Thick Community

I'm a pastor here at Cheyenne Mountain Presbyterian Church,

and it's my joy to bring God's word to you today.

A special welcome if you are new or visiting with us.

We're glad that you're here.

And we're glad that you're here,

not because we're trying to fill seats,

but because we're following Jesus together as one community.

And as we follow Jesus together,

we become convinced that there's no one so good,

they don't need God's grace,

and no one so bad that they can't have it,

which is why we come back week after week

to hear what God has to say to us in his word.

We're continuing to take a break from our series in the book of Judges.

We're doing a five-week series on our Grit and Grace Generosity Initiative.

And as you hear that word generosity,

of course you know we're talking about raising money as a church,

but in our sermons we are not going to talk a lot about giving

because our church is not about money.

It's about a mission.

We just happen to need money to pursue that mission.

And so we're going to be talking about the mission of this church

and our vision together.

A couple weeks ago we talked about,

from Matthew chapter 5,

Matthew 5 · chapter mention

about the church being the city set upon a hill.

The church is the light of the world.

And then last week we talked from 1 Corinthians chapter 3

1 Corinthians 3 · chapter mention

about the fact that we're a gospel hub.

We're a church that's constantly sending and receiving.

And this week we're going to be jumping forward in 1 Corinthians

all the way from chapter 3 to chapter 12.

And we're going to be talking about the piece of our vision

that is our thick community,

that is we're deeply connected to one another.

Now I'm going to read a long section.

I'm going to read verses 12 through 27 just for context,

but our focus this morning is going to be mainly on verses 25 through 27.

So we're going to read a large section so we know what we're talking about.

And then we're going to zone in on three verses specifically.

And our question this morning is simple.

What is unique about the Christian community?

What is unique about the Christian community?

Why is the Christian community the thickest of all communities?

Now it's with that, I invite you to turn with me to God's Word.

You can turn in your Bible, you can turn on your phone,

you can turn in your worship guide.

No matter where you turn, remember that this is God's Word.

And God tells us that His Word is more precious than gold,

even the finest gold.

And it's sweeter than honey, even honey that comes straight from the honeycomb.

And so that's why we read now 1 Corinthians chapter 12,

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

starting with verse 12.

For just as the body is one and has many members,

and all the members of the body, though many, are one body,

so it is with Christ.

For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body,

Jews or Greeks, slaves or free,

and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

For the body does not consist of one member, but of many.

If the foot should say,

Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,

that would not make it any less a part of the body.

And if the ear should say,

Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,

that would not make it any less a part of the body.

If the whole body were an eye,

where would be the sense of hearing?

If the whole body were an ear,

where would be the sense of smell?

But as it is, God arranged the members in the body, each one of them, as he chose.

If all were a single member, where would the body be?

As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

The eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you,

nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you.

Verse 22.

On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable.

And on those parts of the body that we think less honorable, we bestow the greater honor.

And our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty,

which our more presentable parts do not require.

But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it,

that there may be no division in the body,

but that the members may have the same care for one another.

Verse 26.

If one member suffers, all suffer together.

If one member is honored, all rejoice together.

I invite you to pray with me as we come to this portion of God's word.

Our Father in heaven, we praise you and we thank you for your gift of the church to us.

We thank you for this community, not simply a community that gathers on Sunday morning,

but a community that scatters throughout the week together.

We ask that you would continue to build this community, this outpost at Cheyenne Mountain.

We ask that you would do it by your word.

And so we ask that you help us this morning as we look at Paul's letter to the Corinthians first,

and then also for us that you would use it to teach us and grow us.

Most of all, we ask that you would use it to change us,

that we would look more like Jesus because of our time together this morning.

And we ask these things in his mighty name.

Amen.

I don't think I say this very often, but every once in a while,

I will say that 2018 was most likely the most challenging year for me of my adult life.

Some of you who were here back then know many pieces of that.

I won't go into all of it, but I will share with you one story from the April of 2018.

It was early in the month, and I woke up.

Actually, I wasn't able to go to sleep at night because I had this chest pain that wouldn't go away.

And so it was severe enough that I decided I needed to go to the emergency room.

So I woke up, one of my housemates that I was living with at the time,

and he took me to Penrose downtown, and I wasn't doing great.

I came into the hospital.

I got dizzy.

I ended up collapsing on the floor.

Now, there was another thing that was happening in April of 2018,

which is that I was trying to get ordained as a minister.

And this ER incident actually happened several weeks

before I was supposed to go and do my final series of oral tests before our regional church.

And so during that time, I was working and studying a lot.

I was working on these exams to become ordained as a pastor,

and there was one particular coffee shop where I would spend an enormous amount of time.

I spent so much time that basically everyone at this coffee shop, they knew who I was,

they knew my name, and I was there so much that five-plus years later,

sometimes I'll still run into someone from that time who remembers who I am,

they know my name.

The question is this.

When I was in the emergency room, did anyone from the coffee shop visit me?

No.

Now, it's not their fault.

I'm not throwing them under the bus.

I didn't tell anyone at the coffee shop that I was in the emergency room.

Not only did I not tell them, I wasn't able to tell them.

I had never exchanged phone numbers with them.

So I knew these people.

They recognized me.

We had some sort of community together.

And yet when things went sideways for me, who was it that showed up?

Well, it was actually someone from this church.

Mark and Marie's fair brother came in the middle of the night to Penrose downtown,

probably like 1 or 2 a.m.,

and they stayed with me while they did all these tests,

and then I think Mark and Marie ended up driving me back home to my house,

and Mark then took me the next morning to get the antibiotics they'd given me.

By the way, I was not having a heart attack at age, what had that been, 29?

They told me I had bronchitis.

Chest pain is one of the things that you can have with that.

I was able to recover, and by God's grace, I got ordained.

But I tell you all that story to highlight this,

the difference between a thick community and a thin community.

Thick and thin community is a term that's used by sociologists to describe

different groups of people and the level of care and investment and commitment

that exists in those types of groups.

If you are in a thin community, you will have people who know your name.

You may have drive-by interactions with those people.

You may have a shared activity.

For me, I knew these people because we had the shared activity

of being in the same coffee shop together.

I had the shared activity of ordering coffee.

They had the shared activity of providing me with coffee.

But will people in a thin community call you when you stop showing up?

Eventually, I kind of broke up with that coffee shop,

and I moved on to another one.

Did they call me to find out what had happened?

No.

They sent me an email saying,

we haven't seen you in a while.

Here's $3 off.

If you are in a thin community,

will they sit with you and cry when you lose a loved one?

No.

Will they give you money for groceries when you're out of work?

Maybe.

Probably not.

Those are not things that thin communities do.

Now, you might find some exceptions here and there,

and if you do, they are exceptions that prove the rule.

No, that list that I just read to you,

those are things that thick communities do.

Thick communities have more than drive-by interactions.

People in thick communities know more than just your name.

People in thick communities show up when you end up in the emergency room.

People in thick communities sit with you and cry with you when you lose a loved one.

People in thick communities bring you gift cards to King Soopers when you lose your job.

In fact, that's what we find throughout the entire testimony of Scripture.

Thick community members are intimately connected to one another.

When I was in the ER, the thin community was not there.

The thick community was.

That's because the thick community does things like this.

Romans 12, verse 15.

Romans 12:15

Rejoice with those who rejoice.

Weep with those who weep.

Galatians chapter 5.

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

Through love, serve one another.

For the whole law is fulfilled in one word.

You shall love your neighbor as yourself.

1 Peter 4.

Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

John chapter 13.

John 13 · chapter mention

A new commandment I give to you that you love one another.

Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

By this, all people will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another.

Now, we could have looked at any one of those passages this morning.

We happen to be looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 12, which captures these concepts.

1 Corinthians 12 · chapter mention

It shows how intimately connected the members of the church are supposed to be.

Now, we're told in verse 26 what it's supposed to look like.

If one member suffers, all suffer together.

If one member is honored, all rejoice together.

That's a thick community kind of thing to do.

That we are celebrating each other's successes and we're grieving each other's losses.

That we are deeply and intimately connected.

And the reason for that, we're given in verse 12 at the very beginning.

Paul sets up this comparison between the church body and the human body.

The human body is one entity with many members.

And the church body, one entity with many members.

So we need different parts to make the body work.

This is what Paul is teaching this church.

And yet, it's different parts that make the body work.

All pointing towards the same mission.

All working towards the same end and goal together.

All connected and participating in successes and failures.

He emphasizes this, not just in verse 12, but also in verse 20.

As it is, there are many parts, yet one body.

And there's all sorts of implications that we could talk about as we think through what this passage means for us as a church.

We could talk about the fact that there's great unity, right?

The body only has one purpose and one goal.

The toes and the eyes are not in competition with each other.

And we could talk about the fact that there's different tasks.

Each person has a special place to fulfill.

Part of what we saw in 1 Corinthians 3 last week is that there are some who plant and some who water, right?

Everyone has a job within God's people.

This passage ultimately shows our deep need for one another.

And it also shows our deep care for each other.

It shows our deep need for one another and our deep care for each other.

And it's the deep care that I want to focus us on this morning.

This deep care, by the way, is necessarily how a body works.

Paul actually doesn't say, hey, this is what you should do.

He says, this is unavoidable.

This is what a body does.

Notice his language here, verse 26.

He doesn't say if one member suffers, all should suffer together.

And he doesn't say if all rejoice together, everyone should.

If one rejoices, everyone should rejoice together.

No, he states it as the way things just automatically work.

Why?

Because that's how a body works.

You don't have to think, if you stub your toe,

about whether the rest of your body is going to be upset, right?

That's not a decision that your body makes.

No, it's a body.

One piece is suffering.

The entire body is going to suffer, right?

Paul is saying, this is how intimately connected you are to each other.

This is not my vision for the church.

This is what the church is.

If it's a body, then necessarily it will function in this way.

If it's a body, already we will see this working out

in the functions of the community.

You'll note on page seven, this quote from Charles Hodge.

He says, this is the law of our physical nature.

Notice that word, the law.

This is how it works.

You can't get around it.

The body is really one.

It has a common life and consciousness.

The pain or pleasure of one part is common to the whole.

So Paul is not saying that this should happen.

He is saying, this is the only way.

If you are a body, then this is reality.

If you are a church connected to Christ the head, this is reality.

One member suffers, all suffer together.

One member rejoices, all rejoice together.

He tells us this, verse 25,

that there may be no division in the body,

but that the members may have the same care for one another.

What does he mean here by the same care?

What kind of care do the members have for each other?

Well, that phrase, same care,

is getting at what Jesus says in Mark chapter 12.

Mark 12 · chapter mention

The members give the same care to each other

that they would give to themselves.

And so this is what Jesus told us.

Remember, when we were in the gospel of Mark,

what's the summary of the law?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength

and love your neighbor as yourself.

That's how a body works.

The eye cares for the toe as itself.

Toe cares for the eye.

The heart cares for the liver.

The lungs care for the blood.

There is no other way for a body to work.

Brothers and sisters,

there is no other way for the church to work.

If one member suffers,

all suffer together.

If one member is honored,

all rejoice together.

Now you are the body of Christ

and individually members of it.

Verse 27 there is telling us why it works this way.

It works this way because that is how bodies work.

And so that's our vision for this church.

Our vision for Cheyenne Mountain

is that we would be a place of thick community.

Our vision is that when someone new

walks into the doors here,

that they would be warmly welcomed

and brought into our fellowship.

Our vision is that as the heartbeat of our community,

our worship service would overflow into the week.

That we would not simply or merely

be people who happen to occupy the same room

on Sunday morning,

but that as we're sent out from this room

at the benediction,

we would be connected to each other

Monday through Saturday.

Our vision is that as one member suffers,

all suffer together.

Our vision is that as one member rejoices,

all rejoice together.

Our vision is that this would be a place

where people know each other intimately.

That we pray with those who are suffering.

That we rejoice with those who are celebrating.

That we work with those who are struggling.

That we encourage those who are sad.

And we help those who are grieving.

That we would be one community

following Jesus together.

If one member suffers,

all suffer together.

If one member rejoices,

all rejoice together.

Our vision is not

that we would be the church

of the beautiful people

who have it all together

and all look the same.

Our vision is not

that we would have cliques

that are hard to break into

and insiders and outsiders.

No, our vision is that

we would have

all sorts of people

in all sorts of life stages,

from all sorts of backgrounds,

and all sorts of ages

connecting deeply

with one another.

Our vision is that

we would be

the body.

Now, this is already happening

in our church.

When I say this is our vision,

what I don't mean is,

wow, this is such a cold place.

I hope we can be warm, right?

No, I mean,

we want to grow.

We want this to become

more and more true

of this community.

This is already happening

in our church.

It's happening

in women's Bible studies

and men's Bible studies.

It's happening

in small groups.

It's happening

at the ladies' come and go

on Fridays.

It's happening

in our outreach Bible study

on Tuesday mornings.

We are seeing God at work

in this body

and we're not satisfied.

We want to see

even more.

We want to grow

even more.

We want Romans 15,

Romans 15:7

verse 7,

to be true of us.

Therefore,

welcome one another

as Christ has welcomed you

for the glory of God.

A few weeks ago

when we launched

Grid and Grace

on September 24th,

a man named Joe

was here in our worship services

and he was here

because Joe is helping us

with the generosity initiative.

And so I met with Joe afterwards

and I asked him

for some feedback.

I said,

hey, I don't want you

to flatter me.

We want to grow and improve.

Tell me what your experience

was like on Sunday morning

at Cheyenne Mountain.

And he said,

well, you guys have

that greeting time

and it is very long.

He said,

I've been to churches before

and maybe they have

a three minute greeting time.

Maybe they'd have

less than that.

Your greeting time

goes for five minutes.

And then he said,

and as I was there,

I talked to this person

and this person

and this person

and suddenly I realized,

oh, there's a reason

their greeting time

goes so long.

These people actually

like each other.

I was like,

yeah, Joe,

that's part of our church.

These people

actually like each other.

They actually want

to connect with each other

and hear how each other's doing.

That is part of what it means

to be Cheyenne Mountain.

I've told this story

only a few times,

but when I first came

to interview

in the April of 2017

at this church,

I met Paul Bishop,

not Paul Bishop II.

We have a Paul Bishop

in our congregation right now,

but we had a previous

Paul Bishop

in our congregation

who's now moved on,

the first Paul Bishop.

And I met Paul

this weekend,

that weekend,

and I told him,

you know,

tell me about Cheyenne Mountain.

He said,

well, one of the things

that's always been true

about Cheyenne Mountain

is its welcome.

People have always

commented on

how welcome they feel

as part of our church.

And I continue to hear that

from visitors.

People come,

they say,

man, I'm surprised

by how open

and welcoming

this congregation is.

I share all that

to say,

when we talk about

our vision,

we're not saying

these are things

that are not true,

but we hope they're true.

No, we're saying

this is part of our culture

at Cheyenne Mountain.

Let it be even more.

This is part of our culture

at Cheyenne Mountain.

Let it continue to grow.

Now, at the beginning,

I asked this question.

I said,

what's unique

about the Christian community?

Why is it the thickest community?

You know,

when we talk about

thick and thin communities,

the church is not

the only thick community.

Okay?

There are other places

you can go

and you can find

that kind of care.

Now, I will say

thick communities

are disappearing

in our culture.

The church

is one of the last ones left.

Why?

Well, one of the reasons

Britt already highlighted

this morning,

it's on page three

of your worship guide.

Britt read the first part,

community among persons

is forged

only when there is

something more important

than one's own interests

to which all share

a higher allegiance.

But here's the second part.

When I am the final authority

for determining

right and wrong

and when nothing

is more important

than my right

to live as I see fit,

tight, supportive community

is eroded,

perhaps even impossible.

In other words,

thick community

and individualism

don't go together.

Thick community

and secularism

do not go together.

Thick community

requires,

it demands

that you be committed

to something

greater than yourself.

Thick community

requires and demands

that you adhere

to a way of life

that you share

with other people.

what's happening

in our culture

right now.

We're rejecting

that entirely, right?

I am the ultimate

standard of authority.

If you are the ultimate

standard of authority,

community will always

have its limits.

Because as soon

as something

is not serving you

in exactly the right way,

where are you going to go?

Somewhere else.

No, there's a higher

commitment

that community

requires.

And so that's part

of why the church

is one of the last

thick communities

remaining.

There's another reason.

Let's get to this

on the back

of your worship guide.

A quote by a man

named David Brooks

talks about the difference

between thin institutions

and thick institutions.

Thin institutions

tend to see themselves

horizontally.

People are members

for mutual benefit.

Thick organizations

often see themselves

on a vertical axis.

People are members

so they can collectively

serve the same

higher good.

In the former,

there's an ever-present

utilitarian calculus.

Is this working for me?

Am I getting more out

that I'm putting in?

That creates a distance

between people

and the organization.

But in the latter,

there's an intimacy

and an identity

born out of common love.

Why is the church

one of the last thick

communities left

in our culture?

Because there's an intimacy

and an identity

born out of common love.

There is something

that is more important

than our self-expression.

There's something

that's more important

than our self-identity.

There's something

that's more important

than our self-interest.

And so that's one piece

of the story.

That's one reason

that the church

is one of the last

thick communities left.

Now, I haven't answered

the whole question.

The next question is,

and why is the church

the thickest

of all the ones

that are left?

Before I answer that,

I want to say this.

Right now in the church,

there's this phenomenon

of people coming

and they're coming

to the church

looking for community.

community,

but they're consumers

of community,

not creators

of community.

In other words,

they come to the church

and they say,

you're a church

and churches are

dispensers of community.

So where's my community?

Where is the group

of people

that I'm going

to get along with

the best

already established

for me?

Where are the events

that meet my exact needs

at the exact right time?

Oh, and by the way,

if this doesn't happen

on my timetable,

well then I'm just

going to go find

another community vendor.

I'll find another church

that's maybe meeting

my community need.

And so what happens

is folks just jump

from church to church

searching for something

that doesn't really exist.

And so when I say

that we're a church

of thick community,

that's what we long for,

that's our vision,

I am not saying

we're going to serve it

to you on a silver platter.

Because we are not

community consumers,

we're community builders.

You want thick community?

Join us in building it.

You want to be connected

with other people

in the church?

Show up

when those people show up.

Meet with those people

when they meet.

Be a part of building

this community

together.

By the way,

that's why Cheyenne Mountain

is still here

27 years after its founding.

It's because the people

who have come here

have not been consumers

of community,

they've been builders

of community.

They have not asked

how they can be served,

but they have asked

how they serve.

In other words,

if you don't show up

to anything

and you leave

during the last song,

as thick as this community is,

don't expect to find it

for yourself here.

Does that make sense?

We need to be builders

of community,

not consumers

of community.

Okay,

I have explained

the disappearance

of thick communities

in one sense,

the sense that

our society

is more and more

individualistic.

That doesn't answer

the question, though,

of why Christianity

is the thickest community.

You could find

thick community

in a mosque.

Maybe you could find

it in a Mormon temple.

Why do you come here

to find it

in a Christian church?

Well,

there's probably

many reasons.

One of them

is this.

This is once again

on page seven

of your worship guide.

Pastor Tim Keller

is speaking about

truth claims here,

but we could apply this

to communities as well.

All claims are exclusive.

The gospel is an exclusive truth,

but it's the most inclusive,

exclusive truth

in the world.

You might say it

a different way.

All communities

are exclusive.

The Christian community

is the most inclusive,

exclusive community

in the world.

Why is it the most inclusive

of all the exclusive communities?

It's the most inclusive

because there's only

one requirement

to be a member.

And the requirement

is that you recognize

that you have no hope

outside of Jesus Christ.

And in recognizing that,

you realize

that you must follow

after Him

in His faith

and obedience.

which means

it is more inclusive

than every other community.

It's not limited

by age.

It's not limited

by ability.

It's not limited

by generation.

It's not limited

by culture.

It's not limited

by how much

you can do

or perform.

It's only limited

by one thing,

and so it's the most open

of all the communities.

There are many places

that will claim

to be a family for you.

The army

will claim

to be your family.

And the army

will be a phenomenal family

for you

and to you

until the day

you get a DUI.

And at that point,

the army,

I have bad news for you,

is no longer

your family.

Okay?

There might be

a running club

in which you have

deep connection

and community,

and you've actually found

a level of thickness there.

But what happens

if you lose your legs?

There might be

another religion

that welcomes you in

for a time,

and if you're not able

to perform

at the right level,

because all religions

outside of Christianity

are works-based,

you will find

that it's not

the place for you.

Christianity

is the thickest

of all communities.

The church

is the thickest

that you can find,

because there is

only one requirement

for admission.

Of course,

there's only one requirement

for admission

because of our Lord

and Savior,

Jesus Christ.

when we talk

about being

the body of Christ

in 1 Corinthians 12,

we cannot forget

that every body

has a head.

Paul tells us

in another letter

in Colossians,

the church is the body,

Christ is the head.

So why is the church

the thickest community?

Verse 27 tells us,

now you are the body

of Christ

and individually

members of it.

the church is the

greatest body,

it's the greatest

community,

because we have

the greatest

head.

Now,

as we think about

being a thick

community,

we have to talk about

what it means

to be a community

that is getting

larger and larger.

As I've told you

all before,

there are many things

that we disagree

about at this church.

no one disagrees

with the fact

that we're growing.

No one disagrees

with the fact

that this church

is getting larger

and larger

in terms of the people

that are connected

to it and are coming

on Sunday morning.

And the challenge

of greater growth

is that it becomes

harder and harder

as you have more

and more people

to build and maintain

a thick community.

Now,

notice what I didn't say.

I didn't say

it becomes impossible.

I said it becomes harder.

It is more challenging

the more people

you have in a community

to stay tight

and connected

to one another.

And one of the ways

that you do that

is by having

even more smaller groups

for folks to plug into.

The large group

can be a challenging place.

You know,

sometimes you show up

to a restaurant

and you have like

a party of 15

and everyone insists

that you have to sit

at one table.

Everyone knows

that 15 people

can't have one conversation,

right?

But everyone wants

that feeling of,

oh, we're all

at the same table.

Same thing happens

in the church.

As we grow,

there comes this reality

where we need

more and more

smaller places

for folks to connect.

Especially

intentional small groups

for people to connect.

And so that's why

the elders have set

the goal of by 2026,

we want to have

five to seven

new small groups.

Not because we're

obsessed with small groups,

that's just a strategy,

but because we're

passionate about

thick community.

We're passionate

about places

where people

can come,

plug in,

connect,

and walk side

by side

with one another.

The challenge

is this.

To get there,

we need

a second pastor.

And to get

a second pastor,

we need

to eliminate

our building debt

of $800,000.

And to eliminate

that debt,

that's why we have

the Grid and Grace

initiative.

We are trying

to raise that money

to pay off

our mortgage

so we can

free up

$8,000 a month

in our budget.

We want to release

that $8,000

and we want to

release it

into thick community.

We want to release

it into a second pastor

who will help us

do this well.

A pastor will be

raising up

and developing

leaders who can

run those groups.

A pastor will be

overseeing them.

A pastor will help

us to be faithful

in maintaining

our vision

moving forward.

And so that's

why we're inviting

and challenging you

as the congregation

to join us in that.

That you would get

the same vision

that we have

of a community

that's intimately

connected to one another

where as we grow

there would continue

to be places

where people can know

and be known.

That's our vision.

That's why we're

talking about this.

That's why we're

trying to raise money.

Not because we're

about money

but because we're

about a mission.

And that mission

involves moving forward

the next level

of growth

as a church.

Now I mentioned

earlier verse 27

helps us understand

why the church

is the thickest

community.

It's because of

our head

our Lord Jesus.

Colossians chapter 1

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

says this

and he is the head

of the church

of the body

the church.

He is the beginning

the firstborn

from the dead

that in everything

he might be preeminent.

What does a body

need

to make everything

else work?

It has to have

a head.

If you lose

your arm

you can still

make it in life.

If you lose

a toe

things will be

challenging

you're still here.

If you lose

your head

game over.

right?

And it's our head

that leads us

and guides us.

You may have

noticed

in the back

of your worship

guide

in our vision

section

we have our

symbol

for thick

community

and the symbol

is a towel

and a basin

and the towel

and the basin

are meant

to remind us

the story

of Jesus

from John

John 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13.

Remember Jesus

is with his

disciples

it's the last

week of his

life.

They come

in

and Jesus

acts not

as the host

but as the servant

and he does

this by washing

their feet

and he says

this in John

13

If I then

your Lord

and teacher

have washed

your feet

you also

ought to wash

one another's

feet

for I have

given you

an example

that you also

should do

just as I

have done

to you.

Why is

Christianity

the thickest

community?

It's the

thickest

community

because we

are a body

that's connected

to Christ

our head

and it's

the thickest

community

because Christ

our head

has set

for us

an example.

He has

set for us

the example

of washing

one another's

feet.

He has

given us

the grace

to not

be focused

on our

own rights

and privileges.

He's

given us

the power

to embrace

him and

others

above

ourselves.

That's the

logic by the

way in our

final song.

A song that

can really

only be sung

by Christians.

Tells us

three times

in the first

verse

teach us

your ways.

As we learn

from one

another

learn to

love

each other.

And that

does two

things.

It recognizes

our need.

We need

to be

taught.

We can't

do this

by ourselves.

And it

also shows

us the

one from

whom we

learn it,

our Lord

and Savior

Jesus Christ.

He is

the one

who has

the ways

of love.

We ask

him to

teach us.

We do

that

following

him

together

as one

community.

Let's

pray.

Let's

pray.