Gospel Shaped Community

Introduction

option 1: In 1993 my life was changed because of one very significant event. My older brother had joined the wrestling team at our local High School so my friend and I decided to go and see what this wrestling thing was all about....drama, suspense, combat, adrenaline, Literal fighting, ..... being part of the wrestling community changed my life and still does to this day. my life changed because of a decision I made to step onto the mat and into a community of wrestlers.

Coach Dan would come in to the gym after big matches and tell stories about what he saw wrestlers do that was impressive. He would point out the first year wrestler that refused to be pinned or the Senior that wrestled up two and sometimes three weight-classes taking on huge challenges to give the team the best shot for a win. He established a culture of teamwork and self-sacrifice by highlighting individual behaviors that reinforced the team he envisioned.

The groups and communities we choose to participate in WILL CHANGE OUR LIVES.

Your worldview is being shaped by the groups and organizations you are joined to. And you are shaping those groups and organizations by bringing yourself to them. Your life is being lived in the context of relationships and people have significant impact on who you are becoming and vice versa.

“The culture of any group is defined by the behaviors of its members and reinforced by the stories they tell” - Paul Smith in Lead with A Story

“The culture of any group is defined by the behaviors of its members and reinforced by the stories they tell” - Paul Smith in Lead With A Story

The Big question is, How do you want your life to be changed? What do you want it to look like? There is a gap between where you are and where you want to be. The groups and partnerships you choose will have a significant impact on what that journey looks like and if you ever make it to your chosen destination.

We’re going to take a look at the hello’s and goodbyes of a few letters in the New Testament to see the way these folks who were growing in grace treated each other.

introductions and salutations mean a lot - - - -

Paul taking notes on me when we first met.

hand shakes and eye contact

Work Hard, Win, Have Fun!

Paul consistently prays that the communities being shaped by The Gospel would grow in grace and peace ()

(NLT)

1 I, Paul, am a devoted slave of Jesus Christ on assignment, authorized as an apostle to proclaim God’s words and acts. I write this letter to all the believers in Rome, God’s friends. 2 The sacred writings contain preliminary reports by the prophets 3 on God’s Son. His descent from David roots him in history; 4 his unique identity as Son of God was shown by the Spirit when Jesus was raised from the dead, setting him apart as the Messiah, our Master. 5 Through him we received both the generous gift of his life and the urgent task of passing it on to others who receive it by entering into obedient trust in Jesus. 6 You are who you are through this gift and call of Jesus Christ! 7 And I greet you now with all the generosity of God our Father and our Master Jesus, the Messiah.

1 This letter is from Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, chosen by God to be an apostle and sent out to preach his Good News. 2 God promised this Good News long ago through his prophets in the holy Scriptures. 3 The Good News is about his Son. In his earthly life he was born into King David’s family line, 4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord. 5 Through Christ, God has given us the privilege and authority as apostles to tell Gentiles everywhere what God has done for them, so that they will believe and obey him, bringing glory to his name. 6 And you are included among those Gentiles who have been called to belong to Jesus Christ. 7 I am writing to all of you in Rome who are loved by God and are called to be his own holy people. May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Paul wastes not ink before getting directly to the heart of the message…the GOOD NEWS - GOSPEL

G.O.S.P.E.L.

(Life in 6 words by Dare to Share)

God created us to be with Him.

Our sins separate us from God.

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds.

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.

Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life.

Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.

THE GOSPEL...

Good News not Good Advice

Is Good News not Good Advice

The gospel is not primarily a way of life . it is not something we do, but something that has been done for us that we must respond to. The Good News of the Gospel is not about joining something but rather receiving something - Christ’s finished work.

The power of life change found in this community is not a result of a charismatic leader, well run programs, high levels of achievement/activity, or any other man made system. Be careful not to hear me and write yourself out a to-do list of things you ought to do to improve your life. That will leave you frustrated in failure or arrogant in victory.

Does what Instructions Cannot - (ESV)

Romans 1:16 ESV

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

The Center of Christian mission

illustration: making a model begins with information and is held together by glue. the gospel serves both as the information AND the glue that holds it all together.

So what does a gospel shaped community look like?

we don’t have enough time to go into all the specific characteristics and qualities so I’m taking a few that I think we most need to hear right now because of our cultural context. If you want to know more about this topic after we finish grab a hold of a Bible and start reading because you won’t get too far into the book before you begin to see all the different ways the gospel shapes humanity.

Grateful to God for One Another

1 Corinthians 16:19–20 ESV

The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss.

(ESV)

19 The churches of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, send you hearty greetings in the Lord. 20 All the brothers send you greetings. Greet one another with a holy kiss. 21 I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand. 22 If anyone has no love for the Lord, let him be accursed. Our Lord, come! 23 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with you. 24 My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Empathy - (looking at one another through a lense of gratefulness and mercy with high positive regard because they are an image bearer of God)

explanation:

Acknowledging someone else’s reality DOES NOT require agreement.

compassionately drawing close to human beings is going to be messy.

caution: the gospel leaves no room for preferential treatment of insiders/members

if anything a stronger case could be made that preferential treatment would be more appropriate for those who are still caught in the destructive death loop of sin.

example:Jesus in (ESV) Cleanses a leper…

Personal - Intimate HOLY KISS

40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean.

Jesus had very real and personal relationships with people who were NOT like him.

Personal - Intimate HOLY KISS

“Ideally, however, the church itself is not made up of natural “friends.” It is made up of natural enemies. What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything of the sort. Christians come together, not because they form a natural collocation, but because they have been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance. In the light of this common allegiance, in light of the fact that they have all been loved by Jesus himself, they commit themselves to doing what he says – and he commands them to love one another. In this light, they are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’ sake. (D.A. Carson in Love in Hard Places)”

Normalize Suffering

2 Corinthians 1:3–11 ESV

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort. For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.

2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Fear has Fangs

Knowing and becoming aware that we are all broken and we all suffer from the same sin sickness takes the teeth out of our fear of failure.

A safe place for people to not be perfect and fall apart so that the Holy Spirit of God can put them back together again.

Encouragement in discomfort and courageous vulnerability

“Give and Listen to”

A Place of compassion AND truth

Vertically & Horizontally

we cannot give and listen to feedback if we are caught in the fangs of fear of failure.

Brings Glory to God

Romans 16:27 ESV

to the only wise God be glory forevermore through Jesus Christ! Amen.

So have you been taking notes?

Have you developed some characteristics of healthy community?

If I were you and I was listening to this talk I would have written down some things that I can work on this week. Maybe some quotes or verses that I want to look up and see if that preacher was lying. I might even have googled something that I was confused about a few minutes ago....In all your thinking, and ideating this morning it is very important that you hear my FINAL GREETINGS.

FINAL GREETINGS

BACK TO THE GOSPEL...

Good News not Good Advice

The gospel is not primarily a way of life . it is not something we do, but something that has been done for us that we must respond to. The Good News of the Gospel is not about joining something but rather receiving something - Christ’s finished work.