Connection Lost #1

Good Morning, I’m Hans Rasmussen one of the Evangelists here in the Denver Church of Christ. I want to thank you for being here this morning and welcome those watching church online. We are so glad that you are here in person or online.

We spent the first 2 months of this year focused on our relationship with God. We went through this great study of the book of Psalms, we spent time reading, praying and fasting. It was super helpful to me personally and what a great way to start the year. Jesus is when asked, what is the greatest commandment he says this.

Matthew 22:37–40 NIV

37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

mt 22:37-

What is he saying? He is saying loving Connection with God and others are the most important things.

We are starting a brand new series today, that I am really excited about.

We are calling it

Connection Lost: Finding real community in a disconnected world.

Connection Lost: Finding real community in a disconnected world.

Have you ever been surrounded by people and felt lonely? Have you ever been texting people throughout the day but still feel disconnected?

Or maybe you have a bunch of “friends” on social media, but no one you could call to help you clean up an overflowing toilet?

We believe that with God even in a disconnected world, genuine connection is still possible. And over the next several weeks we are going to talk about how to connect with people in real and meaningful ways and how to overcome some of the pitfalls that can keep us from connecting as God intended.

I thought it would be fun to start with a little group activity. Grab your phone and go to menti.com Code 38 60 88

What helps you build connection with others?

What are some one word or short answers of things that help you. We will connect together to build a word cloud of words that help us all build connection and community.

From the very beginning we were created in relationship for relationships.

Genesis 1:26 NIV

26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

Part of what it means to be made in God’s image is our capacity for connectedness, because God created human beings and then said, “It isn’t good for man to be alone.” Paul paints a picture of that connectedness in writing to the church in Ephesus that they are “being rooted and established in love.”

John Ortberg says it this way.

When a tree puts roots into the ground, those roots are able to take in nutrients and water, and the tree grows and has life and strength — but only if it is rooted. In the same way, we are rooted and our souls are nourished in the love of God and other people. We experience this both physically and emotionally when we connect with somebody.

Stories of relationships and the importance of human connection fill the Bible from King David and his friend Jonathan in the Old Testament to the Apostle Paul and his travelling companion Barnabas in the New.  It seems that Jesus was well aware of this plague of disconnectedness when He reached out to people like Matthew the tax collector, Zachaeus the short public servant, and the ‘woman caught in adultery’, Jesus connected with people.

Picture this, You are walking down the street, and someone you know smiles at you. They care about you through words, through touch, through listening, through prayer together. Whenever there is an exchange of genuine caring, it is as if the roots of your soul are getting fed. Every life has to have that connection.

Maybe you are asking is connection really necessary British scientist Donald Winnicott found that children who play in close proximity with their mother are more creative than children playing at a distance from her. Winnicott found that children are naturally inventive, curious, and more likely to take risks in what might be called the “circle of connectedness.” When they are within this circle, they take more risks. They show more energy. If they fall down, they are more likely to get back up.

f they fall down, they are more likely to get back up.

They laugh more than children who are outside the circle.Why? It is not that Mom is doing for the child what the child could do for himself. She is not solving problems for this little kid or generating ideas about how he ought to play. Instead, when love is present, when that child feels safe and cared for in her presence, something gets released in his life. He gets a little stronger. She gets bolder and more creative. Love releases life in that child that would otherwise remain dormant and unseen.

Let’s look back at the menti.com word cloud.

Connection is not the same thing as knowing many people. People may have many contacts in many networks, but they may not have any friends.

When you are loved, it is not just that you receive more from someone else, but also that you become more yourself.

Love and connection brings the power to become the me I want to be.

Loving people are literally life-givers. That is the kind of connection we are talking about, and that God created each of us for.

we flourish when we are connected with God and people, and we languish when we are disconnected.

Emotionally, isolated people are more prone to depression, anxiety, loneliness, low self-esteem, substance abuse, sexual addiction, and difficulties with eating and sleeping.

Physically, the destructive aspects of isolation are powerful. Even animals that are isolated experience more extensive arterial sclerosis than animals that are not isolated. A friend of mine used to have a dog and a cat, and the dog and the cat fought for ten years. Then one year the cat died, and the dog didn’t want to eat. Day after day the dog wouldn’t eat, until six weeks later the dog died. That is the power of connection.

People who are socially disconnected are between two and five times more likely to die from any cause than those who have close ties to family, friends, and other relationships. People who have bad health habits like cigarette smoking, overeating, elevated blood pressure, and physical inactivity — but who still remain connected — live longer than people who have great health habits but are disconnected.

I want you to watch this video from a ted talk that was given by Susan Pinker, The secret to living longer may be your social life

Susan Pinker

The secret to living longer may be your social life

Video

Scientists are figuring out what God told us from the very beginning it is not good for man to be alone.

What is amazing to me is just talking to someone is good for our health, how much more if we are sharing the good news with someone. We are giving life and getting life.

Let’s look back at the menti.com word cloud.

menti.com word cloud.

The apostle John says it this way.

1 John 3:14 NIV

14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.

We were designed to flourish in connection with one another.

Connection helps us to live longer, to be happier, to be more joyful, to be healthier. Let’s look at a few scriptures that talk about what being connected with one another does for us spiritually.

Those researchers are only now figuring out what God has been telling us for 1000’s of years. We need each other.

So where can we invest to bring about eternally lasting fruit?

Loving connection helps us walk in the Light.

1 John 2:10–11 NIV

10 Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. 11 But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them.

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Studies show when we live in isolation, we are more likely to give into temptation or discouragement. We are more likely to become self-absorbed. We are more likely to spend money in selfish ways. Not only do we suffer when we live in disconnectedness, but then other people whom God placed around us get cheated out of the love God intended us to give them.

Luke 16:9 NIV

9 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.

But when we are connected studies show the rate of suicide and drug abuse goes way down. Maybe you aren’t sure how to make connections or where to start. We have community groups all around the Denver area, you can get more info at denverchurch of christ .org or ask in the chat right now.

Maybe you felt stuck in this and just not sure who to talk to. We have a great resource called in motion. It’s an 8 week time together, that is a safe place to learn how to get connected and be changed by the healing power of Jesus.

. Love for other Christians makes for an eternally rewarding investment (). Love for other Christians is primarily how we live out the fruit of the Spirit ().

Loving connection for other Christians is primarily how we live out the fruit of the Spirit

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Love for other Christians is primarily how we live out the fruit of the Spirit ().

We were designed to flourish in connection with one another.

As a general rule, church activity that builds into relationships will last; activity that doesn’t, won’t. After all, people are eternal; everything else will pass away. Of course, exceptions exist: we can erect infrastructure that supports the relational work of the local church (managing church financial records, for example). But by and large, the lasting work of the church is the relational work of the church.

The first spiritual benefit of connection ss it helps us walk in the light. The second thing is this

Loving Connection shows the world that we are true disciples of Jesus.

But not any relationships will do. The New Testament describes how Christians are to confront, to encourage, to discipline, to confess sin, and so forth. In the church, we want to see relationships where it is normal to talk about spiritual things. Not where conversation is never about football or kids or politics—but where a conversation with no spiritual grounding would be unusual.

John 13:35 NIV

35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

So what can we do

Our connection with each other is a light to the world, it is one of the ways we spread good the good news.

What’s interesting for me is one of the ways I saw this love for one another is not how you would expect it.

Campus brothers fighting, came back and were different. It wasn’t the norm.

We can be a light, not by being perfect, but by being real and making Jesus lord.

The Third benefit is our

Loving connection is one of the best ways we can live out the fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22–23 NIV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

So much of the fruit of the spirit is shown in our connection with others. We need connection to love. We need healthy connection to be at peace with others. Who do we show kindness to? Other people.

So where do we go from here? How can we be more connected with each other?

There are a million different ways, but we need to start somewhere.

So we want to encourage every member of the church and every person hearing this lesson to take on a challenge. To grow in connecting with other people.

Our leadership group feels like one of the biggest areas we need to grow is one another relationships. That rolling up your sleeves, Rising Up kind of relationship that says, "No matter what happens, no matter what it costs me, if you need me, I'm coming."

And we understand what that is going to take and what that is going to cost. It means spending more time with each other. There are 100 times in 94 verses that he bible talks about one another. This is very clearly the heart of Jesus. And lets be honest for a lot of us we are a little rusty at this. We need to grow and change and imitate Jesus in this.

So we came up with an idea, now this is a starting point not the end vision. Because we want to be building communities to reach communities. But we need to start somewhere.

And we want to start with and the command to Love One Another. To live out those one another scripture will take time and effort and we need to start somewhere. So we want to ask each and every one of you to take this

ONE FIVE challenge slide.

One - Five

One another Relationships 5 minutes a day.

What would it look like if each member of this church spent 5 minutes each day, putting into practice a one another scripture. Well there would be a lot more encouragement, humility, spurring, building each other up and teaching each other. What a helpful starting point.

But, maybe you are looking at this, one Five, come on. Well maybe for you decide to spend 5 minutes each day with more than one person. You go Rise on Up and crank this.

So we are calling each member to spend 5 minutes a day working one another relationship?

We started in Genesis, the very beginning.

Let’s end in Rev 7

Revelation 7:9–10 NIV

9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.”

We are going to be connected in loving community for all eternity because of What Jesus the perfect Lamb of God did for us.

He is the atoning sacrifice, the perfect lamb of God, the friend the loney, and the savior of all who will accept him and respond the the message.

Right now as we take communion, let’s pray and remember that God created you in community for community.

Let’s pray.

Listen to this interesting quote from Maxine Harley Psychotherapist

“Never in history have we had so many gadgets and ways to help us to connect with other people - and yet I doubt that we've ever felt so disconnected from our souls and tribe; from our passion and compassion.

“Never in history have we had so many gadgets and ways to help us to connect with other people - and yet I doubt that we've ever felt so disconnected from our souls and tribe; from our passion and compassion.

Mental health studies tell us how many days are lost in the workplace, and how many teenagers and pregnant women's lives are blighted by mental health problems and lack of connection (ironically) to the help they need.

We see far too many homeless drug-users or alcoholics who have been traumatised by life and made to feel like an outcast. They are disconnected from the care they need and they soothe their pain in any way they can...which only makes things worse.

Helen Keller

What's missing is the lack of meaningful connections – the root cause of most of our ailments and woes.

We crave those connections which enrich us and give us something to smile about. The sort of connections that give us something to live for.

We all have a need to belong somewhere, to feel appreciated and wanted, to feel worthy and worthwhile, and to make a difference.

We all need to feel loved and deserving of compassion, empathy, love and support.

Without meaningful connections we often try to squash or silence that bitter pain of disconnection by being over-busy, over-eating and drinking, gambling, drugs, sex, retail therapy, computer games, pornography – in fact anything that alters our mood in the short term.”

Let’s pray.

1 John 1:3 NIV

3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

Helen Keller

So where can we invest to bring about eternally lasting fruit?

We can invest in spiritually intentional relationships. Love for other Christians shows us to be true Christians (). Love for other Christians demonstrates the power of the gospel to the watching world (). Love for other Christians makes for an eternally rewarding investment (). Love for other Christians is primarily how we live out the fruit of the Spirit ().

As a general rule, church activity that builds into relationships will last; activity that doesn’t, won’t. After all, people are eternal; everything else will pass away. Of course, exceptions exist: we can erect infrastructure that supports the relational work of the local church (managing church financial records, for example). But by and large, the lasting work of the church is the relational work of the church.

But not any relationships will do. The New Testament describes how Christians are to confront, to encourage, to discipline, to confess sin, and so forth. In the church, we want to see relationships where it is normal to talk about spiritual things. Not where conversation is never about football or kids or politics—but where a conversation with no spiritual grounding would be unusual.

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.

Helen Keller

Resources:

http://www-archive.biblesociety.org.au/news/connectedness-an-essential-ingredient-to-life

https://lifelabs.psychologies.co.uk/users/3881-maxine-harley/posts/6739-the-real-problem-is-a-lack-of-connection

https://www.faithgateway.com/power-connectedness/#.XHi8m5NKgmI

https://www.crossway.org/articles/building-a-culture-of-spiritually-intentional-relationships/