The Community of Heaven

“Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”

Question Nathanael asked when Philip told him they found the Messiah: Jesus of…Nazareth?

Nazareth: maybe bad side of town, just average

But question gets at the state of our world: Could the Messiah actually come from here?

Question we ask, too: Can anything good come out of our world?

Don’t have to spell it out: just watch news!

We are made aware of virtually every tragedy instantly (were we wired for that?)

Bad news sells! More bad news, more doom scrolling, more money.

Nevermind all the bad news, life is already hard!

Strained relationships, cutting words, loneliness, depression, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, addiction

World is broken: infertility, abuse, disease, poverty, hunger, hatred, murder

Don’t just have a sin problem; we crave sin, we like it.

Every level, every corner, every good thing in creation has been cursed.

Can anything good come out of Nazareth?

Out of Nazareth walks Jesus

Jesus says to Philip, “follow me” & Philip just follows

Disciple after disciple leaves an old life to begin a new one because of 2 simple words: “follow me”

Word of God made flesh who once spoke all of reality into existence now creates a new reality for each disciple

In the beginning was “Let there be light” and now it’s “Follow Me”

Out of the old creation of curses & brokenness, sin & death & violence & pain, Jesus’s Word speaks into existence a new creation

Jesus pulls a new world out of the old, re-creates the world from the inside out.

Just as He populated old world with Adam & Eve, He populates new world with a new community. “Follow me.”

Jesus’s Word creates a new reality: a community of the new creation called the church. Can anything good come from Nazareth?

“Come and see” Philip says to Nathanael, leads him to Jesus

John 1:48–50 ESV

48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.”

What great things would Nathanael see?

The Messiah crucified

The Son of God forsaken by the Father & suffering hell

That same Son of Man risen in the flesh on 3rd day

The King of Israel ascending to the throne of God in Heaven

And one day, Word Made Flesh speaking into existence the new creation

Church is a community where we witness the great things of God

Where we see heaven invading our cursed creation through Jesus. Jesus is heaven in the flesh:

John 1:51 ESV

51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

But we do more than just witness what Jesus has done, we actually experience heaven.

Just like Jesus spoke new life into His disciples when He said “follow me,” He speaks new life into you in baptism

Just as Nathanael would see the greatness of God sacrificing Himself on the cross, you receive that same crucified Body and Blood for you

It’s not just that we see the great things of Jesus. Our faith is not just intellectual. Jesus actually makes us a Community of Heaven now!

Invitation: Come & See Church as Community of Heaven

A colony of the coming Kingdom. The beginning of the new world in the old.

In a world full of death, violence, and persecution, there are no existential threats to the church!

The church is a community of people Jesus has chosen to redeem for the new creation

The church will last forever because it IS the new creation

Paul says our bodies are members of Christ, the one who rose from the dead, never to die again! (1 Cor 6:15)

1 Corinthians 6:19–20 ESV

19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Because we are the Body of Christ, the Gospel reigns in our community

In the community of heaven:

we forgive sinners in the name of Jesus

we are a place of hope in a world of despair

we love each other, we care for each others’ needs, we speak well of each other

As your pastor, I am here to serve you because we are the community of heaven

You can always come to me for forgiveness (confidential & safe)

You can always come to me with questions, learn more about Jesus together

You can always hold me to be a loving pastor & trustworthy teacher (call me out when I am not! I’m a sinner!)

Covenant: keep each other accountable in love.

Covenant: I promise you that I will honor the 8th Commandment and always assume the best of your intentions, I will not gossip or talk badly about you, and if things are not right between you and me, I will bring it up so we can deal with it as fellow Christians and make things right. (With help of God)

Congregation: Do you promise to honor the 8th Commandment and always assume the best of intentions, not to gossip, and if things are not right between you and me, to will bring it up so we can reconcile as fellow Christians? (Yes, with help of God)

Jesus has invited us to follow Him as community of heaven.

That’s how the church started: Jesus saying “follow me” & disciples saying, “Come and see”

In a world where we’re all 6 feet apart, we are still the Body of Christ.

So let’s focus on community, be creative about coming together, forgiveness, love, relationships.

What our world needs most is invitation to the community of heaven.

Can anything good come out of our world? Come and See. In the name of Jesus…of Nazareth, Amen.

Benediction: The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with his favor and grant you His peace.