This sermon explores the growing isolationist tendency called cocooning, and calls upon believers to value and embrace Christian Community. The key text is Hebrews 10:23-25 in which we are exhorted not to "forsake the assembling together."
This is a presentation to the Presbytery of Whitewater Valley on September 12, 2009 to intruduce them to the power of stories in understanding how change and identity work in congregations, both to help utilize conflict and to enhance mission and growth.
This is a presentation to the Presbytery of Whitewater Valley on September 12, 2009 to intruduce them to the power of stories in understanding how change and identity work in congregations, both to help utilize conflict and to enhance mission and growth.
Small Churches Make Good Neighbors was presented at NOC2008. Chuck Warnock offers 10 ways small churches can transform their communities, borrowing concepts from the ancient Celtic Christian abbeys in Ireland. Real life examples of churches using these techniques are presented.
Prayer without ceasing - a week of prayer for London at St Paul's Cathedraldiolondon
A year on from the launch of Capital Vision, The Diocese of London hosted a Week of Prayer at St Paul’s Cathedral as churches around London joined together in a relentless wave of prayer for our city. These slides were prepared to help people pray for London.
Small Churches Make Good Neighbors was presented at NOC2008. Chuck Warnock offers 10 ways small churches can transform their communities, borrowing concepts from the ancient Celtic Christian abbeys in Ireland. Real life examples of churches using these techniques are presented.
Prayer without ceasing - a week of prayer for London at St Paul's Cathedraldiolondon
A year on from the launch of Capital Vision, The Diocese of London hosted a Week of Prayer at St Paul’s Cathedral as churches around London joined together in a relentless wave of prayer for our city. These slides were prepared to help people pray for London.
Sermon 3 in a series on the Book of James. The text of this sermon is James 1:2-4. It was presented at Palm Desert Church of Christ on November 15, 2009, by Dale Wells.
Your church can grow, become more vital and authentic by practicing reciprocity. Reversing the Decline of the Presbyterian Church: Addressing the Cause, Practicing the Remedy. Using the social and theological mechanism of reciprocity, any church can add value to the world with a clear vision of its mission directed outward.
Vision, Identity, Transition: how to do visioning in a transitional settingBill Kemp
Even in the midst of transition, it is important that congregations and agencies plan for the future. This workshop based on Bill Kemp's Reality Check 101 work book, provides tools for vision casting in times of change.
Can your church become more vital and effective? Using the social and theological mechanism of reciprocity, any church can add value to the world with a clear vision of its mission. Reversing the Decline of the Presbyterian Church: Addressing the Cause, Practicing the Remedy.
There are a couple of ways for you to become a financial ministry partner.
The easiest is by going to our website at www.e3partners.org/motorcycle_ministry and create a monthly support plan using electronic funds transfer technology or donate a special gift.
The other option is to mail a check payable to “I Am Second” addressed to:
Frank Knight Jr. / Motorcycle Ministry
Account # 509
I Am Second
c/o e3 PARTNERS MINISTRY
2001 W. Plano Parkway, Ste. 2600
Plano, TX 75075
For a timely tax receipt, please provide your full name, address, phone #, and email.
All your contributions to our ministry either through e3 Partners Ministry or I Am Second are tax deductible and sincerely appreciated.
Reciprocal Church 1 of 4 Who's On First?Kevin Yoho
What if the real church thought the real world mattered to God? Pt. 1 of 4
Reversing the Decline of the Presbyterian Church: Addressing the Cause, Practicing the Remedy
February 14, 2012
Kevin Yoho, DMin
Transformation With a Passion http://kevinyoho.blogspot.com.
General Presbyter, Newark Presbytery
Synod of the Northeast
Presbyterian Church (USA)
The North Roanoke Baptist Association has made enormous progress, but as we look into the future, there is much that needs to be done to become a healthy, effective organization. It is time to take another step to fulfill our potential. In the future, association ministry will once again be the essential organization for cooperative in Southern Baptist Life.
We have very capable pastors and ministry leaders serving on our various ministry teams. They can develop innovative ideas for ministry; but only God knows the strategy for our unique circumstance which will strengthen churches, unite us in ministry, and enable us to fulfill the Great Commission. As we seek Him by praying together and dare to depend upon Him to guide us, He will give direction. We will see God working in our circumstances by opening new doors of opportunity and bringing new people and resources across our paths. When we then take a step of faith based on what God has revealed, we sill see Him do the miraculous. This is the amazing adventure of living in obedience to Him.
In a world that is becoming more confused and disoriented in the darkness of sin and desperation - this level of obedience will be required in order to have an effective witness of the power of God.
In Jude 17-23 Jude shifts from piling up examples of false teachers from the Old Testament to a series of practical exhortations that flow from apostolic instruction. He preserves for us what may well have been part of the apostolic catechism for the first generation of Christ-followers. In these instructions Jude exhorts the believer to deal with 3 different groups of people: scoffers who are "devoid of the Spirit", believers who have come under the influence of scoffers and believers who are so entrenched in false teaching that they need rescue and pose some real spiritual risk for the rescuer. In all of this Jude emphasizes Jesus' call to rescue straying sheep, leaving the 99 safely behind and pursuing the 1.
The Prophecy of Enoch in Jude 14-16_.pptxStephen Palm
In Jude 14-16 Jude cites one of the most cryptic characters in the Book of Genesis, Enoch, the man who never died! Jude quotes Enoch, but the words are not found in Genesis nor anywhere else in the Bible. Jude is actually quoting from a pseudepigraphical book named 1 Enoch. In this sermon we will take a close look at Enoch, consider the way that biblical authors at times cited non-biblical books as illustrations and how Jude applied these words to the false teachers of our day.
Jude: The Acts of the Apostates: Waterless Clouds (vv.8-13).pptxStephen Palm
Jude continues to paint a portrait of false teachers by piling up Old Testament examples of rebels who rejected God-given authority. This week we will consider the bad example of Satan and three men he worked through: Cain, Balaam and Korah. These examples continue to help us identify what false teachers are like and how to quickly identify them.
Jude: The Acts of the Apostate: High Handed Sins (vv.5-7).pptxStephen Palm
One of the key characteristics of Jude as an author is that he frequently alludes to or directly quotes Old Testament texts. He assumes knowledge of these great stories of the Hebrew Scriptures and without some solid understanding of the Books of Moses, in particular, Jude is almost indecipherable.
In this sermon, we will use a category of sin described in the Book of Numbers, the High-Handed Sin, as a way of organizing Jude 5-7. The High-Handed sin is the sin of the apostate, those who raise their fists against God. Jude, who loves triads, will share three "high-handed sins" committed by unruly mobs. Each of these OT stories are intended to demonstrate the true severity and danger posed by false teachers. In the process of considering these background texts to Jude's words we will grapple with some of the most confusing and even unnerving texts of scripture. Prepare for a wild ride!
Jude: The Acts of the Apostates (Jude vv.1-4).pptxStephen Palm
In this sermon Pastor Ryan Shannon introduces a new sermon series on the Book of Jude entitled, "The Acts of the Apostates". Apostates are the earliest "deconversion" stories of the New Testament. These are false teachers who rejected a truth that they once felt some affinity towards. They preached another gospel and posed a great danger to the early church. Like the first century, the 21st century church faces this same real risk. False teachers are often attractive, charismatic and incredibly positive in their message. But they reject the hard teachings of Jesus and offer a message that offers affirmation without correction. There is nothing sadder than someone who believes a lie and stakes their eternal destiny on that lie that our sin is something God winks at. In this series we will learn the importance of discernment coupled with a bold commitment to stand up, stand out and stand firm for the gospel.
This sermon will explore the broad topic of bioethics from a Christian perspective. The sermon is organized around three points borrowed from bioethicist Dr. Nigel Cameron and Charles Colson: Taking Life, Making Life and Faking Life. We will observe how current innovations offer great hope for healing major diseases but also pose the risk of creating dystopic nightmare scenarios. We will see what God's Word has to say on these relevant topics.
This is the concluding message in the series Trivial Pursuits and the fifth message of "Meaningful Pursuits." This message considers the pursuit of obedience. Shockingly, the words "obey" and "obedience" are not found in all of Ecclesiastes. However, the concept appears in a variety of expressions such as Pleasing God, Doing good, Walking in the "Sight of the Eyes" and Keeping the Commandments. We will explore each of these key phrases and the texts in which they appear, and we will explore what "keeping the commandments" means for the New Covenant believer. We will also explore the "God-rail" of judgment and what the believer in Jesus can expect on the "Day of Judgment."
Meaningful Pursuits_The Fear of God.pptxStephen Palm
In Proverbs Solomon says that "The Fear of God is the beginning of wisdom." The idea of fearing God is peppered throughout Ecclesiastes. It is found in some texts that we have explored in this series and some that we have not. In this message we will bring five key texts concerning the Fear of God that identify five key reasons why we are wise to Fear Him. We will also investigate the Hebrew word that lies behind this concept of fear in order to gain a more accurate view of this important biblical concept.
This sermon is part of the Easter Apocalypse series in which we are looking forward to the Book of Revelations for a sense of the sequel to the Easter story, Jesus in Heaven and King of kings and Lord of lords. In this message we will contrast Jesus' "veiled glory" during His earthly ministry including his post-resurrection appearances and Jesus' full display of his glory in John's vision in Revelation chapter 1.
Today we launch our Easter series entitled "Easter Apocalypse". This Palm Sunday we are going to study a moment from the Book of Revelation where a great multitude, much larger than the crowd in Jerusalem, will worship Jesus, waving palm branches. This amazing moment is found in the seventh chapter of the Book of Revelation. We will look at the entire chapter with a special focus on the middle of the chapter where this scene plays out in heaven.
Ecclesiastes 4: The Pursuit of Companionship.pptxStephen Palm
In Ecclesiastes 4 we find another meaningful pursuit sandwiched between two meaningless pursuits, as is Solomon's style. The Meaningful Pursuit is the pursuit of companionship. This passage contains the great statement that a cord of three strands is not easily torn apart. We will explore the primary meaning in context and then explore an additional meaning that the n+1 formula in this text suggests, that the plus one is also a reference to God. He is the one who truly provides enduring strength to our human relationships, whether we are looking at a marriage or a friendship. Excluding God leaves us "under the sun" and fending for ourselves.
The Pursuit of God's Timetable_Ecclesiastes 3.pptxStephen Palm
This week marks the shift from Trivial Pursuits to Meaningful Pursuits. This week we will look at Pursuing God's Timetable, embracing God's understanding of time and eternity. However, we will see that the jaded side of Solomon continues to intersperse rain clouds of doubt and cynicism. He bears the spiritual and emotional scars of a man who spent too much time in Trivial and sinful pursuits.
Culture Clash_Reasserting the Gospel to a culture that wants to reshape its m...Stephen Palm
This sermon is entitled Reasserting the Gospel to a culture that wants to reshape its message. In this sermon we will look at some key aspects of the gospel which clash with our culture, 5 common distortions of the gospel and finally 3 biblical examples of how to contextualize the gospel without compromising or confusing its message.
The Pursuit of Self Sufficiency_Ecclesiastes 9:11-12.pptxStephen Palm
In Ecclesiastes 9:11-12 Solomon bemoans how random chance falls upon mankind. The fastest runner doesn't always win the race. The smartest person doesn't always get the scholarship; life doesn't operate purely on the basis of fairness. The "under the sun" solution is self-reliance. In this sermon Mike Bealer demonstrates that the mathematics hard-baked into the universe suggest that God does not operate randomly. He creates a purposeful universe and one of His purposes is that we will rely upon Him rather than rely upon ourselves and our meager understanding of God's purpose and plan.
In this service, we will celebrate a child dedication. Then we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper together, and finally believers baptism by immersion. Each section will include a brief devotional focusing on the scriptures that inform and inspire these practices of the Christian faith.
Trivial Pursuits - The Pursuit of Riches_Contentment.pptxStephen Palm
This sermon is a tag team preaching. Pastor Steve Palm will begin with the bad news concerning the "Trivial Pursuit of Riches" in Ecclesiastes 5:8-17. We will look at several active "taxes" that siphon wealth: the Corruption Tax, the Consumption Tax and the Calamity Tax. Those who love money struggle to have enough. Cole will preach on the flip side of the coin in Ecclesiastes 5:18-20. The answer to the love of money is not more money and things. The true answer is contentment.
The Pursuit of Worldly Pleasure_Ecclesiastes 2.pptxStephen Palm
In Ecclesiastes Chapter 2 Solomon is convinced that he can run a dangerous experiment, safe-guarded by his great wisdom. The experiment is to explore every conceivable pleasure taken to inconceivable extremes and yet be unscathed. However, the experiment goes badly and leaves him jaded and empty. In the last three verses he finally allows a little of God's light to shine through. In this sermon we will contrast Solomon's life of empty pursuits with Jesus' balance life. He enjoyed the simple pleasures of life and set us an example of how to live beyond the "daily grind."
The Pursuit of Worldly Wisdom_Ecclesiastes 1:1-18.pptxStephen Palm
The book of Ecclesiastes is one of the least taught least preached and least read books in the Bible. However, it has one of the most relevant messages for our day. It is a rich tapestry of opposing threads, horizontal threads of an "under the sun" perspective that is worldly-wise and vertical threads of an "under God's Heaven" perspective that reflects the wisdom of God. Which perspective you embrace will determine whether life is a chore or a blessing. Man's wisdom leads to meaninglessness. God's wisdom leads to significance and true joy.
Culture Clash_Antisemitism and the Abrahamic Covenant.pptxStephen Palm
Antisemitism has spiked by 400% in the United States since the beginning of the Hamas/Israel War. However, antisemitism, the hatred and persecution of Jews, has been spiking since 2017. Antisemitism has been described as a "light sleeper" that has awakened yet again. In this sermon, we will look at two definitions of antisemitism, explore the history of antisemitism including the history of Christian antisemitism and then explore what God has to say by examining the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12, 15 and 17 and other prophetic texts. Pastor Steve will assert that the Abrahamic Covenant is an essential lens through which Bible-believers view history and current events. We will also learn what a "trope" is and then explore several insidious antisemitic tropes which are the fuel on the fire of antisemitism.
Christmas List - Jesus: Prioritizing Mission over Everything Else.pptxStephen Palm
4. Jesus: Prioritizing Mission over Everything Else. (Dec. 23 & 24) John 1:1-18
John’s gospel begins at an earlier point than the other gospels. Mark begins at Jesus’ baptism and adds nothing to the Christmas story. Matthew and Luke begin with the circumstances of Jesus’ humble birth. But John begins in Heaven with the story of the pre-incarnate Son of God. Heaven’s Prince was a partner with His Father in the work of Creation; “without Him nothing was made that was made” (John 1:3). He was worshipped by angels and shared in the same divine essence possessed by the Father and the Holy Spirit. As the ancient creed says, “He was God of God, Light of light, true God of True God”. In order to accomplish His Father’s Redemptive Mission, to redeem mankind, he voluntarily chose to forego the heavenly privileges of his throne at His Father’s side, and came to earth, was confined to the womb of a young Jewish girl and then was born and placed in a feeding trough, likely in a cave used for birthing lambs. We know so little about Mary, Joseph and the Wise Men whom we have been studying. We are left with the challenge of piecing their lives together. But we have four gospels that describe the miraculous life of Jesus. We see through their four accounts a common picture of a man who consistently prioritized God’s Mission over everything else, culminating in His crucifixion and death. His was a hard life lived perfectly. The challenge before us is whether we will choose to accept His Great Co-Mission, to join Him in prioritizing serving God over security, reputation, comfort, and everything else this world esteems that God sees as less than?
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way.pptxCelso Napoleon
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way
SBs – Sunday Bible School
Adult Bible Lessons 2nd quarter 2024 CPAD
MAGAZINE: THE CAREER THAT IS PROPOSED TO US: The Path of Salvation, Holiness and Perseverance to Reach Heaven
Commentator: Pastor Osiel Gomes
Presentation: Missionary Celso Napoleon
Renewed in Grace
Homily: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Sunday 2024.docxJames Knipper
Countless volumes have been written trying to explain the mystery of three persons in one true God, leaving us to resort to metaphors such as the three-leaf clover to try to comprehend the Divinity. Many of us grew up with the quintessential pyramidal Trinity structure of God at the top and Son and Spirit in opposite corners. But what if we looked at this ‘mystery’ from a different perspective? What if we shifted our language of God as a being towards the concept of God as love? What if we focused more on the relationship within the Trinity versus the persons of the Trinity? What if stopped looking at God as a noun…and instead considered God as a verb? Check it out…
The PBHP DYC ~ Reflections on The Dhamma (English).pptxOH TEIK BIN
A PowerPoint Presentation based on the Dhamma Reflections for the PBHP DYC for the years 1993 – 2012. To motivate and inspire DYC members to keep on practicing the Dhamma and to do the meritorious deed of Dhammaduta work.
The texts are in English.
For the Video with audio narration, comments and texts in English, please check out the Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF2g_43NEa0
What Should be the Christian View of Anime?Joe Muraguri
We will learn what Anime is and see what a Christian should consider before watching anime movies? We will also learn a little bit of Shintoism religion and hentai (the craze of internet pornography today).
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile.
The Good News, newsletter for June 2024 is hereNoHo FUMC
Our monthly newsletter is available to read online. We hope you will join us each Sunday in person for our worship service. Make sure to subscribe and follow us on YouTube and social media.
The Chakra System in our body - A Portal to Interdimensional Consciousness.pptxBharat Technology
each chakra is studied in greater detail, several steps have been included to
strengthen your personal intention to open each chakra more fully. These are designed
to draw forth the highest benefit for your spiritual growth.
2. Goals for today’s sermon
1. To grapple with the changes in our society
that are creating increasing isolation.
2. To explore together the Bible’s teaching
concerning the role of the church in building
community.
3. To call God’s people at GEFC to step up their
commitment to the evangelistic work of the
church in building God’s community.
3. Making The Case for
Community
1. Changes in our society that
are resulting in increasing
isolation and a breakdown
of community.
14. Making The Case for
Community
2. What does the Bible have
to say about the value of
being a part of a church
community?
15. Making The Case for
Community
Hebrews 10
23Let us hold fast the confession of
our hope without wavering, for he
who promised is faithful.
16. Making The Case for
Community
Hebrews 10
24And let us consider how to stir up
one another to love and good
works,
17. Making The Case for
Community
Hebrews 10
25Not neglecting to meet together,
as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another, and all
the more as you see the Day
drawing near.
18. Making The Case for
Community
A Christian
Community
helps us to
hold fast
19. Making The Case for
Community
Hebrews 10
23Let us hold fast the confession of
our hope without wavering, for he
who promised is faithful.
20. Making The Case for
Community
A Christian
Community
helps to
motivate us.
21. Making The Case for
Community
Hebrews 10
24And let us consider how to stir up
one another to love and good
works,
Παροξυσμός “Paroxusmos”
22. Making The Case for
Community
A Christian
Community is a
place of mutual
encouragement
23. Making The Case for
Community
Hebrews 10
25Not neglecting to meet together,
as is the habit of some, but
encouraging one another, and all
the more as you see the Day
drawing near.
24. Making The Case for
Community
3. The importance of
Evangelism in building
Christian community.
27. Making The Case for
Community
In a cocooned church…
There are no fresh stories
of conversion and life
change.
28. Making The Case for
Community
In a cocooned church…
Procedures trump mission
29. Making The Case for
Community
In a cocooned church…
There is more angst than
influence.
30. Making The Case for
Community
How can we build a church of
influence?
31. Making The Case for
We start becoming a church of influence
by:
Getting out of
the Salt Shaker
and into the
World
32. Making The Case for
We start becoming a church of influence
by:
Loving Others
Unconditionally
and Generously
33. Making The Case for
We start becoming a church of influence
by:
Empowering
Others
Editor's Notes
To grapple with the changes in our society that are creating increasing isolation.
To explore together the Bible’s teaching concerning the role of the church in building community.
To call God’s people at GEFC to step up their commitment to the evangelistic work of the church in building God’s community.
1. Changes in our society that are resulting in increasing isolation and a breakdown of community.
By 2011 the Commack Multiplex, the killer of the drive-in and the RKO Twin, was gone as well. Now, the Drive in is a Super Target. The Twin is a Party City. And the Multiplex is a Lowes. But what killed the Multiplex? A super-plex. A theater that serves meals? Something bigger yet?
The Flat Screen TV. This simple set up packs almost all the punch of the theater. An LED screen with a superior picture to the theaters we grew up in. A soundbar that produces excellent high and middle sound and a sub-woofer to make the low sounds that make you feel the action. Some throw in surround sound and theater seats. By now you’re probably wondering what I’m up to with this bit of screen history. What’s the point? This progression from drive-in to home theater is part of a major shift in our society.
There are so many examples of this trend. This term to refer to the retreat of Americans to the inside of their homes was first coined in the 1990s by a female entrepreneur with the rather colorful name Faith Popcorn. She has proven to be a bit of a futurist, someone who sees societal trends at their earliest stages. Ms. Popcorn predicted trends like working and shopping from home and talked about the financial and social impact that these megashifts would have.
She said, “Cocooning is about insulation and avoidance, peace and protection, coziness and control – a sort of hyper-nesting.
So what’s so bad about cocooning? What’s wrong with creating a comfortable nest? Is it really so bad that we have attached garages with garage door openers to get in privately? Or that we have alarm systems to keep danger out? Or that we have moved off our steps, or in NYC, stoops, in order to sit on decks in fenced back yards? What’s the problem with canceling my gym membership and building a fitness center in the basement? Or canceling my community center membership and putting in a pool and a Jacuzzi? Or building primary circle of relationships on social media?
Is it a problem that we are moving away from community? It is a huge problem for the church. Do you know fewer people who go to church? That’s not just a perspective, it’s a fact.
For a decade the pollster’s have been reporting that church attendance has fallen to 40% of the population. However, the truth is far more dire. In fact, less than 20% of Americans attend church regularly. Why the discrepancy?
The reason for this 20% difference is what pollsters call “the halo effect.” The Halo effect is the difference between what people tell pollsters and what they really do. Half of those who don’t attend church don’t want the pollster to think they are a bad person. So they lie! And as a result, the polls can be greatly skewed. It looks like in the average American community, the real number is between 17-18%. My gut instinct is that the numbers are better in Geneseo, but probably not as much better as we might assume. And the trend is concerning. Church attendance is spiraling downward at an alarming rate. If we define a growing church as a church that is not just gaining attendance, but gaining at a rate larger than the overall population growth in that community, the percentage of churches that are growing in America is 6%. 94% are plateaued or losing ground.
Cocooning is a part of this. But clearly there is a broader issue. Let’s be brutally honest. A growing number of people prefer not to go. Some don’t like church. Some aren’t sure that church helps them to be a better Christ-follower. A growing number prefer to stay in the cocoon and listen to better speakers and better worship on the internet. I’m not talking about the religious nones here. I’m talking about those who regard themselves as Christ-followers, but not church goers. Which leads to my next point.
2. What does the Bible have to say about the value of being a part of a church community? What I am talking about is the Title of our topic – Making the Case for Community. I think that before we consider specific reasons why a church community is important, we do well to begin with the text that most directly addresses the question of whether church attendance is important. That text is found in Hebrews 10.
Hebrews 10
23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
24And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
25Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. These verses are more than a simple command to go to church. They provide us with some compelling reasons why we should be committed to the local body. Let’s explore these together.
Look at verse 23 again:
23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.
I will never forget my first day at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. One of the first places on campus that I explored was the Student Union. I heard that the Student Union had two things in the basement that very much interested me, a bowling alley and a room filled with pinball machines. College was going to alright. I entered the main floor of the Student Union and felt like I had just been transported to another planet. There was a punk rock concert starting in an hour. This was 1978. I hadn’t heard of punkers. There were people with blue hair and pink hair. There were men and women wearing spikes and chains. It looked like Walking Dead, but they were very much alive. But the punkers weren’t the only ones there. The Marxists were there, protesting for a workers revolution. And the feminists were there, braless and brazen. And there was a group of Jewish students confronting some neo-Nazis who were handing out a newspaper called White News that claimed the holocaust never happened… it was a hoax. I have to admit, I was downright numb. But there was something else I found that day… a flyer for the Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship group that met in one of the upstairs meeting rooms on Thursday Nights. That coming Thursday, I was there. That group became a source of strength for me in a very lost place. I met 35 fellow Christians. Many were deeply committed disciples of Jesus. And when I began taking religion classes that denied the authority of God’s Word and ridiculed the notion that God created the universe, or Jesus performed actual miracles, that group was there for me. Several of the guys in that group took the same classes. We brainstormed about how best to oppose the professors skeptical approach to Christianity without failing the class. Greg and Phil and our IV staffer Steve helped me to hold fast in a setting that was hostile to faith. And as I look back I realize that I helped them. We were there for each other.
This is part of why we need Christian community. Holding fast is harder on your own. In fact, this is one of Satan’s favorite strategies, to isolate a believer and then attack, like the way a lion separates a gazelle from the herd and then pounces. There is strength in numbers, and this is part of why we need a Christian community.
A Christian Community helps to motivate us.
Let’s move on to Hebrews 10:24:
24And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works,
There is a very interesting word used in this verse. The word παροξυσμός can be used in a positive context or a negative context. It only appears twice in the entire New Testament. In Acts 15:39 this word is used to describe the “sharp disagreement” that arose between Paul and Barnabas concerning whether to take John Mark along on the Second Missionary Journey after he had defected during the first. Paul and Barnabas were emotionally stirred up and it resulted in their going their separate ways.
In our text we see this word being used in a positive context. As Christians we need to stir one another to love and good works. The idea here is that of motivation. Left to our own devices we can grow stale in our walk with God. This is one of the great dangers of an isolated Christianity. There is no one to stir the pot.
Let me share some of the ways that my pot has been stirred in the last few weeks. One of the neat things about being a pastor is that you get to see God’s people at work.
Mercedes Bealer stirred my pot. I watched her packing shoe boxes all last week with great joy and enthusiasm and felt lifted in the midst of a very busy week.
Rick Gilson stirred my pot. I watched him kill himself between the Electrical project and the Parking Lot project. In fact, I told him that if he did nothing for a couple of months we would not be disappointed. I walked in the church yesterday and he was excited to show me the two flat screen TV’s that he and his son-in-law Dustin were installing in two of our Sunday School rooms.
Josh Elmer stirred me up, even though I didn’t see him on Saturday. But I saw his handiwork. The doors were on the shed and the shed was half-sided. Josh is a busy guy with a large young family and here he is building a shed for us before winter hits.
Annie Henthorn stirred me up as I saw her caring for little “Z-man” in the hospital.
Nate stirred me up when we worked together installing the wiring for the TV connections in the AWANA room. I watched as he jumped from that job to other tasks like giving my daughter singing lessons.
Everything I just shared with you happened this week. And I could have given 10 more examples easily. This is one of the most powerful benefits to being a part of a church, a Christian community. Your brothers and sisters in Christ provide you with an opportunity to grow in your love. By seeing the way that they love others and experiencing their love for you, it is a powerful motivation to become a more loving person. And as you see them do good, it stirs your pot of complacency.
A Christian Community is a place of mutual encouragement
25Not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
As I look at this verse I have always been amazed to see that the problem of poor church attendance is as old as the first century. During the apostolic era there were believers who didn’t see the necessity of gathering together. Rugged individualism is not an American invention. Self-sufficiency is as old as human pride. However, as we probe deeper into this verse we see a third reason why we need community – encouragement. But notice that this is not a pure consumerism. It’s not I go to church in order to be encouraged. The text speaks of encouraging one another. We go to church not only to be encouraged, but also to be an encouragement. You could stay home and find means of encouraging yourself. You can listen to encouraging sermons online. You can read books by encouraging authors. But here is something you can’t do all by your lonesome… be an encouragement. Sure, you can make encouraging comments on facebook or post uplifting tweets on Twitter. But there is nothing like coming alongside a real flesh and blood brother or sister in Christ and lifting their spirits.
But there is something else that is packed into this exhortation an especial encouragement to be in Christian community as the end-times draw near. The reason is quite obvious. The closer we get to that time where God begins to withdraw the restraining hand of the Holy Spirit and allows evil to run amok, the more we will need encouragement.
As I look back to the year 1980 I remember a time when I was blessed to my socks by much needed encouragement. I was working at our Free Church camp in New Hampshire, Camp Spofford. I had just made the most difficult telephone call of my life, telling my parents that I had just seen the doctor and that I probably had cancer. A friend came over and led me to the chapel where the entire staff was gathered together, already deep in prayer. The strength I drew from those friends that day was almost miraculous in and of itself. I drove back to Long Island. No sooner did I get in the house and the phone rang. It was a pastor in New Jersey telling me that his church was praying for me. A few hours later, another phone call from a pastor in Connecticut. I got calls from pastors all over the New England and Mid Atlantic states as word spread of this 20 year old diagnosed with testicular cancer. I went into surgery knowing that thousands of Christian brothers and sisters had my back. When the surgeon informed me that the pathology report was good news I found myself wondering… did the cancer become something else or was it never cancer. My doctor in New Hampshire was so sure. To this day I don’t know the answer to that question. What I do know is the powerful encouragement that is available to us through Christian community. If I hadn’t been connected with a praying church and a praying Christian camp I would have never experienced the full majesty of the Body of Christ.
Over the years I have seen people who reach out to their church in times of struggle. I’ve also seen the people who disappear, kind of like the dog who goes under the deck to die. Their challenges are often identical, but their journey through the challenge is so different. There is more bitterness in their journey. More blaming God and others. Less peace. Less joy. Less comfort. And in neglecting Christian fellowship there is an unfortunate consequence. You fail to build the kinds of supportive relationships that you’ll need in those difficult moments like a marital meltdown or a health crisis. It’s hard to build such relationships in the middle of the muddle. You build community over many years. Every year the bonds of friendship grow richer and more sustaining.
3. The importance of Evangelism in building Christian community.
Now let’s put our first and second points together and ask a rather odd question. Couldn’t the church be our cocoon? Why couldn’t we experience the benefits of the security and safety of the cocoon and the rewards of Christian community all at once by building a bigger cocoon, one that includes our brothers and sisters in Christ. Isn’t that possible? Let me bring back that Faith Popcorn quote:
“Cocooning is about insulation and avoidance, peace and protection, coziness and control – a sort of hyper-nesting. “
Sadly, it is not only possible for us to cocoon together; it has been the way in which the typical church in America has come to function. The church has become for many the “Holy Hive.” Instead of forsaking the assembling together, some of us do nothing but assemble together. We have factored out all that negativity that unsaved people introduce into a community. Uncomfortable questions. Embarrassing behaviors. Shocking attitudes. Out of control lifestyles. Unbelievers introduce a lot of mess and we long for control. So, in a manner of speaking, it makes sense to guard the hive and maintain the healthy environment of our church. But there is one small problem. The church that fails to reach out is not a healthy community.
Evangelism is essential to the health of a church. We need seekers and skeptics in our midst. Let’s consider for a few moments what is missing in a church that has allowed itself to become a cocoon.
In a cocooned church there are no fresh stories of conversion and life change.
When a church is growing and outward focused you can tell. There are constant testimonies. I remember once going to one of the most famous prayer services in the world, the prayer meeting at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. They have a famous and very talented choir led by Pastor Jim Cymbala’s wife, Carol. But the most amazing thing was not the choir. It was the prayer meeting. That Tuesday night prayer meeting was actually larger than the Sunday church services. The Fire Marshall used to send someone each week to close the doors when the large sanctuary reached capacity. Hundreds of others sat in an overflow room connected via video feed. The Tabernacle is located just blocks from where the Brooklyn Dodgers used to play in the now demolished Ebbets Field in the heart of Downtown Brooklyn I realize that that doesn’t evoke an image for you. When I was growing up we referred to neighborhoods like Brooklyn Heights as the “Combat Zone.” Gangs. Drugs. Prostitution. Violent Crimes. That is Brooklyn Heights. I remember going to the prayer meeting at the Tabernacle and checking the door locks three times. I also remember coming back to the car and breathing a sigh of relief that the tires and engine were still there. But in between that tense journey away from my car and back to it was one of the most uplifting nights of my life. Over 1200 people gathered in prayer. And the testimonies were amazing. A crack addicted prostitute who had recently come to Christ. She was now enrolled in a local college. A former gang member, tatted up with gang insignias sharing his difficult journey away from street violence. Every week there were testimonies like that because every week the people of that church were out in the combat zone sharing the love of Jesus. It was an exciting church. But when you go into a cocooned church the stories are different. They’re nostalgic. Ancient biographies of salvation experiences long ago. They are a valuable part of the testimony of the church, but a healthy church also has new stories. People are seen coming to Christ. Life change is all around.
In a cocooned church procedures trump mission. Remember, part of cocooning is coziness and control. Cocooned churches become hyper-focused on policies and procedures. The greatest challenge in such an environment is outreach. Often you’ll find that evangelism isn’t in the budget. Evangelistic events aren’t on the calendar. And when you try to implement outreach there is a lot of concern about wear and tear on facilities. Some call this the “protecting church.” It exists to self-protect and develops a deep array of mechanisms for keeping disruptive elements at bay.
I am thankful that we are gaining ground in this area. I am excited that there is an iWitness Team making preparations for an outreach at the Christmas Walk in a few weeks. I am excited that there are several shelves filled with Bibles and gospel tracts. I believe that we are breaking out of the cocoon. I am hearing more witnessing stories in our church and just starting to hear some conversion stories. There is nothing that will revolutionize our church more than when we reverse this equation and mission trumps procedure… the point at which we truly embrace our mission even if it introduces some uncomfortability and chaos.
In a cocooned church there is more angst than influence. Given its overriding concern for peace and protection, the cocooned church looks at the world at large and sees a society beyond redemption. The world out there is a lost cause. How many times do you hear people talk about today’s teens as beyond reclamation. They’re too self-focused. Too liberal. Too lazy. Too disconnected and too distracted. Wake up call Boomers. Remember when our parents said the same thing about us! I look at today’s teens and I also see great opportunity. They value honesty and integrity. Many of them have figured out that life should be more than the stuff we accumulate. They are looking for a cause worth investing themselves in. And if the church provides them with a crystal clear sense of significant mission, look out. As long as we see this generation or this world as beyond hope, we will stay in our cocoons and install alarms in our cocoons. But there is another choice. The healthiest of churches are influencing churches. They see don’t see the world as a lost cause, nor do they see it exclusively as a battlefield. They see the lost world as a wide open mission field. How do we have influence? It starts with something we’ve been talking about for weeks… building bridges. Forging friendships. Getting involved in the lives of those around you. Which leads us to the final stretch this morning.
How can we build a church of influence? How can we get out of the cocoon and into the world and really make a difference. Let me start with a borrowed title from Becky Manley Pippert’s classic book on Evangelism.
In her book, Becky Pippert describes evangelism as a lifestyle, not an event. One of the things I love about my brother Jim Bos is that I see this in Jim. Evangelism is not something that Jim does. It’s who he is! That was why I asked him to head up our iWitness Team. I knew that the other members of that team would be able to look up to Jim because he is an evangelist. The worst thing we could do as a church is to thank God that we have an Outreach Team and leave it to them to share the gospel. I think of our iWitness Team as our special forces. But they are not our only forces. They need an army beside them. When evangelism becomes your lifestyle you will do it without fear. It won’t be scary anymore. In fact, it will be as natural as breathing. But it won’t become that comfortable over night. As you share your faith more and more frequently you will find your natural witness. It will cease being forced and will become natural and effective.
We start becoming a church of influence by: Loving Others Unconditionally.
When you ask people to share about the people who have most influenced them, there is an unmistakable common strain. They don’t reference the talents and abilities of these people who inspired them. Rather you hear things like: “He believed in me when I had lost faith in myself.” “She never gave up on me.” “He was so selfless.” What was the greatest apologetic of the first century church? What caused them to add to their numbers daily and grow from 120 people to 1 million disciples in 90 years? Their unconditional love for one another. It still works that way. But don’t think this is easy. People will test your love. Sometimes they’ll test it with bad behavior. That is why we are called to be forbearing in our love. I came across a great quote this week. “Jesus died on a tree of death so that we could have a tree of life.” That is unconditional love. Lost people will flock towards a community of people who love that way.
We start becoming a church of influence by: Empowering Others.
Christian Leadership guru John Maxwell has said, “a leader is great, not because of his or her power, but because of his or her ability to empower others”. Lost and cynical people see the church as a dependent organization. They think that we are all about money. And judging from the white suited televangelist jokers on TV, can you blame them? Churches that invest in lost people regardless of whether they ever become attendees or members will have great influence. I hope that some day in the near future we will have ministries like Divorce Care and Celebrate Recovery. I hope that we will have workshops on parenting and and building healthy marriages. Right now, very few people are looking for a church. What they are looking for is a helping hand. There is no organization better poised to be that source of empowering others than the church. Becoming such a body returns us to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.
However, I encourage you. Don’t wait for your church to launch a program to empower others. Just come alongside your neighbor. Use your gifts to bless them. Invest in their lives and when they get curious about why you are doing what you do, share with them what Jesus has done in your life. That’s Evangelism. And there is nothing like seeing lost people find their way to Jesus. That is why “I Witness.”