Made For This: Real Community
Last week’s highlighted core values:
Scriptural Authority
Culture of Excellence
This week's highlighted core values:
Culture of honor: Simply put, we want to believe the best, speak the best, and leave people better than we found them
Team: We believe that the wins are bigger and the celebrations are greater when we work as a team.
MADE FOR THIS: You were made for Real Community
Genesis 2:15-20
15 Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. 16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.”
18 And the Lord God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him.” 19 Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So Adam gave names to all cattle, to the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper comparable to him.
FROM LAST WEEK:
- You were made to have some space
God loved Adam enough to create an empty space where Eve would be, but didn't fill it until the time was right.
From the very beginning, God knew that he was going to give Adam a wife - Eve
God created Adam, and put in him the desire to share life with someone
God allowed that desire to grow until he fulfilled that space
God always fills the space - WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT
In the current season we are in:
Quarantines
Social distancing
Separated by screens
There is a growing desire for community!
People are LONELY
God has been gracious enough to allow Hub City Church to launch in the middle of a pandemic
He has placed us here to be the answer to someone's desire for a community to share life with!
There are 28 chapters in the book of Acts, which is the New Testament record of the early church
I'm not going to be satisfied until Hub City Church looks like Chapter 29!
We were never made to be religious together - we were made to grow in faith together
The type of faith community we find in Acts:
ACTS 14:19-22
19 Then Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there; and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing him to be dead. 20 However, when the disciples gathered around him, he rose up and went into the city. And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
The apostle Paul - stoned and left for dead outside the city
What happens is that his community, (his church family), prayed for him
They assume life instead of assuming death
Don't miss the next part:
They went with him back into the city
Bad community will drive you away from your calling and purpose
Good community
Good friends would have taken Paul home to recover
Good community will take care of you and help restore you!
Good community will keep you from walking away from your faith, BUT Great community will keep you from walking away from the fight
If you are going to be successful in the kingdom, you are going to have to fight for it!
Your faith is a fight!
1 Timothy 6:12 - "Fight the good fight of faith"
2 Corinthians 10:4 - For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
Ephesians 6 - Talks about putting on the WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD
In our micro-churches, and in our macro-church meetings, we aren't looking to just Not walk away from our faith
We are here to fight for one another - We were made for this!
I don't just want good community, I want GREAT community
If we look at that verse in ACTS 14:
...And the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.”
Look at all of these terms: They point to the fact that you were never called to fight this fight alone!
You were made for Real Community
