Sermon Tone Analysis

Our Preaching theme for 2022 is “Begin Again”

We begin this year by taking a look at the values that guide our vision.

Last week I mentioned that I inadvertently created a chiasm in our values statement.

It begins with worship (the overflow of our hearts toward God) and ends with generosity (the overflow of our lives toward others.

At the center we have the Kingdom of God, which belongs at the center because it is our focal point at the people of God who are tasked with establishing His rule in the world.

And on either side of that we have the Holy Spirit who is the means by which we accomplish this task.

The second point is the Word of God which is our objective source of revelation and opposite that we have fellowship which is the context for working out and living out that revelation.

It is the value of fellowship, gathering as believers and cultivating relationships through which the Word of God is lived out that is our focus for today.

We value the gathering of believers for worship and for mutual encouragement.

We seek to create time for caring, for mutual sharing and for informal fellowship.

We value relationships, truly knowing one another, and sharing life together.

This is from “The Fishwrapper”

This is my Church

It is composed of people just like me.

It will be friendly if I am.

It will do great work if I work.

It will make generous gifts to many if I am generous.

It will bring others into fellowship if I bring them.

Its seats will be filled if I fill them.

It will be a church of loyalty and love, of faith and service.

If I who make it what it is, am filled with these.

Therefore, with God’s help, I dedicate myself to the task of being

All these things I want my church to be.

You are not in church - you are the church.

The church will be what we are.

In the New Testament, the church made a priority of fellowship, they used conflict as a context for working out Christian character and they used encouragement to created a synergy which resulted in the world-wide spread of the gospel.

The priority of fellowship

This is the story of the early church.

Notice that fellowship, relationship and being together are featured in almost every verse.

I’m glad that we are called “Spring City Fellowship” because fellowship is something the church should be known for.

Lets see what we can learn from the early church?

Fellowship is the context for learning.

So the first thing we learn is that three thousand people are added to the church and are being taught by the Apostles.

But notice also that the word “fellowship” is sued in the same sentence with the Apostle’s teaching.

They were not just listening to sermons, they were participating in a gathering with food and prayer.

Sure, there were probably some large gatherings in the temple complex, but these were probably mostly smaller gatherings in people’s homes.

Do the math - if you have 12 Apostles each holding a dozen gatherings a week with 20-30 people - that’s 3-4,000 people meeting weekly.

What’s the benefit of a small group?

First, that people actually get to meet the people who are the witnesses of Christ and all that He did and said.

They are able to ask questions and see if each of the Apostles that visit them are telling the same story.

But there is also time for sharing their own stories, their own encounters with Jesus and their own personal struggles.

They would pray for each other and the Holy Spirit would minister, not only through the Apostles both through the people who would also receive the Holy Spirit along with the teaching.

Today we have preachers on the radio, television and internet, but the challenge is always finding ways to connect people in Christian communities where learning is not only through hearing but experienced as well.

Larger churches offer small groups and programs where people can experience authentic relationships and a sense of community within the church community.

Even here at SCF, I am aware that we have a second congregation of people who are watching online.

That is why Karie is on YouTube chat during the service; to engage people who are watching and learn to know them.

And you might be surprised to learn that I get emails form people in other countries who watch these messages and ask questions.

I wish I could visit each one of them, but I trust that they have communities where they can learn and grow together.

Relationship is the environment for growth.

This passage tells us that not only were the people together but that they shared their possessions and their resources.

I don’t know about you, but this is where things start to get a little bit uncomfortable for me.

Let me just say that I am not suggesting that we should adopt a communal lifestyle - I believe in individual ownership.

But I also believe that real relationship causes those boundaries to be less important than what we share in common.

If you have a family member who experiences a tragic loss, you are right there to help, offering whatever you have that might meet their need.

Now think of these Jewish believers in Jesus who, though they had been dispersed throughout the Roman Empire,

come together on Pentecost and are filled with the Holy Spirit,

the same power that was on the mountain at Sinai was now in all the people.

The people of God were brought together as family, united under one Lord Jesus and filled with His Spirit.

In the context of this powerful bond of relationship in Christ, there is exponential growth, not just spiritual growth, but tangible life improvement.

The poor are being cared for.

Widows, the outcast of society have a family and a community.

Miracles are happening and the sick are being healed.

Is it just the Apostles who are doing all of this, or is it the power of multiplication happening through real and genuine relationships?

Of course you know my answer … growth and discipleship happens through relationship - one on one - life on life.

That has always been the model and every successful movement has utilized it.

So why gather?

Gathering creates an atmosphere for revival .

We are a Charismatic church; we pray for revival, but I don’t think we always know what that means.

We want so see the world changed, but if we are honest, we like our church to stay the way that it is.

Yes, it is nice to see new faces on a Sunday morning, but what happens when these new people want to try new things?

Are we ready to release our ministry roles, create new ministries or even build new ministry spaces?

OK, that’s where people wake up and say, “what do you mean?”

You want details as to who or what is actually going to change.

When we worship Jesus in the power of the Spirit and then begin to teach and disciple people in the Word of God, it picks up momentum an leads to revival.

But when revival happens, it reveals our hearts and our true purpose for gathering.

I have seen it go one of two ways, it can explode into something only God could have done.

or it can run up against against a wall of questions, concerns and objections.

“We liked it better the way things were!”

Why do we gather?

Because we like gatherings?

Or because we are in relationship with Jesus and each other.

When Jesus is at the center and we are relationally connected to Him and to each other then the net stretches to hold the catch.

The new wineskins expand to contain the new wine.

The wind of the Holy Spirit fills our lifted sail and propels us forward.

Momentum and growth is not a problem to be solved but a challenge to be accepted.

I am not looking to turn SCF into a mega-church, but I want us to be a healthy church and a healthy church is a growing church.

Growth doesn’t have to be measured in numbers.

I think it is is best measured in lives impacted by the Gospel.

And Kingdom multiplication; people sent out and release in ministry.

But experience tells me that when you do that, there will also be numerical growth and we have to be ready for that too.

But with people come problems, and that too, is part of the process.

The context for working out character

The early church had some issues to work through, but Jesus had already given his disciples a strategy for resolving conflict in the context of community.

We are wounded in relationships, but we are also healed in relationships.

When I ask people why they don’t attend church, the most common reason I hear is that they had a bad experience.

Sometimes is was the Pastor who confronted them in a way that was not loving or without understanding the situation.

Sometimes it was another church member who made a comment that left them feeling hurt or rejected.

Sometimes it was simply that peoples words did not line up with their actions, and they were tired of pretending.

Relationships with imperfect people results in wounding.

I don’t think you can have a real relationship without getting hurt somehow at some point.