Better Together: What matters most
Good morning PEACE. My name is Bill Lyle and I’m the SP here at the church. This morning we are launching a revolution. And you are not here at PEACE to watch it happen. You are here at PEACE to make it happen.
We’ve got 25 small groups kicking off this week in people’s homes all across Pickerington, Canal, Reynoldsburg and other locations. And if you haven’t signed up yet, there is a list in your bulletin this morning. So don’t just sit on the sidelines. Get into the game and be part of the revolution.
So let me ask you what’s got you down today. Is it the slowest economy recovery in history?Perhaps it’s your job? Maybe it’s your marriage. Well I want you to know today, that no matter what’s got it’s talons in you from Wall Street to Main Street we worship a bigger God.The problem is we’ve been taught to do it on our own and every year the suicide rate rises and more kids get put on Ritalin and the bailout of death and drugs isn’t enough.
Friends, we need more than a Wall Street or a Main Street Rescue plan. Do you realize God says the key to happiness is not independence but inter-dependence? Rom 12:5 says “Since we are all one body in Christ we belong to each other and each of us needs all the others.” So for the next 6 weeks we’re going talk about why we are better together and I’m challenging everyone in our church to get into a LIFEgroup. Do you realize we’ve already have 230 people signed up for groups. That’s great!
But I believe we can do even more.Imagine every person in our church in a group. You’ll get this book called Better Together and we’ll walk thru 40 devotions together. And the next 6 weeks will transform your life and if you’re not in a group I guarantee you’ll regret it.
Now let me stop and say I believe even more of you are ready to do this. I believe the Holy Spirit is nudging some of youto start a group. You’ve been hearing about it, you want to, you just haven’t done it. And all you have to do is go out to the lobby get some info and invite some friends. We could easily add 3-5 more groups, today! This is like Home Depot, You can do it, we can help. Or it’s like the Easy button at Staples. Push the button.
1 Peter 4:9 says “Open your homes to each other without complaining.” So what’s your complaint for not opening up your home? “My house is dirty!” Then, clean it up! That was easy. Maybe your complaint is “My home isn’t big enough.” Can you put 3 people in it? Jesus said wherever 2 or more are gathered in my name I am with them. That was easy. Well, Bill nobody would want to come to my home and study this stuff. Do you realize everyone is longing for belonging? It’s why the worst punishment in our world is solitary confinement. The truth is people would love to come to your home and study this stuff if you just invited them. That was easy.
So let’s get serious, get in groups, invite others and let’s be better together. If you need any help at all, go to the ministry counter in the lobby, contact the church office, or call Seth Oiler, our discipleship director. That was easy – 3x
Friends, the reason we make this so hard is because Satan wants you to deal with life by death and drugs, not Jesus. He wants you to depend on a rescue plan not a resurrection plan and most of all he wants you to go it alone not together. So today, I want to give you 5 reasons why we need each other.
First, I need others to walk with me. In the beginning of the Bible in Gen 2:18 God creates Adam and says, “It is not good for man to be alone.” A lot of people think this verse is only about marriage. Friends! It’s far deeper than marriage. You see from the very beginning God recognized we needed to walk through life together. It’s why Jesus said, come follow me. It’s why the disciples went out 2x2. It’s why he always took someone with him wherever he went: the garden, the transfiguration, even the cross!
Yet how many times do we do our crosses alone? I’m going to get through this financial crisis by myself. I’m not going to tell anyone about my cancer. I’m going to handle my depression all by my? Life was never meant to be traveled alone. It’s why solitary confinement is the worst of all punishments because we were created to walk together.
Second, besides walking together, I also need others to work with me. Look at Eccl 4:9 “Two people are better than one. Because they get more done by working together.” (NCV)Have you watched geese flying south in a “V”? Do you know why they do it? Because it creates uplift and a back draft and it’s easier to fly. The same is true when we work together – we get more done. One of the key changes we’ve been making here at PEACE is called Team Leading. For far too long our church has been operating 1 deep. 1 person running youth ministry, 1 person teaching a Sunday school, 1person leading the band. The problem is when you’re 1 deep you get worn out, exhausted and fatigued. No more. 2 are better than 1.
That’s why we’re instituting Team leading in all our ministry areas. Why because where 2,3 or 4 people form a team and work together, Jesus is in their midst. Teamwork makes the dream work. That means if you’re leading a LIFEgroup. You should be looking for a person to help you co-lead, assist or apprentice. If you’re teaching a class you should not be doing it alone.
Church we’ve made this mistake before. So every Class, Bible Study, Ministry Team and LIFEgroup in our church is expected to have at least 2 leaders. Why, because 2 are better than ??.
Now third, besides walking and working together, I also need others to watch out for me. I'm talking about people who’ll keep me on track, watch my backside and warn me. We all need this because we all have blind spots.
Phil 2:4 says “Look out for one another’s interest, not just your own.” Have you seen those Neighborhood Watch signs? What do they imply? We watch out for each other’s backsides. My guess is if you went on vacation this year you probably said to your neighbor I’m leaving town. Would you keep an eye on my stuff?
My question is not is anybody watching out for your stuff. My question is, is anyone watching out for your soul? Why, because your soul is a lot more important than your stuff. Is there anybody who loves you enough to say, “I'm not going to let you get discouraged, or drop out or get tired? I'm here with you. Let me support you.” And they encourage you in your spiritual life. That’s what a LIFEgroup is for.
You see, we all have blind spots, things we can’t see. A few years ago I was at a conference and right before it started I had to blow my nose. So I found a Kleenex and blew my nose. Unbeknownst to me I got some snot on my shirt. Nobody said anything to me the entire day. I got in the car, looked in the mirror and I was so embarrassed. I’d gone through the entire day with snot on my shirt. Friends don’t let friends go through life with snot on their shirt. We need people to watch out for us because we can’t see certain things
Some of you can’t see an affair coming. Some of you can’t see the way you treat our kids. The Bible says in Hebrews 13:1 “Keep being concerned about each other as the Lord’s followers should” One of the things that happens in a LIFEgroup is people ask you week after week, how is it with your soul? And they keep being concerned about you.
I’m interested in being in a church where people are honest about their weaknesses where people can admit to sexual addictions, infidelity or huge credit card debt. Now I realize some of you might be sitting there thinking, well that’s not me. Maybe not, but I guarantee you’ve got something you can’t control: eating, porn, something. According to Jesus there’s a board in all our eyes. And we spend our life looking at other people’s specks.
Listen to me, you’re never going to change on your own. If you could have, you would have, but you can’t so you don’t. That’s why weall need some people to watch out for us.
Now fourth, I also need others to weep with me. Why, because we all experience crisis in life. It’s inevitable. How do I know? Because as your pastor I see it on a daily basis. I’ve had 3 conversations just this week concerning situations that nobody should have to go through.
Friends, nobody should have to wait in a hospital wondering if their loved one was going to die. Nobody should have to wait for the lab report on a problem pregnancy. Nobody should have to stand at the edge of an open grave. And we certainly shouldn’t have to do it alone.
But the fact is these things happen. They’re inevitable. So why would you go through life totally unprepared for something you know is eventually going to happen. That’s why the time is now to build a safety net. 1 Peter 3:8 “You should be like one big family full of sympathy toward each other.” And Romans 12:15 says we are to “weep with those who weep.”
But here’s the thing, you don’t want the entire church family visiting you at the hospital when you’re sick that would be bad. But it would be nice to have 5 or 6 people from your LIFEgroup come and pray with you. It’s why Annette and I are joining a LIFEgroup. Because just like you we go through personal tragedies and we need people in our life to weep with us. I know the next few years will be hard for my family. My dad has Alzheimer’s and I know we are going to need extra support. So why in the world would I not chose to be in a LIFEgroup? I know I’m going to need it. So will you.
Fifth and finally, I also need others to witness with me. Look at Phil 1:27 “You are working together and struggling side by side to get others to believe the Good News.”So let me ask you a really personal question. Will anyone be in heaven because of you? Can you honestly say you’re making an eternal difference in someone else’s life?
Well let me make you a little guarantee. If you get in a LIFEgroup for the next 6 weeks and invite somebody who doesn’t go to church to come and be in that LIFEgroup with you by the end of 6 weeks you’ll be able to say, “Yes! Somebody’s in heaven because of me.”
You see as they come to your group and hear the testimony and witness of your life and the others in your group they will experience God and that experience will transform their lives. Church, we don’t even do witnessing alone. The bottom line is we need each other. We need others to walk, work, watch, weep and witness with us.
A few years ago I had a major crisis in my family. It was really bad. Annette and I had to take our nieces into our home for 2 weeks. I was driving clear across the state multiple times to try and help. Now I’m going to tell you if it hadn’t been for our Small Group and having a place to unload and download I don’t know how we would have made it. I remember one evening the group just forming a circle around Annette and I and laying their hands on us and praying for us. You can’t put a price tag on that. It’s a spiritual rescue plan for your life. Friends we are always better ??
Do you see how the answer is not death and drugs? So the truth is we need each other. And I’m praying that all of you will get into a group. I’m praying you’ll say, you know what, I need to rearrange my schedule. I need to change my priorities. I need to make some time for this. And with the help of the Holy Spirit I believe you’ll do the right thing. Friends, it’s not that hard. God made us to be better together. And by the end of this 6 weeks we’ll all be able to push this button and say… “That was easy” Let’s pray…
Father, it’s time for the church to be the church. It’s time for a revolution of love and may it begin in our hearts. If you’re willing to be the part of the change then I want you to pray with me…Say “Dear God, forgive me for the times I felt I didn’t need other people in my life. I want to be a part of what You’re doing on earth and I want to experience real community. I'm tired of superficial relationships. I want to learn to really love and be loved in a deeper way. So I open up my life to You, Jesus. Come into my life and accept me into Your family. Thank You for this place called PEACE to belong and grow. I don't want to be a passive follower any more. Today I commit to getting into a LIFEgroup and becoming part of the revolution of being better together. In your name I pray. Amen.
Nobody should have to wait for news from the battlefield alone. Nobody should have to wait for a coroner to come and identify the body alone. Nobody should have to spend the first night alone when their spouse walks out. There are all kinds of situations nobody should have to go through and especially not alone.
Philippians 2:4 “Look out for one another’s interest, not just your own.”
1. It’s safer. Walking through life with other people in your life is safer. It’s less risky. Have you ever had to walk through a dark alley at night in the inner city by yourself? It’s a little scary. Or a walk down a long road in the countryside by yourself. It can be scary. It’s safer to walk through life with others.
3. It’s smarter. It’s just smarter to go through life with a few really close deep friends. You learn more by walking with others than you do by yourself. Proverbs 28:26 says “Only fools trust in what they alone think.” In other words if I'm the only one who thinks this and nobody else agrees with me, guess what? I'm wrong. You may be walking in the wrong direction. But if you’re walking by yourself through life you don’t have anybody to go, “We’re off the path. We missed it. We’ve got to get back on the path.” The Bible tells us “In a multitude of counselors there is safety.”
So what’s His antidote? He created two groups. Physical family and a spiritual family. The physical family is the one you grew up in. The spiritual family is the one you have the rest of your life. It goes on into eternity. The physical family eventually moves apart, eventually dies and doesn’t go on. But the spiritual family, God’s church, is going to go on forever and ever and ever. So God says I want you to be connected in My family, the church.
Life’s a journey. You don’t just sit still. You’re not where you used to be. You’re not where you going to be. You are on a journey.
Why We Need Each Other
40 Days of Community
Part 1
Rick Warren
October 2-3, 2004
Today is the beginning of a revolution. It’s going to start with a very radical counter-culture message. What I want to talk to you about this morning is the exact opposite of what you’ve been taught most of your life. But God promises that if you’ll do this, if you’ll do it His, way that you’ll never again have to struggle with loneliness. You’ll be able to overcome things like fatigue and fear and frustration and failure. That if you’ll do what He talks about you’ll be able to handle depression and despair and have that replaced with hope. It is the concept of community.
As Americans we idolize independence. In America we have the Declaration of Independence. We like songs like “I’ve Got to Be Me,” “I’ll do it my way,” I don't need anybody to tell me what it’s all about. We honor the Lone Ranger. We love the Lone Ranger. Of course even the Lone Ranger had Tonto but we like the idea of being totally independent. We have bought into a myth that says that the key to happiness is independence. If I have relational independence, financial independence, independence in every other area of my life, if I don’t let anybody get too close to me but I'm totally self sufficient, then I will be happy. And yet every year the suicide rate tends to rise. Obviously that’s not true. God says that the key to happiness is not independence but inter-dependence. We need each other. We belong to each other. We need community in our lives. God wired you to go through life not as a solitary individual but in community.
The Bible says in Romans 12 “Since we are all one body in Christ we belong to each other and each of us needs all the others.” We need each other. God says community is not optional. You may not feel it. You may feel like “I'm very self sufficient. I don't need other people in my life.” But the truth is you absolutely have to have other people in your life if you’re going to be all God wants you to be.