Renewed Community - Week 4

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Video: Sermon Bumper -Renewed Community – Week 4

Title of the Series

Renewed

Title of the Message is

Renewed Community - Week 4

Write Up:

If you show me your friendships, it will reveal the direction of your life.

The community you choose could be the difference between living in darkness or living in light.

We first must enter into fellowship (koinonia) with God, and that fellowship will ensure that we live in the light of truth.

It is a beautiful thing when groups of people fellowship with God and enter into fellowship with one another.

Sometimes this means we have to search for a new community that can help us live into the light.

Prayer:

God of light, we want to walk in fellowship with You and with one another.

Reveal the places where our community pulls us toward darkness, and give us the courage to choose relationships that help us live in Your truth.

Make us people who walk in the light, bring healing to our communities, and reflect Your love to those around us.

Scripture: 1 John 1:5-7 / 1 John 2:5-6

Think:

Does my life most resemble darkness or light?

Feel:

I am largely a result of the people I have chosen to surround myself with.

Do:

Take an assessment of those with whom you fellowship.

Name the ways in which they encourage you to live in the light of truth.

If you cannot name any, it might be time to find some new friendships.

Sermon:

Today is the final week in our series Renewed.

I hope that each and every one of you have experienced some kind of renewal within your life as we have walked together the past few weeks.

Our God renews our spirit, as we trust him to forgive us of our sins through our repentance.

Our God offers us a renewed purpose as we trust him to guide us.

Our God renews our love for him as we allow him to remind us of his great love for us.

It is because we have a God who is so intimately involved in our lives that we never have to resign ourselves to a hopeless and broken life.

We can experience renewal.

Illustration:

Today we want to look at the community with which we have surrounded ourselves.

Who we are is largely a result of the people we have chosen to call friends.

The choice of who we fellowship with may be one the most important decisions we make in life.

I want to show you a few fellowships, friendships, squads, and communities that many of us would love to have.

Let’s see if you can guess who they are.

Minions

Sandiot - The Sandlot

The gang of kids in a scene from the film 'The Sandlot', 1993. (Photo by 20th Century-Fox/Getty Images)

Lord of the Rings

Ghostbusters

Scooby Doo

Who would not want a group of friends that you can really count on?

POINT 1: CHOOSE YOUR FRIENDS WISELY

You show me your friends, and it will reveal the direction of your life.

Some of us today have chosen wonderful friendships that constantly encourage us and always push us forward.

A good friendship is a two-way street.

You give and you receive in a selfless and committed community.

However, some of us today have chosen poorly.

We find ourselves in friendships that are harmful to us.

We do not have people who encourage us or want what is best for us.

Often, we choose people who take advantage of us and only look out for themselves.

Maybe today you need to hear that God can help us experience renewal in our community.

The kind of people we need to strive to be and the kind of people we should strive to surround ourselves with, are people who keep God’s commands.

When we follow God’s commands and we walk in his ways, it enriches our life and it protects us from unnecessary harm.

John was one of the twelve disciples.

These twelve were a crew of ordinary men who were committed to following Jesus through the ups and downs of life.

John was very familiar with choosing a fellowship of people who would live intentionally for Jesus.

John wrote the book of 1 John and within that book he reminds us of the importance of being mindful of who we walk with in life.

READ 1 John 2:5-6

John offers a litmus test for the community in which we find ourselves.

He says the mark of a committed Christ follower is someone who keeps the commands of God.

The kind of person who helps develop a strong community is someone who holds the Word of God in high regard.

This kind of person takes God at his word.

They believe that it is important to repent of sin (Matthew 4:17).

They believe it is important to serve people as they serve Christ (Philippians 2).

They believe it is important to be reconciled with one another (Matthew 5:23-25).

They believe it is important to keep their word (Matthew 5:37).

In addition, they believe it is important to pray for one another (Matthew 21:13).

Story:

Think of the story of Job.

He lost everything—his wealth, health, and even family.

Yet, in his darkest hour, it was his friends who initially came to sit with him in silence, demonstrating true friendship.

Even though they later struggled with wise counsel, their presence reminded Job that he wasn’t alone in his sorrow.

True friends are revealed when we face life’s challenges, showing us that the heart of friendship is about being there, just like Job’s friends.

We must have a sober assessment of our current community.

We should ask ourselves if we personally, and those with whom we spend most of our time, are keeping God’s word faithfully.

POINT 2: BEFRIEND GOD FIRST

Just one chapter before, John offers this test that we can apply to our friendships.

He points out the most important community that we should be committed to.

Without being committed in this vertical relationship, then our horizontal relationships with people may experience significant strain.

READ 1 John 1:5-6

John tells us the message that had been passed on to him.

The message is simple.

The message is that God is light.

In God is all goodness and everything is exposed.

There is no darkness in God at all.

He is trustworthy and he always does what is right.

John tells us if we want to be in fellowship with God, if we want to be a friend with God, then we must be careful to walk in light as well.

He invites us to live our lives in the full exposure of God’s goodness.

We cannot claim to have community with God and yet walk in darkness and live in sin.

That makes us liars and the truth is not in us.

A friendship with God will expose the dark corners of our lives, and it will allow us to removal anything that should not be present.

Story:

Light is helpful in renewal in our lives.

Without light, the darkness allows brokenness and sin to remain hidden.

It reminds me of what it is like when you are trying to rid yourself of pests in your home.

Living in the Southeastern US our homes are riddled with cockroaches and palmetto bugs.

They are nasty creatures.

There have been times when I have woken up in the middle of the night to get something to drink and when the light turns on and exposes the corner of the kitchen, these little bugs scatter.

GROSS.

When God is light and we walk with him, we are able to see clearly the sinful attitudes and dark thoughts in order to become all God has desired for us to be.

(This story is meant to focus in on living a clean life. Make the connections between God being light and our lives being exposed to the light. This is how we are renewed.)

I have heard it said that a good friend stabs you in the front.

When we walk with God in light, then we invite him to clean us up that we might be renewed and be an even better addition to any community he places us in.

POINT 3: WALK WITH OTHERS IN LIGHT

John adds to this idea of having fellowship with God and points out that if we walk in the light with God than we also can better walk in relationship with others.

READ 1 John 1:7

A healthy community.

A strong group of friends begins with a deep connection to God, and that connection allows for genuine and beautiful fellowship with others.

If you look at your closest friendships, would you say they make you more like Jesus?

Do you closest friends encourage you to make choices and decisions that you are proud of?

When we walk in the light of God, we have nothing to hide.

We are able to be honest with our friends.

Maybe today you do not get the sense you could really bring the serious matters of your life to your community for help.

Maybe today you get the sense that you are having to keep some of who you truly are from your community because they would be offended, angered, or disappointed.

Maybe today you know you want to walk in the light, but your community feels very dark.

It does not have to stay like that.

You could begin to ask God to bring renewal to your community.

Maybe you could be the catalyst for renewal in your community by letting God do a work in you and let your light shine so that others can see.

Sometimes it just takes a little change for a whole community to be renewed.

Story:

There is a story of a low-income community in Mexico that was riddled by violence and crime.

The city had tried for years to curb the danger for the family who lived there.

It was not until the city decided to allow a small crew of artists paint the city like a rainbow.

200 homes and numerous blocks were changed from stark white and dirty to vibrant colors.

The most interesting thing happened.

Violence dropped.

Crime dropped.

The city became a safe haven.

All because of a little paint.

A little change and the community was renewed. (https://www.designboom.com/art/germen-crew-palmitas-mexico-rainbow-painted-mural-07-28-2015/).

POINT 4: YOUR LIFE COULD BE THE KEY TO RENEWAL

You can be cleansed of all sin.

Your community could be cleansed of all sin.

It happens in only one way: the blood of Jesus Christ.

You see, we were never meant to live this life alone.

God’s intention has always been for us to walk with him by the power of the Holy Spirit and the blood of Christ.

We were always meant to find strength and encouragement by walking in the light alongside others.

We find strength from a fellowship with God and a fellowship with others in order to offer hope to others with whom we come into contact.

Your life could be the light that someone else needs to see that could light their way to the truth of Jesus’ sacrifice for them.

Maybe today you have one of two choices to make:

Maybe you need to begin to pray and intentionally search for a renewed community in order for you to live more in line with God.

2. Maybe today you need to recognize that your life can be a light to someone else.

Who is one person you can share the good news of Jesus’ love with?

RESPONSE:

Take time during prayer to invite people to think of one person that would help them to live into the light or consider one person they could offer light to.

Make a commitment to take action this week.

Let’s pray together.

Salvation:

The Word of God says in: John 3:16

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 10:13 NKJV

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

If you’d would like to receive Jesus today, please pray this prayer with all of us:

Lord I believe that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He died On the cross for my sins and His resurrection from the dead gives me eternal life. I ask forgiveness of my sins, and I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

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Communion

I want to take a few moments to give you the opportunity to ask forgiveness of any sin in your life.

Let us pray over the elements (Cross Exposed) in the name of the father, the son, and the Holy Ghost

Read first Corinthians 11:23- 26 - (Taking the elements together)

23 For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread;

24 and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (take bread)

25 In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” (Take Cup)

26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes.

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Prayer Requests

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Benediction Scripture

7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

1 John 1:7

Have a Great Week! Goodbye!

This is Pastor Doc and Lady Pepper signing off until next time we meet. Blessings to you all!