Well good morning everyone…It is so good to be back here this morning. We very much appreciate your prayers last week as we were able to mourn the loss of a family member and be encouraged by being with family, so thank you for lifting us up during that time. Even though it was a blessing to be there, it is so good to be back here and worshiping together as a family this morning. Hey, right now I want to encourage our kids to meet their teacher back in the back and go to your class. It is always so great that we have people who are excited to get to share the love of the lord in a way that our kids can understand what is going on. You know, I heard a new statistic this past week. This really shocked me, but it really emphasizes why our kids teachers are so important. It was said that 93% of kids have developed their worldview by the time that they are 13 years old. That means before they are even in high school kids have already decided what lens they will view the world through. Of course our desire is that this would be a Biblical lens, but that only happens when we as a church, partner with you as parents as you teach and disciple your kids at home. Hey, if you are out there this morning and you think you would like to help these kids to develop a Biblical worldview, then I want to encourage you to reach out to me and I will connect you with the people you need to talk to.

As a matter of fact, feel free to mark that on the connect card that is in your bulletin this morning. Speaking of these connect cards. I want to encourage everyone to fill one of these out. You see, this really is a great way for you to connect with us here at the church, and if you are willing to share your prayer concerns I can guarantee that we will be lifting these up as we join to pray on Tuesday and Friday mornings. As we go through the message if there is anything that you want to share with me, any criticism or encouragement, or maybe something that was impactful for you, feel free to write in on a card and drop it in the basket in the back of the room and I will be able to read that and connect with you about your encouragement, or concern. Even if you don’t use that card this morning, go ahead and drop it in the basket for us. I know this is kind of a new thing for us here, but we want to be able to better connect with everyone.

Now, for those of you online, I want to thank you for joining us here and being a part of our extended spiritual family this morning. We are honored that you are joining us, but we would love to connect with you in person and worship together whenever you are able to do so. I also want to encourage you to simply comment or email and we will be able to connect that way as well.

Now, we have been in the middle of a new series called Be the Church 2022. For the last few years I have done some sort of series on being a part of the church. Sometimes it has been about being a member or regular part of the church, and sometimes it is more about what we are doing as a church and whether we are serving the community around us. Well, this year our Be the Church series is really focused around you and your heart as a part of this church. I believe that the heart is the focus of everything. We read that from the heart the mouth speaks, and at the same time that the heart is deceitful among all things. That tells us that we really need to be focused on making our hearts a heart for God and not for self. To that end last time I was here I talked about worshiping together and the importance of coming to church with a heart for worship, and not a heart for self.

Today I want to continue with this idea of gathering together and growing together in the Lord. However, in keeping with the theme of our hearts, lets look at our

Attitude of Growth

OK, so what is an attitude of growth, and what does that have to do with anything? That is a question that I would like to try to answer this morning, but in order to do that, I need to tell you something that I read this week that really troubled me. We live in a culture right now where people are leaving the church at unprecedented rates. We have seen that ourselves somewhat since Covid began back in 2020. However, Covid only fast forwarded what was already happening. Back in 2014 there was a book released that captured information from national surveys and current census data and research that had been started in 2007. What they found is that when people were being asked to check a box for their religious affiliation, that the box for “none” was increasing. Then in 2019 the number of those that checked this box were as large as those who checked evangelical or catholic all being around 23%. However, today, 3 out of every 10 adults, or 29% of people nationally would not identify as any religious group. That is not a good thing, is it?

Now, about 20 years ago, author and researcher Thom Rainer led a research project years ago that led to a book called High Expectations. Through this research they were looking at what seemed to keep people connected to church, no matter life’s circumstances. There was something pretty glaring that they found that truly kept people growing together as beleivers. Are you ready for this…Those church members who were involved in a small group of some sort were 5 times more likely to still be active in the church 5 years later. Specifically, 83% of those involved in groups stayed in church while only 16% who were not involved in groups stayed in church.

Now here is something even more interesting…This concept was actually told to us over 2000 years ago. You see, way back in Acts we read about meeting in groups and how it is important. Turn with me over to

Acts 2:46 (ESV)

And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,

Do you see what the 1st generation of Christians did? They regularly worshipped together, we talked about that a couple of weeks ago, but they also regularly were in each others homes growing together. The health of the early church was tied to both the larger meeting and the smaller meeting context. This was not one of the other…it was both. In order for growth to occur in the young church filled with young believers, they needed both gatherings.

Clearly we have gotten away from that idea in our current culture, however it just makes sense that the Scripture and the fact that many of these people knew Jesus, at least by reputation, and now he was alive after being dead. That is enough to keep them talking, because they believed in the reality of the resurrection. You see, for this Christian community the fellowship and unity that they are experiencing are rooted in fellowship with Christ. You cannot separate Christ from the early Christian community. So a couple of weeks ago we talked about the larger group worship, so this week we should explore these

Small Groups

You see, for most of church history there has been both a large group meeting, and a small group meeting. The question that we really have to ask ourselves is why? Why are smaller groups so powerful in both experiencing Christs unity in a church, but also experiencing growth, both in the believer as well as the church. That is what I want to talk about this morning. Now this morning we are going to look at some additional Scripture, but we are also going to talk about the practical why of small groups. However, first I want to define small groups. You see, for decades churches have been talking about small groups, and even here there have been times of small group conversation as well as the constant of our Sunday morning Bible Studies. When I am speaking of small groups in the context of LRBC, I am speaking of all small groups. I am talking about our Sunday morning groups, I am talking about our through the week groups, I am also talking about our 2 constant prayer groups that meet weekly. You see, all of these groups fit the definition of a small group of beleivers that are meeting together regularly. So, keep that in mind as we discuss somethings this morning.

Ok, you remember the statistic that i shared with you earlier about staying connected to a church, right. I’ll remind you. If someone is connected to a small group ministry they are 5 times more likely to stay commited to a church, than if they attend only Sunday morning worship. I’ll go further than that…I believe that those that are commited to a small group ministry of a church are morel likely to not walk away from the faith…which is a sad trend that we are seeing all around us. It has been said that when you stop growing, you start dying. In other words, those that are connected to a small group meeting they are more likely to grow in their relationship with the Lord. . Well, Dr. Thom Rainer believes there are 4 factors that contribute to this growth. First of all we have,

Relationships

Let me tell you about a group that we were a part of in Lafayette. While serving in our last church we were given the opportunity to launch a few small groups with the church. Now, of course first we joined a group for a little while and we were encouraged. Honestly, I was coming from a place of exhaustion and a little church burn out when we first began attending that church. We made some friends and we were really focused on our own growth for a couple of years. Then we began launching groups. We would meet with them for a little while and we would allow a new leader to take over. Some were good, and others did not survive. Well, Bethany and I discussed it and we noticed something pretty important. We noticed that there ere still some that we not a part of a group of some sort. As I was now on staff with this church as the youth pastor, I felt it was important to connect with the parents of other teens. In doing so we launched another new group. However, this group was going to be different…at least for us. You see, previously we were helping to train others to start a group and allow them to build relationship with each other. This time we would going to be starting a group that we would be a part of. We invited people to our home and we started to build relationships. Turn over to

Hebrews 10:24–25 (ESV)

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

You know most of the time when we read this passage we have in view the large group meeting. However, what better place can we stir up one another to love and good works than a small group of friends. A small group of people that are invested in a relationship with each other that will allow you to be an encouragement, and that will lift you up when you are down, that will point you towards God when you desperately need it.

That group that i told you Bethany and I started began meeting in our home and within a short time of meeting regularly we developed such a tight relationship that many of them have visited here over the last 3 years. We developed these relationships while we struggled with life’s circumstances from divorce, to major surgeries, and even long term hospitalizations. We developed these relationships as we had cookouts, went to ballgames, and even served in ministry together.

You see, relationships that help you grow into the man or woman that God designed you to be are relationships worth keeping, and those relationships are best found in small groups…So...If you are not interested in a small group relationship…do you really have an attitude of growth?… … … Another factor that contributes to this growth is

Ministry

Yeah, you heard me right. But you might have misunderstood me at the same time. You see, when I say ministry in the context of a small group, Im not necessarily talking about being on the worship team, or being on the Grow team, although you could certainly do that. No, I am talking about a life of ministry together. Meaning ministering to one another. Remember that passage we read talked about stirring one another to love and good works? Yeah, we are able to stir each other…encourage each other. You see, when one person in a group gets excited about some particular way of ministry, then the rest of the group is stirred to partner with that excitement.

After I had been leading this small group in my house for about a year, I realized the need for a safety and security team within our church. We were looking at moving locations and we were seeing kids trying to run out into the parking lot by themselves, and so I was compelled to meet a need within the church. When I began to share about this need within my small group, asking people to pray about how this will shape up and what I needed to do, they naturally were excited about the same opportunity. The original Safety and Security team at that church was staffed with almost everyone from our small group. We were nurses, and professional security, as well as just guys who felt the importance of protecting our kids from the potential of threat. You see, I didn’t go into a small group meeting expecting to enlist my group to be the volunteers needed, I shared my heart and our group was stirred to love and good works.

Listen, ministry happens with a group, and ministry happens becuase of a group. That is becuase, as we gain knowledge of the Bible and deepen our relationship with God and other believers, we become better equipped to live and share the gospel with those in our schools, neighborhoods, and workplaces. If you are not interested in ministering with others in a group…do you really have an attitude of growth? … … … A third factor of growth to be aware of is

Teaching

This one is huge! This is incredibly important for our own continued spiritual growth. When we encounter God’s Word together, we have an opportunity to share our different perspectives and insights allowing us to more fully understand the Scripture. Whenever we are actively involved in small groups, more information is retained in our brains. This is becuase we are struggling to find the right words, or maybe our views are being challanged with Scripture and we are wrestling through tough concepts together. When more information is retained, when there is active involvement, biblical literacy is increased. Application and accountability allow understanding that takes God’s Word from the head to the heart. Transformation is encouraged in small groups, and our lives are changed. When our lives are changed, the lives of those around us are changed. If you are not interested in the transformation of small group teaching…do you really have an attitude of growth… … … The final factor that contributes to spiritual growth that we are talking about this morning is

Evangelism

Now, I now this isn’t something that is talked about specifically by name very often, and that definitely needs to change. However, are small groups a place for evangelism? Well, I will say that not all small groups are evangelistic, meaning that not all small groups are designed with those far from God in mind. However, any small group can be evangelistic. You see, our commitment to a group Bible study is a model to those around us. It is evidence that we value our spiritual growth enough to invest real time in it. Our kids are watching and learning about how much we actually live what we say we believe. Those around us are watching and noticing and might even attend a small group with you.

Let me tell you a story about a guy named Roger. Roger is relatively new to town and quickly joined a church and got involved in a regular small group. After a little time Roger met Gene at a gas station and invited him to join him at small group. Small group was at a time that worked for Gene and so after about a year, Gene decided to attend small group with Roger. Now at first Gene just sat quietly, but over time he started speaking up and connecting with others in the group. One day at small group during prayer time, Gene prayed that God would forgive him of his sins as he surrendered wholly to the Lord. Gene later was baptized and now his whole family attends church on a regular basis. Wouldn’t that be cool if that kind of thing could actually happen? Well let me introduce you to Gene…If Gene were here today he would stand up now, becuase Gene is Marcus...?

You see, Marcus was invited to a prayer group…a group that you would not expect to be evangelistic in nature…however, God doesn’t always work in our programs and according to our pattern. Small groups are evangelistic by nature, no matter what kind of small group you are a part of. However, if you are not interested in small group evangelism…do you really have an attitude of growth?

Now I can guarantee that there are many more parts of a small group that factor into your spiritual growth. We could talk about the prayer time of a small group, or the discussions about what to study. We could talk about reading the Bible together as a small group, but everything we talk about leads back to our attitude of growth. That’s not all though, I want to remind you of something pretty important. I want to remind you about Jesus and what Jesus modeled for us. You see Jesus did things within the context of small groups as well. Look at

Mark 4:33–34 (ESV)

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it. He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

Jesus was teaching to large communities, but it was in a small group that Jesus dug in and invested in his disciples. So, an old phrase Ive heard alot fits here...If it’s good enough for Jesus, it’s good enough for me.

Listen, this morning I want to ask you to make a commitment if you are commited to Leaf River Baptist Church. I want to ask you to make a commitment to a small group. We have small groups weekly on Sunday mornings. We have a group that meets every other week on Wednesday afternoon, and we have a small group that meets every other week on Friday evening. I also have the joy to announce something brand new to you this morning…We are starting a brand new small group that will be held at Eyan and Kristi’s house every three weeks on Friday evenings starting on October 16th. Now there is a sign up sheet for you to sign on the welcome desk if you are interested in this brand new group, but if you are interested in any of the groups please write a note on your connect card and lets get connected about how to get you plugged in. If you are interested in hosting or leading a new small group, then please mark that on your connect card as well. Whatever your current level of commitment is, if you are ready, then I want to ask you to make this commitment to the Lord, I will will join a small group with an attitude of growth.

This morning as we close out let’s take a moment to realize our own commitments to the Lord. You see, these small groups are simply social clubs if Jesus is not involved. However, the sacrifice of Jesus is what gives us a desire to meet together and talk about his resurrection. If you are here, or joining us online this morning and you would say that you have never made a commitment to the Lord, then let me encourage you that now is the time friend. Now is the time for you to make the commitment that you know you need to make. Now is the time to admit that you have sinned, and that you cannot pay the price. Now is the time for you to believe that Jesus, the sinless son of God is the only one that can pay the price for sin that you can never pay. Now is the time for you to commit your life to the Lord. If that is something you are doing for the first time this morning or maybe making a renewed commitment, let me ask you to mark that on your connect card so that I can know how to pray for you and with you. If you are here or joining us online this morning and you have realized that it is time for you to make a commitment to church membership please mark that on your card this morning. Finally, if you are here this morning and you are feeling like you want to be a part of a group, but you aren’t really sure what the best option is for you, then please mark your card and I will connect with you and talk about all of our different groups that we have available. For now, please join me in prayer

Pray