Pastor Jonah preached the gospel of God’s kingdom. He asked what might happen to our relationships, our love of the Bible, and our whole church if we gave Sundays to the Lord. Lector: Melissa Gordon
Pastor Jonah preached the gospel of God’s kingdom. He asked what might happen to our relationships, our love of the Bible, and our whole church if we gave Sundays to the Lord.
Lector: Melissa Gordon
Text: Acts 2:42
Title: Who we are becoming
Big Idea: What might happen to our relationships, our love of the Bible, our whole church if we gave this day to the Lord?
Gospel Focus:
Change is often scary at first
New job, new relationship, new child, new house…there’s often at least a little bit that wonders, “what will this be like? Will this be good? Will it all be ok?”
For each of us as individuals and as a community, the best question we can ask during any time of change is “what does it mean to be faithful today?”
The aim of the Scriptures is less to convey information to make us smart.
It tells us truths, God’s revealed truth, in order to make us certain kinds of people
…the kind of people who can face change, life’s uncertainty, with confidence, peace, and hope.
So, God has given us a book that is largely stories.
It tells us stories of what happens more than it gives us instructions for what to do
Why would it do that?
There are some religions that say do this and this and this and this…
Very specific, pray these words, this many times, at these times during the day…
Jesus does not come with instructions as much as he comes with invitation
He saves us as an invitation into his family.
NT filled with adoption language, family language
Healthy families are built on a foundation of relationship, not rules.
The rules that are present are in service of relationships, not the other way around
These stories equip us with principles and invitations to become holy and wise right where we are. To face change/uncertainty with confidence, peace, hope
Let me give you an example to guide our time this morning. Famous passage:
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.
-Acts 2:42
This is not a command. It’s a story.
It can’t be a command for us today…look at the 1st 3 words!
All the believers. Every Christian in the world.
That’s not possible anymore. Billions of us.
Devoted to the apostles’ teaching…what did that mean? NT not written yet.
It meant they listened to the apostles’ teaching!
But we can’t meet with the apostles today!
Fellowship and sharing meals? Don’t know what that means…
To prayer…what did they pray? How long?
We’re not looking for rules, church. We’re looking for ways of being that foster relationships.
We’re looking for a way of life that helps us experience and live as God’s adopted sons and daughters, brothers and sisters.
We get clarity if we step from this passage and ask, “what’s the invitation here?”
It’s clear they prioritized each other.
They knew they needed one another for this new life of faith
This is evident in this word “devoted”
It means to attach yourself to, to be close at hand
It’s often a word about relationships, being faithful to someone.
And the word is ongoing, not just a one time thing.
They prioritized each other as a way of life.
This showed up in two big ways: the apostle’s teaching and fellowship.
They didn’t just want time with the apostles, they wanted their teaching
They were hungry for the revealed truth of God, at the time given through the apostle’s themselves on behalf of Jesus.
These were not 1-1 meetings, either. This was the whole church together
They prioritized each other as they learned God’s revealed truth together!
For us today, the apostle’s teaching is preserved in the Bible
Since the death of the apostles, Christians read the Bible together.
This doesn’t mean 1-1 Bible reading is wrong, but it also means that the normal way Christians grew in their faith for roughly 1900 years was together.
Ongoing, diligent pursuit of God’s revealed truth together.
So, they had a shared pursuit, which created this word called fellowship.
Think of “fellowship” as a relationship that’s bigger than the relationship.
Have you ever tried to maintain a friendship with the friendship?
The goal of a friendship can’t be to be friends. It doesn’t work.
The best friendships are marked by a shared pursuit of something bigger than the friendship.
It’s the idea of fellowship. We are headed somewhere together.
Historically, Christians became friends through a shared pursuit of Jesus.
They read the Bible together, they prayed together, to become like Jesus together.
They ate together, worked together…the community was built around a shared pursuit
See, church was never meant to be an activity or a social group
The church is a people journeying together to build the kingdom of God
Pursuing Jesus together, growing in maturity together, with people just like us and nothing like us…and we can do that because our fellowship is about more than just friendship.
Friendship in the church is always a byproduct of fellowship in the church.
So we see these pillars in the story, not commands, invitations.
Bible study, prayer, and the fellowship it produces. All three.
We’ve pursued this at Sojourn through community groups.
This isn’t working as well for us now. For some it really is, but not everyone.
The goal is not participation in a program or event.
The goal is knowing Jesus by prioritizing 1. Scripture 2. Prayer 3. Fellowship.
These are the normal rhythms of following Jesus.
Some can get that in CG, most of us cannot. So here’s where we’re heading together.
First, we’re prioritizing Sunday together. Sunday belongs o the Lord.
If you want to to commit to this place, these people, your maturity…
Sunday belongs to the Lord.
This means we’re blocking out 8:30am-1pm on Sundays.
We’re showing up early and we’re staying late.
This wil be a hard transition for some of us.
So i want to be clear: this is an invitation, not a command.
It’s an invitation to greater knowledge of God’s word, greater experience of his presence in prayer, deeper connection with people around you.
You’re not bad if you can’t do this, maybe group works better.
It’s an invitation to fill and to be filled.
It’s an invitation to participate more deeply in the life of this family.
This means our family commits to participate in this worship service.
Have you ever noticed that we act out the gospel every Sunday?
A call to worship: announcing the holiness and wonder of God
Confession of sin: owning our neediness before him
Prayer of Lament: longing for Christ to make all things new
Celebration of Assurance: the reminder that we have been rescued by God
Communion: Celebration of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and his presence living inside of us
Benediction: a blessing to carry us into the week.
Each step of the way, we are immersing ourselves in God’s holy word together
We are singing the truths of God together
We are praying together
Week after week, we rehearse the gospel so we could believe the gospel so we could go and live like changed people.
You will be filled, you will receive grace, through your participation in the Sunday gathering.
Then, you Are invited to serve or study together.
Service is our opportunity to be instruments of God’s grace…disciplining students, welcoming guests, making coffee…many, many opportunities.
In every ministry, be it kids/students/connect, we ask you to serve 4 months at a time.
That’s enough time to make a real impact and learn if you’re equipped for that or not.
It’s also a chance to build a relationship about something bigger than the relationship.
So, some of us will attend one service and serve during another, 4 months of the year
On those months where we’re not serving, we’ll be studying.
Starting on February 20th, we will be hosting Sunday Bible Fellowship during both the 9 and 11am services
Pastors will facilitate discussion using an ancient Christian tool, the lectionary.
This is a tool that helps us learn the Bible, not just verses.
It follows a 3 year cycle, helping you see the patterns, the rhythm of the scriptures
It’s a way of becoming immersed in God’s grand story.
We’ll look at 1 passage each week, and it will be tied to where we are in the church calendar.
Older children are welcome in the class, or they can attend SojournKids discipleship classes like normal
What will I do for my Lent devotional? My Advent Devotional etc? SBF!
And each class will have opportunity for fellowship, discussion, and prayer.
Sunday Bible Fellowship will be the primary way we learn to love the Bible together and to devote ourselves to God’s revealed truth.
I know this will be a transition for many of us. Changing our Sunday routine might feel a little frightening for some.
If you’re like me, you’re feeling hungry for life.
You want to feel more connected…amen?
You want to feel like you belong somewhere.
And you want to know God. Maybe, like me, you’re tired of knowing about God.
Well…for most of our history as Christians, we’ve become connected more deeply to God and each other by prioritizing the scriptures and prayer together.
Friendships will be birthed from our sacrifice of time and changed schedules.
A greater sense of community, of ownership, and joy will come upon us.
I want you to notice what happens at the end of this acts passage:
A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
-Acts 2:43-47
They prioritized being together, serving together, praying together, eating…
They had to say “no” to a lot to pull this off…but what did it get them?
Joy. Generosity. Goodwill. A deep sense of awe. This could happen here.
This could be us…because this is what normal Christianity has been for 2,000.
What might happen to our relationships, our love of the Bible, our whole church if we gave this day to the Lord? I hope you’ll join us as we find out together.
COMMUNION