Obedience in Community

Recap

What is our proper response to who Jesus is and what he has done for us? Obedience.

How did we define salvation last week? Freedom from the guilt, power, and nature of sin, and freedom to love God, love neighbor, and walk in obedience to Him.

What are some of the reasons why we should obey God? He has authority; he has our best interest in mind; he has done something remarkable for us.

How do we obey God? In short: “When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands” (Matthew 22:34-40; quoting Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and Leviticus 19:18)

What is our theme passage for this Fall? Hebrews 10:19-25: “Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus—he has inaugurated for us a new and living way through the curtain (that is, through his flesh)—and since we have a great high priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed in pure water. Let us hold on to the confession of our hope without wavering, since he who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to provoke love and good works, not neglecting to gather together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching.”

The final stage of this teaching series comes from the last two verses of this passage. Here’s how it goes:

Jesus has done something new and awesome for us

Because of this we have been cleansed so that we can be like him

But we must hold on to what we believe and act it out

And we have to constantly encourage one another to act it out

Why is the Church (i.e., Christian Community) so Important?

What is the Church?

Acts 2:41-42: So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them. They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer.

“Just me and Jesus” Doesn’t Cut It

“The Christian church is the community through whom the Holy Spirit administers redemption and distributes gifts, the means in and by which God makes the reconciling work of the Son vitally present to humanity. The church is the extension of the work of the Incarnate Lord as prophet, priest, and king. The church is called from the world to celebrate God’s own coming, and called to return to the world to proclaim the kingdom of God” (Oden 698).

Words: קהל and Ἐκκλησία

From the beginning, God has called a people. It is not good for humanity to be alone. Let us make humanity in our likeness.

Why do People Leave the Church After Youth Group?

I moved to college

Displacement from one’s home church + a new environment + independence result in a lack of Church attendance

For those of you graduating soon, my encouragement to you is to find a campus ministry to get involved with if not a local church

Even if you go to a Christian college like Asbury, you still need to attend a local Church

Church members seemed judgmental or hypocritical

Don’t leave the Church because of Christians; but also do not be a Christian who causes others to leave.

The way we conduct ourselves is vitally important; if what we do does not match what we teach, others will be turned off

I didn’t feel connected to people in my church

Feeling a sense of community is so important to remaining in the Church; Acts 2:42 even says that “fellowship” is a key aspect of the Church

It is our responsibility to show others the love of Christ; the way we act here and now in this youth group and in our schools may determine how one views Christianity for the rest of their lives; our responsibility is great.

Do what you can to seek out opportunities for connection.

I disagreed with the church’s stance on political/social issues

You will never find a church in which you agree with its stance on political/social issues 100%

If a church makes political/social issues more important than the apostolic teaching about the Gospel, leave.

Believe it or not, there will be both democrats and republicans in both heaven and hell.

There is room for disagreement on issues of non-dogmatic importance within the church

My work responsibilities prevented me from attending

You will be busy when you are an adult. You are probably busy now. You probably won’t have a time in your life when you aren’t busy. Make church attendance a priority.