Heya peeps! We had a fun Summit last night between Spicy UNO and Gaga ball. I, myself, am exhausted. But beating MadFrame in a 1v1 was worth it! I wasn't paying too much attention to Spicy UNO until after Gaga, so I missed the setting of the rules, and yall really messed up how that game is played. First of all, no one is ever truly "out" until the game is over. So even if you have no cards in hand, you're still in the game and still need to follow the rules. That means, second of all, that 7s count for EVERYONE. That game better be SILENT or someone is drawing cards. Just saying.
Anyway, we announced last night that summer camp is officially ON, and initial registration is due NEXT WEEK. By the time any of you read this, "next week" will have been weeks, months, maybe years ago (based on current viewing trends), but just thought you should know, we weren't sure about camp and now we are. =)
We sang "All Because of Jesus" by Fee and "Fill This Place" by Red Rocks Worship last night for our singing time, both of which served to remind us of why we are devoted to the things of God. The reason is the same for us as it was for the early church in Acts 2:42 - its all because of Jesus. We are surrounded and filled with a profound love that can only be found in Jesus Christ. It is out of that love that we live and breathe and serve the Lord.
This led us right into a message on being devoted to true community, delivered by our very own Statistician (I looked and I did, in fact, spell that correctly). I avoid using names on this blog when I can, so for anyone who is not sure who that is, you can also call him Mr. L. Hopefully that narrows it down for you. =) He's a statistician, hence the nickname.
He opened with our main passage for this study on devotions of the church: Acts 2:42-47 - "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."
Out of this passage we draw 7 things which the early church was devoted to: Teaching, Fellowship, Breaking of Bread, Prayer, True Community, Praising God (worship), and Welcoming new members daily. True community is closely connected to Fellowship, as both share that sense of togetherness, so as we focus on it you'll see that when we talk about being devoted to true community like the early church was, it comes down to a focus on Others First.
1 John 1:3 (CEV): "What we have seen and heard we declare to you so that you and we together may share in a common life, that life which we share with the Father and His son Jesus Christ."
There are two sides to this for us to understand. There is "Sharing Together" and "Sharing With". Sharing together has this idea of relationship and partnership. In 1 John 1:3, above, the author points to our having a common life with God the Father and His son Jesus Christ. When we come to faith in Jesus, we all enter into a common, shared life as Christians. We enter into a relationship with every Christian on earth (even those we don't even know). In that sense, we have this massive community across the globe of fellow believers, all striving to serve and love God together. And we also have partnership with other believers, and this is specifically the ones we know and interact with. Partnership describes believers as a community in action. So its not just that we share life together, we act in obedience to the will of God together.
Sharing with has the idea of with whom and how we share. In Acts 2, the church was eating together, praying and worshiping together - they communed with one another. It was a very intimate group, despite being such a large group (more than 3,000 people). They loved and cherished each other as fellow believers in Jesus. Luke (the author of Acts) goes so far as to describe what they did to show their love: they sold possessions and property so they could give to anyone who had need. They shared their material possessions. Many made personal sacrifices so that others in the community could be provided for. That is the picture of true community that we want to be devoted to. A willingness to make sacrifices for the good of others.
We closed out the message with a few general things we can be devoted to in order to build true community with each other:
1. Put Others First
- Philippians 2:3-4 - "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others."
- 1 Corinthians 10:24 - "No one should seek their own good, but the good of others."
2. Share Material Possessions
- Romans 12:13 - "Share with the Lord's people who are in need. Practice hospitality."
- 2 Corinthians 9:12 - "This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God."
- Hebrews 13:16 - "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased."
- 1 Corinthians 12:25-26 - "so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it."
3. Serve Others
- 2 Corinthians 9:13 - "Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else."
- 1 Peter 4:10 - "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms."
4. Encourage Others
- Ephesians 4:29 - "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
As you go into the rest of your life, begin thinking about how you can put others first in your life. As Philippians 2 puts it, "not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." Imagine what our community would look like if we were all looking out for each other instead of just looking out for ourselves. What would your family look like? Your friend group? Your romantic relationships?
The community of God, our youth group, needs to be devoted to living in true community, looking out for each other instead of for ourselves. This means having a willingness to sacrifice your time, energy, or resources for the good of others in the community. This all means that others in the community will have the same mindset for you, looking out for you. As with most things, though, it starts with you (whoever "you" are). Set the example, put others first, share your stuff, serve others, and be an encouragement to everyone you come across. As we begin to be devoted to this, you will notice a positive change in our group dynamic that reflects the love of God.
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