4G - Gather
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We Gather Together
We Gather Together
Intro - usual stuff…then —>
Hebrews 10:
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
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Pray
Proverbs tells us that “where there is no vision, the people perish,” and I find that to be especially true of church life, and our spiritual life in general.
Because of that, and especially because of our starting this new journey together and the growth we have already experienced, I wanted to take some time to review the vision of this church, and start out together renewed and ready for God’s work and vision to be central to all we do here at Faith.
let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
Hebrews 10:
[gathertogether]
So over the next several weeks we will look at that vision - the 4G vision. The four pillars, if you will, of this church that guide our walk as a body.
Gather, Grow, Give, and Go - all for the glory of God
Grow
Give
To start that off, today, I want to talk about Gathering...
- We gather in worship on Sunday morning for fellowship, songs of praise, and unpacking God’s Word to see and savor the greatness of Christ.
- We gather in worship on Sunday morning for fellowship, songs of praise, and unpacking God’s Word to see and savor the greatness of Christ.
We gather in worship on Sunday morning for fellowship, songs of praise, and unpacking God’s Word to see and savor the greatness of Christ.
I think I would add to that vision a little, though, and offer this to you today - “We gather together for fellowship, support, and encouragement - as a family - through events, outreach, service, and through weekly fellowship in worship; with songs of praise and an unpacking of God’s Word to see and savor the greatness of God.”
And today, I want to talk about what those gatherings should look like, or more specifically, what God wants them to look like…[segue to text]
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Go
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pray
[mostsegregatedhour]
I want to propose to you today, at least to start things off, a difficult truth. A truth that we know to be true, but that we would rather ignore.
I think if we are going to talk about gathering, we need to talk about our intense need to gather - especially in our day and age.
Somewhere along the way, we have lost the importance, and the power, or “we,” and have replaced it with the weakness of “me.”
We are living in a modern diaspora.
You see, we live in an extraordinarily divisive time - a time and place that is in desperate need of gathering together, and of unity. In a world, a house if you will that is divided against itself, it can seem as if we are fundamentally incapable of finding any common ground. So, naturally, instead of looking for the things that bring us together and make us the same, we spend our time looking for any reason to disagree.
We seek out differences of opinion, or lifestyle, or politics, or whatever, and when we find those differences, we exploit them as a cause and reason to segregate ourselves from those we don’t agree with.
We fly in the face of this, and many other moments in scripture, not to mention the life of Jesus. We don’t stir each other up to love and good works, but instead, we choose to stir others up to hate, and to divide, and to discourage. We even go so far as to make sure that “those people,” whoever it is we don’t agree with, understand that they aren’t welcome in our gatherings, or even in our states or our country!
To put it another way, we have stopped relying on those around us - those intended by God to be our family, teammates, comfort - those intended to bear burdens with us and walk along side us. We have stopped relying on them and started to act as if our own strength is enough to get us through this life.
While not as
[picoftexassigns]
We shout - well, we aren’t always brave enough to actually shout, so we just post to social media, right? No matter the topic, from politics to sexual preference to racial relations - we never fail to find a way to segregate each other under the misguided impression that if we just point out the failings of others we will somehow convince them that they should either actually go away, or somehow conform to reality the way we see it!
And to make things worse, we know that we can’t do it! We know that we need others. We know that we can’t make it on our own! We know that community and relationships are what our lives are built on! But still here we are, consistently pushing people away. Searching for something, anything, that look
Because we have to be right, right?
The problem is, once we get there, we will soon realize that we have to change everything about ourselves in order to be accepted by those who all look like the version of ourselves that we dream we would be.
But the truth is, we don’t have all the answers, and if we really want to be honest, we don’t even have most of the answers. Only Jesus has the answers. And church, if we want to point people to those answers, then we need to start by pointing people to Jesus!
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Matt 11
[picofstepfordwives]
The same Jesus who said [read]
So we change everything about ourselves. We put up a front. We post of all the wonderful things life has given us on social media - our victories and other praiseworthy events - but only those that our chosen people groups which we long for would approve of. We chip away at all that God has made us to be in the hopes that these people would just accept us as a part of their family.
All who labor and are heavy laden.
Then we would belong. Then we would be family.
[familyreunionpic]
Everyone!
You see, we are all in need of Christ! Christ calls us all to come and gather together to Him, to lay down own yoke and burdens. To take our divisive nature, and urges to segregate those who don’t think and act like us, and throw it aside so that we can then take up His yoke! His burden! The unbridled love for all of creation that drove the God of the Universe to come to earth and offer His life for all people!
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
Well I don’t know much, but I can tell you this: That’s not how this works. That’s not how any of this works.
And not to condemn them, or tell them how much better off the world would be without them. No, He offered His life to save everyone - regardless of opinion or differences.
You see, family isn’t something you attain, it is something that surrounds you
You see, when Christians - followers of this one who died for all - when we divide, for WHATEVER reason, we lay the groundwork for people to believe that because we don’t love them, and because we don’t want to be around them, that in some way our God must be guiding us to that truth. And when we do that, we push them away from God. And church, we are called to gather together not to scatter.
In other words, every time you build a wall, or seek to divide, or elevate a position or ideology over a person. Every time you forget the confession of your hope mentioned here in Hebrews - and because of that, seek to stir up others toward division - every time we do that, we become a stumbling block for others. An obstacle that must be overcome in order for them to see and know God.
[picoffamilyreunion]
It’s funny, church, this seems like such a basic thing, but if we are honest, we all fall short of this goal from time to time.
I say it seems easy, because we are obviously good at doing it when we choose to! Just look at our family reunions, we don’t go into those gatherings seeking to divide. No we anticipate differences and because of our love for each other, we look past the minute differences and hold onto our common heritage!
Church, how is that different from any gathering we are at?
How is that different from work? Or school? Or worship?
You see if we are going to “gather in worship on Sunday morning for fellowship, songs of praise, and unpacking God’s Word to see and savor the greatness of Christ,” then we must do so in the very Spirit of Christ! Whatever we are doing in this life - whenever we are blessed to be gathered with anyone whether they know Jesus or not, we must do so just as Christ would have us do it! Having been cleansed, Hebrews states, “from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” It is only then, it turns out, that we can possibly understand and even seek after God’s will for us!
It is only after we come to the understanding that we are all a family, no matter our differences of opinion or position or whatever; it is only when we lay it aside and come and gather together that we can begin to find and show Christ to the world.
We all have different backgrounds, faiths, preferences, politics. And Church, still God has us all gathered together in one spot here on earth. And the only way that we will ever be able to live out the call of Christ - His command to love God and love Neighbor - is because of our love for each other even through our differences.
how different we are
all different backgrounds, faiths, preferences, politics, all together in one spot - only happens because of our love for each other even through our differences.
We must accept differences and even expect them, all because we would rather be different together than the same and alone - living outside of the will of Christ.
[songwegathertogether]
So as we consider how we are to gather together as a church, I ask us all - are we ready to gather the way that God asks of us? Are we ready to emulate God himself? Can we lay aside our disagreements and understand that all people need to know God, and that we are all in a different phase of that journey. So of course we will all have different opinions and have different needs.
Are we ready for that? Because church, that is what this place is all about. That is what gathering means here at Faith.
Here, we are a family.
And not just here! As we go into the world, we can’t leave that feeling in this place! We must go out into the world ready to accept that while everyone might be different, we can all be united in Christ, but that can only happen when we first rely on Christ for all things!
[integrationpic]
And listen, we must be about that business, church. We must be that type of family, and gather together that way, because we will never know the real blessing of God if we are constantly putting up walls - segregating ourselves and thinking the worst of others.
[blindmaninhaiti]
This past week in Haiti, I got a real taste of that. This man on the screen is blind, and was found sitting there in the shade while we were out walking around this village looking for widows to minister to. He was frail, and alone, and in desperate need of someone to love him.
After I squatted beside him and exchanged pleasantries, he started to get a little put out by us being there. He got put out, it turns out, because we were “blancs,” their word for whites. A word that is simultaneously a positive and negative. Sort of like words we use - immigrant, Liberal, Conservative, Christian - a word used to divide and not unify.
We pressed on though, and offered him something he not only needed, but desperately wanted. And it was then church, that moment when we offered him love, and service. The moment that we proved that we wanted to be with him where he was, and to meet him at the point of his need that the walls broke down and unity became possible.
Understand, we had traveled thousands of miles, and paid thousands of dollars, to be there with him. But that did nothing but push us apart. It was only when someone sat beside him, and fed him - that changed his world.
When someone decided to listen to Jesus, and accept the hatred, knowing that nothing they could say would make it any better - only what they could offer and do.
In that moment, we had gathered in God’s Spirit, and because of that, God was there with us.
Love. Just love. No justification. No winning an argument.
Just love.
For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.”
And when that wall came down, two one’s became a two. It was then, church, that we gathered in God’s Spirit, and because of that, God was right there with us.
No walls to divide. No barriers to be broken. We become one in Christ - one in love.
And church, when we gather together, to worship, in fellowship, as a family, when we gather like that, we must begin with love if we hope to end with Christ!
And love doesn’t divide. Love doesn’t put up walls. Love doesn’t dwell on difference. Love conquers all those things - those tools of the evil one - and builds bridges for Christ in the lives of all those who need Him!
THAT IS OUR CONFESSION! CHRIST IS LORD! CHRIST IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE! CHRIST ALONE IS THE ONE THROUGH WHICH THIS WORLD CAN BE SAVED! AND THAT TRUTH IS NOT DIVISIVE, CHURCH, IT IS ALL INCLUSIVE!
AFTER ALL, JESUS DIDN’T COME FOR A SELECT FEW! HE OFFERED HIMSELF FOR THE WHOLE WORLD! HE GAVE HIS LIFE SO THAT EVERYONE WOULD HAVE A CHANCE TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND HIS LOVE! AND CHURCH, WE MUST - IN TURN - GIVE OUR LIVES SO THAT THIS WORLD WOULD KNOW THAT SAME LOVE!
AT THE VERY LEAST, WE MUST GIVE UP THOSE THINGS THAT DIVIDE AND INSTEAD OPEN OUR DOORS TO ALL THOSE WHO SEEK JESUS! WE MUST STIR EACH OTHER UP TO LOVE AND GOOD DEEDS! WE MUST NEVER NEGLECT MEETING WITH ONE ANOTHER - INSTEAD WE MUST CONTINUALLY SURROUND OURSELVES WITH KINDRED SPIRITS - THOSE WHO ALSO SHARE THE SAME LOVE FOR CHRIST THAT LIVES IN OUR HEARTS, SO THAT WE WILL BE REMINDED OF OUR HOPE, AND OUR CONFESSION! AND WE MUST DO THAT CHURCH, NO MATTER THE BACKGROUND! NO MATTER THE LIFE LIVED, OR DIFFERENCES IN MORALITY OR POLITICS OR EVEN THEOLOGICAL THOUGHT! GOD CAN AND WILL WORK ALL OF THAT OUT! IT IS OUR JOB TO SIMPLY GATHER IN LOVE FOR GOD AND NEIGHBOR AND IN SO DOING WE WILL WORSHIP GOD - NOT OUR IDEAS OF GOD, BUT THE SOVEREIGN CREATOR OF ALL THINGS - WE WORSHIP HIM ALONE IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH!
THE ONE AND ONLY SAVIOR OF ALL PEOPLE - CHRIST HIMSELF! A SAVIOR, NOT RESERVED FOR ONLY THOSE WHO LOOK AND THINK JUST LIKE US, BUT ONE THAT BELONGS TO THE WHOLE WORLD! THE ONE WHO DIED FOR THE WHOLE WORLD! THERE IS NO BLACK OR WHITE! NO EAST OR WEST! NO LIBERAL, NO CONSERVATIVE, NO RICH, AND NO POOR! WE ARE ONE! AND IF ONE, CHURCH, WE MUST OPEN OUR HEARTS AND OUR DOORS TO ALL, IF ONLY TO ASSURE OURSELVES THAT CHRIST LIVES IN US! BUT IN REALITY, CHURCH, WE MUST OPEN OUR HEARTS AND DOORS TO EVERYONE BECAUSE THAT IS NOT ONLY THE RIGHT THING TO DO, IT IS THE ONLY RESPONSE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST CAN POSSIBLY HAVE!
CHRIST BELONGS TO THE WHOLE WORLD! CHRIST DIED FOR THE WHOLE WORLD! THERE IS NO BLACK OR WHITE! NO EAST OR WEST! NO LIBERAL, NO CONSERVATIVE, NO RICH, AND NO POOR! WE ARE ONE! AND IF ONE, CHURCH, WE MUST OPEN OUR HEARTS AND OUR DOORS TO ALL, IF ONLY TO ASSURE OURSELVES THAT CHRIST LIVES IN US! BUT IN REALITY, CHURCH, WE MUST OPEN OUR HEARTS AND DOORS TO EVERYONE BECAUSE THAT IS NOT ONLY THE RIGHT THING TO DO, IT IS THE ONLY RESPONSE A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST CAN POSSIBLY HAVE!
He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
We gather together, with open doors, open arms, and open hearts, because we understand that we are all the same.
And when we gather, church, we don’t just gather in the name of Faith Community, or whatever group we happen to be with, we gather in the name of Jesus! The Lord of all creation! And if we gather in His name, then we represent Him! So we must - above all else - gather in such a way as to remember, and to remind this world of the truth.
We all need God. And God waits for us all. He doesn’t wait until we are able to come to Him, because none of us can over come to Him on our own. No, He calls us all, in the depths of our depravity and in the midst of our own shortcomings to come to Him!
No matter the sin, no matter the differences, no matter the positions - come to me, He says! Come to Christ and find unity there! Come to Him and know the love that will not let you go, and will not let this world go! Come to Him, and know mercy, know love, know peace! Come to Him, and live like Him, so that you can help to bring the world to Him!
That is how and why we gather here, church. To know Jesus, and show Jesus to all who we come in contact with.
Jesus, the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice for our sins - and not just ours, but the sins of the whole world.
That is what this table tells us, and that is what we must live out. So now we gather together, as a body, as a people, as a community, to follow the lead of our Savior. And in obedience, to do as He tells us. Gather around the table of our Lord, church, no matter your background, come to Him now and become one in His love, mercy, and grace.
[communionpic]
As we gather together now for this holy sacrament I want to remind us that this is an open table...