Share Life Together
- Loneliness is a major problem in our society.
- The dark underbelly of radical individualism is loneliness.
- It has become normal to be superficial.
- having only superficial relationships is damaging to ur souls
- real relationships take lots of time and are messy
- we're looking for shortcuts in relationships, that's why we have ai friendbots, casual dating/sex sites, etc.
- we can fall into "my usefulness = my value"
One of Grace Church's values is "We Share Life Together"
- before the beginning of time, God was in relationship with himself
Genesis 2:18 NLT
[18] Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”
Acts of the Apostles 2:42-47 NLT
[42] All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. [43] A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. [44] And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. [45] They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. [46] They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— [47] all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
Do you feel the longing to be known and to know someone on a deeper level?
Jesus came to restore relationships. He set up the church.
Acts of the Apostles 2:43-47 NLT
[43] A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. [44] And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. [45] They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. [46] They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity— [47] all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
Has the modern church lost its edge? Have we lost our edge? We don't need to look exactly like the early church, but we should look similar.
- they were in community daily
- praying together daily
- breaking bread daily
We are spending more time on our opinions than following Jesus.
Our world needs a church that can show up and be real. It's easy to "say" truth, but do we live it?
You cannot follow Jesus alone. Community is not optional. We are disciples.
Community is nothing without a relationship with God. Sometimes community may hurt us. People will leave. We need to keep opening up our hearts even if it is hard.
wrappingup
Make devotion the foundation of your group.
How we live is the best sermon we will ever preach to a non-believer.