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Doing Life Together HELP US LORD TO BE SO CONNECTED TO YOU THAT WE MIGHT BECOME THE SERVANTS OF OTHERS. CAN I TELL YOU HOW WONDERFUL IT IS TO SEE ALL OF YOU THIS MORNING! I’M GRATEFUL FOR YOU WHO WERE HERE MOST OF THE SUMMER AND A WELCOME BACK TO YOU WHO WERE ON THE ROAD… TO GET YOUR MIND OFF VACATION, I HAVE PROVIDED A SERMON OUTLINE THAT MIGHT BE OF HELP TODAY. +++++++++++++ I BEGIN THIS MORNING BY TAKING YOU TO WORCESTER MASSACHUSETTS, AND THE STORY OF ADELE GARBOURY… ADELE WAS ELDERLY, KEPT TO HERSELF AND GENERALLY DIDN’T REQUIRE MUCH ATTENTION… BUT AS ADELE AGED, NEIGHBORS STARTED NOTICING SHE WASN’T COMING OUT AS MUCH ANYMORE, AND FURTHER, THE HOUSE WASN’T BEING KEPT UP IN THE WAY IT HAD BEEN.. WHEN ADELE’S LAWN GREW HIP HIGH, NEIGHBORS HAD A LOCAL BOY MOW IT DOWN… WHEN ADELE’S PIPES FROZE AND BURST, NEIGHBORS HAD HER WATER TURNED OFF… THIS KIND OF OUTSIDE NO-QUESTIONS-ASKED MAINTENANCE CONTINUED FOR YEARS… THE LAST STRAW THOUGH WAS WHEN ONE DAY, PILES AND PILES OF MAIL SPILLED OUT THE FRONT DOOR, SOMEONE FINALLY CALLED THE POLICE… THE ONLY THING THE NEIGHBORS DIDN’T DO, WAS TO CHECK AND SEE IF SHE WAS ALIVE…. SHE WASN’T…. ON MONDAY, POLICE CLIMBED HER CRUMBLING BRICK STOOP, BROKE IN THE DOOR AND FOUND WHAT THEY BELIEVED TO BE THE WOMAN’S SKELETAL REMAINS, REMAINS THAT HAD BEEN THERE FOR 4 YEARS… HER NEIGHBOR, WHO LIVES 20 FEET AWAY, WAS INTERVIEWED AFTER AND SAID… “I WAS WORKING 2 JOBS AND WAS SICK OF HER COMING OVER ALL THE TIME… EVENTUALLY I STOPPED ANSWERING THE DOOR….” AND SO THIS MORNING, I WANT TO TALK TO YOU ABOUT …ISOLATION… ISOLATION. MOMENTS IN LIFE WHERE YOU FELT, OR EVEN FEEL TODAY, THE GNAWING PAIN OF LONELINESS, LOSS, EMPTINESS… IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE… I THINK OF ENGLAND’S QUEEN VICTORIA, WHO AFTER HER HUSBAND’S DEATH SAID: “…THERE IS NO ONE LEFT TO CALL ME VICTORIA…” BUT EVEN IN THE PRACTICAL.. THIS TIME OF BACK-TO-SCHOOL CHAOS, BUSY SCHEDULES, AND ALL OF OUR BUSY-NESS.. WE CAN STILL EXPERIENCE THAT EMPTINESS AND ISOLATION, WHICH CAN BE INDESCRIBABLE. GEORGE GALLUP WROTE A BOOK SEVERAL YEARS AGO CALLED THE AMERICAN RELIGION, AND IN THAT BOOK TELLS US THAT AMERICANS ARE AMONG THE LONELIEST PEOPLE IN THE WORLD… THINK ABOUT THAT FOR A MINUTE… AMERICANS WITH SO MUCH AT OUR FINGERTIPS… THE LONELIEST NATION IN THE WORLD? GALLUP CITES 2 REASONS…1, OUR RUGGED INDIVIDUALISM… A ‘ME FIRST’ ATTITUDE… A SAYING THAT, BY THE WAY, IS ANTI-CHRISTIAN AND IS FOUND NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE.. THE SECOND REASON THOUGH IS SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED IN THE 50’S… THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUBURBS THAT STRESSED THE AUTOMOBILE, LIVING DETACHED FROM EACH OTHER… WHEREAS IN COMMUNITIES DEVELOPED BEFORE THE 1950’S, HOMES, RETAIL SPACES AND OFFICES WERE DESIGINED WITHIN WALKING DISTANCE FROM EACH OTHER… IN THE EXTENDED SUBURBS OF TODAY, WHERE THE MAJORITY OF ALL AMERICANS LIVE… THERE IS THE GREAT POTENTIAL FOR PHYSICAL DETACHMENT, AND ISOLATION. IN HIS BOOK, THE CONNECTING CHURCH, RANDY FRAZEE WRITES THAT… IN 1974 NEARLY 1 IN 4 AMERICANS VISITED WITH NEIGHBORS SEVERAL TIMES A WEEK… BY 1994, THAT FIGURE DECLINED TO 16%, ONE SURVEY REVEALED THAT 7 IN 10 PEOPLE DON’T EVEN KNOW THEIR NEIGHBORS… PEOPLE DRIVE INTO THEIR DRIVEWAYS AT THE END OF THE DAY, GO INTO THEIR HOMES AND NEVER SEE ONE ANOTHER! AND WHEN THE INTERNET, TV AND NEWSPAPERS BECOME OUR ONLY SOURCE OF INFORMATION, ISOLATION CAN RUN RAMPANT… AND THE SIDE EFFECTS ARE AMAZING… WALKING HAS DECREASED, AND WHILE THE AVERAGE COMMUTE IN WASHINGTON CONTINUES TO GROW… SOCIOLOGIST ROBERT PUTNAM WRITES THAT FOR EVERY 10 MINUTES OF COMMUTING, OUR SOCIAL CAPTIAL IS REDUCED BY 10%. EVEN OUR FACE TO FACE CONTACT HAS BEEN DECREASED….
BUT I WILL TELL YOU MY FRIENDS THAT EVEN THE CHURCH, IF WE ARE NOT CONNECTED, CAN BE A LONELY, ISOLATED PLACE. YOU CAN GET LOST HERE IN A HEARTBEAT! YOU SEE MY FRIENDS, YOU AND I ARE WIRED TO BE CONNECTED WITH OTHERS, WIRED TO WALK DOWN A SIDEWALK AND SIT ON SOMEBODY’S PORCH WITH A GLASS OF LEMONADE… WIRED TO DEPEND ON THOSE AROUND YOU, WIRED TO HAVE RELATIONSHIPS… WITHOUT THEM, SOMETHING WITHIN US BEGINS TO DIE OUT OF ISOLATION. THIS IS THE POWER BEHIND THIS MORNING’S GOSPEL! JESUS WANTS OUR RELATIONSHIPS TO MODEL HIS RELATIONSHIP TO HIS FATHER! THE CHRISTIAN COMMUNITY IS FOUNDED PRECISELY ON THE LOVING AND OBEDIENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN JESUS AND HIS FATHER. HOW DO WE KNOW? TODAY’S GOSPEL IS A PRAYER THAT ADDRESSES THE ISOLATION WE FIND IN TODAY’S SOCIETY. IT IS A RELATIONAL PRAYER.. A PRAYER UTTERED 12 HOURS BEFORE HIS CRUCIFIXION…..JUST 12 HOURS. JESUS BEGINS THE PRAYER BY PRAYING TO GOD FOR HIMSELF, WHICH, BY THE WAY, TELLS US IT’S OKAY TO PRAY FOR OURSELVES… THEN HE PRAYS FOR THE DISCIPLES… AND FOR FUTURE BELIEVERS… +++++++++++++++ IN THAT PRAYER WE FIND THAT JESUS KNEW THAT PAIN OF ISOLATION AND HE ALSO KNEW IT WOULD BE AN ISSUE FOR EACH OF US. IN THE PORTION OF THE PRAYER WE ARE LOOKING AT TODAY, JESUS IS SPECIFICALLY PRAYING FOR HIS DISCIPLES, JESUS BEGINS THIS PART OF THE PRAYER BY SAYING HE DOES NOT PRAY FOR THE WORLD, THE WORD WORLD IS DEFINED HERE AS HUMAN SOCIETY ORGANIZING ITSELF WITHOUT GOD… WHAT JESUS DOES FOR THE WORLD IS TO SEND HIS DISCIPLES INTO THE WORLD… HE PRAYS FOR HIS DISCIPLES IN ORDER THAT THEY MAY WIN THE WORLD FOR HIM… THIS IS THE FIRST KEY TO GETTING OUT OF OUR ISOLATION..! LIVING FOR CHRIST AS A DISCIPLE INSTEAD OF LIVING FOR OURSELVES AS CONSUMERS! COMMITTING OURSELVES TO BEING A DISCIPLE… AND IS WILLING TO BE OBEDIENT AND SUBMIT TO HIM AND HIS WORD… DISCIPLESHIP IS SOMETHING DESTINED FOR ALL OF US! YOU KNOW, FATE IS WHAT WE ARE COMPELLED TO DO… DESTINY IS WHAT WE ARE MEANT TO DO… MANY OF US ARE COMPELLED TO DO OUR OWN THING INSTEAD OF DOING WHAT WE HAVE BEEN CALLED TO DO IN CHRIST… IE…THAT GIFTED PERSON WHO IS COMPELLED TO WASTE IT AWAY, INSTEAD OF USING THOSE GIFTS WITH PURPOSE! AND SO JESUS HERE IS PRAYING THAT THOSE CURRENT DISCIPLES, AND DISCIPLES TODAY, WOULD BE PROTECTED, AND HAVE THE JOY OF THE FATHER… THEN HE TAKES IT FURTHER BY PRAYING THAT NOT ONE DISCIPLE WOULD BE LOST… IT LITERALLY MEANS NOT ONE WOULD HAVE A LOST CONNECTION WITH GOD… THIS HAS A WIDE RANGING APPLICATION… THAT NOT ONE WOULD BE LOST…. LET’S BE REAL WITH ONE ANOTHER THIS MORNING.. WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE… MAYBE GOING THROUGH A DIVORCE, AND THERE IS A DEATH TO A RELATIONSHIP— SO PAINFUL YOU FEEL AS IF YOUR COMPASS HAS BEEN TURNED UPSIDE DOWN… OR EVEN AT WORK, FEELING AS IF YOU DON’T BELONG AND ALL YOU CAN DO LIFT ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER… OR YOU THINK OF THE 700 CHILDREN WHO LOST PARENTS 5 YEARS AGO TOMORROW IN THE 9-11 ATTACK, AND THE POTENTIAL ISOLATION FOR THOSE LEFT BEHIND. MAYBE YOU ATTENDED A FUNERAL AND WERE CONFRONTED FOR THE FIRST TIME WITH THE QUESTION… WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ME ON MY DEATHBED? AND ALL OF A SUDDEN, YOU FEEL ETERNALLY LOST… MY FRIENDS, HAVING THIS CONNECTION WITH CHRIST AS A DISCIPLE IS CRITICAL IN REMOVING THAT ISOLATION THAT KILLS OUR SPIRIT! HAVING THAT CONNECTION WITH CHRIST REMINDS US OF HIS OWN PROMISE… ALL WHO BELIEVE IN ME WILL NEVER DIE, WILL NEVER DIE! +++++++++++ THE 2ND KEY IN DEFEATING ISOLATION IS THIS KEY PHRASE… I’M CALLING IT THE DOING LIFE TOGETHER… DOING LIFE TOGETHER… IS THE OPPOSITE OF BEING LOST! HOW MANY TIMES HAVE I HEARD FROM OUR OWN PEOPLE… I LEFT THE CHURCH FOR AWHILE DURING MY DIVORCE, YEAH, I DIDN’T’ WANT PEOPLE TO SEE ME SO VULNERABLE! DOING LIFE TOGETHER MEANS BEING THERE FOR EACH OTHER IN THICK AND THIN OUT OF OUR COMMON BELIEF IN JESUS CHRIST AS OUR SAVIOR! THE D-L-T… DOING LIFE TOGETHER…! THE QUESTION IS THEN, HOW CAN WE MAKE THESE TWO GOALS HAPPEN AT ALL SAINTS? BEING DISCIPLES DOING LIFE TOGETHER? HOW CAN WE MAKE THEM NOT EMPTY WORDS…? TO SHOW OUR DEDICATION TO THIS VISION, WE HAVE TAKEN THOSE 5 WORDS FROM JESUS: “THAT NOT ONE WOULD BE LOST,” AND TURNED THEM INTO OUR VISION FOR 2006… THAT NOT ONE WOULD BE LOST…THIS IS OUR VISION FOR THE YEAR HERE AT ALL SAINTS! WE HAVE, THROUGH MONTHS AND MONTHS OF PRAYER, PUT TOGETHER A DIAGRAM OF HOW WE AS A CHURCH CAN PUT FEET AND MOMENTUM BEHIND THOSE 5 WORDS… THE BASEBALL DIAMOND DIAGRAM IS A TOOL TO BE USED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT… IT IS A WAY TO HELP US MOBILIZE FOR GROWTH AND DISCIPLESHIP! IT CAN BE SEEN ON THE BACKSIDE OF YOUR SEMON WORKSHEET….. I DIRECT YOU TO THE PITCHERS MOUND… THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE CAN DO MY FRIENDS AS WE LIVE INTO OUR THEME VERSE, IS TO WORSHIP… WORSHIP… THAT DISCIPLINE WHICH IS THAT TRANSFORMATIONAL EXPERIENCE THAT REMINDS US WE ARE NOT LIVING FOR OURSELVES! IT IS THAT MOMENT IN TIME WHERE WE ENCOUNTER THE LIVING CHRIST, AND RECEIVE THE STRENGTH TO LIVE AS A DISCIPLE! SUNDAYS SIMPLY MUST BE THE HIGHEST PRIORITY OF YOUR LIFE, IT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WE DO… BUT THEN, DOING LIFE TOGETHER DURING THE WEEK… THE NEXT STEP FOR EVERY ALL SAINTER AND SEEKER IS TO TAKE ALPHA…. IT IS A DISCUSSION ON WHAT IT IS THAT WE BELIEVE! WHERE, UNLIKE IN A WORSHP SERVICE, YOU CAN ACTUALLY RAISE YOUR HAND AND SAY “I JUST DON’T AGREE!” IT’S INTERACTIVE, AND IT WILL TAKE YOU INSIDE THE HEART OF JESUS CHRIST… MY FRIENDS, FOR ALL PEOPLE GETTING MARRIED, HAVING CHILDREN BAPTIZED, THIS IS A REQUIREMENT MEANT TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR THOSE MAJOR EVENTS IN YOUR LIFE… ALPHA IS ALSO CRITICAL FOR ALL NEWCOMERS AND THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN HERE FOR GENERATIONS… +++++++++++++++++++ THEN, BEGINNING IN JANUARY 2007, WE WANT TO SEE YOU MOVE INTO LIFE GROUPS… GROUPS WHERE YOU ARE DOING LIFE TOGETHER… GROUPS OF CHRISTIANS GOING DEEPER WITH JESUS AND ONE ANOTHER… GROUPS BUILT AROUND A COMMON VISION OF JESUS CHRIST, A COMMON PURPOSE TO SERVE HIM. WE HAVE SOME OF THOSE GROUPS HERE THAT HAVE BEEN MEETING FOR YEARS, NOW WE WANT EVERYONE IN THIS CHURCH TO BE IN A LIFE GROUP AFTER GOING THROUGH ALPHA… THEN COMES 2ND BASE, CONNECTING YOU TO THE CHURCH THROUGH ++++++++ 3RD BASE…BEING RELEASED TO DO MINISTRIES IN YOUR AREAS OF PASSION ONCE A PROCESS OF DISCIPLESHIP IS UNDERWAY… AND THEN YOU DO ALPHA AGAIN AS A LEADER, OR HELPER… ++++++++ THAT NOT ONE WOULD BE LOST… +++++ YOU SEE, FOR MANY CHURCHES TODAY, THE THEME IS…TO PASTOR AND RETAIN… PASTOR RETAIN, AND THEY KIND OF END UP BEING AN ACADEMY WHERE PEOPLE COME AND CONSUME NICE CLASSES, HEAR NICE MUSIC AND GO HOME….WITHOUT THEIR LIFESTYLE EVER CHANGING… WHEREAS, IN LIGHT OF OUR THEME VERSE, INSTEAD OF PASTOR AND RETAIN…. WE SAY WE WANT TO CONNECT… CONNECTING YOU OUT OF ISOLATION…. EXPERIENCING NEW LIFE THROUGH CONVERSION TO CHRIST AND HIS BIRDE THE CHURCH… AND RELEASING YOU TO DO MAJOR MINISTRY IN HIS NAME. +++++++ NOW I KNOW WE LIVE IN WASHINGTON, AND THE NEXT QUESTION ON YOUR MIND IS… WELL, HOW WILL WE KNOW WE’VE MADE IT? WHAT ARE THE MEASURABLES?
IS THAT WE FIRST AND FOREMOST, PERSON BY PERSON, IN THIS CHURCH WE REALIZE THE CHURCH DOES NOT EXIST JUST FOR ME AND MY NEEDS… WE REALIZE THE CHURCH EXISTS TO DRAW PEOPLE TO CHRIST… JUSTICE, CARE, OUTREACH ARE ALL RIGHT UP THERE BUT ARE ALL SECONDARY TO THAT PURPOSE OF THE CHURCH. THAT NOT ONE WOULD BE LOST…
NO, WE WILL MEASURE OUR FRUITFULNESS BY THE TRANSFORMATION WE SEE IN ALL OF US…. AND PEOPLE ROUNDING THOSE BASES! THAT NOT ONE WOULD BE LOST…
AND IN THE FAMILY THAT IS CONSISTENT WITH YOUR SUNDAY EXPERIENCE! WHICH MEANS A HUNGER TO BE IN WORSHIP EVERY SUNDAY DESPITE OTHER SUNDAY COMMITMENTS… A HUNGER TO INVITE THOSE IN YOUR WORKPLACE INTO THIS BODY… THAT NOT ONE WOULD BE LOST…
DEPENDING ON EACH OTHER, VISITING EACH OTHER IN THE HOSPITAL… PROVIDING THAT COUNSEL IN PAINFUL TIMES… THAT NOT ONE WOULD BE LOST… BUT ALSO THIS…THAT ONE DAY, WE COULD LOOK BACK AND SAY… ONLY GOD COULD HAVE DONE WHAT HAPPENED IN THIS PLACE… NOT ANY HUMAN BEING, NOT ANY PLAN, STRATEGY OR VISION…. ONLY GOD COULD HAVE DONE THAT. MY FRIENDS, DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH JESUS LOVES YOU? HE LOVES YOU SO MUCH THAT HE BROUGHT YOU HERE TODAY… YOUR PRESENCE HERE IS NO ACCIDENT… SOMEWHERE UP THE LINE, HE TOLD SOMEONE TO TELL YOU ABOUT HIS SON JESUS CHRIST…. SO YOU WOULD NOT BE IN ISOLATION ANYMORE. I REMEMBER AS A CHILD, MY GRANDMOTHER OLGA HOLDING ME ON HER KNEES SINGING ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS, I REMEMBER MY GRANDFATHER CHRISTIAN TEACHING ME TO MEMORIZE PSALM 23… AND I CAN TELL YOU DOING LIFE TOGETHER WITH THEM, KEPT MY ANCHOR FROM DRIFTING WHEN THE STORMS OF LIFE HIT… AND WHEN PERIODS OF ISOLATION DID HIT, I ALWAYS KNEW I HAD AN ARSENEL READY TO DEAL WITH IT…EVEN PAINFULLY… AND SO MY FRIENDS… 2 WAYS TO BEGIN TODAY, 2 SIMPLE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO LIVE INTO OUR VISION NOW.. FIRST, I WOULD LOVE FOR EVERY ALL SAINTER TO READ A BOOK THAT REFLECTS SO MUCH OF WHAT HAS BEEN SAID HERE TODAY.. IT’S CALLED: THE CONNECTING CHURCH, MORE INFORMATION IS IN YOUR BULLETIN AND WORKSHEET… READ AND DIGEST THAT BOOK. +++++++++ SECONDLY, ATTEND OUR MINISTRY FAIR AFTER THIS SERVICE, ASK THE LORD WHERE HE IS CALLING YOU… BUT DON’T LEAVE FOR HOME UNTIL YOU HAVE SIGNED UP FOR STEP ONE WHICH IS ALPHA.. WHETHER YOU HAVE TAKEN IT BEFORE OR NOT, TAKE ALPHA, GO TO HOME BASE AND BEGIN OR CONTINUE YOUR JOURNEY AS WE USE THESE GROUPS TO FORM OUR LIFE GROUPS IN 2007… ++++++++++++ FINALLY THIS MORNING, IN THAT BOOK I REFFERRED YOU TO… THE CONNECTING CHURCH, RANDY FRAZEE TELLS THE STORY OF HIS SON, A SON BORN WITHOUT A LEFT HAND. ONE DAY IN SUNDAY SCHOOL, THE TEACHER GIVES THAT ILLUSTRATION…. HERE’S THE CHURCH, HERE’S THE STEEPLE, OPEN THE DOORS AND SEE ALL THE PEOPLE… SHE DID THAT EXERCISE FORGETTING THAT RANDY’S LITTLE BOY COULDN’T. YET, IN THE VERY NEXT MOMENT, A LITTLE BOY NEXT TO RANDY’S SON REACHES OUT HIS LEFT HAND AND SAYS… LET’S DO IT TOGETHER… THE 2 BOYS JOIN THEIR HANDS TOGETHER, TO MAKE THE CHURCH AND THE STEEPLE… WE ARE NOT A COLLECTION OF INDIVIDUALS…. LET’S DO IT TOGETHER MY FRIENDS, BUILDING THIS CHURCH IN THE NAME OF JESUS… HEART BY HEART, HAND BY HAND, DOING LIFE TOGETHER, THAT NONE WOULD BE LOST. AMEN. Doing Life Together: Sermon Notes
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