Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Well everyone.

Welcome to the last official college ministry event of the summer.

After tonight, we are going to be taking some time off.

Now, that doesn’t mean we won’t see each other…in fact next week we have a time to hangout at the Erickson’s with a bonfire and yard games.

But, in terms of meeting here in the building, having time in the word, and time in worship…we are taking three weeks off.

Which means, our next official event, and the kickoff for the fall semester is on September 1st.

Thursday Gathering Slide

And I’ll tell you, we’ve begun diving into what the fall semester is going to look like…and I’m pretty stoked.

Starting in September, we will be diving back into the gospel of Luke.

Every fall we hit a NT book, and in the spring we do an OT book.

And this fall, we are continuing where we left off in Gospel of Luke, learning everything we can about Jesus, and learning who it is that we follow, and how to follow him better.

We’ve also got more times of worship planned.

Some big community events.

And…the thing I’m most excited for…this year we are going to be starting a new thing in the ministry, and that is our fall and our spring retreats.

Meaning, a time where we will get away for the weekend, retreat from the normal rhythms of life and busy-ness, and spend some intense time focusing on God and his word.

There’s more details on that coming soon, but for now I just want to get the dates set for you, I want you to go ahead and put them in your phone if you’re planning on being here this coming semester…they are _____________________.

Alright, so that’s just a few of the things coming up this semester.

Now, let’s get into what we are talking about tonight.

Tonight’s message lines up in a lot of great ways for where our ministry is at, and where many of you are in your lives right now.

Tonight we finish talking about the spiritual disciplines (even though we came nowhere near talking about all the things that we could and should discuss), but as it is, we are finishing our time focusing on spiritual disciplines.

I recapped for you last week, that we’ve had some major buckets that these spiritual disciplines fall into.

The first three weeks we talked about the large bucket of the disciplines that allow us to HEAR GOD’S VOICE.

Then we spent a few weeks talking about the disciplines that allow us to HAVE GOD’S EAR.

And tonight…tonight I want to talk about a spiritual discipline that deserves it’s entirely own category.

It’s a discipline that encourages the other disciplines, causes them to have full effect…and it’s a discipline that puts us directly in the stream of God’s grace and provision in sustaining us in doing this disicplines.

What I mean is…the discipline we are talking about tonight, equips and encourages, and empowers you to do all the other disciplines on a deeper and more meaninful level…and in fact, the other disciplines are impcomplete without this one…so have I stressed the importance of this discipline yet??? Good.

Now what is it?

Tonight we are talking about the discipline of Fellowship.

That is BELONGING TO GOD’S BODY.

So, let’s get into it.

Tonight we are going to be in a couple different passages, but I want you seeing them for yourselves.

So go ahead and turn to 1 Peter chapter 2. As you’re turning there, let me go ahead and just tell you the first point of tonight.

Fellowship: It’s part of your Christian identity.

Here in 1 Peter, the apostle peter begins by talking of Christ, our life with him, what it looks like to be saved, to have Jesus as a living hope…and the way that having Jesus as our living hope impacts our lives.

In chapter 1, he’s laying the foundation of what it means to have the gospel…and here in chapter 2, he starts with the word “therefore”…meaning…because we have this gospel, we need to do these things.

Look at the start of chapter 2.

So peter is saying “if you have tasted that the Lord is good, aka, if you really know Jesus, then you need to put away the old and the sinful, and you need to desire the pure milk of the word.”

and in verse 4, we see what he means by pure spiritual milk, Jesus.

He’s saying put away all these things, and seek for Jesus.

We see that by the beginning of verse 4, look at it there.

That “him” is Jesus.

And we know that because in other parts of scripture, Jesus is called the cornerstone.

The one rejected by people.

Like in Acts, Peter is actually talking there to the Pharisees and says

So…are you following so far?

Peter is saying that the gospel has some things that it demands of your life…the major one being, put away all sin…and seek Jesus.

And then continuing in verse 5 here…Peter begins talking about what is going on in us as we seek Jesus.

Look back at verse 4 and 5.

So do you see it?

The process of seeking Christ, which is what all of you claim to do as “Christians”…the process of putting away sin and seeking Christ, results in “you yourselves, as living stones, being built as a spiritual house, and a holy priesthood”.

So, seeking Christ, and being built up as a spiritual house, and a priesthood…are together.

Notice that the text doesn’t say, spiritual bricks…but instead…living stones (meaning living bricks), built into a spiritual house.

And notice that it doesn’t say holy priests, like each one of you is a holy priest, but rather that as you seek Christ…you are a spiritual priesthood.

What does all this mean?

It means that your walk with Christ, your seeking him, your putting away sin, is done in the context of being built into a house alongside other living stones…alongside other believers.

It means…like I said at the beginning…that fellowship is a part of your Christian identity.

It means…that you can’t claim to be putting away sin and following after Christ, if you are not actively being built into a priesthood alongside other believers.

Let me say that again.

You can’t be built into a priesthood, you can’t be built into a spiritual house…if you are not being built along side other believers, other living stones.

In short.

Holiness is a team sport.

Seeking Christ is not done alone.

One brick can’t build a house.

One Priest isn’t a Priesthood.

So when you go back to school, or off to college for the first time, or even if you’re around here and you’re sticking around here…as a Christian…you seek fellowship.

That is, you seek the company of other believers.

Because…fellowship is part of your Christian identity.

So, if fellowship is a part of your Christian identity, we probably need to get a better understanding of fellowship.

So let’s talk about some of the things fellowship isn’t.

What fellowship isn’t: Pizza, games, sports, cafe nights with giveaways, playing volleyball or spikeball....all of these may be the sparks of fellowship.

Or, they may be done within fellowship…but they are not in of themselves, fellowship.

What fellowship is: Life commitment to one another, causing life commitment to Christ.

Let me say that again

Fellowship is life commitment to one another, causing life commitment to Christ.

When I say life commitment, I mean that it’s a commitment to one another that is whole life…and life or death.

Fellowship is like the band of brothers found in an army platoon heading off to war…fellowship is like the literal fellowship of the ring in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings…

Fellowship is fighting the battles of sin together, of pain and promise, of hope and desperation.

It’s not hanging out, although people in fellowship do hang out…but rather, it’s actual life on life with each other in a deep and meaningful way.

And I say all this, and want to take the time to explain all this…because You.

Need.

It.

Fellowship: You need it.

Not only should this point be obvious because of the verse that I just read…that you need it because it’s essential to the life of a Christian in seeking Christ.

But to drive home the point further…let’s look at another text about fellowship.

Turn with me to Hebrews.

Notice here in this text that the author of Hebrews sets up a problem in verse 12.

The problem they set up is that believers in Christ have the potential to fall into an unbelieving heart.

And they show at the end of verse 13 there, that this unbelieving heart can be caused the a hardening of your heart through sin.

Do you see that?

“that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”

So, the author of Hebrews sets up this potential problem…but also gives what the solution should be.

Look back at the beginning of verse 13.

“But, exhort (which means encourage), exhort one another every day”…and then in verse 14 there… “for we have come to share in Christ”

So the solution?

Encourage one another…not every so often, not once a week at college ministry or on Sunday mornings…but exhort one another EVERY DAY.

FOR, we share in Christ.

Encourage one another every day, because of what we share.

The CSB says we have “become participants in Christ”.

So do you see why you NEED fellowship?