Being the church in a digital age

We're reading the first 16 verses of chapter 4 of Ephesians, written by Paul who describes

himself as an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God and he describes the Ephesians

as the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus.

So chapter 4, 1-16.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling

to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with

one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs

to your call, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all,

all, and through all, and in all.

But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift.

Therefore it says, when he ascended on high, he led a host of captives and he gave gifts

to men.

In saying he ascended, what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions,

the earth?

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill

all things.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers to equip

the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to

the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the

measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children tossed

to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by

craftiness in deceitful schemes.

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the

head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with

which it is equipped.

When each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

May the Lord bless his word to our hearts and minds.

Hello, my name's Dave.

I'm one of the pastors here.

If you're visiting me today, a warm welcome to you.

Before we get underway, I've got to admit my disorganisation.

If you're following the outline, I've changed it.

Okay, so hopefully it doesn't confuse you.

Just one little change.

Halfway down the page, it's got four application questions.

I'm going to be putting that at the start, where it should have been from the beginning,

but just so you don't get lost and I lose you at the very beginning of the sermon.

All right, why don't we pray as we come to God's word.

Lord, we know that you love your church, not because inherently we are lovely,

but because you are a loving God and you have loved us.

And you, by your son, created the church.

And by your spirit, you are renewing us.

And you have promised to complete what you have begun.

So, Lord, help us see the church, see who we are,

see your agenda for us through your eyes,

so that we might live in a way that honours you.

So I pray that your word would speak to us this morning.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

Well, I want to start with a quote by a guy called Tristan Harris.

He worked at Google and he's behind a Netflix kind of docudrama thing about social media.

It's called The Social Dilemma.

I don't know if you've seen it.

If you haven't seen it, I'd highly recommend it

because I'm not going to be able to explain it fully up here.

But now this docudrama, it's been translated into over 190 languages.

A hundred million people seem to have watched it, I think.

So it's got some, it's worth listening to.

Here's the quote.

We are now years into a mass societal warping process

that has made us into a different kind of species, frankly.

A species that is addicted, distracted, polarised, narcissistic, misinformed.

The list keeps going.

Anxious, depressed, unsure of what's true, apathetic.

Well, okay.

If even half of that quote is true,

we need to have a look at how the digital world is affecting us as a church family

and how we live to honour the Lord.

So today we look at the topic of being the church in a digital age.

And this is the start of four weeks on four topics

that have the potential to undermine us being the church.

We'll either succumb to our culture or these four topics,

if we see the church through God's eyes and live as he calls us to,

these four topics also give us an opportunity to show the world a better way,

an alternative, the good life in belonging to God's people.

With any truth, knowing the theory is essential.

It's essential to have good doctrine.

And we've had five weeks now of looking at the truth in God's word.

But we don't glorify God by being able to frequently and passionately just say truth.

That's not how we glorify God.

We glorify God, obviously we need to say truth,

but we glorify God when that truth groups our hearts and changes the way we live.

I can say I believe in God's sovereignty, for instance,

until the cows come home.

And I do and I hope I do for the rest of my life.

But do I accept every circumstance as coming from the sovereign hand of God

or do I rally against it?

Do I pray as my first instinct because I know he is sovereign?

Do you get what I mean?

Knowing the truth and it gripping you to the point of change, that's what matters.

And that's why we've picked these four topics,

because as elders we think this could really either undermine

or make the church flourish depending on how we approach these topics.

So today, I've already introduced it, is about being the church in the digital age.

And the next three is going to be being the church in an individualistic culture.

And the third one is being the church in a hostile society.

And then we'll finish off with being the church in light of our eternal hope.

So that's where we're heading.

So before we get into this, or it's not before,

an important first step of getting into this topic is to refresh ourselves

in knowing what the church is and what we are called to be through God's eyes.

That the church is to be a foretaste of heaven.

So through God's eyes, we see that the church is central to his eternal plans.

We see in Genesis 2, albeit a community of two people,

but gathered perfectly in worship, enjoying God's presence,

until sin disrupts that, breaks that unity,

creating hostility between man and God, and God to man,

and hostility between people.

And the judgment is being scattered.

The essence of the word church is gathering.

God wants a gathered people to himself.

In Exodus 19, we see Israel gathered at the mountain under the law,

but that gathering fails again because of sin.

It was only a picture of the true gathering that would come through Jesus.

What does Jesus say in Matthew 16?

As soon as they say, you are the Christ, the first expression of faith,

he says, I'm going to build my church.

That's why I've come.

That's why I'm going to die and rise, to build my church.

And what do we see at the end of scripture?

The church, the bride, the new Jerusalem glorified.

The dwelling place with God and man.

It's central.

Church is absolutely central to God's eternal plans.

Through God's eyes, we understand this gathering is a spiritual reality.

The sin of living for self that has made us hostile to God

and has caused so much dysfunction between people has been conquered.

We see in Hebrews 12 that this new gathering in Christ is victorious over sin.

It's victorious over death.

It's marked by peace and unity and joy.

As we heard read in Ephesians 4,

it is so united with one body, one spirit,

one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.

We are gathered into Christ.

We're not isolated Christians.

To be saved is to be gathered.

And this gathering is permanent.

This spiritual gathering is permanent.

We saw that in Hebrews 12, that when God judges and shakes everything,

heaven and earth, the final judgment, what is left standing?

Nothing but the church.

It is permanent.

That's where you find security in life.

But how is this gathering to be expressed now?

Well, through God's eyes, we see that this spiritual heavenly gathering

is not expressed in some vague notion of being the universal church

because, remember, church is about gathering.

It's in local church families like this one.

It's a functioning body showing the unity,

the peace that has been created.

I don't know who I'm quoting here.

Emma reminded me of this quote.

It's some Bible teacher, but I can't remember.

Can you be a Christian and not value and be committed to a local church?

Don't be a silly sausage.

I don't know.

Anyway, if that helps you, maybe.

There's nothing in the Bible about that.

To be gathered is to be in the local church.

That's how you express it.

Know who you are.

I'm going to say in a way that doesn't make sense

and technically isn't correct,

I am the church.

I know that doesn't make sense.

It's not correct.

We are the church.

But you're not just part of the church.

It's the fundamental thing about who you are.

We are the people of God.

It's not just you attend church.

You are the church.

We are the church.

We express that locally.

Being gathered.

Not choosing who you relate to,

but it's a community created by grace.

Across ages, across personalities, across cultures.

It's everyone who's been saved and under the lordship of Jesus.

That's what the local church is to express.

And through God's eyes, we see our agenda,

what we're called to do as the church.

And it's not primarily about social welfare,

though individual Christians might do all these things.

It's not about being a moral watchdog

to try and make Australia Christian.

It's not about living separate from society

and just condemning society.

It's not even to be a functioning machine

to do as much evangelism as we can.

Our agenda in Scripture is to be.

Be the church.

Love one another.

That's how you'll show that you are my disciples.

Ephesians 3, 9 to 11 is a key passage.

It's through the church

that the manifold wisdom of God

might now be made known to the rules and authorities

in the heavenly places.

God is glorified in his unified church.

It's as we focus on being the church,

that's when we'll be a winsome invitation to the world.

Look what life is like being gathered to Jesus.

And through God's eyes,

we see that the structure of a healthy,

functioning body of a local church

is that Christ is head.

He is head,

ruling by his word

that can change our hearts

by his spirit.

And he gives leaders to teach

and model

and govern

in order,

we see in Ephesians 4,

in order,

what verse is it?

Verse 12.

To equip the saints.

You are a saint if you're a believer.

A saint is being set apart for God.

The leaders are to equip all the people

for the work of ministry,

for building up the body of Christ.

Every person in ministry.

The priests would have all believers.

Verse 15 tells us what to do.

We're all to be speaking the truth in love.

Verse 16.

It's a bit of a complex statement,

but it's,

so Christ is the head,

but from whom the whole body,

and then what does the whole body do?

You've got to jump to a few phrases.

The whole body makes the body grow.

So it's not the leader's job

to make the body grow.

It's the body's job

to make the body grow.

Through every joint and ligament,

we need everyone

speaking the truth in love.

The truth being God's truth.

That's when the body grows.

That's when we'll be a compelling witness

of the salvation in Jesus.

So,

through God's eyes,

what do you think?

Can you see that church

is a foretaste of heaven?

If we understand our salvation

is to be the church,

if we understand our calling

is primarily about being the church,

if you're looking forward to heaven,

which is about the church glorified

in the presence of God,

what will that look like?

It will look like a high value

and a high engagement

in a local church.

So,

having refreshed ourselves

on God's view of the church,

and it's exciting,

it's well worth our time

going over that.

We need to keep this lens

as we come to this question

about being the church

in a digital age.

Now, by digital,

let me just define it quickly.

Like, I had a digital wristwatch

as a kid,

and it had this cool button

that could light up,

and I could read the time at night.

Now,

that electronic device

hardly revolutionised

the world,

and hardly impacted

the gathering.

But,

the age of the internet,

and the age of social media,

that has revolutionised

how we relate to one another,

how we think.

I've got to narrow our focus,

and I've,

even the two topics

I've narrowed it to,

really,

we're just,

it's a helicopter view

of these topics,

but,

the first one is,

can you do church online?

That's kind of,

an obvious question,

isn't it?

Can we do church online?

Obviously,

churches are trying to do that,

but,

can we?

The second question is,

obviously my introduction

hinted towards this,

how is social media

affecting

how we think about

relationships in the church,

and how we operate

in the church?

So,

that's where we're heading.

Let's go with

the first one now.

So,

first,

can you do church online?

Well,

some claim to get better sermons online.

I don't think that's true.

David and I,

I think we're the best

I've ever heard.

I'm glad you're laughing.

Am I glad?

I don't know.

Some claim to get better music

online.

Now,

one of the,

so,

in other words,

when you tap into

the best resources,

you,

you come away

feeling more

spiritually nourished.

So,

one of the best

examples of online church

I came across,

they put,

this church put

heaps of resources,

like,

our camera,

we've got cameras for Zoom,

but,

I mean,

these are like

state-of-the-art cameras

so that,

and all the lighting

and the sound

is mixed properly

so that it feels

like you're present.

They had dedicated

online pastors

to welcome people

and engage people

in conversation

and they had chat rooms

for general chit-chat.

They had other chat rooms

for pastors

to listen to you

and pray with you

after the service.

These are often churches

with multiple campus sites

and they say that

we've got an online

online campus,

we've got an online

congregation

and sometimes

these congregations,

these are thousands

of people.

They're reaching

a lot of people.

Now,

let's just assume

there is great

Bible teaching

at these.

Let's assume all that

and it feels

like attending.

The quality

of the service

and the singing

and the music,

it just feels

personally encouraging.

Can you do church

online?

I've been a bit sneaky

in the way

I've framed

that question.

Partly to demonstrate,

I think,

it is so easy

to leave

God's view

of church behind

when you start

asking these questions.

Can you do church

online?

You've already

made a misstep

as if it's about

attending,

a service.

can you be

church

online?

That's the question.

If church

is about

a worship

meeting

which provides

a spiritual

service

to the customers

to nourish

you individually

and as a family

then

attending

is all that matters.

But if it's

about being,

if God

is glorified

through just

numbers,

some of these

churches

they're glorifying

God way more

than we are

if it's just

about reaching

people.

But if God

is glorified

through unity

and true

interpersonal,

interdependent,

speaking the truth

in love,

community,

well,

I'm just

going to

phrase it

in a bunch

of questions.

How,

in what

sense

being online

are you

gathered?

Just,

in what

sense?

I suppose

there's some

level of

conversation.

How can

the diversity

in the body

of Christ

that crosses

ages

and crosses

cultures

and personalities

how can

that be

demonstrated,

the peace

that Jesus

has created

and the

common worship,

how is that

expressed

online?

Talk to me

afterwards

if you

can convince

me.

Obviously

you know

where I'm

going that

I don't

think you

can do

all these

things,

but I'm

not sure

you can

really

express

that.

Where is

good

accountability?

We're told

in Ephesians

4,

we're going

to be

tossed

to and

fro

if we're

not

speaking

the truth

in love

to one

another,

we will

be just

little

children

tossed

around

by the

world.

Where is

the

accountability

online?

If you

can just

choose

when to

tune in,

tune out,

how much

to say

about your

life.

It's a bit

harder to

keep life

hidden.

I've got

toothpaste

all over me

this morning

because of

getting out

this morning.

Someone might

notice that I've

obviously declared

that now.

Being

together,

there's

just,

I think,

a level

of you

can't

hide as

easily.

To be

accountable

to one

another.

How can

the body

sing to

one

another?

As

Colossians 3

tells us

to do.

I think

online it's

much easier

to hide

our

struggles

and our

sin.

Like how

do you

look a

brother in

the eye

who just

confess

their sin

to you

and before

you've even

said a

word,

just by

body

language,

they already

are sensing

that they're

not condemned

by you.

How can

you express

that?

I'm not

sure you

can do

that well

online.

How do

you give

that person

a hug?

How do

you hold

the hand

of a

dying

person

while you

pray for

them?

How do

you relate

online at

a depth

where it

is extremely

difficult to

maintain

peace?

Because

you're so

in each

other's

lives and

you've got

such

differences

that we're

called

be eager

to maintain

the peace.

This is

going to be

hard work.

If you

can convince

me that

you can

be a

functioning,

united,

interpersonal,

interdependent

body online,

then maybe

church online

is going to

be glorifying

to God.

While online

churching is

relatively new,

believers

claiming to

be part of

the universal

church and

sitting loose

to the local

church,

that's not

new,

is it?

So I

want to

clarify,

technology is

not the

problem.

It's not

the root

problem.

I don't

think.

In

person,

we could

easily just

form clicks.

In

person, we

could easily

try and

hide what's

really going

on in life,

what's going

on in our

minds.

we could

tune in or

tune out,

we can do

that all

in person.

So technology

isn't the

root problem.

It's whether

or not we

see church

through God's

eyes, that's

the important

thing.

If we know

who we are,

who we're

called to be,

the body,

we're not

just throwing

the word

family out

there, like

that is what

we are.

But as a

tool, online

church can

supplement and

bolster being

the body,

can't it?

Those who

are sick

and would

love to be

here, we

now have, they

can at least be

ministered to, to

some extent, on

Zoom.

What a

wonderful,

wonderful tool.

Our website is

often the first

point of contact

for people

finding us.

That's a good

tool.

It contains

recordings for

those in

Grace Kids

in Cresce who

miss out on

the teaching,

who sacrifice

being here now

for the kids,

for the whole

body so they

can catch up

or we can

re-listen to

it to get

more of,

soak it in

more.

Online gives

opportunities I

think for

isolated missionaries

who would love

to be part of a

local church to

be encouraged to

connect in maybe.

So I think

online church can

supplement being

the body but

my opinion is

it can't

replace it if

we stick with

what God says

the church is.

Okay, that's

online church.

What about

social media?

This one's less

obvious but

perhaps it's

having a much

bigger impact on

us as a church

family than in

how we relate

than the

question of

online churching.

Let me ask

what's filling

your mind and

therefore your

heart?

Is it

connection through

social media

captivating your

mind or is it

the local

church filling

your mind?

now I've got to

confess to you

like even

preparing this

week like the

amount of times I

went to Facebook

and just scrolled

those videos as

to just get this

little dopamine

hit of because I

was feeling

stressed this

week like

knowing this

stuff and

actually changing

is another story.

I want to

confess that

and like I

said earlier

while technology

in and of

itself is not

the root

problem here

it's our

sinful hearts

and not

believing what

God says

when it comes

to social

media

again it's

not technology

per se

that's a

problem

it's how

it's designed

it's exploiting

us

and that's

why I want

to quote

Tristan Harris

it is designed

to exploit

us

now that's

why I'm

saying watch

this documentary

thing

as soon as I

say the word

documentary

like oh

boring

I hope

maybe not

please watch

it

it's really

eye open

let me just

quickly try and

summarize

consider this

the company

Meta

which as you

know owns

Facebook

Instagram

it's worth

734 billion

US dollars

like wow

now how

much are

you paying

to subscribe

to Facebook

I haven't

paid a cent

now the old

saying goes

if it's free

you're the

product

and that's

Tristan Harris's

point in this

social demo

put simply

he's saying

your attention

your attention

is how these

big tech

companies make

a lot of

money

like have

you noticed

how precise

those ads

that come up

are like

talk about

feeding my

idols

it knows

exactly what

what I want

to be thinking

about but don't

need to be

or have you

noticed like

you've been

scrolling Facebook

like I admitted

to like half

an hour

has gone

by and

you've just

been watching

silly videos

or have you

noticed that

when you put

a post or

a video

online

you just

want to

know how

many likes

are there

how many

views have

there been

or have you

noticed when

you're using

social media

it almost

feels socially

rude not to

reply within a

few minutes

I feel

that I

don't know

if anyone

else does

the point

is none

of this is

accidental

it's designed

to keep us

hooked

because our

attention is

big business

and so

Tristan Harris

makes the

point that

we worry

about artificial

intelligence

kind of taking

over us

when it's

stronger than

us when it

can take our

jobs and

when it can

beat us at

chess

we worry

about AI

when it

takes over

the world

but he's

saying AI

is already

undermining

our weaknesses

it's already

exploiting

our weaknesses

I'll let you

watch it

because I've

gone into

explaining it

enough

it's

I think

it's

deceptive

it's

I think

it's an

example of

what we

hear in

Ephesians

4 of

human

cunning

to

toss us

to and

fro

it's

deceptive

because

it promises

that we're

connecting

into the

world

but

what it

is

is a

mirror

turned in

on self

because

when you

watch Netflix

I don't know

if you watch

Netflix

if you watch

a streaming

service

you know

that when

they say

hey do you

want to

watch something

like this

you know

it's tailored

to your

personal

preferences

but all

these

social media

things

it is

tailored

to personal

choices

it knows

what our

attention

is going

to

and it

just keeps

feeding

whatever

grabs our

attention

it's a

mirror

on self

we think

we're

connecting

with the

world

but it's

actually

just

reinforcing

self

it's

deceptive

I think

it promises

connection

to our

diverse

world

when it's

really

just

reinforcing

self

personal

choice

so I'm

going to

suggest

three ways

that

social media

can be

filling

our

minds

when it

should

be

the

church

filling

our

minds

with

truth

I'm

going to

start

with a

more

obvious

one

and that

is

our

attention

during

church

I'm

in two

minds

about this

illustration

I'm

going to

go for

it

I'll

probably

forget

it

at

Bible

college

there was

a

class

a

particular

class

now

this only

happened

in one

class

it didn't

happen

all

the

classes

of

Bible

college

because

I

know

this

church

helped

pay my

way

through

Bible

college

but

during

the

lecture

there was

this

Facebook

messenger

group

of

people

in

the

chat

just

a

constant

stream

of

funny

remarks

based on

what's

going on

in the

room

now

I had

this

choice

do I

belong

to the

crowd

and

feel

like I

belong

to the

group

or do

I

listen

that was

so

tempting

the

choice

do I

listen

to the

truth

that

is

meant

to be

building

up

the

church

I

want to

share

that

because

I

think

that could

be an

illustration

for how

social

media

is

grabbing

our

attention

during

church

yes

but also

during

the

week

giving

our

attention

is a

moral

choice

what

is

grabbing

our

attention

if

notifications

are disrupting

you from

God's

word

cut it

off

it will

feel

painful

cut it

off

by

cutting

off

I

mean

if

your

hand

causes

you to

see

and

cut it

off

that's

what I'm

referring

to

year

because

just that

feedback

loop

of

promising

connection

based on

your

preferences

it's

just

superficial

relating

and it's

filling your

mind with

consumerism

because it's

targeting

exactly where

you're tempted

but if

you give

your mind

to the

church

speaking

the truth

in love

it fills

your mind

with the

sacrifice

of Christ

it fills

your mind

with a

calling

to sacrifice

your life

for what

lasts

what are

you filling

your mind

with

during

church

but also

throughout

the week

the second

way

I think

it could

be impacting

us is

it's deceiving

us into

a sense

of belonging

but without

truly being

known

I think

a lot

of the

affirmation

that goes

on

we're

creatures

we're

built

for social

affirmation

we're

built

for it

God

designed

us that

way

that

so much

of what

we're

affirmed

for

online

isn't

it

playing

happy

family

pictures

and I've

got the

house

and I'm

renovating

it

and look

how beautiful

I am

and

apparently

Instagram

as a

side note

automatically

adds a

5%

beauty

filter

doesn't

work on

me

now

you have

to clarify

whether that's

still the

case

that's a

few years

old

that

remark

but

the point

is

it's

trying to

reinforce

your value

is tied

to your

beauty

come to

this

platform

we try

and get

affirmation

based on

work

accomplishments

and what

we're doing

and even

our personal

struggles

like when

we declare

our personal

struggles

are we

really

offering

for people

to speak

the truth

in love

maybe

you are

maybe you

are

but

being the

Christ

church

where people

are speaking

the truth

in love

it's

assuring

you of

what's

true

it's

saying

you are

loved

by God

you are

in the

family

of God

not based

on anything

you do

not based

on your

beauty

not based

on your

house

and renovations

and not

based on

anything else

you are

in the

family

of God

when we

give

ourselves

to truth

so

we choose

between

a very

superficial

form of

connection

and affirmation

or giving

ourselves to

the church

and having

deep truth

filling our

souls

and affirming

us

being

truly

known

you

seeing

me

warts

and

all

and

saying

you are

loved

by God

now let

me help

you brother

in living

for God

more

that's

being

truly

known

the third

way I

think it

can be

impacting

us is

polarization

a feedback

loop that

is based

on your

preferences

it's going

to give

you a

sense

that you're

well

informed

but what's

really going

on is

you're

surrounding

yourself

with

the same

view

people with

the same

view

because that's

what the

algorithms

do

and the

other thing

it does

is

outrage

spreads

faster than

moderate

opinion

there's

more

shares

of tweets

and things

where someone

is going

isn't that

person on

the other

side of

this issue

an idiot

if there's

anything

if there's

any rage

that spreads

faster

so it gives

us a sense

that we have

all the

information

but really

it's put us

in a bubble

and it's

encouraging

division

but

being in

Christ's

church

it

stretches

our own

thinking

my thoughts

being tested

by the

diversity

of the

body

in an

environment

of humility

in an

environment

of security

knowing

we're

loved

and in

that environment

that's

teaching me

to maintain

affection

while I

patiently

try and

convince one

another

it's two

totally

different

worlds

if we

just

unthinkingly

come at

topics

through what

we look

at online

we've got

to be aware

that it's

polarising us

against one

another

and we can

bring that

into the

church

when we're

called to

unity

for the

glory of

God's

sake

so again

social media

isn't the

root cause

of the

problem

we can

be it

we can

be physically

present at

church

and form

cliques

we can

be physically

present at

church

and pretend

playing happy

families

where no one

really knows

what's going

on

we can

rally around

people who

have our

opinion

and cast

rocks at

everyone else

it's not

the tech

per se

but

this tech

is

aimed at

undermining

our propensity

towards those

things

but then

as a tool

it hasn't

been helpful

for this

church family

the meal

rosters

we've benefited

from those

being organised

online

the amount

of good

articles

and books

that people

share to

one

I know

the women

I know

second hand

I'm not

reading

but

second hand

through

Emma

the prayer

points

you guys

share

through the

Facebook

group

that's a

lovely

thing

tool

I know

I know

there's

a lot

of

organisation

that goes

into

Sunday

meeting

and

midweek

groups

even

our

connection

with

Matt

and

Grace

that's

a

great

feature

now

that we

can

encourage

them

from

afar

I

have

no

idea

of

all

the

one

to

one

conversations

that are

happening

through

social

media

it is

a tool

don't

hear me

saying

I don't

know

it's

evil

100%

evil

it's

a tool

but the

church

needs to

be what's

influencing

and filling

our minds

not social

media

so let

me finish

by asking

what do

you do

what do

we do

if we

sense

the

empty

promises

of being

totally

connected

24-7

and yet

you're not

truly

known

but then

you haven't

felt the

depth of

family

community

in the

church

like

I've

been

talking

about

these

six

weeks

what do

you do

well

I think

our

experience

of church

isn't

what should

guide us

we need

it

our starting

point needs

to be

seeing the

church

through God's

eyes

that

you are

the church

you do

belong

in Christ's

body

it's

according to

God's

eternal plan

it's by

the blood

of his

son

you are

cherished

in his

people

it's

understanding

that church