Summer Devotionals - wk 10

This week we are looking at living in community.

Our hope with these devotions is that they would encourage you in your Bible reading plan.

And as always, this is not an invitation to do more, it's an invitation to do what matters most.

One of the readings from this week is found in Acts 2, and we read in the scriptures that the early church devoted themselves to one another.

Community is so important for the church.

For those that don't know, I went to UW Stevens Point.

I did not play baseball for them or really any sport outside of intercollegiate dodgeball.

But I have this to remind you about where I went to school.

I was roommates with Pastor Ryan.

And for those that don't know our story, it was Pastor Ryan who introduced the gospel to me in a new way, in a way that invited me into a relationship with Christ for the first time, really.

And I could say that that was it, that Ryan told me the story of Jesus, and I said, let's go, and I never looked back, but that's not true, and I imagine it's not true for all of you.

The journey of faith is hard sometimes, but the thing that has gotten me to this point today, as you're called an ordained pastor, is that Pastor Ryan never stopped doing community with me.

From those early days at Point and our dorm rooms and the ridiculous situations we found ourselves in throughout our many, many decades of friendship, he intentionally sought me out for community to grow together in, to help me when I struggled or in those moments when I fell, to pick me up, to remind me that we have a God who does not define me by my worst mistake, but we have a God who defines me by the love of Jesus Christ who has conquered death.

Church community is essential.

I hope you are in community.

I hope you are in a small group or that you have a pocket of friends who encourage you in your faith.

The early church modeled what it looked like to follow Christ.

And for them, it was essential to be in community.

I hope you have a community, and I hope this week you can figure out some way to receive, but also to show up fully for others who desperately need community.

As always, we are praying for you.

Love and peace.