Created for Connection

Read Genesis 2:18-23

Pray

INTRODUCTION: The Silent Crisis

Have you ever seen the redwood trees in California? I’ve heard they grow as high as 300 feet. That is over 20 stories. But what’s interesting is that, unlike trees around here, their roots only go about 6 feet deep. How do they support that incredible height with such shallow roots?

They do it together. [Redwood roots] They grow their roots out horizontally, intertwining them with the roots of all the trees around them. It creates a safety net that keeps all of the trees standing during the worst of storms. A lone redwood quickly dies, toppled by the slighted breeze; a grove of redwoods can withstand about anything.

We’re beginning a new series today about the necessity of community connections called Life in Circles. The truth is that if you are living in isolation, you will fall. I’m not being dramatic—it is a measurable reality. Isolation is slowing killing us.

The data shows an alarming epidemic. 1 in 2 adults report experiencing measurable loneliness once a week. 1 in 5 confess to feeling isolated every day. Science shows that lacking social connection carries the health equivalent of smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

Over 70% of young adults have reduced their in-person friend time over the last two decades, replacing real connection with digital consumption.

Social isolation significantly impacts brain health, increasing the risk of developing dementia in older adults by approximately 50%.

Simply sitting in a church pew on a Sunday morning doesn't fix this. Churched adults who do not participate in small group communities experience rates of daily loneliness nearly identical to the general population. You can be surrounded by dozens of people - people you know by name - and still feel completely alone. The reason is that worship happens in rows; sustainable life happens in circles.

What we need to see today is that Rugged independence is a cultural value; interdependence is a Kingdom priority. We are not made to be oaks in a field toughing it out on our own; we were made to be redwoods with our roots intertwined together. You will simply never climb to the height God intends for you alone and isolated.

What modern science is just now discovering, the Bible has declared from the very beginning.

MOVEMENT 1: The First "Not Good"

“It is not good for the man to be alone.” (Genesis 2:18, NIV)

In the creation story of Genesis, God speaks the world into existence and calls it "good." Light is good. The land is good. The seas are good. But then comes the first divine negative in human history, the first “not good” - an isolated, singular human.

The original Hebrew uses the word adam, not as a proper name, but referring to all humankind before male and female are specifically named later (ish and ishshah). The human saw that every animal had a companion, but he was alone. Not just isolated but singular in his existence. Nothing else was like him.

BTW - there is not a single hint of inferiority implied when describing a “helper” for the singular human. It is simply an acknowledgement that the task was too much for a single individual to do on their own.

God intentionally let the human experience his aloneness so he would recognize his need. God already had the solution in mind, but the human needed to realize he was incomplete on his own. WE, likewise, need to realize that we are incomplete on our own.

Notice what God did not say. He did not say, "Don't worry, human, I am enough for you." We may think that phrases like “God is all I need” sound holy, but they are just pious sounding lies. God himself looked at a sinless man in a perfect paradise with unbroken divine fellowship and said “It’s not good”.

And before you jump to the conclusion that God’s answer is marriage - hold up. Yes, this passage teaches us some things about God’s design for marriage. But at a broader level, it’s showing that the answer to mankind’s loneliness and isolation isn’t marriage - it’s society. We are literally created for community. And if you think you’re the exception- you’re not.

MOVEMENT 2: Created BY Community, FOR Community

Why are we hardwired for connection? Because we are made in the image of a God.

“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness...” (Genesis 1:26, NIV)

The point is that God has always existed as a Triune Community—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This is a community of endless self-giving love, joy, and delight. The early Church Fathers used the Greek word Perichoresis (literally, "to dance around") to describe this divine life of the Trinity. In the Trinity we see:

Unity Without Conformity: Complete oneness without erasing unique identity.

Mutual Vulnerability: Fully open and indwelling one another without fear or defense.

Equality in Diversity: No hierarchy or power struggles, but shared glory.

Co-inherence: Living in one another, where the joy or pain of one is shared by all.

Isolation has never been a thing in the universe UNTIL the human felt alone. To share in God’s image and likeness means that human connection isn't a design flaw or a sign of weakness—it is an intentional feature of your humanness.

As theologian Miroslav Volf writes:

"Because the Christian God is not a lonely God, but rather a communion of three persons... one and the same act of faith places a person into a new relationship both with God and with all others who stand in communion with God."

MOVEMENT 3: The Reality of Kingdom Interdependence

If community is so essential to our design, why do we avoid it? Here’s your reality check when it comes to community:

Hard - personality conflicts, annoying people

Inconvenient - it takes effort and intentionality

Risky - even Christian sheep bite sometimes

Messy - you get dragged in to other people’s problems and pain

It is far easier to substitute digital connection (i.e. social media) for real-life vulnerability. But hear this clearly: When you stay outside of community, you stay outside of God's design for how you function best.

The New Testament contains 100 occurrences of the phrase "one another." 59 of these are direct commands: Love one another, bear one another's burdens, confess your sins to one another, encourage one another daily.

Every single one of these 59 commands requires a relational context:

You cannot bear the burden of someone you only wave to in the parking lot.

You cannot confess your sins to someone sitting three rows ahead of you on Sunday morning.

Here’s the good news: those who are connected relationally to a small group of people - even just one or two close confidants - lowers their experience of loneliness by 35%. Being part of a small group of people doesn’t just provide an optional church program—they are the physical environment in which the New Testament is meant to be lived out.

CONCLUSION: The Cross That Tore Down the Walls

How do we risk opening our lives to other broken people when community feels messy or unsafe? We look at what Jesus accomplished through the cross.

"For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups [Jews and Gentiles] one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility... His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross… For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit." Ephesians 2:14–18

Jews and Gentiles were a seemingly irreconcilable group. There wasn’t merely indifference between the groups; there was outright animosity. For our time think of the divide that has sometimes existed between black/white, Protestant/Catholic, conservative/liberal and you begin to understand the animosity that was present in Paul’s time.

But he reminds us that it wasn’t just religion or ethnicity that separated us from each other. Sin created dividing walls—isolating us from God and erecting barriers of hostility, fear, and self-protection between us and others.

Jesus didn't just come to save isolated individuals just so they could remain isolated; He died to tear down those walls. Through His blood, He destroyed the barriers that keep us apart and brought us near—reconciling us to God and binding us together as "one new humanity." A new human family.

The point isn’t that we are no longer different or that our differences don’t matter. The point is that our differences are no longer the basis for whether or not we can be in community. Our differences diminish in light of what we all share in now through Jesus. Relationships will still be risky, but real life-giving community is now possible.

In the 1980s, a researcher named Dr. James Pennebaker wanted to understand what extreme emotional pain does to the human body. He conducted a landmark study tracking people who had survived severe life trauma—sudden tragedy, financial bankruptcy, or deep personal heartbreak.

He split the survivors into two groups. The first group consisted of people who carried their trauma completely in secret. They put on a brave face, never told a soul, and tried to muscle through life on their own. The second group consisted of people who found at least one trusted confidant—a friend, a group, or a mentor—to whom they opened up and shared their story out loud.

The long-term physiological results were staggering. The individuals who carried their secrets in isolation suffered drastically higher rates of physical illness, elevated stress hormones, weakened immune systems, and even shorter lifespans. Meanwhile, the simple act of speaking their pain out loud to another human being measurably lowered blood pressure, restored immunity, and extended their life expectancy.

Dr. Pennebaker’s conclusion was clear: Isolation isn't just lonely; it physically destroys us.

Independence is a cultural value; interdependence is a Kingdom priority. So let me ask you, are you living as an oak or a redwood? If Jesus has bled to tear down the walls of isolation, are you still living behind them?

Isolation is deadly and undoes the very connections that Christ suffered to build.

The invitation this morning is to come out of the crowd and step into a circle. Connect to a community! Obviously, one way to do this is by joining a small group this Fall - shameless plug. Or if none of them fit your schedule join one of our service teams - kids, hospitality, food pantry. Or find one or two people that you can get face to face with regularly to share life and bear burdens. It WILL be trying, inconvenient, messy, and all the other things you won’t like.

But it will also be one of the most life-giving things you do all week. You worship in rows; you experience real life in circles.

Communion

Invite people to stand.

Step down to the table

Invite Communion/ministry team forward.

Every Sunday we come to this table to take part in a meal Jesus gave us. Jesus said the elements of bread and wine are his body and blood, true food and true drink. They are a grace given to us for our spiritual nourishment. And they demonstrate the reality that what was once separated has now been joined together by his sacrifice.

If you would like to participate in this meal celebrating his life, death, and resurrection, after I pray step into the nearest aisle. Someone at the front will take a piece of bread dipped in wine and offer it to you as the body and blood of Jesus. If you prefer not to have wine, close your hands together and that will be the sign for them to give you a sealed container with grape juice and a wafer.

Ministry prayer...

Next Steps.

Let us pray.

It is our greatest joy to thank you, Father, everywhere and always.

Long before the world was made, you were never alone. From eternity past, you—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—have lived in a perfect, loving community. You didn't make us out of loneliness; you made us in your image, hardwired for deep connection with you and with each other.

When we turned away and chose independence, we ended up isolated. Sin built up walls of shame, fear, and hostility between us. But you didn't leave us to die alone. You sent your Son, Jesus, who walked right into our messy world. On the cross, He broke down every wall that separates us, reconciling us back to you and binding us together as one true family.

And so today, we join our voices with angels, archangels, and believers across all of history, declaring your glory as we say:

Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest.

Jesus, as we come to your table today, we remember that on the night you were betrayed, while you were sharing a meal with your closest friends, you took bread. You gave thanks to the Father, you broke it, and you gave it to them, saying: “Take and eat; this is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance me.”

In the same way, after the meal, you took the cup. You gave thanks, and you passed it to them, saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, poured out for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Do this, every time you drink it, in remembrance me.”

Holy God, we ask that you send your Spirit down upon us today, and upon these gifts of bread and wine.

Set them apart so that, for us, they become the real presence of Christ. And as we share them together, let your Spirit break down every remaining wall of isolation between us. Weave our lives together—just like those redwood roots—so that we can step away from this table transformed into one body, living out your Kingdom here on earth.

Jesus, we do this in praise of your sacrifice for us, and we offer ourselves freshly to you today. All glory, honor, and praise belong to you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and forever.

Amen.

Invite the worship team to receive Communion first and then everyone else.