Connect to Christ: through community (#4)
Reinbeck UMC
August 8, 2010
How many of you belong to a family? You know: parents, children, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles. I’m not asking you if you claim them, or want to be seen with any of them, just if you have one!
How many of you have been to a family reunion this summer?
A wedding?
Aren’t families strange things? They say any family tree produces some lemons, some nuts and a few bad apples. Everyone seems to think their family has more than its share of each.
As much as we might complain about families, think about this:
Who do we want during the happiest times of life? Weddings, births and graduations? FAMILY
Who do we want to see during the saddest times of life like funerals? FAMILY.
What is the greatest influence on a child as he or she grows? FAMILY.
Who takes care of us when we are young? Mom and dad, or maybe Grandma and grand pa but almost always FAMILY.
Who looks after us in our old age? Perhaps nurses and friends, but the important decisions are usually made by FAMILY.
I’d say that just about covers it. Good and bad, young and old, and all the times in between. Families may strain our patience and endurance, but they also make us who we are. They shape us mould us and sustain us through all the ups and downs of life.
Can the same be said for our church family? Maaybee.
If we are indeed brothers and sisters in Christ and God is indeed our heavenly father, lour Abba, our papa, doesn’t that make us the family of God? Yeesss.
Then should we be connected to our church family in the same way we are connected to our biological families. And doesn’t the church family have the same responsibilities as the biological family?
This series of sermons has been about being connected to Christ. We have talked about connecting to Christ by prayer, Scripture, and repentance. Today I want to talk about being connected to Christ by community. And I think one of the best ways we can think about connecting to the church community is to think of the church as the family of God.
Now we have to say, right off the bat, that if the church is like a family it should not be like just any family. Today we have families of all kinds, with all kinds of problems. Families with more nuts, and lemons and bad apples than you can shake a stick at. Families that abuse one another, families that use one another, families that manipulate and control and keep secrets and pit one member against another; and families that neither eat together, nor grow together, but they are defined as families because they share one mailing address.
Let me say there are churches like that but that is not what I am talking about today. There are churches out there who (If they were a TV family) might be the Simpsons, or 2 and a half men. But that is exactly what I am NOT talking about today.
Far from being like these families, I am talking about the church as the best family you can imagine. I define that as people living and working together for the mutual benefit of each member. That means appreciating and adapting, communicating and committed, nurturing and encouraging each member to be the best they can be.
Doesn’t that sound like the kind of church you’d like to attend? It does to me and, though we can always do better, in many ways we are like that. Let me ask you two questions that might enlighten how we can be a better family.
First, how do you think you would have turned out if right after you were born your parents hugged and kissed you, doted over you and showed you off . . . then left you on the street corner to go back to their other children? Kind of like a boy or girl raised by wolves? You likely would not have had the support and nurturing, the modeling and the encouraging that you needed to become the people you are today, right?
I have noticed lately that I think we unintentionally leave some of our new members, new brothers and sisters on the street corner to make their own way in the world. I think we have come a long ways in welcoming and hospitality, but how often do you sit down in fellowship time with someone you don’t know very well? When is the last time you invited a new resident, or a new member, or a repeat visitor to join you for lunch? When was the last time you made a special effort to seriously get to know someone who has lived here or attended here for less than 5 years?
I think we could do a better job being a nurturing family to some of our own people just by noticing them. So this morning after services for the length of Jim’s postlude with is probably 2 – 3 minutes. Instead of coming to shake my hand- because you all know me. Instead of visiting with the neighbor you haven’t seen all week, but have known since you were both 5 years old. Look for someone you don’t know so well. Preferably someone who is newer to the church or community than you are and spend those first 3 minutes visiting with them while you go back to get your cookies. We aren’t bad but I think we can do better so let’s try that today.
The second question is, if you disappeared from the table during thanksgiving dinner, how would you feel if no one came to check on you? Pretty bad. And would you go back? Why would you? Friends we have brothers and sisters who have disappeared from the family table. Do you know the biggest reason people drop out of church? Because they missed a few Sundays and no one seemed to notice.
You know they don’t like to be called inactive members, but I think we have to call a spade a spade. If someone is not showing up on Sunday, or Wednesday or UMW or LIGHT or committee meetings; like it or not they are inactive. And someone has to notice and show that they care. I sometimes am asked about this person or that, so I know that you notice. But it doesn’t matter if I know. Let them know that you noticed and you miss them. They may at least make it back to the family table for desert.
Obviously I think there are a couple of ways we can be a better Christian community, but in general we do a really excellent job.
The other thing I want you to hear today is if you want to be connected to Christ- it is essential- it is vital- it is critical- that you connect with community.
First, we must connect to Christ in corporate worship.
In Matthew 18:20 we read these familiar words: "For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them." Jesus is present when the believers are gathered together.
Kent Hughes writes, "It is true that one does not have to go to church to be a Christian. He does not have to go home to be married either. But in both cases if he does not, he will have a very poor relationship." (Commentary on Hebrews)
Our times of corporate worship heighten our encounter with God. That's not hard to understand. Whatever music you enjoy, it is one thing to listen to CDs. You can hear the music clearly and the lyrics precisely. However, if you are like most people you would most like to hear the concert live and in person. Why? The sound is not studio quality, the seats are not as comfortable as your recliner, and it costs you at least $30 to go. We enjoy these concerts because of the excitement and enthusiasm that is generated by the crowd. There is clapping, singing along and maybe even a little dancing. It enhances our enjoyment to enjoy the music with others.
The same is true of our worship. Celebrating the goodness of the Lord in the company of His people makes the music richer and the teaching fuller. God is present in a unique way in the gathering of His people. And it draws us closer to Christ.
Second we need to be part of the spiritual family because the church is a great Laboratory for Christian Living.
In the book of Colossians from which we have been taking these messages, Paul writes, “As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
You might be able to learn about compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. By yourself (at least in theory) but you cannot learn about forgiveness and love in isolation. We need to have people around us. We need to have people who do wrong so we can practice forgiving-- you get plenty of practice with me around here. We need people who are willing to be loved so we can practice on them. I think we have that here too. In order to grow in our connectedness to Christ we need to both experience and exemplify God’s love. The church gives us a community of people on which we can practice our Christian living.
Third, The Church is where we find strength for difficult times
In Hebrews 10 the author talks about the difficulty of our spiritual walk and the necessity of persevering in our faith. He gives us practical help. He points us to the church. In verses 24 and 25 he writes: “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
Do you see this? The author tells us not to give up meeting together . . .Why? Because He knows we are more susceptible to falling when we are alone.
If regular worship is a part of your life, and if you have made a commitment to a local body of believers then you know what the author of Hebrews is talking about. When you miss a week at worship you find yourself weaker, diminished, zapped of strength.
We draw strength from each other. In this place we find sympathy, encouragement, accountability, wise counsel. We strengthen each other by our presence and weaken each other by our absence. In this place we understand the concept of a spiritual battle. We know we will be overwhelmed if we face the enemy alone. . so we march together. We understand that at times we stumble, so we are ready to catch each other if we fall. We celebrate the victories. We cheer each other on.
Fourth we need to be part of the spiritual family because it is in Christian community that We Find Completeness
Paul writes in Romans 12:3,4 Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ's body. We are all parts of his one body, and each of us has different work to do. And since we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs all the others. (NLT)
Paul's point is clear, we are incomplete when we are in isolation. We are whole when we are together. God designed the Christian community to be inter-dependent. No one can manage on their own. God has not given all His gifts and abilities to any one person. It is spread among a group. He wants us to need each other.
This morning we look at the importance of being a part of a spiritual family. Someone has said, "To begin our Christian life we must commit ourselves to Jesus Christ, to grow in our Christian life we must also commit ourselves to other Christians." That's what the church is: a group of people who are committed to each other because of Christ.
The church is not a building . . . it is a people, who have been irrevocably changed by God; who have joined together to bring honor to the one they call King. May God help our family grow and may we help you to grow in your connection to Christ.
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