Me vs We

Having recited God's truth, I pray that only the truth would be spoken and only the truth would be heard.

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

I invite you to be seated.

It's funny when you've been doing things the same way for 40 years,

trying to remember that now the creed goes just after the sermon is a little bit difficult.

So we've been kind of following the evangelical practice for the last, well, at least we understand.

Amy and I have been doing ministry elsewhere for about the last month and a half.

But we've been going, taking a verse or two verses and expositing those particular verses.

There's a number of ways that we can go when we preach in the evangelical mode, the reform mode,

expository preaching.

You can go through entire books of the Bible, which I think is probably one of the most valuable ways to do it.

But also one of the ways we can do it, which is also very valuable to kind of switch to,

we want to switch stuff every now and then, is just to focus on one scripture.

And really dig down deep, drill down deep and say, okay, what is the Holy Spirit saying through these passages

that we all kind of know, they all kind of sit in our hearts, but maybe we can see them in a new way.

And so the passage that I'm going to be focusing on, if you want to turn to it in your Bibles,

is 1 Peter 2, 9 and 10.

I keep on saying 2 Peter, but 1 Peter 2, 9 and 10.

So it's a section, just two verses out of the epistle that we had read this morning.

Now, recently I read about a phenomenon that I was not aware of,

which is kind of funny because I grew up in the bush, as I like to mention.

And this phenomenon has to do with tree roots.

I was not aware that when trees come together and their roots actually touch,

there's a kind of fungus, in most cases, that grows on the tree roots

that actually limits the amount of competition between those two trees.

And not only does it limit competition, but it actually binds the trees together

and links them together so they'll share resources back and forth.

And you can, they physically link together.

This actually happens even with trees of different species.

So you can have an evergreen and a maple tree, and they'll come together

and they'll actually link their roots together.

And this substance, this fungus that grows there, what happens is, in many cases,

when one tree has access to light, and another tree has access to water,

perhaps just a little bit over there, and another has access to some sort of

the nutrients that are in the ground, a special kind of nutrients,

the trees will actually share, underneath the earth where you can't see,

share these things back and forth.

And you'll have entire forests, entire forests, that are linked together

and are sharing these resources.

So I always wondered, how can a short little tree last in these big, huge forests?

It's because these big trees are actually sharing the sunlight,

what they get from the sunlight.

Now, I'm not a scientist, so someone here could probably tell you what that is.

But they're sharing, they're sharing sunlight, let's just say,

underneath in their roots.

And I like this image, because to me, it's a good image for how the New Testament

speaks about the church.

Now, we all see, you know, the surface here.

But the way the New Testament talks about, and when Peter talks about this,

this new vision of God's people, somehow, underneath, where it's really important

in our lives as a church and as individuals, we are linked together

and sharing resources back and forth that we're not even aware of.

That's how God in the New Testament wants us to see the church.

Biblically, we're a network linked together, and under the surface,

we're sharing back and forth.

Christians need one another.

Now, I don't usually like the term need.

Okay, when you preach and you use the term need all the time,

the term need all the time, it can become very legalistic.

But I think the Bible makes it very clear.

Jesus himself walked in community.

Okay, Christians need one another.

I want to talk about that this morning.

Our catechism, to be a Christian, and I speak about this quite a bit

because I was actually very moved by the catechism, the network catechism.

One of the reasons I made the jump over to this denomination

was I prayed my way through the catechism.

If you haven't read it or prayed your way through it, I strongly recommend it.

And when the catechism, our catechism, talks about the church,

it says this, to be a Christian, says,

the New Testament teaches me to view the church as God's covenant people and a family,

as the body and bride of Christ,

and as the temple where God in Christ dwells by his spirit.

It's a little bit different than the bad press that you'll read about the church.

God's covenant people and family,

the very body and bride of Christ,

and the temple where God in Christ dwells by his spirit.

And when to be a Christian says that,

it actually highlights 1 Peter 2, 9 and 10

as key passage that helps us understand what the church is.

And so I'm going to ask, if you haven't already,

that's where we're going to turn to.

And as was read this morning, I just want to reiterate it,

but you are a chosen race,

a royal priesthood,

a people for his own possession,

that you may proclaim the excellencies of him

who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Once you were not a people,

but now you are God's people.

Once you had not received mercy,

but now you have received mercy.

So, it's very,

we're as a church used to reading from Paul.

And reading from Peter,

we have to get ourselves in a different mindset

when we're reading anything from Peter

than if we're reading from Paul.

Paul does things what we would say properly.

He starts with an idea,

and he's very linear.

He'll start with that idea,

then he'll just flush that idea out.

Anybody who's read Romans,

like he takes an idea,

and then he just beats that horse till it's dead,

then he moves on to the next idea,

and he does it again.

And that's how Paul does it.

But when we read Peter,

completely different.

He's not this highly educated guy like Paul was.

For Peter, he exhorts,

and in the middle of that exhortation,

he'll stop,

and he'll start talking about something else,

then he'll kind of come back to that exhortation,

and he's just back and forth,

and he's all over the place.

What you catch in Peter is the spirit,

and the excitement with which he's talking about,

and the urgency of the message

that he's trying to get to his people.

And so,

he's a lot of exhortation.

Now, that's a big Bible word.

That's kind of a big theology term that we use.

When he's exhorting,

it's kind of like,

it's like a mother at a football game,

or Amy at a soccer game with the kids,

urging their kids on,

exhorting their child

to do well in what they're doing.

And so, what we get is Peter

is actually exhorting his children

in our passage.

Our passage is interesting.

It's actually,

our passage is an exhortation,

which is a departure

from another exhortation that Peter's having.

So, that's why we stop

and we focus on just 2, 9, and 10,

because there's a whole lot

of other stuff going on,

but he says something really important

within this kind of departure

that it is that he's taken.

Now, outside sources confirm

that Peter wrote this in Rome.

Oh, my arrow did show up.

Look at that.

Do I have a thing?

There we go.

Up in Rome there.

Okay?

And it's probably

two to three years before he's martyred

is when Peter wrote this.

We know Paul saw the end coming.

Right?

And they were martyred around this.

They were killed around the same time

by the Emperor Nero.

So, I'm pretty sure,

we can be pretty sure,

Peter saw the end coming too.

And so, when Peter's writing his letter

as he is here

to a people who are themselves oppressed,

you've got a guy who knows

the end's probably coming,

and he's writing

how to be a Christian

when you're under persecution.

That's what he's writing to.

It gives weight to us

when he speaks about faithfulness

in tough times.

And as it's highlighted here,

he's writing the letter

to what's called Asia Minor,

which is right across here.

This is modern-day Turkey.

That's the Black Sea right there.

And he calls this a dispersion.

Okay?

And the reason that is

what they find

in 62-63 AD

when Peter writes this,

I'm probably going to do that

about four or five times,

when Peter writes this,

he's actually writing

to Jewish and Gentile Christians

who are spread

right across that region.

Now, the reason

that there's so many

Jewish and Gentile Christians there

is because they have fled

other areas to get there.

They have been persecuted

in other areas,

and this mixed bag of people

is coming together

in Asia Minor,

right across into Asia,

and they've come together,

and they're trying

to be the church,

all these different people,

in the midst of oppression

they've had,

oppression that's having,

and oppression

they can see coming,

because Nero is nuts.

That's the context

within which Peter

is actually writing to them.

The letter's destined for there.

And he's speaking directly

into their situation

of suffering.

And what 1 and 2 Peter are

is they're basically

just stripped down,

super practical letters

on what it means

to be a Christian.

Because when you're writing

to people who are

in persecution,

they don't want fluff.

When I'm talking

with my soldiers,

and they've just come

out of a foxhole,

when they've just come

out of Afghanistan,

and they've seen the reality

of the situation of war,

they don't want fluff from me.

They want the real deal.

And so that's what it is

that Peter is speaking

to these people,

to his churches

that are there.

And he gives stripped down

practical advice.

This entire chapter,

chapter 2,

if you read the entire chapter,

this part is about

what it means

to be a Christian.

What is the Christian life?

In our passage,

for our purposes

this morning,

we want to note

that even though

he's talking to a mixed bag

of people along here,

he's using,

in particular,

very Jewish terms

for the church

throughout the chapter 2.

He talks about

Rome

as the new Babylon.

He talks about

the church

as God's

new covenant people.

When he does this

throughout the second chapter,

I'm not going to bore you

with it,

but he uses direct quotes

from Exodus.

He uses quotes

from Hosea within there

that are kind of

hidden in there.

And what he does

when he talks about

the church

as the new Jerusalem

and Rome

as the new Babylon,

which is exactly

where he is,

he's using terms

from Isaiah.

He's using terms

from Isaiah

and he's trying to

get them into

the mindset

of Isaiah itself.

And in particular,

we need to highlight

the fact that he calls

the church

the new Jerusalem.

In verses 2,

9,

and 10,

that we are in,

what I just read to you,

are kind of

that central passage,

that central moment

when he's talking

about church

as this new Israel,

as this new people.

And what he's saying

to this super diverse group

along here,

what he says

is that the more

we become rooted

in our identity

as that royal priesthood,

the more we become rooted

as God's chosen race,

a holy nation,

the more we glorify God.

The more we become

rooted in our identity

together as a people,

the more we glorify God

and that fulfills

our very purpose

for living.

That's kind of the center

of what Peter's message is.

Now,

this matters.

I think I've missed

a whole bunch of slides.

Nope.

I get rolling

and I forget to

switch the slides

when I go.

This matters

because we have trouble

in our individualistic context

understanding what it is

that Peter's saying.

Oftentimes,

when I hear,

and I know I've done this too,

when I read this passage

or when I hear people

read this passage,

they'll read it like this.

They'll look at it and go,

you know,

isn't this great?

I am chosen.

I am royal.

I am holy.

And Peter's

kind of saying,

well,

yeah,

I guess,

but no,

it's more that

we are chosen.

We are holy.

We are a royal priesthood.

When he says that,

there's a cultural dissonance,

I want to say,

with this verse for us.

When the ancients read the verse,

when these folks read this verse,

they saw everything in life,

not just the Bible

or not just these letters

from the apostles.

In the ancient world,

they saw everything

through the lens of community.

They saw everything

through the lens of their family

or through the lens

of their community at large.

whereas,

what do we see everything through?

What's in it for me?

We're all about I,

whereas they were more about community.

And so that's the lens

through which this letter

was meant to be written.

God's chosen race,

when Peter says,

you are a chosen race,

they saw right away

their community.

Because the last time I checked,

there's no such thing

as a one-person race.

There's no such thing

as a one-person people.

It's pretty obvious

when you read it,

but for some reason,

we just focus on the big eye

when we read this passage.

Romans said that we're grafted together

into the vine.

Now, I think it's pretty obvious

that race is somehow

innately important to us

as people,

as human beings.

That, you know,

we've always been in our history

aware of race,

oftentimes with pretty awful results.

We've been like,

okay, race is important.

It's a spiritual need we have

to be grafted into this race.

But if we don't know Jesus,

then we start focusing on race

like my race is better

than your race.

Or my nation is better

than your nation.

We end up with wars

over races.

We end up with segregation.

We end up with things like slavery

around the world.

We know that race

is very important.

And in this blind,

leading the blind world now,

I really don't think

things are getting better.

We see people on all ends

of the political spectrum

leveraging race

for their own ends.

And it's just,

it's disintegrating.

It feels like,

maybe not so much here in Canada,

but around the world.

I think it's disintegrating

even more.

Because the world knows

that there's this spiritual need

to be a part of the race.

But of course,

without Jesus,

you just try to fill it

in whatever way that you can.

Race is important.

It's an important need

in our hearts,

but not in the way

that the world sees it.

Part of the depth

of our spirituality

is realizing

that we have been

grafted together,

the Bible says this

in a number of places,

into a new race.

Both Peter and Paul

hammer away at that point.

We're grafted together

into a new race.

And this has consequences

for our spiritual formation.

I'm from a place

called Halliburton.

Anybody know

where Halliburton is?

Well, you do now

because I just put

a map up there.

So if you go where Muskoka,

everybody knows Muskoka

for some reason,

and you go kind of

a Bancroft area

or the valley,

there's this void

in between

that no one really knows

about called Halliburton.

I grew up right about there

in the middle of that void.

Now,

we're a special

country bumpkin

kind of people.

I was going to say

we're not a race.

Amy said,

you are a race.

You're family.

My family all lives

within about 15 minutes

of each other.

I'm the only one

that kind of moved out

and got away from there.

It's a very special

kind of person.

I'll put quotes around that.

That comes from Halliburton.

Okay?

Now,

I haven't lived there

for 20 years.

I joined the Army.

I've been in the Army

for 12 years now.

You know,

being from Halliburton

is not so much

a part of my identity anymore.

It's just kind of

one thing

that makes up

who I am.

And the reason

I mention this

is

I think

that's really

how the world

wants us

to see our faith.

You know,

kind of like

we're free runners here

and then there's

all these different things

that kind of make up

who we are.

Our ideas,

our work,

you know,

our friendship,

obviously social media.

And being a Christian

is kind of over here

somewhere.

Right?

It's just one little

small thing.

Just keep it over there,

not up front,

right out of the scene

and don't make it

too important.

You're going to become

one of those crazies.

Right?

That's how the world

wants us to see

our faith.

Kind of like me

being from Halliburton

or you being

from wherever

you're from.

Just kind of

one of those things

that make up

who we are.

But the New Testament

shows us

and talks about

the fact

that

the New Testament

faith is that

faith becomes

the integrating factor.

The ultimate

integrating factor

in our lives.

Faith,

when you come to

faith in Jesus,

if you don't know

Jesus and you're

feeling really

kind of messed up

right now,

there's a reason

for that.

Faith is that

ultimate integrating

factor that sifts

and sorts

all of these

things here.

Prioritizes them

according to

God's design

for us.

That's how God

wants us to see

faith.

And that sorting

and sifting

is something,

friends,

that happens

together.

That's what

1 Peter is

talking about to us.

Now,

Peter uses terms

a royal priesthood

in a holy nation.

Again,

plural.

He's actually

returning to an idea.

If you look in your

Bible there,

you can see it here.

2 Peter 2.5.

So he's just,

he's made a point

here where he said,

let me read it from here.

I'm going to hurt my neck

if I keep doing that.

You yourselves,

like living stones,

are being built up

as a spiritual house

to be a holy priesthood.

So he said that,

then he kind of goes,

he's come back

to this idea again.

He's,

oh,

wait a minute,

I have to flush out

that idea a little bit.

Now,

this is from the ESV,

which is a translation

we use here at the Messiah.

When it comes to this verse,

I actually prefer

what the NEB says,

and it says that

we are being built

into a spiritual temple.

This term,

spiritual house,

oikos,

when you read it

within the popular context

of the ancient world,

it just means house.

Within the Bible context,

it almost always

has to do with God's house.

It almost always

has to do

with the temple.

And so,

Peter is saying there

that you and I

are being built together

into a spiritual temple,

and into God's new temple,

which was the focus

of worship

at that time.

And the,

it's not built

out of stones

and beautiful jewels

and all kinds of gold.

It's built out of the beauty

of Christians' lives.

faith-filled,

spirit-fueled lives.

That is what

God's new temple

is built out of.

God glorifies,

and that,

just like the temple itself,

when we are built together,

that glorifies God.

And so,

why is that important?

Well,

our verse,

2b,

goes on,

2, 9b,

goes on,

says that we are built together

for this reason,

that you may proclaim

the excellencies of him

who called you out of darkness

into his wonderful light.

This term,

proclaim,

that he uses for proclaim here,

doesn't happen again

in the New Testament,

but in the Psalms,

this same term

is talked about

to be glorifying God.

It talks about worshiping.

It's not so much evangelism here,

that's part of it,

but really,

it has to do with worship

and glorifying God.

And the old English reformers

said that this,

said that the main purpose of man

is to glorify God

and enjoy him forever.

So,

when we are built together

into a spiritual house,

we glorify God,

which helps us fulfill

our chief end.

I want you to recite this with me.

I'm going to ask,

what is the chief end of man?

And you're going to say,

man's chief end

is to glorify God

and enjoy him forever.

What is the chief end of man?

Man's chief end

is to glorify God

and enjoy him forever.

Man's chief end

is to what?

Glorify God.

And?

To enjoy him forever.

Wow,

look at that.

I checked off

on good preaching

to get you involved

with what's going on.

You know,

according,

this is super important.

According to Peter,

again,

when we give up

of ourselves

and we join the church,

we glorify God,

which ends up fulfilling

our chief end

as individuals

and as a community.

So we're not just

giving up ourselves

for some weird sort of reason.

It's to fulfill

what God has created us to do.

The community of faith,

the community of faith

is a spiritual vehicle

that allows us

to meet our purpose.

I'm going to say that again.

The church

is the chief vehicle

when it's spirit-powered

that allows us

to meet our chief end

in God's purpose

of glorifying God.

I just like this quote.

The catechism says

that man's chief end

is to glorify God

and enjoy him forever,

but we shall

then know

that these are the same thing.

Fully to enjoy

is to glorify.

C.S. Lewis.

The more rooted, then,

friends,

that we become together

in these identities

that he talks about,

priesthood,

chosen race,

a holy nation,

the more we glorify God

and fulfill our purpose.

And so this leaves us

with something to do.

I have a spiritual practice,

a couple of spiritual practices

for us to practice this week,

okay,

while you're enjoying the beach

or whatever you do

during the summer.

Richard Foster said something

I thought was really amazing.

He said, you know,

the biggest need in the world

and the biggest need

in the church right now

is not for more talented people.

God doesn't need more,

more, you know,

amazing people

with jazz hands up front.

What God needs

is deeper people.

God, friends,

is calling us deeper

as individuals

and as a community

to invest more

and to become more,

more engaged

with our spiritual purpose.

So our to-do,

that deepness happens

within community,

the Bible teaches us that,

our to-do is,

I really want you

to ask yourself

a question this week.

What are the ways

that my individualism,

that's the water we live,

we swim within,

is our individualism.

What is the way

that my individualism

is keeping me

from fully engaging

with Jesus?

What are the ways

that my individualism

are keeping me

from fully engaging

with the body of Jesus,

which is his church?

That's your spiritual question

for meditation this week.

We're living stones

and our beauty comes

when we're together.

So I'm going to leave you

with that item

for prayer and meditation.

Just with a couple

of examples of this.

When Amy and I moved

to Petawawa,

as I mentioned,

my military chaplain,

we get posted

all over the place.

It becomes difficult sometimes,

you know,

moving from church to church.

And one of the things

that when I was

a new chaplain

and we were posted

at Petawawa

that I really started

to enjoy a little too much

was church shopping.

Because you can go in,

you can enjoy the worship

and all that.

But you know,

when people started

to kind of get on your nerves,

you just moved on

to the next one.

But then I found out,

he says,

as a chaplain,

wherever you go,

you always run into people.

And after a while,

we spent years

church shopping

when we were up there.

You'd be amazed

at how many churches

you can find

when you really look hard.

And we never really invested.

Now,

if I want you to think about,

that's 2008,

2009.

Afghanistan's going on.

I'm a chaplain

in Petawawa.

Do you think maybe

a few important things

were going on?

Maybe some stressful stuff

was happening

as an army chaplain

in Petawawa?

I really think

during that time,

I suffered,

my family suffered,

we suffered spiritually

because we weren't

plugged in

to a church.

It wasn't until

we became plugged in

to a church

and were welcomed,

Archdeacon Tim's church,

St. Luke's,

that we really

started to remember

how important it is

to be actually

plugged into a church.

So when Amy and I

came here to Ottawa

and the bishop said,

okay,

which church

are you going to choose?

We come here,

heard George preach,

met all of you,

and said,

we're going to invest

in this church.

And we've been amazed

that the,

just the big ways

and the small ways

that the Lord

has opened up

ministry opportunities

for us,

community opportunities

for us,

just being plugged in

right away,

just diving in.

Because no church

is perfect,

friends,

because we're in it.

And we need to learn

to dive in

where we are

and where God

has placed us.

That's the lesson

that both Amy

and I learned.

God blessed

that opportunity

to serve.

So that's a way

that my own individualism,

my desire to shop

and find the church

that I wanted,

was getting in the way

of my relationship

with Jesus.

More in general,

something that happens

within our lives,

you know,

in this me first world

that we live within,

is our constant need

to be first.

Like we live in a world,

I mean I drove here,

there's hardly anybody

on the highway,

but people are still

just all over each other.

In the cars,

on the highway,

in there,

I'm not going to say

I wasn't one of them,

but we're just all over

the place.

We live in a world

where we hate

to line up.

It's a very me first.

And one of the

spiritual practices

that was recommended

to me

was actually fasting

from the need

to be first.

A spiritual practice

we can do

is actually fast

from the need

to be first.

You know,

Jesus commented

in our gospel

in the context

of me focus

that the first

and the last,

the last are going

to be first.

Those who put

themselves forward

are going to end up

at the end

of the line.

And so a spiritual

practice is actually

putting those words

of Jesus

into action.

You know,

I've tried this

in my own feeble way

and I'm going to admit

a very feeble way.

I remember being

on the road

to work one day

and,

oh,

I missed that one.

That's a nice picture

of the church.

There we are.

And OC Transpo

one day did what

OC Transpo does best.

The bus broke down.

Right about carling

and I was on my way

into the downtown core

here.

So we got off

to the side

and I remembered

for some reason

it was by the grace

of God

because usually

when I remember

I'm fasting

about something

it's halfway

through the chocolate bar

and it's Lent.

Like,

oh yeah,

I'm fasting

from chocolate.

I never know.

Should I finish

the chocolate bar

and just go whole hog?

Or anyways.

But I remembered

this time.

I was at the back

of the bus.

Like I usually,

everybody fights

for those back seats.

I was at the back

of the bus

and I remembered,

hold on,

you're fasting

from being first.

So,

and I'm a chaplain

so I can explain

that to my boss

when I'm late.

So,

I'm just going to sit here

and I'm going to observe.

And there was this other guy

that was kind of sitting beside me.

I think we just kind of gave,

he gave up

and was just going to wait.

But I observed

when the bus pulled over

and limped itself

into the next stop,

everybody got up

and started jostling

for position.

Like,

and I mean jostling.

And you could see

some people

who were a little further back

and they were just,

they were just on the edge.

They were just about ready

to lose their minds.

And when those doors opened

it was like the cattle,

like who let the dogs out?

Everybody went out

and people were jostling

one another

and I'm like,

I just realized

that would have been me.

I'm not saying I'm any better

because it was by the grace of God

that that wasn't me.

And then I watched,

I kind of came on after

and I watched as,

you know,

the bus that was waiting for us

was already like 90% full

because in the morning

there's never a bus

that's not 90% full.

People were just cramming themselves,

yelling at each other

to get on like,

like loudly talking to each other

to try to get on this bus.

Literally bodies up against the window

like that.

The doors closed

and I,

but for me,

this is the point.

I saw myself.

I saw my love for my neighbor

and I saw my Christian witness

get on that bus

because the me first attitude

pervades my life

just like it pervades yours.

It's the water within which we swim.

And this is how fasting

and spiritual practices can work.

Jesus meets us

and shows us

and walks beside

and I can just say,

man,

Lord,

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry that that's,

I'm not judging anybody

like the Pharisee there.

I'm saying,

Lord,

have mercy.

By your grace,

that's not me

doing that to my neighbor.

Now,

the interesting end of the story

is just as those doors closed,

another bus rolled up

which miraculously

was only about like half full.

And the five of us

that were left

kind of sauntered onto the bus

and sat down.

I'm like,

okay,

thanks,

Lord.

That's a good lesson.

Sometimes,

sometimes God does that for us.

You know,

put yourself first.

What is it that,

what is it that you're reaping

when we sow that?

What is it that I'm reaping

when I sow that?

Simple little practices like that,

offering little things to God,

help us walk with him

and see throughout our day

and then to allow Jesus' forgiveness

to overwhelm us

and to empower us.

So,

I'm going to ask you again,

what are the ways

that individualism

is keeping you

from fully engaging

with your faith

and will you walk

with Jesus this week

to allow him

to show you

and to make you

into that beautiful creature

that he wants us

to be together?

Especially,

friends,

as pertains to this church.

Emails are going out

with opportunities

to engage in this church

every week.

I see them as well

as you do

and I've been convicted

this week.

I need to dive in.

I need to be more involved

and to struggle with Jesus.

The more rooted

we become together

in our identity

as a royal priesthood,

as a chosen race,

as God's people,

a holy nation,

the more we glorify God,

friends,

and we fulfill

our purposes together.

Big finish.

Okay?

This is the end

of the sermon.

In World War II,

the enemy conducted

experiments on POWs,

prisoners of war,

to find out

what is the best way

to get someone to talk.

They found

that the best way

to get a soldier

to talk

or get anybody

to talk

was solitary confinement.

You put someone alone

for three to five days,

they lose their community,

they lose their sense

of identity

with others,

and they spew

like you wouldn't believe.

all because

they've been removed

from their community.

Any soldier

will pretty much

tell anything.

Most men

will tell anything.

We need fellowship

and we need community

at a spiritual level.

That's why

we need the body

of Christ.

We need our fellow believers

because without it,

when we become

very easy prey

for temptation,

which is everywhere,

around every corner,

in the abandonment

of our values.

Together,

and then we become

formed into the image

of the world

and the powers

of the world.

Whereas what Christ

wants for you,

what Jesus wants

for me,

is to become formed

into his likeness

together.

Let's pray.

Loving God,

you call us

to be

a royal priesthood.

you call us

to be

a chosen race

and a holy nation.

Help us,

Lord God,

to fully engage

with one another.

Help us to engage

in our community

and in worship

and in praise

and acts of service

together

so we can glorify you,

enjoy you forever,

together as a people.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.