Connecting With Something Bigger

Who sits on their front porch anymore? “The American front porch further represented the ideal community in America. For the front porch existed as a zone between the public and the private, an area that could be shared between the sanctity of the home and the community outside. It was an area where interaction with the community could take place.” Scott Cook “Americans are among the loneliest people in the world.” -- George Gallup The volume of our relationships isn’t the problem. We are acquainted with many people, but known by few, if any. We have evolved into a culture that craves relationships, while starving for them at the same time “Aloneness” debilitates Isolation results in lost perspective on life because there’s no objective voice calling us to balance Sheep are never attacked in herds—they are attacked when isolated from the flock Aloneness debilitates Fear of Intimacy… “If others really get to know me, they won’t like me.” So it’s easier to stay disconnected than risk rejection Aloneness debilitates Selfishness… If the sum total of my life is defined by schedule, agenda, needs, and desires, chances are I am suffering from selfishness aka self-centeredness Aloneness debilitates Poor health… “Researchers found that the most isolated people were three times more likely to die earlier than those with strong relational connections. People who had bad health habits (such as smoking, poor eating habits, obesity, or alcohol use), but strong social ties lived significantly longer than people who had great health habits but were isolated. In other words, it is better to eat Twinkies with good friends, than to eat broccoli alone.” J. Ortberg "When you work at Starbucks, you can make a difference in someone's day by creating an environment where neighbors and friends can get together and reconnect while enjoying a great coffee experience." The Original Plan…Genesis “It is good.” “It is very good.” “It is not good.” “It is not good for man to be alone” There is a God created vacuum that no one but God can fill There is a God created vacuum that no one but God can fill and there is a God created vacuum that He will not fill Our Relational DNA –The Divine Community Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. Gen.1:26-27 The Jesus Dream….John 17 that they may be one, just as We are. Jn.17:11 The Father, Son and Spirit.., Enjoying each other and creating together (Gen.1:26) Encouraging one another “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Mt.3:17 Sharing like interests and Looking to one another “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all that he himself is doing. John 5:19-20 Supporting one another… But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Jn.14:26 Loving one another “This is my beloved Son; listen to him.” Mk.9:7 Deferring to one another The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Jn.14:10 Glorifying one another “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you Jn.17:1 In the beginning was the relationship The Triune God is communal “ This is why the experience of authentic community is so life giving. We are taking our place in fellowship with Life Himself. When I am in isolation, I am lonely. When I am in community, I experience what might be called “fullness of heart.” The human heart is forever empty if it is closed in upon itself. In community—the divine community especially—a heart comes alive.” John Ortberg “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. Jn.17:21 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.” John 17:26 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35 “Jesus is saying that the credibility of His life and message in the eyes of unbelievers is dependent upon the way we as His followers relate with one another. Somehow their belief and our behavior are connected. It’s as if Jesus is saying that unbelievers are just waiting to believe, but the question is, Will they see us relating in this magnetic, irresistible way?” Andy Stanley “ Our relationship with each other is the criterion the world uses to judge whether our message is truthful—Christian community is the final apologetic” Francis Schaeffer and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near. Heb.10:24-25 Three ways the church can change the world One: Minister to the world. We are the “body of Christ” (1 Corinthians 12:27), his hands and feet, eyes and ears. None of us possesses all the spiritual gifts we need to reach our culture. Two: Serve each other. Early Christians gave what they had to each other “as any had need” (Acts 2:45). Paul pled with Christians in Rome “to strive together with me in your prayers to God on my behalf” (Romans 15:30). Three: Offer community to the culture. God knew that “it is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18). The proliferation of social media shows our hunger for relationships with others. The community of faith can offer grace as can no other on earth God has called the Church to create environments where authentic community can take place Next week: Five practices absolutely necessary for authentic relationships in community