Episode Transcript
[00:00:02] Good morning. Good morning, Christ Church.
[00:00:04] Happy 2025.
[00:00:08] We made it.
[00:00:10] They said we wouldn't. I'm just kidding.
[00:00:14] But, man, it's good to be with you. I love kicking off the new year with you, and 2025 is going to be such a pivotal year for our church. As Tina mentioned, we are working to break ground this year. We sold this bill. Yep. Amen. It's been a lot of prayer and sacrifice. We're gonna be moving out of this place in the summer. There's a lot of change, a lot of transition, but also an incredible opportunity that God is giving our church, not only to grow our own faith, but also to be used by God to grow and to reach others. And so this is going to be such a special year for us, and I want to prepare us for all of this, and I want to talk about what that looks like. And so we're starting a new sermon series today, kicking off the new year, and it's about becoming the type of community, the type of church I think God wants us to be. So that's what we're going to dig into. But let me pray, and then we'll get into the message. Father, thank you for this time. Thank you for leading us, Lord, to this awesome in this special, in this place of divine responsibility.
[00:01:35] Help us, Lord, to step up to the challenge, to the calling that you have for us as a church, that you have for each one of us. Father, I pray that we could love each other well, serve each other well, and create a community that you can use to glorify your name. So bless us, Lord, and we ask all this in Jesus good name. Amen.
[00:02:00] Well, if I, you know, had my list of top 10 favorite movies, I don't know where it is in my top 10, but remember, the Titans is in my top 10. Anybody else?
[00:02:14] Such a great movie, and in fact, probably all of my top 10 has Denzel Washington in it.
[00:02:20] The greatest actor of all time. Amen. I could watch that guy in anything.
[00:02:25] And I love Remember the Titans. And most of you have probably seen it. If you haven't, you can ask the Lord for forgiveness. He is gracious. You can watch it today. But it's a story of a high school football team that is in the segregated south. And the school begins to integrate, and it begins with the football team. And they have to learn to love each other, basically. They have to learn to overcome the racism and the ugliness that has been part of their city and their community. And they have to learn to treat each other as human beings and serve each other and become a team. And so, as you can imagine, it's a difficult thing, but they end up doing it. And then they end up kicking butt on the football field, too. And they go undefeated. And it's this just powerful, inspiring story. But what I love about the story is that the real victory is not on the field, but it's in the locker room. It's in learning to love each other, learning to understand each other, learning to build friendships with one another. And because they figure that out, they end up becoming this great team. And I think that that is really a good parallel oftentimes for what God calls us to do as a church, as his people. That part of God's purpose is for us to learn how to be a team, how to be a community that is different than maybe how we are raised, or different from the communities that we work at, different from some of the other communities that we're part of. But we learn to become a type of community that really loves each other the way God wants us to. And if we get that right, then everything else will follow. And today we're gonna look at Ephesians 4. Cause I think it shows us this model in the way to do it. And. And I want to read it to you today. So here's what it says. Ephesians 4, starting at verse 1. And this was written by the great apostle Paul. And he begins like this. I, therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called.
[00:04:52] With all humility and gentleness, with patience bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace. There is one body, one spirit, just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all. You get in the feel of this, who is overall and through all and in all. Now, these are really, really powerful verses here. And what I want to talk to you today and in these next weeks is this idea of first, who, then what? Say that with me. First, who, then what? Because as we look at these verses, these verses begin with Paul saying, hey, I want you to walk in the worthy of the manner of the calling to which you have been called. And what this calling here ultimately is, is a calling into community.
[00:05:59] It's a calling into relationships. Now, if you've been around the church or around Christianity, you may have heard that word calling before. And we often think about calling as something that. That maybe it's a job. Like a lot of people talk about pastoral ministry as a calling, or we could talk about other jobs in that way where it's kind of roles or vocations or work. But what calling here, what Paul means by that is ultimately, it's how we treat each other, that God calls us into community, into relationships. And this is really, really powerful because if you read the first few chapters of Ephesians, it starts with a picture of what God does individually for each of us. That he chooses us, that he calls us, that when we're dead in our trespasses and sins, he makes us alive. And Ephesians explains all this in very, very powerful ways. But then we get to chapter four here. And what Paul is saying is that God did all of that so that we can learn to be a different type of community in this world, so we can learn to love each other and to serve each other and to grow together in the way that God intends. That this work was for the sake of creating this powerful community. Now, I think that is a really significant idea here. And I want you to think about this idea of who for a minute. Anybody have some New Year's resolutions?
[00:07:47] You're like, I don't want to. Don't hold me to the fire yet.
[00:07:52] And if you've already broken them on the 5th, it's okay, I get it.
[00:07:58] And a lot of times when we begin the new year, we think about the what that we want to do. Like, every new year, I'm like, this is going to be the year. I'm going to eat better and get in shape every year of my life. I've said that hasn't happened yet, but maybe 20, 25, maybe it's it. And I could think about that or think, okay, I want to get better about our budget and be wiser. Maybe I wanna take these classes and do these things. We tend to think a lot about the what. But I wanna invite you today and through this series to really think about the who of this year. The who. And here's what I mean, Paul is saying God's calling for us is community, is relationships, is building a certain type of community that honors him, that we grow in and that we serve him. And I think we're really good at figuring out the what of our lives. But the who of our lives is something we don't always think about. Like, even if you were to take a simple goal, like working out, you say, well, who am I going to work out with? I would bet you'll probably have more Success, if you can figure that out, you can kind of find someone to do it with. It would probably transform that, because this is part of the power of community. And I want you to think this year, and I want you to ask yourself, who is the who? Who is the who this year? If you're a follower of Jesus, who are the people that God wants you to partner with in this season of your life?
[00:09:46] Maybe it's a tough season, but you're just driving through it alone because that's what you've always done, and that's what you know, and that's what's been modeled for you. But this year, God is saying, no, no, no. There's some other people I have for you to walk through this difficulty with, and I've prepared them, and they have stuff to add to you, and you have stuff to add to them. But we can miss that if we're not thinking about it. Or maybe you've been a follower of Jesus for a long time and you've learned and you've grown and your faith has matured. I want you to think about the who and ask yourself, who is it that God wants me to invest in this year?
[00:10:33] I think one of the healthiest things that can happen in the church is when seasoned followers of Jesus invest in other people who are on the growth journey, who are maybe at places that they've been before.
[00:10:51] And when we learn to pour into each other, our faith grows, our church is strengthened, and beautiful things happen. And so I want you to think, if you've been a follower for Jesus for a while, and like you, you read the Bible and you pray, and there's been real growth and fruit in your life, I want you to think about, who is God putting on my heart to pour into this year? And if you're maybe a newer follower of Jesus, and maybe you look at people in our church and you see, you know, some growth and maturity that you want, I want you to ask yourself, who could I learn from this year? And I'm gonna give you a crazy idea.
[00:11:35] You're gonna kick back against this. But just hear me out for a second, all right? If you're a newer follower of Jesus and you think you know people that you feel like you could learn or grow from, ask them to spend a little bit of time with you, say, hey, man, I would love to learn, I would love to grow, I would love to talk about faith, whatever, and ask them, and here's what I promise. They will not be offended. They will not be put off. They Will be thrilled.
[00:12:07] Because every follower of Jesus that has been growing for a little while feels the responsibility to pass along what they have learned and what they have experienced. You with me on this church? So here's what I'm asking you to do is to think about the whole in this season, not what are you going to do. I'm sure you got good thoughts on that, and that's great. I know a lot of people poo poo on New Year's resolutions. I think they're good. I mean, why not try to do a little bit better this year, right? Like, oh, I'm going to try and do worse this year. That seems stupid.
[00:12:41] Yeah, try a little better. But I think more important, even more important, is the who of this year. And here's what Paul is saying. He's saying that is God's calling, Some of God's calling. It's really not complicated.
[00:12:59] He calls us to be in life giving relationships real community with each other. Now here's the challenge of this.
[00:13:10] In our culture, we have become more and more comfortable with isolation as a way of life.
[00:13:21] And we're so comfortable with it that we don't always even recognize how different it is than what the scriptures teach us. You with me on this? Let me just give you a simple example of this. There was in the year 2000, there was a famous book written called Bowling Alone by Robert Putnam. So this was in 2000, 25 years ago. Does that hurt anybody to say 2000 was. It hurts me 25 years ago. So this. So, you know, a good a quarter of a century. How's that feel ago? Feel. Feel better.
[00:14:00] And here's what. Sorry.
[00:14:02] Here's what the book was about. It was about that in American culture, all kinds of ways that people would engage in community in the past, whether it was church or all the different social groups, the rates had gone down tremendously since the 1950s, 1960s, and it just has been on this really, really bad trajectory.
[00:14:34] In the books, talks specifically about bowling. And in 2000, bowling leagues were down 4, 40%, which I thought, I'm not really much of a bowler, but I like to do the kick. I can't bowl, but if you do the kick, you know what I'm saying, it makes up for the bad shot. You just.
[00:14:55] I'll teach it to you after service if you want, but it.
[00:15:03] Let's stay on track, guys.
[00:15:06] Can we be focused today?
[00:15:10] But his point is that because we've lacked community, we don't trust each other.
[00:15:18] And that trust has been detrimental to Every part of our community, of our lives, of politics, all kinds of different civic engagement, he said, as we become more isolated, has hurt our culture. And he wrote that in 2000.
[00:15:37] And from everything that I understand, it's kind of gotten worse, not better.
[00:15:42] We haven't really, you know, made a big move back towards community. I think we've just kind of become more and more comfortable in a sort of sense of isolation, of doing life. We kind of have tunnel vision on our lives, and we're busy and we're doing stuff. It's not that we're trying to get away from people. It's just that it's not how we envision our calling and what God has invited us into. You with me on this, and here's what the ultimate problem of this is, is that we cannot love God and not be learning to love people at the same time. You see, they're two sides of the same coin.
[00:16:32] I can't be, you know, this really growing spiritual person and not also allow that change to become translated into how I treat and serve the people around me. Let me show this to you in first, John. He just says it very, very clearly to us. He says, we love first because he loved us. If anyone says I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar.
[00:17:01] Just don't sugarcoat it for us, John.
[00:17:04] He who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
[00:17:11] See, when I struggle to build relationships and to love people in my life, I'm actually learning to love God. You see what he's saying there?
[00:17:24] Part of how God is going to teach you how to love him is through those people that drive you crazy. There's a lot of spiritual growth in it.
[00:17:35] Part of the way that God is going to really teach us what a relationship looks like with him is learning how to relate to the other people in our lives that are different, that real sense of community. Let me go on with these verses. And this is a commandment we have from him. Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
[00:18:02] So John's saying, these are two sides of the same coin. I learned to love God by loving people. I learned to love people by loving God. You cannot take them apart. You can't separate. They're inseparable. They run together. And community is the place where this all happens. Paul says, this is what God's calling is in your life. Now, one last thing. Allow me to beat this dead horse this morning. Is that all right? It's the first of the year. I'm A preacher. I gotta beat some dead horses.
[00:18:40] And I want to just contrasts us with sometimes. I think in our culture today, we have more of an idea of tribalism rather than biblical community. There's been a lot of books out that kind of use this terminology. And I just want to make some distinctions here that I hope are helpful. Maybe they're not, and if they're not, I won't bring them up next service. But, you know, you're the guinea pig today.
[00:19:07] But here's a little bit difference of tribalism. This is kind of like pseudo community. But tribalism is built on sameness, where everybody thinks the same, looks the same, acts the same. But community is about diversity with the same Savior. You see the difference in that. See, one of the beauties of God's church is it's meant to bring diverse people together and diverse in every way.
[00:19:39] Economics, you know, life experiences, giftedness, every, all different ways. Like the church, we should all sometimes look around and be like, man. We're different from each other. And normally in all the rest of life, those differences would keep us apart.
[00:20:01] But in community, God uses that to. To bring us together and to make us something more than we would be without. But the uniting factor is Jesus and his calling and what he's done in our lives. It's a very different deal. Now, here's another way. Let me just give you a couple of these.
[00:20:26] Tribalism is always looking for a common enemy, and community is always looking to our common Savior. See, in our world today, it can be easy to just align ourselves by always looking at what we're against.
[00:20:42] But biblical community is looking at what we're for, which is Christ and His calling and his purpose in our life. Tribalism is territorial and community is invitational.
[00:20:56] See, there's always an open seat at our church.
[00:21:00] You know, maybe not literally, but figuratively. You know what I'm saying? There's always room for one more, and it has to always be that way. Church, right? We have to be a place that says, hey, we are welcome. We want God to send people here. And God, if you send them, we're going to love them. We're going to invite them into relationship church. I hope when you see people here, you smile at them. Go ahead, give me your best smile right now. Go ahead.
[00:21:39] That's the best one I got.
[00:21:42] But you guys look good, man. I see you've been going to the dentist, you've been flossing, you've been crushing it.
[00:21:49] But we need to be a community that is always inviting and, and loving. And going out of our way, because that's what real community is, that we're looking and we're introducing ourselves. We're saying, man, my life is open for God to send people my way, that he wants me to serve and church. If our life is too busy for that, it's too busy.
[00:22:19] Because what Paul's saying is, this is our calling.
[00:22:22] This is what God has done this work for. Here's just another one. Tribalism is an echo chamber, and community is a learning environment.
[00:22:32] See, one of the things that I think has really happened in our culture is you can easily get yourself in an echo chamber, and social media is actually designed to put you in an echo chamber because the algorithm says, oh, you like that? I'm gonna give you more of what you already like and believe and think. And guess what? You're like, oh, my gosh, the whole world sees things the way that I do. I always knew I was gifted.
[00:23:03] Well, slow down a little bit.
[00:23:06] I'm sure you are. But it becomes an echo chamber. And so what happens then is we can live life kind of like the emperor with no clothes on.
[00:23:21] Everybody's like, oh, this is awkward. And we're like, hey, what's wrong? I actually just saw an example of this that was really kind of significant. But it was a YouTube debate with a guy named Wes Huff, who is this Christian apologetic. He studies how the Bible was formed and came together. And he was arguing with this, or debating, I should say, this guy named Billy Carson, who puts out a lot of things that says the Bible isn't credible for these reasons.
[00:23:56] And millions of people kind of have saw his stuff. So it's gotten quite a following. And they just started this debate, and they were very kind of gracious and nice about it. But Wes Huff just basically asked a very simple question about this document that Billy Carson said didn't have the death and resurrection of Jesus. And Wes Huff studies these things, and great deal is his work. And he said, well, I have a copy of it right here, and it actually does have the death and resurrection. And he's like, oh, okay, I didn't know that. And what it just showed, it was like. It was like, this dude's been living in an echo chamber because, like, this was basic stuff.
[00:24:43] And he had obviously had no one kind of challenging or pushing. And we all need community to help us grow, to help us see things that we can't see in our tunnel vision, and it helps us to do that. All right, so all of that is to say community matters. Church and I want you to think about what it looks like in your life this year. Who then, what now? Then Paul says, but for it to happen, for it to happen, it requires a certain charity in our hearts. See, community is about other people. But it doesn't start with other people. It starts with you. It starts with me. It starts with a certain disposition of our heart. And this is where Paul gives these qualities. And there's five of them, and they're humility, gentleness, patience, bearing in love, and eager to maintain the unity of the spirit and the bond of peace. Now, I'll just quickly talk through each of them. Number one is humility.
[00:25:55] Now, humility means that you're not focused on you.
[00:26:03] And there's a lot of times in life where making assumptions is not good. Right? We've all done that and kind of got burned by that. But I think one assumption you can always make is that more humility would be good for you.
[00:26:20] You can always probably be okay making that assumption, that humility is always an area we can grow in. And humility is ultimately, it's going into relationships, and it's going in with the perspective that says, I'm not looking and worried about everything that I'm getting out of this relationship or not getting out of it, but I'm looking to bring what I can to the table to serve.
[00:26:50] And it has this radical reorientation. Now, I think what our tendency is in most relationships, we kind of fixate on the questions, am I getting the respect I deserve? Am I getting treated? And all the questions, they tend to be focused on what am I getting?
[00:27:12] And humility reverses that. It says, well, what am I giving to the relationship? And I will tell you, anytime you just begin to explore that mindset, things are probably gonna get better relationally because humility, it's not a response to what that person is doing or isn't doing. It's a response to who God is calling me to be.
[00:27:40] I'm gonna give you honor and respect, not because you deserve it, but because God has called me to give honor and respect to people. You with me, that's humility. It's saying, look, they may be this way or that way, but it's not gonna change who God has called me. And I'm gonna lead in my relationships with that. You with me on this church. Here's the second quality is gentleness. And gentleness is controlled strength.
[00:28:10] And have you ever met a gentle person? Like, they say things in gentle ways. They have a grace that they carry in life. Don't you love those people. Aren't you open to those people?
[00:28:25] No two people are. All right, y'all need to get around some gentle people then.
[00:28:31] But let me just share one thought about gentleness. Here's what Romans says. Romans 15. We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
[00:28:44] Each of us should please our neighbors for their good to build them up. I just want you to think about this for a second. God has given you certain strengths, but those strengths are not just for you.
[00:28:59] They're for your neighbor to build them up. Paul says there are certain areas where God, he's made you strong.
[00:29:08] Certain areas of your personality or your life or your way of thinking, it's strong. But that strength is not meant to be hoarded to yourself.
[00:29:20] And it's not meant to be used as a tool to beat others down. But it's meant to be used for. As an avenue for God to bless and strength someone else who isn't as strong in that area. You with me? And that's gentleness. Now, the third is patience.
[00:29:42] And I want to tell you.
[00:29:45] You're already laughing.
[00:29:48] I want to tell you that all of these virtues, God first models in our own life, whether you know it or not. I want you to know God is gentle with you, Church. He could be a lot. He could be a lot more heavy handed, and it would not be good. God is exceedingly patient with us.
[00:30:07] And patience is the willingness. It's the willingness to endure, the willingness to just not lose our cool and have married people. Have you ever lost your patience with your spouse? I know most of the marriages in this room are perfect, but is there a sinner I can talk to today? Got anyone? Okay, we got two. Amen. Three. All right. Can I get a fourth? No, I'm just kidding.
[00:30:35] But have you lost your patience with your spouse before? Parents? Have you lost your patience with your kids before?
[00:30:43] Did anyone lose their patience this morning? No, just. Yeah.
[00:30:48] Have you lost. Have you lost your patience with a co worker before?
[00:30:53] A friend, someone you didn't even know, but they're in front of you in traffic?
[00:31:00] Yeah, we all have, right?
[00:31:03] Have you ever lost your patience and then said to yourself, man, I'm so glad I did.
[00:31:11] I haven't yet. Every time, like, oh, damn, dude, lose my patience with Allie, with the kids, I'm like, I wish I wouldn't have done. You know, I get a little bit after it. I always regret it. I'm never like, chet, I'm so proud of you for Losing your cool. Way to go, 2025. My goal is to be less patient because it makes things better.
[00:31:37] No, I don't think that's any of our experience.
[00:31:41] And how powerful is that? God said we have to learn to be patient with each other. We have to give each other space and time to grow. And we have to realize that God has been incredibly patient with us. And I'll tell you, every time I put my mind there, all of a sudden I'm like, okay, you have to be patient because God's patience has been invaluable in your own life. And then Paul says, bearing with one another in love.
[00:32:16] And here's just kind of maybe a simple way to think about this is there are some things worth fighting for in life.
[00:32:26] There are some things that are worth the struggle.
[00:32:31] And real community is worth the struggle.
[00:32:35] Healthy relationships are worth the struggle. Yeah, it's difficult. And if you've been a person, which probably all of us have at some point or another, if you've opened your heart to others and you've been burned and you've been hurt, it's easy to then just say, okay, not letting that happen again.
[00:33:03] Then we go through life and we hold everyone at arm's length.
[00:33:09] And our reason is not a bad reason. It's a reason from pain. We're like, I don't want to do that again.
[00:33:17] And although it's understandable, it's not excusable because God calls us to actually push through it.
[00:33:27] You know, I. Allie, and I love cooking. And I've made some bad meals before. Didn't turn out. But I have not given up on cooking and eating yet because I won't survive without it.
[00:33:43] And believe it or not, you won't survive without community, not in the way God intends, not in the way God created you for. And it's not just about what you can get. It's also what you have to give, too. God has put things in you for the blessing of others. And when you make a bad meal, you say, I'm not doing that again. You say, no, I'm going to do it differently.
[00:34:08] What didn't go right? And let me learn and let me adjust. And relationships are the same way. Of course the price tag is higher, but it's still worth it. You with me on this church, and then the last one, eager to maintain unity, eager. And I just want you to think about this. When you open your heart to others, you please God.
[00:34:36] If you go through 20, 25 and you're like Lord, however you want to Use me in someone else's life.
[00:34:45] I'm open and I'm willing. Why don't you know that honors God?
[00:34:49] You're eager. You know you're not. The Lord doesn't have to just drag you out. Be like, all right, let's go. But you're like, no, Lord, I'm willing. Like, sometimes my kids, they don't want to do something. I pick them up and they just go dead fish on me. I'm like, dude, how did you go from like £20 to 200? It's amazing what they can do with that, you know? And I have to like, you know, drag them across the floor and it's all this deal. But when they're willing, it's a much better experience, and that's the eagerness. And I want you to have a willing heart to serve others this year. I want you to have a willing heart to learn from others. I want you to have a willing. If today you're beginning this year and there's unforgiveness, there's bitterness in your heart, I want you to be eager to work through that with God and don't just carry it through the rest of this year. Say no. Lord, I'm struggling with these things. I'm struggling with this relational hurt. But, Lord, I'm eager to heal.
[00:35:58] I'm eager. Friends, if there's some fractured relationships in our life, would you pray for an eager heart to reconcile, to make them right, to do what you can do? Sometimes you can only do so much, but you do so much, and then you trust the results to God. But is there an eagerness in us for these things? Because here's what Paul says. Remember all those ones. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one father. All of that. Ultimately, this all matters to God.
[00:36:38] One father of us all.
[00:36:43] And what does a father's heart want?
[00:36:47] Wants a healthy family. It's a family that loves each other. My girls, when they're liking each other, say, you're my best friend. Abby, you're my best friend, Emmy. When they don't like each other, you're not my best friend. You know, it's kind of ping pongs throughout the day.
[00:37:08] And of course, as a father, when they're kind of getting into it, one of the things that I'm constantly reminding them, I'm like, look, I don't care who's right or wrong or who did what. At the end of the day, you're sisters and you're gonna love each other. Because beatings will continue until morale improves.
[00:37:29] Amen.
[00:37:31] Because my heart is for them no matter what. Yeah, they're gonna drive each other crazy all their life, I have no doubt about them. But I want them to growing up to know what it means to be family.
[00:37:45] And that's what I care about. And you know, that's what God cares about. And I think this year, church this year is a time for us to learn and to grow into this man. By God's grace, we're going to be blessed with a new facility.
[00:38:03] And you know what? Do you know what God wants to do with that? Not just give us a really nice, comfortable place, but he wants to expand his family.
[00:38:14] That's the whole point.
[00:38:17] And he wants to be able to say, hey, church, I want to send these people to you, and I want to trust that you're going to love them, that you're going to care for them, that you're going to serve them, that you're going to walk with them through the ups and the downs, and that you're not going to give up on them like I have not given up on you. And so church this year is about preparing not only how to love each other better, which we have to keep growing in that, but it's also about preparing for what God wants to do through us and saying, lord, when that time comes, we'll be ready. Because we've been working, we've been praying, we've been seeking you, we've been trusting, we've been trying to grow in every way you've called us to. Let's pray. Father, help us in all of this.
[00:39:18] Help us to see the bigger picture of what you're doing in our individual lives, but what you're doing in our corporate lives.
[00:39:30] Help us to see the church that you want us to be.
[00:39:38] Help us to practice these qualities, Lord, in our families, but also in our spiritual family.
[00:39:48] Help us, Lord, to see the beauty and the power of real community in our lives.
[00:39:55] And I pray, Father, that we could bring the gifts and the love that you've put in us, that you want others to experience, and we could receive those from others as well. I pray, Father, this year we would do our all you're calling us to do, but we would do it together.
[00:40:16] We'd be one team, one fight.
[00:40:20] I pray, Lord, for my brothers and sisters who feel like they're going through life alone.
[00:40:27] Bring support their way, bring your strength through someone else.
[00:40:34] And Father, help us to live up to the calling that you have for us. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen.
