. We study the life of Jesus to know how we serve other. This is a familiar idea for many of tonight but faintly important. Why is this familiar idea of studying Jesus’ life faintly important to christians? — Lack proper perception of people around us.
How did Jesus view people — AS PEOPLE SEARCHING FOR SOMETHING TO FILL A WHOLE IN THEIR LIFE AND UNABLE TO FILL IT but CHRIST HAS THE VERY HOPE TO FILL THE HOLE.
What if we followed Christ’s example? non-christians are seeking true hope and christians are seeking encouragement and love to face stumbling difficulties of life.
We were given an ACTION to do and an EXAMPLE of how to follow it. After knowing HOW to follow it we need to ensure that we are connected to the SOURCE to keep encouraging
a.e.S.c. SOURCE
a.e.S.c. SOURCE
4 For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
This verse should be familiar to some of us tonight—any thoughts why? That’s right: it’s our NSM August Verse of the Month 2025.
Here, we are introduced to two words that feel closely related to our action of helping others: endurance and encouragement. Before we even define them, notice that Paul is showing us something important—helping and encouraging others is not a new idea. It’s been rooted in God’s Word since the Old Testament. We’re not inventing something fresh; we’re being reminded of how we are to live the TOGETHER life.
We do this through endurance and encouragement of the Scriptures.
Endurance – This is more than just “getting through” something. It’s the God-given ability to keep walking in obedience when the road is long, the opposition is real, and the outcome isn’t immediate. It’s running the race even when you can’t see the finish line yet. Endurance is strengthened every time we remember the faithfulness of God’s people in Scripture—Moses leading for 40 years, Joseph holding to God’s plan in prison, David waiting years to become king. These stories aren’t just history—they’re fuel for our perseverance today.
Encouragement – This isn’t just a quick pep talk. In Scripture, encouragement is the ongoing reassurance that God sees you, God is for you, and God is working through you. It’s hope whispered into our hearts when circumstances are shouting the opposite. The Bible is full of these reminders—“I will never leave you nor forsake you,” “The Lord will fight for you,” “Nothing can separate us from the love of God.” Encouragement gives us the courage to try again, to help again, to believe again.
Together, these two form a cycle—the Word fuels our encouragement, encouragement fuels our endurance, and both keep us helping others with hope.
We were given an ACTION to do and an EXAMPLE of how to follow it and a SOURCE to keep it. Now comes the benefit and fruit of living the THE TOGETHER LIFE — Connection!
a.e.s.C. CONNECTION
a.e.s.C. CONNECTION
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.
Paul now turns our attention from the source to the goal. The God who gives endurance and encouragement doesn’t do so just for our personal benefit—He does it so we can live in harmony with one another.
Harmony is not everyone being exactly the same; it’s different voices blending together under the same direction—like a choir following one conductor. When we each draw endurance and encouragement from God, we can stay committed to one another even when there are differences, misunderstandings, or hard seasons.
The aim of this last section is COMMUNITY AND COMMUNICATION: “that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is aligning and gathering around Christ and His message to the world so that we can proclaim this message to the world on missions. For us to properly and accurately get on mission, we (everyone raise their hand) must first be in CONNECTION!
Paul closes this section with a powerful command: “Welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” The way Christ received us—patiently, graciously, completely—is the standard for how we receive others. Endurance keeps us walking together; encouragement keeps us lifting each other up; welcoming love keeps us united for God’s glory.
Closing
Closing
We’ve seen tonight that the Together Life is not just an idea—it’s a pattern:
Action — serving and building each other up
Example — following the selfless life of Jesus
Source — drawing endurance and encouragement from the Word
Connection — living in unity for the glory of God
Romans 15 paints a picture of what God wants for His people: not isolated Christians trying to survive on their own, but a family strengthened by His Word, caring for one another, and glorifying Him together.
So here’s my challenge: this week, choose one person to encourage. Maybe it’s someone in this room, maybe it’s someone you haven’t talked to in a while. Remind them of God’s truth, pray for them, stand with them—because when we do that, we are living out the very life Jesus set for us.
