Godly Friendships Can Change The World

Do You Think This Group Can Change The World?

Do you think that this group can change the world?

Question: Do you think that this group can change the world?

Take a look around the room at the people in your row. Take a look at the people in front of or behind you. What are you capable of? What is this group right here Student Ministry here at Faith Oakville, specifically [middle/high] school.

Do you think that this group can change the world?

Maybe it’s hard to imagine the world being changed by the people in this room. But I’m guessing that some of these kids once thought the same thing.

Check out “WE DINE TOGETHER” - They are a student-led movement, founded by a teenager from Haiti. It’s a movement dedicated to making sure that no teenager ever eats lunch alone.

[CUE VIDEO]

Check out “WE DINE TOGETHER” - They are a student-led movement, founded by a teenager from Haiti. It’s a movement dedicated to making sure that no teenager ever eats lunch alone.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=147&v=Wm1w2CHivGU&feature=emb_logo

Check out “WE DINE TOGETHER” - They are a student-led movement, founded by a teenager from Haiti. It’s a movement dedicated to making sure that no teenager ever eats lunch alone.

This group is really cool. And they’re still ministering to a lot of students your age today.

Now, the phrase “changing the world” probably seems a little too large. Sometimes, when we hear about needs that are so big and problems are so deep…it can feel overwhelming and we don’t really know where to start. Especially nowadays, you all know how crazy busy your lives are. Our lives seem too complicated to make a difference. Our contributions feel too small.Our dreams sound too idealistic. It can be discouraging. You might feel that you’re too young. That’s something that more people feel than you think.

Our lives seem too complicated to make a difference. Our contributions feel too small.Our dreams sound too idealistic.

But then we hear stories like the story of those teenagers, and we think, “maybe changing the world is simpler than we think.”

Personal Story

insert story here about a time that when a problem, issue, or event broke your heart. Share why you were so impacted and whether you felt empowered or intimidated about the problem. DON’T SHARE WHAT YOU DID TO SOLVE IT.

Broken Pottery

Whether it’s poverty, hunger, illness, bullying, or something else you want to change about the world, many of us have things that break our heart. And once something breaks your heart, it’s hard to un-break it.

BREAK POTTERY IN A TOWEL OR SOMETHING ON STAGE AND SHOW THE BROKEN PIECES TO THE GROUP.

Some things that break cannot be repaired. But in the case of this pottery, there is a way for it to be rebuilt. And I know that many of you heard about this at Chill Camp last year when Pastor John came and spoke at the first session but please stick with me here. It’s a process and art called Kintsugi. It takes a lot of effort and imagination - so much that we might wonder if it’s worth the struggle. It’s tough to repair things that are broken. You have to find all of the shards and pieces from where they’ve scattered. You have to figure out how they piece back together, and find a glue that can hold them all. Even after all of that, it will never look perfect again. But it’s considered an art to do this, especially in Japan. In fact, it increases the value of these bowls by a lot!

Kintsugi treats brokenness as an important part of an object’s history. It’s something to celebrate, rather than something to hide. It’s not about covering up those cracks and breaks but about highlighting them and joining them together. You know those things that break your heart? Those problems that probably seem too big to solve. The issues that make you angry or sad. That brokenness doesn’t have to be something you hide or apologize for. It might be one of the most valuable things about you that you feel that way. It means that God has intentionally and specifically laid that right there on your heart for a reason. God does everything for a reason.

Scripture - Luke 4:14-21

We can look to the example of Jesus to learn a thing or two about having our hearts broken. Jesus came to earth to change it by being a living sacrifice for us. He came to satisfy sin, death, and the devil so that we don’t have to and that instead we can have eternal life. He came to right all the wrongs of the world. And to work at the things that broke His heart. Jesus’ heart was broken by the distance between us and God, so He took the consequences that we deserved so that we could know Him personally and be with Him.

Read

Jesus came to set people free - spiritually, yes. But in several other ways too. Jesus came to change the world.

Scripture -

While Jesus was here on earth, Jesus did all of the things the prophesies said He’d do. But when He ascended into Heaven, His work wasn’t done. Jesus didn’t come so far, go through so much, and defeat sin and death just to make a few wrongs right during the short time He was physically on earth. (Which was 33 years!). His plan is much bigger than that, and it involves us.

Through Jesus, we can be united not only with God in heaven, but also with His purpose here on earth. Our purpose is to join Jesus on His mission to make wrong things right, to make ugly things in this world beautiful. In Jesus, we are called and empowered to change the world together. After Jesus raised from the dead, He sent His disciples to carry out his message of hope over all the world. Jesus said that His Spirit would go with them, and that they should share the good news with everyone they meet.

But Jesus’ followers did more than just share the good news. They shared everything!

Read

Jesus’ friends and disciples gathered together, sought to continue the mission that Jesus had come to start. They became lifelines not only to each other but to the world. To their community, their neighbors. Their love for each other changed them, changed the world, and gave the whole world an example of the world-changing power of a community of Jesus believers. They became the fellowship of believers.

This community of Jesus-followers and friends didn’t look at the world, get overwhelmed with the enormity of the task ahead of them, give up, and call it a day. Instead, they looked at their friendships and asked, “What’s one wrong we can right together today?”

Their love for each other changed them, changed the world, and gave the whole world an example of the world-changing power of a community of believers.

The early church showed us that friendship can be a powerful force. But that it’s even stronger when it’s inspired by and motivated by the saving news of Jesus Christ.

Doing things together matters because God designed our potential to multiply when we join each other around God’s purpose. Together, through Jesus, we do have the power to change the world - in big ways, as well as in small ways. For the last 3 landings, we’ve talked about what can happen when you have Godly friendships - friendships that imitate Jesus. With Godly friendships, we talked about how you can have a chance to be real. You can have a chance to grow. And you can have a group that won’t leave you alone. As we wrap this series up, know that the same group that does all those things, really can change the world.

So What?

Jesus’ followers did so much more than just fix problems out in the community here or there. They created a new way of living that prioritized the needs of others.

They shared everything

They got creative

They got together regularly

They ate meals together

They thanked God together

They gave Jesus credit

That’s how they did it.

If Godly friendships can change the world, then what do we do about all of the broken things that need fixing? How do we take our friendships to the world-changing level? We start by asking three questions:

What/who is broken around you?

Who else has noticed what you’ve noticed?

How can you work together to fix what’s broken?

Finding out about what kind of things you can care about together is a great first step in meeting the needs of others. The next step is doing something though. Just identifying it isn’t enough.

You don’t always have to solve the problem though. I want you to know that. There are some problems that are never going to be fixed because we live in a world that is broken and sick with sin that will only be truly fixed when Christ comes again in glory and takes us to be with Him. Sometimes though, it’s enough to make a need public or raise awareness so that others can see that there is need out there. That someone needs them.

When it comes to changing the world, we don’t all have the same role. That’s why it’s so important that we can work together on the mission that Jesus gave us. So, in your small groups tonight, I want you to discuss some of the needs that you see right here in our community. In your school. In your friends schools.

I also want to challenge you. And I challenge you all because I know that you are capable of it. You all come here to the Landing and I love it. I love that you are here and that you can hear the saving news of what Jesus did for you on the cross. And I hope that you get something out of it each time. But I want to challenge you to not let it stop here. Don’t let the things that we discuss here just stay within these walls. But do something about it. Your small groups have real potential to do things outside of this place. I want to encourage you to pour into them. Make a group text. Talk to one another outside of this place. Grow together like the disciples did. And from there, together, you can make a world-changing impact in Jesus’ name.