Life After#4 Togetherness

Life After… #4 Together

Good morning Northside, here we are in our 8th online Church service… that’s like two months worth!

I wanted to take a moment this morning to recognize our moms… from all of us to you, just way thank you… for all you do… the love, sacrifice, prayer, time, patience, forgiveness…

From all of us to you we wanted to apologize …

For all the stress we caused and money we wasted. For all of the dishonesty… for the time we lite the caret on fire with a light brite… for riding the time we rode a snowboard off the roof and ruined your shrubs, for the times we punched holes through the door… and for the times we yelled… this isn’t my mom while we were being disciplined in public places.

I want to thank all of you for loving us… even when we were acting unloveable. For believing in us when we gave you little reason. For providing things we did and do not deserve.

In the words of a wise yet destructive dude name Ralph… I love my momma.

I also realize that today is a bittersweet day… For every one of us that celebrates… there are others who ache. Ache of opportunities lost… of those we wish we knew… of overwhelming regret…

Even in the midst of the struggle it's important that we celebrate moms… in the midst of all the brokenness around us. Thanking God for the highlights and for the hope that lays beyond the hard parts. Hope that is real… and that’s found in Christ alone.

I am blessed… there were years in my family that felt like my mom sort of held us together… in the midst of all the highs and lows… and I am so thankful for that.

It reminds me so much of what we are talking about today… and the role that so many mothers play… who sacrifice for, love, care for, show up for… us… even when we do little to deserve it.

We are in our last week of a sermon series we are calling “Life After”... where we are looking at life after the resurrection…

Week 1 we talked about how the resurrection means restoration… That even in our brokenness and denial… Running to Jesus leads to restoration.

Week 2 we talked about how life after the resurrection meant empowerment… that Jesus sent the HS to empower us to do things and be things we never could without Him.

Week 3 we talked about the birth of the Church… and how this newly restored… were charged by Jesus to be His witnesses… representatives… right where they were… and beyond.

And today we will talk about this other passage we see in early Acts that helps us sort of define what Life After the resurrection looks like or should look like for us.

The first is Acts 1:8… where we hear about being a witness for Jesus right where we are.. .and the second is in Acts 2…

Acts 2:37–41 NLT

Peter’s words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” Peter replied, “Each of you must repent of your sins and turn to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. Then you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise is to you, to your children, and to those far away—all who have been called by the Lord our God.” Then Peter continued preaching for a long time, strongly urging all his listeners, “Save yourselves from this crooked generation!” Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all.

Not getting into this too much today, but here is what I want you to know. As people were hearing about Jesus and stepping over the line… this is what it looked like… it involved repentance and baptism… and I want to remind you that these people didn’t know it all or have it all together when they stepped over the line… I don’t know it all or have it all together…

In the book of acts… these things almost always happened at the very beginning… and you are curious about them…

And if you are curious… and would like to know more about repentance, baptism… and what all of the even means… your not alone. I will be hosting a zoom call next Sunday at 11:30… no pressure… just a great conversation… jump in… I’d love to see you there. Zoom CALL INFO ONLINE

Have someone read this… 42-47

Acts 2:42-47

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

What we see in this passage is the activity of this newly birthed Church…

And you can see just how fruitful it was. It seems like they experienced things that so many Churches in America don’t and so here is a hard question… What did they have they we do not?

The power of a changed life… of restoration is still here.

The empowerment of the HS is still present.

What did they have they we don’t. Lets dive in and see where it all goes.

It says that they were devoted to these things.

The word devoted is a powerful word. It means to hold tightly to something, to stand firm in it, to be unswervingly committed to it, or relentlessly pursue it.

And Matt Chandler equates it with the word meaning… Because

Whenever we are devoted to something, it shapes, forms, directs, and informs how we spend our days and even our resources.

An example would be being devoted to your spouse… realizing God’s design for marriage… means that this devotion… changes the way you think about and do life… it shapes the way you do life… it needs to… that really is the thought behind the passage we read so early on (Gen 2:24) the two become one flesh…

Being devoted to something… is different than being a fan of something. It’s different than a casual something… it means opening up our lives to be informed, challenged and changed by it.

There are two major things we see that the early Church was devoted to.

The apostles teaching (God’s Word).

Various forms of fellowship.

And keep in mind… it says… THEY were devoted… not just Peter, or one of the other leaders… THEY.. THE CHURCH

They were committed to the apostles' teaching (God’s Word) in a way that helped shape their lives.

James 1:22–25 (NLT)

22 But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

James knew… hearing God’s word… is a powerful thing… but actually applying it… doing what it says… being devoted to it… allowing it so shape what you do today… is HUGE.

Northside is committed to God’s Word… We work hard… week in and week out… but I want to make sure you know about this.

(Screenshot of our daily reading and where to find it)

We organize passages you can read mon-sat alongside many others at Northside who do it every week. They are designed to take about 10-12 minutes…

As your pastor, I’d ask you to make that commitment. It’s formative for you, for our culture, for our church, and for your family. Be devoted to it… Not just when you have time… its a fixed part of what you do… that impacts the nature of who you are.

I don’t think you will regret it.

God’s Word is powerful… it’s not some outdated book that has nothing to do with the way we think or live today… It gives us direction on things like marriage, loneliness, fear, anxiety, the government… and SO MUCH MORE… it has wisdom for today.

God’s word is his big self-disclosure… right. We learn about Who He is, what He’s like and the full and free life that He has for us. There are so many things His word does in us…

Helps us in our battle with sin

Shows the the way to move forward in life

Guides our feet

Helps us see what's right.

And SO MUCH MORE…

They were devoted to God’s word… THEY were… and it was obviously shaping them… but also their culture as a Church.

They were also devoted to fellowship… and guys this is HUGE…

And that fellowship took on so many forms.

Fellowship is a churchy word that speaks into intentional closeness and partnership through agreement of devotion… through being devoted to the same things…

The attended Church together…

They met in homes together…

They ate together…

They prayed together…

That sacrificed for one another…

They praised God together…

They served each other and cared for one another.

They were devoted to the kind of fellowship, the kind of togetherness that shaped their behavior and informed how they spend their time and resources.

This fellowship wasn’t when we have time thing… and this is going to hurt a little…

Are you devoted to this sort of fellowship, that informs your schedule and directs your life?

In not, why not? Wrestle with that.

Part of what led to all that this new… and early Church experienced was the culture that was formed from their devotion to God’s Word… but also… to their togetherness. To being together…

Our fellowship isn’t little or light… it is not insignificant… and you are not easily replaced… in fact your not replaceable. What you bring to the table matters…

I feel like its easy in for us in the american church to sort of individualize our faith… its almost like this… “I am taking my ball and going home” mentality. But that’s not what we see.

We realize God’s heart for the Church… FOR US… has a huge relational piece...a corporate piece that is near and dear to God’s heart.

Right away

The Church learned that depth and effectiveness were tethered by their togetherness.

We realize that this individual view… is limiting… on our own our witness; It’s not what it could or should be.

We realize that it limits our experience… its not what it could or should be… by God’s design we are better together… By God’s design our witness is greater and our experience is stronger together… we need each other.

By God’s design it us us… together… as a Church that will form the culture that the next generation of Northsiders will pick up and run with. A culture that is largely informed and shaped by what it is that we are devoted to.

As your pastor… I want to do something… real quick. Grab your phone…

If you are all in… when it comes to this… being a part of what God is developing… being a part of building Northside Church… would you text you name and the phrase all in to this number… 541-497-7885. It is so helpful for me to know.

Togetherness… matters. On several occasions the BIble refers to this newly birthed Church… and to us too… as many parts that make up one body. The impact of our witness… the movement of our body… hugely impacted by what it is that we are devoted to.

Here is one last thing… last week I told you there were three things that are incredibly powerful in helping people at least stop and consider Jesus.

Three powerful witnesses to the world around us.

The miracles of Jesus.

The power of a changed life.

The togetherness of His Church.

It was Jesus himself who said it… in John 13:34… He told them to love and care for each other the way He did… (which is what)? Loving… selflessly and sacrificially… and then Jesus said that the world would know who they are… and what they are about by their togetherness… by the way the care for and support and love one another.

Our togetherness… is powerful in our lives and it some how ministers to those around us… it speaks to who we are and whose we are…

That message, the witness of togetherness was fruitful for the early Church and the truth is… I think our culture needs it every bit as much… in the midst of isolation, hurt, anxiety, fear, regret, addiction…

DAILY… people were coming to know Jesus… coming to repent and be baptized..

What did this new Church have that we don’t?

The power of restoration in our life is still there.

The empowering of the Holy Spirit is still alive and Well.

What did they have that we don’t? Honestly, I don’t know, but two things to consider…

Are we devoted to the right things.

Are we really together.

The culture we create at Northside is something no one person can do, But… it has everything to do with the kind of Church we will be.

As a brand new church in NA… as a church that has met online more times than we have in person… heck, we don’t even know if we like each other yet… J/K…. I hope we are able to understand just how major this is.

Are you all in? Are you all in being devoted to the right things? Are you all in being devoted into the sort of togetherness that shapes your days.

If you are new to Northside… if you have been tracking along with us online and want to know more about who we are and what we are about… I want to invite you to an online conversation… Monday at 7PM. The ZOOM link will be in post wherever you are watching this… but its also on our website.

We aren’t asking for anything… maybe bring your favorite dessert or beverage… I’ll be there and some of the other NS staff will be too.

We’d love to see you there.

What are you devoted to?

God’s Word and Togetherness matters!

Pray