Sermon

Community and Membership

October 18, 2015 Watermark Community Church Sermons

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Good morning.
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Eric.
I'm one of the guys on staff here at Watermark Church.
It's great to be here with you today.
And if you've been here the past few weeks,
you're probably wondering, why are we not in 1 Corinthians still?
And basically what's going on is we've spent the past couple months
looking at the book of 1 Corinthians,
and it was a really messed up church.
They had lots of issues, and Paul was writing this letter to them,
saying, like, you're doing this wrong, you're doing this wrong,
you're doing this wrong.
And we figured it would be a good idea to actually look at,
from the positive side, what is a healthy church?
Because we've been talking about it from the negative side for so long
that we figured it would be worthwhile to take a couple weeks
to talk about, from the positive side,
like, not just what shouldn't we be doing,
but what should we be doing as a church
if we're going to be a healthy church.
So today we're looking at the concept of community
and membership.
And the big question I want us to ask ourselves today
is what does the cross have to do with our community?
What does the cross have to do with our community?
And I think we live in a very individualistic society,
a very me-focused world.
And the church, in many ways, has gone along with this
and said, you know, my walk with God is about me and God.
And it's all about me trusting in Jesus,
me becoming a Christian,
me going to church,
me reading my Bible.
But if we look at the Bible and what it says,
what we'll notice is that actually,
it's about us as well.
That God doesn't just save us as individuals,
but God saves us to form us into a community
that is his people.
And that as we are shaped into this community,
that our community must be shaped by the cross.
And that just as Jesus loved us
and showed us his love sacrificially on the cross,
that he calls us, if we are his people,
to live life in a sacrificial community together,
loving one another as he has loved us.
And so to see that,
we're going to look at the book of Ephesians, chapter 2.

Ephesians 2 chapter mention
Ephesians is another letter
that the Apostle Paul wrote to a church
in a city called Ephesus.
And one of his big goals in writing this letter
is to help them see the importance of community
in life as a church.
And in today's passage,
he's going to have them remember
their past circumstances,
recognize their present condition,
and then re-evaluate their projected course
based on what they've remembered
and recognized about where they are now.
And so the first step
is to remember their past circumstances.
Paul starts out this passage pretty bleak, right?
He says,
They had three really big problems.
Problem number one,
they were separated from God.
If you follow the storyline of the Bible,
basically,
God created man
to live in a relationship with him.
This is supposed to be
the ultimate power source for our life,
this relationship with God.
And if you follow the storyline of the Bible
a little further,
it tells us that all of us
have rebelled against God.
All of us have cut ourselves off
from that relationship
that we were created to have.
And all of us,
in doing that,
have cut ourselves off
from that power source
of that relationship with God
that's supposed to give us the strength
to go throughout life.
And he's saying,
this is the past condition
of the people in this church.
And not just of them,
but also,
if we're Christians,
of us here today.
That this is our past reality.
Not only are they separated from God,
they're also,
he says,
alienated from the commonwealth of Israel.
Now,
back in the day,
Israel was God's chosen people.
They were the special ones
who had God's revelation
and no one else did.
They had received messages from God
about what it means to follow him
and how he wants us to follow him.
And they were special.
They were privileged.
And they kind of let everyone else know it.
And everyone else
didn't really appreciate that.
Everyone else
fought back against that.
And there were some ethnic tensions
going on in the world.
And what Paul is saying is
the people he's writing to
were not Jews.
They were not part
of that special people
that God had called as his own.
They had no special standing
that could help them
get to this relationship with God.
And so,
there was a separation
that they were not only
separated from God,
but they were separated
from God's people.
And ethnic tensions,
you know,
it's not just something
from the world then,
but it's something that we see
in the world
all the time today.
If you follow the news at all,
you've probably heard stories
the past few months
about black versus white tensions
in the States
and all the violence
that's going on with that.
But it's also something
that happens here
on this side of the world as well.
About a month and a half ago,
I think,
we had a holiday.
The rest of the world
calls it the anniversary
of the end of World War II.
The Chinese government
decides to call it
the anniversary
of the Chinese people's
war of rebellion
against Japanese aggression.
Ignore the fact
that the whole rest of the world
was also involved
in this war.
Ignore the fact
that, you know,
the Communist Party
could never have gotten
into power in China
in the first place
if that hadn't happened.
But they want
to take all this aggression
and point it
against the Japanese people.
They want to take
this ethnic division
and push it
onto their people.
We live in a broken world
where there are ethnic tensions
around us all the time.
Also, if you think back
about a year ago,
there was a lot of tension
between Hong Kong
and the mainland.
I know it's all Chinese,
but there was still
a tension between
different groups
of Chinese people.
There was a professor
in the mainland
who called the Hong Kong people
dogs of the British.
And so a group
of Hong Kongers
went out
and hired a page
in the front page
of a local newspaper
depicting a locust
overlooking the city
and basically said,
if you are a mainlander,
this is what you do
to our city.
You come in,
you wreck it,
you destroy it,
we want nothing
to do with you.
And there were protests
and clashes
of people
who just did not
get along.
In HKU,
there was a student
who posted
on their democracy wall.
He said,
to,
what's the exact quote,
to you brainwashed,
commie-loving mainlanders,
we despise you.
We live in a world
that is full
of alienation
from God.
We live in a world
that is full
of alienation
from each other.
And it makes sense
because when we
cut ourselves off
from this relationship
with God,
the next logical step
is to cut ourselves off
from people
who are made
in God's image.
One person summarized,
he said,
the attitude of the world
in our fallen state
is best expressed
in the phrase,
you're different
from me
and I resent you
for that.
You're different
from me
and I resent you
from that.
And so,
the past condition
of this church
that Paul is saying
they had,
they're separated
from God,
they're cut off
from the power source
that they're supposed
to have for life,
they're separated
from God's people,
they're alienated,
they're estranged,
and there's this
sense of isolation.
Something has gone
horribly, horribly wrong.
And not only that,
but he says
that they were
strangers
to the covenants
of promise.
This is that God
had appeared
and he had told people
about a promise
that he would
restore people
to himself,
that he would come
and he would
rescue us.
And yet,
these promises
had come only
to the Israelites.
And so,
Paul's people
who were receiving
this letter
didn't have
these promises.
They were broken
in their relationship
with God.
They were broken
in their relationship
with others
and they had
no way
to fix it.
And he says
that these three
problems led
to two devastating
effects.
They were without
hope
and they were
without God
in the world.
They were hopeless
and they had
no way
to fix
their situation.
And Paul wants
them to remember
this
because Paul
has amazing
good news
for them.
But this good news
looks far
more beautiful
when seen
against the bad
news that it
contrasts with.
And so,
he says,
take a minute,
step back,
remember who
you used to be.
remember what
God has saved
you from
because when you
see what God
has saved you
from,
what he has
saved you to
will look
far more
beautiful.
And for us
today,
if we're
Christians,
this is our
past as well,
separated from
God,
alienated from
others,
without any
way to fix
ourselves,
without hope,
and without
God in the
world.
We need to see
this and recognize
this if we're
going to appreciate
what God calls
us to in terms
of our life
and community.
Now,
the good news
is the story
doesn't end
there.
If you look at
verse 13,
it says,
but now,
something is
different,
something has
changed.
The past
condition is no
longer our
present condition.
Once we've
remembered our
past condition,
he wants us
to move on
and recognize
our current
circumstances
and realize
that they are
totally night
and day
opposite.
If you look
at verses 1
through 10
of this chapter,
he's talking
about our
relationship with
God,
and he talks
about how
desperate our
relationship with
God was.
He says we
were dead in
our trespasses
and sins.
He said that
we were basically
the enemies of
God, that we
were children of
wrath, that
everything was
going wrong for
us.
But then,
he says,
but God,
being rich in
mercy,
because of the
great love
with which he
loved us,
made us alive
in Christ
Jesus.
He says that
when everything
was wrong in
our relationship
with God,
God stepped in
and God
rescued us
and God
changed us
and God
made us
alive and
gave us a
relationship with
God.
And now,
he's looking
not at our
relationship with
God primarily,
but our
relationship with
each other.
And he says,
in the same way,
you were alienated,
you were cut off,
things were going
wrong,
but now,
something has
changed.
Just as your
relationship with
God has been
transformed by
what Jesus did
on the cross,
your relationship
with others and
in this community
needs to be
transformed by
what Jesus has
done on the
cross.
But now,
in Christ Jesus,
you who were
once far off
have been brought
near by the
blood of Christ,
for he himself
is our peace,
who has broken
down in his
flesh the
dividing wall
of hostility
by abolishing
the law of
commandments
expressed in
ordinances that
he might create
in himself one
new man in
place of the
two, so
making peace.
He's saying
that Jesus came
not just to
create peace
between us
and God,
but between
us and each
other as well.
If you were
alive in that
day and you
had ever been
to the temple
in Jerusalem,
there was this
wall called
the Gentiles
wall.
And basically,
there was a
courtyard area
outside that
where any
Gentile,
any non-Jew
who worshipped
God could go
to worship
God, and
then there
was a wall.
And the only
people allowed
beyond that
wall were
the Jewish
people.
And there
were signs
along the
wall.
And they
said,
if you are
a Gentile
and you
cross this
wall,
you are
responsible
for your
own death.
There was
hatred and
strife between
these two
ethnic groups,
and Paul is
saying that
no longer
has a place
among God's
people,
because Jesus
has come,
Jesus has
torn down
the wall
that divides
us,
and Jesus
has taken
the two
groups and
made us
one in
him.
And so
the old
things that
used to
divide us
have no
place among
us anymore.
If you are
a Christian,
then Jesus
died to
unite you
to every
other
Christian
who has
ever lived.
That God
cares
desperately
about our
life as
a community.
Here at
Watermark,
we talk about
community all
the time.
We have it
on the stage
written every
week,
gospel,
community,
mission.
And most
of us,
I hope,
like hanging
out with
each other,
but that's
not the
primary reason
why we
emphasize
community.
We emphasize
it because
God
emphasizes it.
We emphasize
living together
and serving
one another
because the
Bible says
that if we
are Christians,
that is
vitally
important
to our
lives.
That God
wants us
to be a
people who
reflect his
love to
the world.
And so
we cannot
separate our
salvation and
our relationship
with God
from our
life in
community
as a
part of
his body.
He says
that Christ's
work is so
extreme that
he takes
the two
different groups
and makes
one new
man out
of the
two.
You can
think of
it as
sort of
like a
third race.
You've
got the
Jews,
you've
got the
Gentiles,
and then
you've
got something
different.
You've
got Christians.
And Paul's
saying in
the early
church,
you could
be a
Jew and
you could
become a
Jewish
Christian.
You could
be a
Gentile and
become a
Gentile
Christian.
But whether
you're a
Jewish
Christian or
a Gentile
Christian,
the most
important thing
is that you're
a Christian,
not that you're
a Jew or
Gentile.
Today we
might think
you can be
a Chinese
Christian or
an American
Christian.
The most
important thing
is that you're
a Christian,
not that you're
Chinese or
American,
because Christ
has died to
make one
new group
out of all
the other
groups that
existed
beforehand.
It doesn't
mean that our
previous identities
are totally
wiped out,
but it
means that
the identity
that we
now have
as a
Christian
is far,
far,
far more
foundational
than any
identity that
we otherwise
could hold.
I was
listening to
a pastor
from Washington,
D.C.
do a talk
here in
Hong Kong
this week,
and he
said,
you know,
someone who's
a Christian
living in
Washington,
D.C.
has far
more in
common with
a Christian
living in
Nigeria
than they
do with
their
non-Christian
neighbor
in D.C.,
because the
things that
unite us
in Christ
are far
more
important
to who
we are
than being
American
or than
having the
same
background
culture.
If you
are a
Christian,
the Bible
says your
most
foundational
identity
is your
identity
as a
person
in God's
family.
family.
I have
two stories
to sort of
illustrate this
from opposite
angles.
I have one
friend,
he's Chinese,
his parents
are Christians,
he's a
Christian,
and he
told me
one time
that his
parents
one time
sat him
down,
and they
had a
talk with
him,
and they
said,
son,
if you
honor us
in the
way that
the Bible
says to
honor your
father and
mother,
you will
marry an
Asian
girl.
not a
joke.
But here's
the thing,
Paul is
saying that
has no
place in
the church.
Paul is
saying that
attitude has
no place
in light of
what Christ
has done for
us because
Christ came
to tear down
our divisions
and to make
us one
new people.
That your
identity as a
Christian is
far more
important than
the color of
your skin or
the country
that you
were born
in.
The other
story, I
have a
friend who's
Japanese.
He has a
son, I
think the
son is
older than
me, but
obviously the
son is also
Japanese.
And the
son, when
he was in
his 20s,
went out and
he met
this girl,
this Korean
girl, they
started dating,
they fell in
love.
The Korean
girl went
home and
she told
her parents,
I have
met this
boy, he's
wonderful, he's
amazing, I
love him, I
think I want
to marry him, and
oh by the
way, he's
Japanese.
And her
dad's response
was, do you
know what his
people did to
our people?
They have
attacked us,
they have
hurt us, they
have destroyed
us, but you
love Jesus, and
he loves
Jesus.
And there's
something about
your core
identity that
has changed so
that we cannot
define this
boy by what
his nation
has done to
our nation.
And her
parents said,
we approve
of you
marrying this
boy, even
though we
as Koreans
have been so
hurt by the
Japanese people
in the past.
There is a
new identity
that's a part
of you and a
new identity
that is part
of him.
And because
you are both
Christians, the
things that
unite you are
so much
stronger than
the things that
would divide
you as
Koreans and
Japanese.
And my
Japanese friend's
son married
this Korean
girl with the
blessing of
her parents.
And that is
what Paul is
saying Jesus
came to
accomplish.
Something
beautiful,
something that
in the world's
eyes is
different and
crazy, but
something that
shows a
radical, radical
transformative
power at
work in
our lives.
And why is
this transformation
happening?
Well, Paul
says that what's
happened is that
in Christ all
of us are being
brought near to
God.
So if we look
over there and
we see like
Bernard sitting
over in the
corner, hi.
And we look
over there and
we see like
David sitting in
the corner, hi.
What Paul is
saying is that
previously all of
us are far away
from each other.
But in Christ,
God is drawing
us near to
himself.
So if God
was like here
and the Jews
were way over
where David is
and the Gentiles
were way over
where Bernard is
and each of
them stood up
and took five
steps towards
God, not only
are each of
them five steps
closer to God,
they're also ten
steps closer to
each other.
And Paul is
saying the
closer we get
to God, the
closer we as
his people will
get to each
other.
Because if we
are all drawing
near to God,
then the
proximity that we
have to God
will bring us
close to one
another as
well.
And as we
come close to
one another as
God's people,
we need to
interact with
love.
We need to
interact sacrificially.
We need to
have our
interaction be
shaped and
marked by the
cross.
Paul goes on
and he continues
to say that
God is building
us into a
temple for
himself.
Now a
temple is a
place where
God lives.
What Paul is
saying is that
God wants to
live among
us, not just
within us as
individuals, but
among us as a
group as a
whole.
It's God's
temple, not
ours, so he
gets to decide
who's in it and
what it looks
like.
What he says
is that God
wants to join
us together so
that as we
come together,
there is a
beautiful,
beautiful place
for him to
dwell in our
midst.
And this has
huge, huge
implications for
our life in
community.
You know, it's
one thing to
say that we're
equal and I'm
no better than
you and you're
no better than
me.
It means that I
can't mistreat
you.
It means that I
can't really look
down on you, but
it doesn't force me
to be nice to
you.
I can just stay
neutral towards
you if we're
equal.
But if we're
joined together,
then something
different is going
on there.
Right?
Justine and I,
we're married.
We're joined
together for life.
And so that
means that the
way that I
treat her has
much bigger
implications than
they would if we
were just equals.
That if I serve
her and love her
and she feels
loved, then that's
going to have an
impact on the way
that she treats
me.
And if I ignore
her and neglect
her and she
doesn't feel
loved, that also
is going to have
a reciprocal
effect.
Back on me.
When we are
joined together,
then our actions
towards one
another impact
much further
down the road
than just that
one relationship.
And Paul is
saying that we
are being joined
together into a
place for God
to live.
And that we,
because we're
part of God's
people, have to
form this building
in a way that is
honoring to God,
not in the way
necessarily that we
want to do it,
but in the way
that God wants
us to do it.
And he tells us
that Jesus is the
cornerstone.
Now the cornerstone
in ancient
architecture is a
huge rock.
And they would
cut all the angles
and the sides
perfectly, and they
would place it in
one of the corners
of the foundation
of the building,
and all of the
measurements of the
building would be
made based on the
measurements of that
rock.
So if the rock
points in this way,
then they would
extend that line
out and they would
build the wall in a
straight line,
perfectly in line
with the cornerstone.
If the line goes
this way, they'd
point it out and
build the building
that way in the
direction of the
cornerstone.
And every measurement
in the building was
made against the
measurements of the
cornerstone.
So when Paul says
that Jesus is the
cornerstone, he says
everything about the
life of the church
must be built on
and modeled on who
Jesus is for us,
who Jesus is in us,
how Jesus commands
us to live as a
community, and that
is our standard.
Society's norms cannot
be our standard.
What we feel like in
our heart might be the
right thing to do
cannot be our
standard.
We must allow Jesus
himself to be our
standard.
And so we have now
recognized, or we've
now remembered,
our previous
conditions.
We've recognized the
present state that
we're in, and we
must now, in light of
that, re-evaluate our
future.
We must think, what
must we do?
How must our lives be
different because of
these truths, because of
this radical change that
has happened where God
has brought us near not
only to himself, but
also to each other?
my first application
point here, I think, is
aimed primarily at
non-Christians.
You know, if you're here
today and you're a
non-Christian, then these
past things that we're
supposed to remember are
still a present reality
for you.
Separation from God,
separation from God's
people without hope and
without God in the world.
I know that sounds
harsh of me to say, but
if the Bible is true,
then telling you that is
the most loving thing
that I can do today.
because God offers you a
chance for that to not be
your reality anymore.
God offers to come and
rescue you, to give you a
new relationship with
himself, to give you a new
relationship with his
people, and he wants that
to happen today.
So if you're here today and
you're not a Christian, my
plea to you is that you
would trust in Jesus, that
you would see how amazing
and wonderful and beautiful
the salvation he offers
to us is, and that you
would accept that as your
own today.
If you don't quite
understand all of what
that implies, find one of
us and talk to us after
service.
Turn and ask the person
next to you when we're
done, because this is
important.
If we are a Christian
today, this also has
implications for our
lives.
The first one, I think,
applies to some of us,
not necessarily all of us,
but an amazing first step
towards living as the
people of God is being
willing to identify
yourself as part of the
people of God through
baptism.
You know, we're having a
baptism today.
It's an exciting and
awesome time.
It's a time for people to
publicly declare that they
are part of God's family.
It doesn't have any special
power to save them or to
change them or to earn them
points in heaven.
But it does have an amazing
ability to declare to the
world that they are part of
this family.
And if God calls us to live
the way that we've been
talking about as a family
today, but we're not willing
to identify ourselves
publicly as part of that
family, we're going to have a
really tough time living
properly as part of that
family.
family.
You know, when Justine and
I got married, we gave each
other these rings.
I know the ring is a
cultural thing, so not
everyone here necessarily
wears them, but in the
culture that we come from,
a ring is very important
for signifying that you are
married to one another.
And if I just went up to
Justine one day and I said,
hey, babe, I know we're
married, but I don't want to
wear this ring anymore.
You know, I don't want to
make too big of a deal about
the fact that we're married.
If people ask me about it,
I won't lie about it, but I
just don't feel the need to
like promote it.
That would mean something was
wrong with my marriage.
Because although the sign has
no power to make me her
husband, it's a symbol to the
world of the fact that I am
her husband, and it shows
others that I love her and
that I'm married to her and
that I care about her.
In the same way, baptism is a
sign to the world of the fact
that we are a part of God's
family.
It's an act of obedience to
God to declare to the members
of the church and the people
outside the church that God
has done something amazing in
our lives, and God has made us
a part of his family, and we
want to celebrate and rejoice in
that fact.
And so if you're here today and
you're a Christian and you have
not been baptized yet, I
encourage you, get baptized.
Declare to the church that you
are one of us, that you're in
for this thing.
Declare to the world around you
that there's been a change in
your life and that you are now a
part of God's people.
That's a vital first step to
living properly in life like Paul
tells us to live it here.
A second step would be getting
deeply involved in each other's
lives.
And I know we have a tendency to
like group with people who are
similar to us, whether that's by
age or by socioeconomic status or
stage in life or however, but get
deeply involved in each other's
lives with people like you and
with people different from you.
Because Jesus died not only to
unite us with people like us in
the church, but also so that we
would love and interact with
people who we have nothing in
common with except for Jesus.
Jesus wants our community to be
something that the world looks at
and goes, huh?
Because it doesn't make sense to
them.
Because they look at this person
and this person and this person
and there is no logical reason why
they should be hanging out or like
each other.
And yet they do.
And the world looks at this and
they're like, what is different?
What is going on here?
And it gives us an amazing
opportunity to show the world how
Jesus has transformed our community.
Here at Watermark, we have community
groups that are encouraged, that are
intended to create this type of
community.
We try and do community groups
geographically based as much as
possible so that you're forced to be
with people who are different than
you.
Because if we didn't do it
geographically based, then all the
young people would go together, all the
old people would go together and all
the parents with teenage kids would
group together.
But geographically based means that in
my community group, there are people
old enough to be my parents.
And there are people old enough to be my
grandparents.
And there are people with young kids
and people with no kids and single
people.
And am I going to get in trouble for
that one?
Maybe.
Maybe I will.
It's okay.
There are people from all different
walks of life.
There are people who are retired, people
who are just starting out, and people
who are still studying.
There are people who are Western, people
who are Asian, people, you name it, we've
got all this variety.
And if you were to look at our group
gathered on a Thursday night and say,
why are all these people brought
together?
There is no earthly explanation that
you could give other than the fact that
something has changed inside of us, that
there is a God who has loved us and who
has transformed us and who has created
us into this community who can love one
another.
And the amazing thing is that coming
from different backgrounds allows us
when we interact to see things in each
other's lives that we would never
otherwise see.
It allows us to give help to one
another in ways that we could never
help one another if we were all just a
homogenous group.
And so it actually does have beautiful
side effects in a positive way in this
world.
But even if it didn't, it's a way of
showing the world around us the amazing,
wonderful love that God has shown to us.
And for that, it is worth it.
So please, if you're not in a community
group, join a community group.
And a third way that I think this should
impact our lives is membership.
Now, I know Paul doesn't talk explicitly
about membership in this passage or really
anywhere in the New Testament.
But remember, Paul lived in a different
world than we do.
In Paul's day, becoming a Christian and
getting baptized was basically putting
your life on the line.
If you were to become a Christian in the
time when Paul was writing and you were
to get baptized, there was a very real
risk that you were going to be burned
alive or have your head chopped off
because of it.
And so in that world, in that situation,
when you get baptized, you are committed.
You are in.
There are no questions about whether you're
really in on this thing.
In our world today, people are transient.
They come and go from the city.
They jump around from church to church
while they're here.
People, you know, who might not actually
care about having a relationship with
Jesus or people in the church label
themselves as Christians to get networking
connections.
It's a lot harder to tell whether people
are committed or not today.
And in a church like Watermark, where people
are constantly coming and going, we have a
group of men called elders who are
responsible for the spiritual oversight
of this church community.
And in order to oversee the spiritual life
of our community, something very important
for them is just knowing who is a part of
that community.
And so becoming a member is a great way of
saying to the elders, you know, we're in.
We're committed to this church.
We're with you guys.
We want you to hold us accountable.
And we're going to commit to holding up our
friend of making this church work as well.
It's not something that necessarily Paul
talks about here, but I think it's right
in line with what Paul is talking about.
This commitment to God's people.
This willingness to sacrifice for the good
of the whole.
And maybe you're here today and you say,
hey Eric, I'm already a Christian.
I'm already baptized.
I'm in a community group and I'm a member
here.
I've got it all.
We're good.
My challenge to you would be sometime this
week, read through this passage again.
And as you do, think to yourself,
who are the people in the church that I find
it hard to love?
And how would properly understanding this
passage transform the way that I interact
with them?
Because I know for me, I'm a member.
I'm baptized.
I'm in a community group.
But this passage still has a lot to say to me
about the way that I interact with people
in the church and about the way that I see
others who are different than me.
It tells me that I can't think of myself as
better than anyone.
I can't even think of myself as separated from
anyone, separate but equal.
It doesn't work in the body of Christ.
Because we are joined together.
And the way that we interact with each other
within the church must be marked by the same
type of sacrificial love that Jesus showed
to us on the cross.
And so Paul wants us to remember who we used
to be.
He wants us to recognize what Christ has done
for us.
And he wants us to re-evaluate where we're
going based on those truths.
Are we going to be a church that lets the cross
shape our community?
Or are we going to be a church that says,
no, I want it to be just about me.
Maybe me and God.
Are we going to be a church that allows our
community to be a light to the world around us
of how beautiful and amazing our God's love is
for us?
I hope the answer is yes.
Let's pray.
Father, we thank you so much for your love for us.
We thank you that when we were undeserving and we
were helpless and we were unable to do anything to
change our state, that you sent Jesus down to rescue
us.
Now, you didn't just rescue us to give us a
relationship with yourself, but you rescued us to
transform us into a community of people who love you
together.
God, I pray that we would be willing to identify ourselves as
part of your people, that we'd be willing to sacrifice for one
another, that we'd be willing to do hard things for the good of
others within this body.
We thank you again for your love for us, for your grace towards
us.
We pray that you would give us the strength to live as the people
that you have called us to be.
In Jesus' name, amen.
Amen.