We Are: A Gospel Community
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INTRO
I look back on my time in college and I have a lot of fond memories.
It was there I met my wife.
I felt rooted in my calling to preach the gospel.
But there were things about attending a Christian College that wore on me.
One thing that got a bit annoying was dorm devotions.
Once a week we were required to drop everything sit in a hallway in our dorm and share in a devotional time.
Sometimes this was a joy.
Other times the guy sharing would decide he would eat up our whole evening with a full hour long sermon.
I’ll never forget one night I was trying to finish up a paper and one of the guys on my floor saw me as he was leaving the library and reminded me when needed to head out for dorm devos.
I let out a deep sigh.
And he chided me saying, “Billy come on man we will never have Christian community as great as this for the rest of our lives.”
Nothing like forced community!
Perhaps the way I feel about dorm devos is how you feel about Sunday morning or sitting in a circle at small groups.
It feels you with annoyance.
My hope is two things.
I hope this morning I encourage you to have zeal for gospel community
Also to show how wrong my misguided friend was.
As enjoyable as college was it pales in comparison to the joy I have experienced in rich community in the church as Jesus intended.
We’re in the middle of a short sermon series called We Are.
This is a sermon series where we explore the vision of Coram Deo Church, that we are a Gospel Community on Mission.
Gospel, Community, Mission.
Those are the things we are exploring in this series.
Today we look at the fact that we are a Gospel Community.
It’s important we start with that word Gospel.
We aren't a community for communities sake.
In order to have a vision for community, we need to understand the purpose of community.
Over the years I have heard many purposes for focusing on community in church, including but not limited to: belonging,
making big churches feel small,
learning the Bible,
pastoral care,
fellowship,
friends,
closing the back door of the church,
evangelism, and so on.
Look all of these purposes has merit and can be argued as essential to the church.
I would suggest, however, that these "purposes" are in fact the product of community rather than its ultimate goal.
Why is this significant?
If were playing basketball and you pass the ball back to me for me to just lay it up in the wrong basket it doesn't do much good does it?
The point: it is increasingly difficult to score points for your team when you are aiming at the wrong goal.
So let’s think about the church, our goal is to produce disciples of Jesus who worship him and exalt his name.
If we aim at a product such as belonging as the purpose of community, we can achieve that goal without pointing to Jesus.
When keeping people becomes our goal, we inadvertently communicate that our purpose is to grow the church rather than glorify God.
We can become more interested in building the church rather than advancing the kingdom.
What we don’t want to do is lift up the name of Coram Deo rather than the name of Jesus.
At the end of the day, our purpose in community is to receive the grace of God and respond by imaging him and lifting up the name of Jesus.
I want you to see Coram Deo, that community is a result of being a disciple of Jesus.
We are the body of Christ created in the image of God, this God exists in community, The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have eternally existed in relationship with one another as one God in three persons.
God is a relational being who created us as relational beings so that we could image him.
As a community, this means that we are to reflect the goodness of God and preach the gospel through our lives together.
This means loving one another, forgiving one another as Christ forgave us, calling one another to confession and repentance for the purpose of reconciliation, and challenging one another to lives that glorify God.
That’s the view I want you to have in mind this morning that we are the body of Christ created in the image of God, who exists in community.
With that framework in place let’s go to our text to walk this idea out.
I. The Text
Some context for us, Peter is describing how we as believers ought to conduct our lives in light of what Christ has done on our behalf.
Look at the text with me 1 Peter 2:9-12
1 Peter 2:9–12 (ESV)
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
Peter begins with our identity.
He gives us four ways to understand whom we are rooted in, who Jesus is, and what he has done.
He starts by saying We are a "chosen race," reminding us that we have been set apart and are predestined to follow him.
We are a "royal priesthood," reminding us that through the death and resurrection of Jesus, we no longer need a mediator between God and us.
We are a "holy nation" through the imputed righteousness of Jesus,
and we are a people of God's "own possession."
Everything we are called to be comes out of what God has already done. (repeat)
What a beautiful picture of God's love.
We have been born again through the resurrection of Christ.
We are new creations that are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness.
God is jealous and unwilling to share possession of his people with sin.
I like to picture my son when I read this verse.
I love kids in general, but I have a passionate love for my son.
That's how I see this rolling off of Peter's pen
We are God's kids!
All four aspects of our identity are rooted in Jesus and, significant to our discussion, are plural in nature.
Catch this, these are corporate identities of a race, priesthood, nation, and people.
As the church, we need to recapture our sense of community and connectedness to one another,
Peter reminds us that we are indeed a people, not a collection of individuals.
The church is a people who understand their identity in Christ and have a corporate or communal understanding of that identity.
So here is what this means.
It means that we are committed to one another.
It means we are committed to our collective growth in Christ.
Then, out of that identity, we worship; we "proclaim the excellencies" of Christ.
Through Jesus we have been reconciled to God and to one another.
Once we were not a people, but now we are God's people through the mercy of the cross
Therefore we ought to be a people who point to and worship Jesus consistently.
If the group you call your community does not regularly point you to Jesus and remind you of his grace and mercy in your life, then it is not a gospel- centered community.
We are a people in awe of what Jesus has done and we worship him accordingly.
Out of that worship, Peter challenges us, in verses 11-12, to live lives that reflect the transformation that comes from the gospel penetrating our lives.
1 Peter 2:11–12 (ESV)
Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.
Because we have been made a holy nation, we can live holy lives.
Now here is what happens, often at this point in the passage we begin to read from a personal rather than corporate viewpoint.
We are accustomed to reading scripture and thinking of our holiness in an individualistic manner.
We label sanctification as personal holiness.
However, the context has been plural, written to the church, and remains so as Peter calls us to fight against our flesh.
The idea again is that Because Christ has reconcile us and made us a people of his own possession, the church is oriented toward one another's corporate sanctification.
This means you care about your brother and sisters walk with the Lord, their battle with sin.
Emphasizing this point, Peter calls our fight against sin a "war."
Now, contrary to any Rambo movies you may have seen, wars are not fought by individuals. Armies fight wars.
John Piper has made the point that the church has been deceived into believing that we are in a time of peace while our enemy stays on the assault.
Our deception has lulled us into being unprepared and ill equipped for battle, leaving many of our number maimed or killed by ambushes of sin.
Within our community we must remember that we are in a war against sin and that we fight together for the truth of who God is and what he has done.
Finally, out of our identity we understand the purpose of having a good reputation, as a community, with unbelievers.
We maintain a good reputation not so that we can judge the lost or so that we might Think highly of ourselves but so that those who don’t yet know Jesus might come to believe
Even if they hate us, speak ill of us, our hearts desire is that they would know God.
We are called to be a community that is on mission with God.
It is important to see that Peter describes a community whose good deeds are seen by those who don’t believe.
We must be a community that is seen loving one another and our neighbors.
Don't miss this point.
If no one ever catches us being Christians because we are holed up behind drawn curtains, then we are not a missional or an obedient community.
We will zoom in more on this idea of mission next week but for now let’s reiterate what we’ve seen
We see in this description of a Christian community that our corporate identity is in Jesus, and out of that comes worship, community, and mission, culminating in the glory of God.
This is our picture of a healthy community.
The purpose of community is to make and mature disciples of Jesus; everything else is the product of that purpose.
What this means, Coram Deo, is that you have to redefine community as a lifestyle rather than an event. (PAUSE)
When you get together with your family you don’t say you are going to family. You say you’re getting together with your family.
It’s a subtle shift but a paramount difference.
When we see community as a series of events, we hold on to our individuality and see community in terms of what it offers us.
If we are going to live in community in the way that Peter describes, then we need rethink our lifestyle.
Peter's picture of community is one in which people consider one another, prefer one another, and sacrifice for one another.
This will require a paradigm shift from the thinking that our walk with Jesus is solely personal.
It requires us to see ourselves as a people and not just a gathering of people.
The irony in our tendency to shrink from such a notion is that we were made for community.
This means that when we experience this kind of community, it will fill the many holes we feel are disconnecting us from one another.
If we pursue God because we have been reconciled to him through the cross, then why would we not pursue one another?
We have been reconciled to each other through that same cross.
We cannot call ourselves a community if we continue to compartmentalize our lives.
This brings me to another point.
Since Community is a blessing of God, church should be life giving to its members.
Unfortunately; many of Our experiences have been different.
Discipleship groups, men and women's groups, and Community groups are often seen as obligatory and life taking
Often we secretly hope the kids will be sick so we can stay home.
They can feel like a circle of awkwardness.
When we get together over a meal, why do we fill it with idle chatter about sports and American Idol and then transition to "spiritual" time in a drum circle?
What if we reclaimed the dinner table for meaningful conversations about what Jesus has done and how the Holy Spirit is leading us today?
We don't have to be in a circle to talk about conviction, repentance, and the excellencies of Christ.
When we relegate these conversations to specific times of "care and share" or Bible study, we are effectively compartmentalizing our lives.
We are propagating the belief that these conversations and convictions should not spill over into unsanctioned times.
We condition people to make a mental separation between spiritual and practical matters.
When should our talk not be salted with the gospel?
I am not saying that every conversation has to be an exegesis on propitiation.
There are times for small talk and banter about our favorite sports teams.
But if we talk about Jesus only during Bible study, if we pray only in that circle, if we cannot articulate the gospel's influence on our view of politics, business, sports, and entertainment, then we are not living transformed lives.
We are still compartmentalizing the gospel.
In order for our community to be life giving, we must understand the power of the gospel and believe it.
John Piper speaking of the community of saints within the church says it so well,
“[Community] is a blood-bought gift of God's grace. More than most of us realize, it is a life-sustaining, faith-strengthening, joy-preserving means of God's mercy to us. I urge you not to cut yourself off from this blessing.” _John Piper
[So how do we move forward? What does this look like? Let’s look next at Community applied]
II. Community Applied
Let’s go to a different passage, what many label as the community passage
Acts 2:42–47 (ESV)
And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed 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.
We see in this text elements of community that marked the early church:
Study, fellowship, communion, spiritual gifts, care, generosity, mission, prayer, and worship.
What we do not know is exactly how they did these things.
We do not have a prescriptive picture of what this must look like, and in that we have freedom.
Groups are unique expressions of the gospel lived out in community rather than cookie-cutter copies.
One way that has been helpful for me Consider these elements to be like paints.
We all use the same paint to produce a picture, but each painting will be a unique work of art.
The way these elements are employed and experienced by a gospel community will be unique to the people, culture, context, language, and neighborhood.
The goal is to see unique expressions of community that encompass these elements within the rhythms of the group rather than dictating a one-size-fits-all experience.
Though we may not study the Bible every time we get together, we are committed to its study and authority in our group.
We may worship together on Sundays, pray on Tuesdays, and fellowship together on Thursdays.
In other words, don't expect that every element of community will be expressed every time we gather, but that each element has its place in the rhythm of our community.
Let’s consider these elements we see in Acts 2
- BIBLE STUDY
The church in Acts dedicated themselves to the apostles' teaching."
A key element in our community is the study of scripture.
The Bible is the revelation of God and is authoritative in our lives.
It is a gift of God's grace and is our opportunity to know him; therefore, the study of Scripture is a consistent rhythm of any Community group at Coram Deo.
We want to connect the proclamation of the Word on Sunday with the lives of our people
during the week,
Bible study is one element used toward the purpose of making and maturing disciples of Christ.
CONFESSION AND REPENTANCE
The communities in Acts celebrated communion with one another on a regular basis.
What’s implied by this rhythm is their culture of confession and repentance.
The purpose of studying Scripture is to know God and how the good news changes everything.
This transforms our lives as we respond to the gospel.
Because Jesus has atoned for our sin and removed its stain, we want our community to be marked by a culture of repentance.
This is a response to the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit.
Because our identity is defined by Jesus, we don't have to fear death or shame.
We can be open and honest about our struggles as we put sin to death
And we can be confident in the compassion and grace of our Lord as it is expressed through our community.
To see transformation in our body, we need to constantly remember what Jesus has already accomplished on our behalf and remind one another of that daily.
Again, we are a holy nation, a people of his own possession; therefore, as a community we cannot wink at sin but must lovingly correct beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors that are not honoring to God.
The purpose in reflecting God's patience and grace is always be reconciliation, not conformity.
Reconciliation is the gospel, conformity is religion. (Pause)
The goal is to point to Jesus, the cross, and the resurrection as the only remedy for sin and to look to the Holy Spirit for the ability to walk in righteousness.
We want heart change through the power of the gospel and not merely behavioral change.
This requires that Coram Deo is saturated with the gospel to the point where it spills into every area of our lives.
Let’s not just assume that we all get this.
We have to continue to grow in this
If we don’t understand the gospel, then we will never get to confession and repentance.
Worship
The early church was continuously praising God in worship.
As the image bearers of God in community, we must live lives of worship.
The purpose of confession and repentance is to align our hearts with God so that we can rightly worship him.
We confess and repent of idols to which we have given worship that only Jesus deserves.
Worship of Jesus is the destination for confession and repentance and is a natural outflow of a community.
As a community we are to encourage one another toward constant worship, pointing to the works and glory of Jesus.
This can take on many forms, from singing songs to enjoying a steak dinner, but it is a consistent part of any gospel community in response to the wonder of our God.
-PRAYER
In addition, the early church was dedicated to prayer.
Prayer is a gift of God's grace to us--we have the opportunity to communicate with our Creator.
We have the ability to converse with God, praising him, confessing our sin, asking for his provision, and listening for his response.
When a couple is struggling with infertility, we get to seek God for peace and patience.
When a friend gets a job offer, we get to praise God for his provision.
When a family miscarries, we get to mourn with them and ask God for comfort.
We cannot expect to be spirit dependent if we are not committed to prayer as a community. (pause)
We must be consistently seasoned with prayer
Within the rhythms of our lives, prayer can be spontaneous as the need arises, or it can be ordered and a regular expectation of anytime we gather
Regardless of how it manifests, prayer is an integral part of church.
Prayer reflects our dependence on our Father.
If we are to be a people who walk in the spirit, we must be quick to fall on our knees before the Father.
HOSPITALITY
We see the early church eating together and enjoying one another in fellowship.
This is the place where you can more easily invite new people to experience your community.
Gospel-centered hospitality seeks to love people where they are while providing a safe place to introduce someone new to your group.
Hospitality includes both the way we prefer one another and the way we open our doors to those who need to meet Jesus.
The early church took care of one another and welcomed outsiders.
Hospitality is our privilege and joy as ambassadors for the gospel.
EXERCISE OF THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS
The Holy Spirit is in the business of exalting Jesus, and that is the purpose of our community groups.
The community in Acts saw many manifestations of the Holy Spirit within their midst.
So, it stands to reason that we should be exercising our gifts in community and seeing the fruits of the Spirit used to edify the church.
As the church is described as a body with all the parts important to its function, so as a community of believers we have the privilege of exercising our gifts for the sake of Jesus's name.
When discerning the appropriateness of particular gifts in community, remember that the purpose of those gifts is to exalt Jesus.
SHARED NEEDS
Galatians 6:2 (ESV)
Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
We see the needs of the church being met as they are shared.
Let me say this, You cannot meet a need that isn't shared.
This is where I just want to step aside and confess, I am struggling friends.
Can I just break the mold for a moment.
I know the expectation is for you to listen to me monologue.
But y’all I am wrestling with loneliness and exhaustion.
Hannah and I left everything with some friends to come and plant this church.
I didn’t know we’d hit a pandemic.
I didn’t know jobs would come and folks would move.
I am tired and I am wrestling to not have a numb heart.
I can’t rightly stand up here and proclaim community and not share a need I have.
I am battling to have fervor and passion and not grow complacent.
Will you pray for me?
Will you reach out to me and Hannah?
CONCLUSION
As we have been exploring the idea of redefining community, I hope I have given you a vision of what community can be.
Coram Deo, We have been reconciled through the blood of Jesus to be a community that exalts him.
As we work from that vision, we can be a community that allows the gospel to saturate our lives and fulfill our purpose to make disciples and worship Jesus.
Communities that are steeped in the gospel will grow in their understanding of who they are in Jesus and will be more inspired to proclaim his excellencies and share the good news.
This picture of community is not a pipe dream.
This is the experience God intended for us to have in community.
He created us for it and made it possible by sending his Son to die on the cross.
Through the resurrection of Jesus we are a community.
We just need to be it.
When our experience doesn't match up, it is not time to throw in the towel but an opportunity for us to call one another back to this vision.
I know that building relationships within the church can often feel obligatory.
I think that is why Scripture often depicts the process of sanctification in terms of a battle.
It is going to be work to glorify God in community.
But when we understand community as an expression of our identity in Christ, we open the door for living
out our faith in community in ways that give us life.
We will begin to see ourselves as a people called to exalt our Father in heaven as disciples of Christ.
In doing so we redefine what a community it, aligning our definition with what God intended for us, namely, to
reflect his glory through community as we make disciples of jesus.
Coram Deo.
We are a Gospel-Centered Community.
Let’s Pray