Compelling Community
Go Fish • Sermon • Submitted
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· 3 viewsWe become a light in the darkness by becoming a compelling community characterized by love and unity.
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Introduction
Name
Honored that you’re here
Vision
Grace Empire exists to restore, revitalize, and refresh the Tampa Bay Area through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
Grace Empire exists to restore, revitalize, and refresh the Tampa Bay Area through an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.
Recap
We are in our third week of our Go Fish series where we are talking about Discipleship and how to multiply as a church.
The first week we talked about becoming a Fisher of Men and how Jesus had given us the great commission, the call to make disciples of all nations, as his last words before he ascended into heaven. We introduced that the work of the ministry isn't the sole job of the minister but ministry was everyone’s job. We are called to love people first so that they can learn to love first.
Last week, we explained the importance of being a church that was interdependent, accountable, and was able to submit to one another. Jesus commanded for our own good and for the good of others to bear each other’s burdens. That means we need to fight our own culture and our need to be independent and learn to live by leaning on one another. By sharing our burdens with one another, not only do we rally people to our side, but those that are in the church can understand how they fit within the body of Christ.
Share Gio’s Story
As we state every single week, Grace Empires mission is to help the fed up, frustrated, and fatigued. We want to be a place where people can restore, revitalize, and refresh their lives by connecting to a creator that infinitely loves them, is infinitely patient, forgiving, and full of mercy and grace. Our God is not angry because all the anger and wrath of sin that was meant for us was put on his son as a substitution for us.
We are called to make disciples of Jesus in light of this. To tell the world the good news of Jesus. The good news of the gospel.
Within the church this means we devote ourselves to the members of the church body. We serve one another, love one another, challenge one another, encourage one another, listen to one another, and help one another and when every person in this church embraces their role within the body of Christ something miraculous happens. We become a place that people can come and be healed. Healed from sickness, loneliness, guilt, shame, frustration, and exhaustion.
And as we are going to learn today…this mission is not just within the church, but must go beyond it. The goal of church isn't just to maintain healthy churches. Matter of fact, I would go so far to say that a church that focuses only on its own people is no church at all.
An inwardly focused church is an unhealthy church.
An inwardly focused church is an unhealthy church.
Jesus was clear about his mission
For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
Similarly our call is the same.
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Our focus is not inward, but outward. Our light shouldn’t be hoarded to ourselves but should be used to help those around us.
We are a lighthouse not a bomb shelter. We are not called to hide from the world. To only protect ourselves and our children. Becoming a lighthouse or being a lighthouse is about inviting the cold, weathered, broken, and shipwrecked people in the world into our personal world. It’s letting life get a little bit messy. But here’s the thing…when we learn to embrace the mess, it doesn't become less of an inconvenience, but it we gain something more than convenience, we get to see the miracles of God done through our hands. When you see God use you, its quite a sight to see.
So heres the first question…do you see GXE as a more inwardly focused church or an outwardly focused church?
We are known by our love
We are known by our love
We don’t have to have grown up in the church to know that love is important. We have been taught from school, society, television, the internet, and any other source that love is the answer. We need to love and accept each other. We need to value one another, care for each other, and be considerate of others. This isn’t ground breaking news.
But its hard isn’t it? It’s hard to find a group of people where you feel completely accepted. A place where you know you can let your walls come down and be completely transparent. It’s hard to find. Matter of fact, its such a rarity that we are willing to pay someone just so we can talk. We make fake accounts on social media or social news aggregation sites like reddit and dig to complain, rate, confess, and vent.
We love the anonymity of the internet because we are able to be completely ourselves because we are able to completely hide ourselves.
But what if you could be ourselves without having to hide yourself? Wouldn't that be something?
Jesus commanded us to love God and love people (). Love is the basic foundation to what it means to be a follower of Jesus and the reason we are able to love the people around us is because God loved us first.
We love each other because he loved us first.
And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
But why are we supposed to do this? Why all the love? Why is it necessary for humanity? Why is it necessary for Christians?
I think the answer is two fold.
First, this type of love is hard to find and that is what leads us to number two.
Second, love should characterize the way we interact with each other because Jesus says, this is how the world will recognize us:
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
What should someone that walks with Jesus look like? I mean seriously…we know people that carry the title of “Christian” but if you walk with Jesus, someone that is characterized as God in the human form, what should that person look like?
Holy? Wise? Patient? Full of Peace?
Im sure these are all true to a degree…but Jesus said, that those who follow Jesus, those that are considered his disciples, should mirror the same love that he loved us with…and we are to pour that out on one another. We are to love each other.
I want to tell you about Jen Wu. She was known for her love.
A follower of Christ, is someone that the world looks at and scratches their head. They ask the question…why are they the way they are? Why are they like that…? It’s more than being a good person…they surprise people by the way they care.
A Compelling Community
A Compelling Community
So what happens when you get a people that love like this and bring them together...
You get something enthralling. Something irresistible. You get a compelling community.]
“On the night He was betrayed, Jesus prayed for His disciples. This was a pivotal moment for them, and Jesus prayed that they would be strengthened, focused, and protected. Interestingly, Jesus did not pray only for His disciples, but for “those who will believe in me through their word.” In other words, Jesus prayed for us.”
Excerpt From: Francis Chan & Mark Beuving. “Multiply.” iBooks. https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/multiply/id567310376?mt=11
John 14:2
When I am raised to life again, you will know that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?”
Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.
John 17
“I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.
“I have given them the glory you gave me, so they may be one as we are one. I am in them and you are in me. May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me.
Jesus prayed that we would be like him and his father. He prayed that we would be one.
In other words...
Jesus desired for the church to be united.
Jesus desired for the church to be united.
This is a profound idea…it really is…
Jesus believed that the whole of his mission - the mission to save the lost - would be communicated and exemplified through the UNITY of the church.
Jesus believed that the whole of his mission - the mission to save the lost - would be communicated and exemplified through the UNITY of the church.
Thats a really BIG IDEA.
Goss, we think that if we build the right building, say the right thing, find the right logical argument, if we come up with some unique strategy that Jesus will be preached all the more…but Jesus says the world will be convinced…by what?
Our love and our unity.
Holy Crap…but when you think about it, haven’t we all heard the objections from unbelievers who point to divisions in the church as a cause for their disbelief? Or how about their lack of love, judgementalism, and hate for not wanting to be a part of the church?
Notice that in Jesus’ prayer, he assumes that our faith and unity would not be hidden. It’s understood that this is supposed to be public. People are supposed to see us as a compelling community.
Thats why we don’t hide folks. That’s why we advertise. That’s why we want people to come…not so they can hear a good message or listen to amazing worship music. Thats great BUT they will come back BECAUSE they see a community that loves each other and loves other people.
Why do we do our 7 min connection time? Is it just to drink coffee? To keep you caffeinated so you can stay awake during the sermon? Nay friends…we do it so that we can connect to someone that has never been to church before, someone new, and have them feel welcome and loved.
We are creating a culture of love here. We want to reach people the right way and that happens by creating a compelling community, a community characterized by unity.
So how are we going to do this? What is the practical application? I call this the three S’s
Sunday, Serving, and Small Groups
Sunday, Serving, and Small Groups
Invite Ryan to the stage
Invite Ryan to stage
For this next portion, I want to invite our Small Groups pastor to the stage because we have strategized for the next season of Empire Groups and how we are going to improve on this idea.
For this next portion, I want to invite our Small Groups pastor to the stage because we have strategized for the next season of Empire Groups and how we are going to improve on this idea.
So quickly I want to go over the first two S’s
Sunday and Serving.
Sunday is the day we gather together, take communion, fellowship, hang out, sing praises, and listen to God’s word. This is an obvious place to invite someone too. Here people should see the loving, unified, environment of the church.
Serving is another world for community service. Community service is taking what we know of the gospel and the desire to make the world a better place by serving those that need help. Again, this is an externally focused program and people should see that we are unified even as we sweat, work hard, and serve. We will continue to make serving opportunities in our community. Matter of fact, if there is anyone that knows of a need that can rally GXE, come speak with me about it and we can see if we can help you get that ball rolling!
So pastor Ryan, can you tell me a little bit about Empire Groups? What are they?
What is the purpose of Empire Groups?
What does the average Empire Group look like?
So what is your vision for Empire Groups?
How are we going to implement unity within Empire Groups?
How do we get outsiders to see our unity?
When does our next semester start?
How can we be involved?
As we close, I want to show you a clip of a video regarding being a light in the darkness.