TOGETHER STRONG 2

TOGETHER PART 2

Good morning and welcome. We’re happy to have you with us as we continue our series and celebration of Back to Church Sunday. The theme we’re exploring over these four weeks is Together, as we draw lessons from the book of Ephesians.

As we start out today, I’d like to play a little word game. Some things just go together. Need proof? Okay, I’m going to say a word, and I want you to say the first word that pops into your head. You can just call it out. Ready?

Salt and …

Peanut butter and …

Batman and …

Adam and…

Hide and …

Pros and…

We could go on all day -- demonstrating the power of things that have become so closely associated that they are inseparable. Now, what do people think of when they hear the word CHURCH?

You may have a word that comes to mind -- but it’s not likely the same for everyone. There is no one inseparable association. Depending on your experience -- the association could be positive, negative, or somewhere in between.

But what if the word that automatically came to mind with church was love? I want to challenge us as a church to consider what it would take to build an inseparable link between church and love so that when the world hears the word church -- their immediate association is love.

That’s a tough challenge, so how do we get there? Perhaps the first step is that we -- TOGETHER as the church -- WE must experience LOVE.

Last week our focus was on Paul’s message that Together We Find Peace.

Today we’ll explore this concept: Together We Experience Love.

TOGETHER -- we can experience the love of God in relationship, personally with Himself and with other believers.

We Experience God’s Love Together

As Paul wraps up his description of God’s gospel work through all time, bringing God and man together, bringing Jew and Gentile—all people—TOGETHER -- he culminates in the verses that will be our main text for today

(NKJV) that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

(GW) I’m asking God to give you a gift from the wealth of his glory. I pray that he would give you inner strength and power through his Spirit. Then Christ will live in you through faith. I also pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation. This way, with all of God’s people you will be able to understand how wide, long, high, and deep his love is. You will know Christ’s love, which goes far beyond any knowledge. I am praying this so that you may be completely filled with God.

(GW)

I’m asking God to give you a gift from the wealth of his glory. I pray that he would give you inner strength and power through his Spirit. Then Christ will live in you through faith. I also pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation. This way, with all of God’s people you will be able to understand how wide, long, high, and deep his love is. You will know Christ’s love, which goes far beyond any knowledge. I am praying this so that you may be completely filled with God.

NOT JUST ANY KIND OF LOVE -- GOD’S LOVE -- AGAPE

ILLUSTRATION

Wow, what a love! What great imagery Paul uses here to convey God’s vast, limitless love. Since we’re playing word association today -- let’s do a little more here.

Wider than ______________? The ocean? The universe? No matter what the widest thing you can think of, God’s love is wider.

Longer than ______________? Time? History? The line at the DMV? God’s love is most definitely longer than the line at the DMV — and all of eternity.

Higher than ______________? The highest mountain? The moon up above?

Deeper than ______________? The deepest sea?

It doesn’t matter what you fill in the blanks or answer -- GOD’S LOVE is wider, longer, higher, deeper.

GOD’S LOVE is eternally vast and powerful & it surpasses knowledge -- THAT MEANS -- it blows your mind.

And This Is The Love We Can Experience And Model Together In The Church.

You See -- The Thing About Love Is It’s Relational. It Is Meant To Be Shared. It Is Meant To Be Experienced Together.

It is TOGETHER that our ability to grasp God’s love deepens. And TOGETHER is a reflection of God’s relationship with us. God dwells with His people, and so His love is present when we come TOGETHER.

As we gather, we experience His love in tangible ways. We find support, belonging, acceptance, encouragement, and strength from others.

Coming to church isn’t about coming to a building or even a group. It’s about coming TOGETHER into the shared expression and TRANSFORMING experience of GOD’S LOVE.

Love Is God’s Plan

If all we do is show up here once, maybe twice a week -- walk in, sing a few songs, smile and nod and shake a few hands or share a few hugs -- then walk back out into our lives like nothing is different -- then we’ve missed the point.

We might as well drop in at the country club or the PTO meeting, or the local bar, for that matter.

But instead ....

IF we gather here TOGETHER with EXPECTATION, OPENNESS, AND GRACE to let down our guard before God and other people, then we’re getting somewhere.

IF we’re willing to humbly recognize our need for help, for forgiveness, for strength, for a deeper kind of life, then we’re reaching a vulnerability that allows us to be known and to know God and others authentically.

IF we’re willing to acknowledge our own needs and weaknesses, then we’re able to receive support and encouragement when we need it — and to offer acceptance and help to others when they need it.

And in all these things -- we are then experiencing the transformative power of God’s love in our individual lives and as a church body.

We are tapping into the very nature of God.

(GW) Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love.

Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love.

God doesn’t just have love or show love, HE IS LOVE. God and His nature cannot be separated. To be in relationship with God through Jesus is to be in relationship with love itself.

And all of history from creation to revelation was born from and is being shaped by that love.

LOVE has driven the creation of the world and God’s relationship with humanity.

LOVE has fueled His care for His people through the churn and grind of a world broken by sin and enslaved by death.

LOVE has fueled the way of salvation and redemption in the form of Jesus -- God With Us -- who chose to become one of us and suffer as one of us and sacrificially take the place of all of us so that we all can be restored completely in God’s endless love.

Love Is Not A Side Note. It Is God’s Nature And His Plan For The World. It Is His Way For His Followers And The Lifestyle That Should Define Us.

(GW) Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other.”

Everyone will know that you are my disciples because of your love for each other.”

Not by our buildings or our hard work or our success or our happiness or even our acts of service to help others. But by our LOVE. We are to be recognized and known by LOVE.

Love Binds Us Together as One

It may seem obvious -- but it’s important to realize that love can’t be experienced alone. Love is something that by definition is given and shared.

Jesus knew that....

(GW) “I’m not praying only for them. I’m also praying for those who will believe in me through their message. I pray that all of these people continue to have unity in the way that you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they may be united with us so that the world will believe that you have sent me.

“I’m not praying only for them. I’m also praying for those who will believe in me through their message. I pray that all of these people continue to have unity in the way that you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they may be united with us so that the world will believe that you have sent me.

That’s a kind of unity that is difficult for us to grasp. Even in our closest relationships, one-ness is elusive. We live in a world of connection -- but you’ve seen the research and reports that remind us over and over that we feel more and more alone.

Technology has increased our ability to connect -- but it has decreased the depth and authenticity of connection in a way that leaves us feeling isolated.

And if we’re honest, it’s not just the world of technology that is to blame. How many people go to work, family events, and even to church but never feel connected?

We can be physically TOGETHER but lack true connection and community.

That’s in stark contrast to the love Jesus desires for believers.

The love between Jesus and His Father is love without separation, without boundaries, without end. And while we often don’t even come close to that kind of love -- experiencing it is the reason we come back to church. It is the reason God calls us to be together.

SOOOO -- How can we create an inseparable association between church and love?

How do we experience love together, and how do we spread that love beyond ourselves?

There is no single right answer -- BUT for today I’d like to suggest three ways that can serve as starting points for us as we experience God’s love together and live out love all around us.

CONNECTION:

Where are you plugged in? Where would you like to be? As a church, we can be good at offering opportunities to meet together for various reasons. We offer children events, youth events, church get togethers -- like 5th Sunday Luncheons, family outings, and more.

Relationship is always a goal -- but we all must take the first step. Let me encourage and challenge all of us: If you’re just filling a chair on Sunday morning

THEN IT’S TIME -- plug in & volunteer for greeting, cleaning the church, drfive the van, Fathers Wish food ministry, join the praise team, help with children or youth

I’m confident that you will find a place of belonging, growth, service, and common purpose.

If you are already involved in some way -- let me encourage and challenge you to look around, open yourself up, and reach out to those who are seeking their place.

Let’s All Look For Ways To Better Love Each Other And To Share That Love Beyond Ourselves.

COMFORT:

There’s no doubt we could go around this room and hear from every single one of us stories of pain, struggle, and heartache. This life isn’t easy, and we all pass through seasons of greater difficulty and need.

In the normal rough and tumble of life and in times of greater need, we need each other. As a church, we want to be there for each other, whether it’s the shoulder to cry on of a friend or the rallying of tangible support through a ministry

We are on this journey and in this life TOGETHER. Love binds us TOGETHER and gives us opportunities to care for each other in times of need.

COLLABORATION:

Our third C is collaboration. It is working TOGETHER toward a purpose. From meeting others’ needs like we just mentioned to harnessing our skills and abilities toward a common goal, we have the ability and opportunity to serve and to make a real difference in others’ lives.

In collaboration, we are greater than the sum of our parts. We are able to find fulfillment in the expression of our God-given gifts and talents—and in doing so, we are able to worship through the expression of the people God has made us.

Whatever place or way you choose to plug in, it is love that guides and unifies us and our efforts.

And it is Christ living in us that allows His love to grow in and flow through us.

It has always been God’s plan for His people to experience love and to be bound together in love.

We cannot underestimate the importance of love both within the church and in our interactions with the world around us.

In another of Paul’s letters to the early believers, he wrote,

(PassionNTPsa) Until then, there are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love—yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.

Until then, there are three things that remain: faith, hope, and love—yet love surpasses them all. So above all else, let love be the beautiful prize for which you run.

Let’s Carry Tat Thought With Us As We Leave This Place, And May We As A Church Always Be Known By Our Love.