Sermon Tone Analysis

— 26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Since at least the mid-1970s, the church in America has been fascinated with small groups.

The majority of churches have at least experimented with small groups, and many still maintain active small-group ministries of various kinds.

However, from my limited perspective, a number of these churches never hammered out a clear purpose and set of biblical goals when beginning their small groups.

Some did, and I commend them.

It is these churches that no doubt have had the greatest success with their small groups.

But others started groups simply because they were popular—the latest church trend.

Obviously, that isn’t a sufficient motive.

Current trends rarely provide a church with strong foundations.

A small-group ministry won’t ultimately be effective unless it exists to achieve biblical purposes.

set of biblical goals when beginning their small groups.

Some did, and I commend them.

It is these churches that no doubt have had the greatest success with their small groups.

But others started groups simply because they were popular—the latest church trend.

Obviously, that isn’t a sufficient motive.

Current trends rarely provide a church with strong foundations.

A small-group ministry won’t ultimately be effective unless it exists to achieve biblical purposes.

For lack of a biblical purpose and mandate, many small groups have floundered.

But I have to tell you, I believe that these Care Groups are necessary of every Christians life and part of every healthy churches life.

We should not think of our fellowship with other Christians as a spiritual luxury, an optional addition to the exercises of private devotions.

Christians as a spiritual luxury, an optional addition

to the exercises of private devotions.

Fellowship

Fellowship is one of the great words of the New Testament: it denotes something that is vital to a Christian’s spiritual health, and central to the Church’s true life…The church will flourish and Christians will be strong only when there is fellowship.

is one of the great words of the New Testament: it

denotes something that is vital to a Christian’s spiritual

Genuine fellowship isn’t practical in a group of 60 people.

church following a biblical model will not just “have” care groups.

It will not merely “offer” care groups.

health, and central to the Church’s true

care groups.

It will not merely “offer” care groups.

Rather, it will be built with care groups.

life…The church will flourish and Christians will be

As I stated before, though, small groups will only serve

As I stated before, though, small groups will only serve the church if they are founded on sound doctrine and sustained by a clear biblical purpose.

the church if they are founded on sound doctrine and sustained

strong only when there is fellowship.

That brings us to message today.

I’m going to set Care Groups on top of the foundation of the gospel.

by a clear biblical purpose.

That brings us to

I want you to follow very closely what I’m doing because the Apostle Paul warned: — 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it.

But let each one take heed how he builds on it.

11 For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.

14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.

15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Community is something we all want.

No matter how you were wired, something in your soul longs for meaningful relationships with other humans.

We long to know others and to be known by them.

We treasure friendships that allow us to truly “be ourselves”.

Even though some of us have never found this sort of community and

the others have been deeply wounded by relationships,

all of us still long for deep, authentic, real community.

How did we get this way?

How did this craving, this longing, get hardwired into us?

T

he Bible answers that question by explaining that we were created in the image of God.

God created us for community

Created for community

In the biblical account of creation the triune God says “let us make man in our image” ().

Human beings are made to image God to reflect his likeness.

In v26 look at the word “in” is translated several times in our English bibles as “with”.

Read it that way, “let US make man with our image”

You’ll remember that well know verse from John’s gospel — In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

The whole biblical purpose of Care Groups is rooted inside God’s eternal purpose to be in community with Himself 1 in 3 and 3 in 1

as the Triune God-head, then they came and made us for the same reason,

to be in fellowship with Them and with one another.

That’s why are longing for community seems deep.

It’s how we are made as God’s image bearers.

So what happened?

What makes this community so hard to attain?

What keeps us from achieving the kind of relationships that God wired us for?

The fall: broken community

If you think for a moment about the nature of your relationships, you will quickly identify another tendency that is present,

something darker and more sinister, than your God–given desire for community.

It is the tendency to use people to meet your own needs first.

It’s not hard to see how often we are

self–focused,

pursuing our own interest in

protecting ourselves from people and relationships that will demand too much of us.

For example

For example think of times that you have intentionally avoided someone who bothers you.

Or the times when you have said what people wanted to hear in order to avoid offending them.

Or the times you’ve stopped pursuing certain friends because they're no longer useful to you.

Or the times that you’ve clung to a bad or unhealthy relationships just to escape the feeling of being alone.

think of times that you have intentionally avoided someone who bothers you.

Or the times when you have said what people wanted to hear in order to avoid offending them.

Or the times you’ve stopped pursuing certain friends because they're no longer useful to you.

Or the times that you’ve clung to a bad or unhealthy relationships just to escape the feeling of being alone.

Or the times when you have said what people wanted to hear in order to avoid offending them.

Or the times you’ve stopped pursuing certain friends because they're no longer useful to you.

Or the times that you’ve clung to bad or unhealthy relationships just to escape the feeling of being alone.

These selfish tendencies reveal that something is gone deeply wrong with our pursuit of community.

Though made in Gods image, we have fallen from our original glory.

We have devolved into something less than what we were made to be.

There is something selfish and self–absorbed about us that prevents us