Part 2: The Redeemed and Lasting Community
The Beautiful Community • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 1 viewNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Review: Yesterday, we talked using the fancy word “Community.” Does anyone remember what “community” means or a “community” is? Can anybody give an example of a community?
We also learned about something called sin. Does anybody remember what “sin” is? (Allow time for answers). We can say that “sin is rejecting or ignoring God in the world he created, rebelling against him by living without reference to him, not being or doing what he requires…” which results the breaking down of everything including our lives and our communities.[1]
Question: Do you think that a community that loves God and wants to obey him should be different from all the other communities, especially from the bad things? (Encourage a yes response; the reason being is that God commands us to love one another, not mistreat one another, etc…other groups may have similar rules, but they often mistreat anybody not in their group. Jesus commands all people to love those who are even outside of their community and that should make a difference against hate we run see in the world)
How do you think they should be different?(potential answers: forgiving, welcoming, loving, transformative/impacting, genuine concern for one another, genuine love for one another, etc…)
Read “The Church is God’s Temple” from The Ology, pg. 184
What are some things about the church community that sound like we would want? ( Everybody has a gift and everybody has a part to play in God’s community; No one is “better” than anybody else so we don’t have to feel bad about what we have or don’t have or are and are not; God lives ONLY in this community and ONLY with this people!!).
What makes a church community, like the Crossing, so special is that Jesus is the one who is building this community. Jesus did not start a band. Jesus did not get people who were all the same either. Instead, Jesus died to forgive the sins of lots of people from every tribe, every language, every family and every nation to make them his own special community. Jesus is alive again and he gives his new life to people to give them a new heart.
Listen to how the very first people in the community of Jesus lived with each other:
“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship [community], to the breaking of bread and the prayer. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed [the community of Jesus] were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)
How were all these different people able to come together without fighting against each other and hating one another? They believed in Jesus!
What is the most important to you in a community that you want to be, or are part of? (No wrong answers here; useful information for contextualizing gospel presentations can be extracted from the answers here to learn what is important to them that the gospel ultimately and alone satisfies)
How would you describe this kind of community if you ever saw it in real life?
Notice that the people were all taking care of each other. The leaders were teaching the people so that there was learning taking place. They were committed to each other and their community. They made sure everybody had what they needed including food. The sometimes went over to each other’s houses and ate together! They had a carne asada and tamaladas! Whenever somebody was in need, people with extra stuff would sell some of it to give money to help other people out. What a beautiful community!
This is what church is! This is what The Crossing wants to be. And while it is not perfect yet, one day Jesus is going to be done building his community and the only real and lasting community with be the community of Jesus. We will not need or want other communities because what we really wanted as a place to belong is to be in the community of people who believe in Jesus.