We Need Each Other

    In the last post we took a look at our basic need for God - our dependency on Him for salvation and eternal life. The gist of it is, we cannot get salvation, forgiveness for our sins, or eternal life on our own. The standard to get it is nothing short of perfection. If you're less than perfect (and you are less than perfect, sorry to burst your bubble there), then you cannot get to God. There is nothing you can do. And this is why Jesus came to the earth. He lived the perfect life we never could. He paid the penalty for all of our sins like we never could (His death on the cross). And He rose from the dead like we never could (and I don't mean His heart stopped for a few minutes - He was dead dead, like really dead for a couple of days). And what He accomplished in all of this was making a way for us to get to God. So, it is only by grace, through faith in Jesus, that we can be forgiven for our sins, receive salvation from Hell, and live forever with God. For that, we are entirely dependent on God.

    Ok, so that was a longer summary than I intended, but it needed to be said. I hope that puts it in perspective for you. So, if we are already entirely dependent on God for our salvation, then why do we try to stop there? Like, "Okay, God, thanks for the salvation and all but I got the rest of it on my own". No! That's not how we're meant to live, and it's not how we have to live. Jesus said to those who follow Him in Matthew 11:28-30:

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

    When we face trials, struggles, hardships, anxieties, stress, and anything else life has to throw at us, we are told by God that we can take these things to Him. We can continue to rely and depend on Him for comfort, peace, and guidance through whatever comes our way. That's an incredible hope, knowing that we can rely on the all-powerful God to see us through our struggles!

    But that's not all. Read through the following Bible verses and see if you can put together the common theme running throughout them all. (And try not to just skim, these verses are more important than anything I could say in this post - you'll benefit the most from these).

Psalm 133:1 - Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 - Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Matthew 18:20 - For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.

John 13:34-35 – A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Acts 2:42-47 - And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

Acts 12:5 - So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made to God by the church.

Romans 12:5 -  so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Romans 12:10-13 - Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.

1 Corinthians 12:25-27 - that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

Galatians 6:2 - Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

Philippians 2:3-4 - So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Colossians 3:13 - bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Hebrews 10:24-25 - And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

James 5:16 – Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man has great power as it is working.

1 Peter 3:8 - Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind.

1 Peter 4:8-10 - Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.

1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

Common theme?

Acceptable answers include: community, bearing with one another in love, loving each other, fellowship (if you want to use the church-y word), or anything along those lines.

    Throughout Scripture, God calls His people to bear with one another in love, to carry each others burdens, to support and encourage each other. He points out over and over the importance of having a solid community of faith around you. As you read through the New Testament in particular, almost every letter from the apostles includes some kind of call to love and support fellow believers. We just read through a bunch of them above.

    Life comes with highs and lows, and just as we can go to God with these - giving thanks for the good things and seeking guidance for the bad - we also ought to share our burdens with one another. We do not have to face life - or figure it out - alone. Our faith isn't just between us and God, but is shared with every other Christian in the world. That's a big community!

    God provided the "church" (the gathering or assembly of believers) so that we could gather together as a community and care for each other, not just so we could sing some songs, play some games, or hear some messages. Those are good things, but the real purpose of meeting together regularly like we do is to love one another and worship God together.

That's why Jesus boiled down the entire Old Testament Law into two commands:

1. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

2. Love your neighbor as yourself.

    And just as we are loving our neighbor, they are loving us, and it's an amazing support network of fellow Jesus-followers.

    When you're at youth group, or for those of you who attend a church, do you ever feel like you can't open up? Do you ever feel like you can't share what's really going on under the surface? Do you ever feel like you have to put on your "happy face" and pretend everything is okay, even when it is not?

    I'll be honest, I used to feel this way all the time, especially in youth group. Even today, there are times when I feel like I have to shove the bad stuff down and smile. When I was in youth group, I felt like the other students wouldn't really care about what was going on, or that they would look at me different if they knew. And I know it can feel like that for you, too.

    But part of the purpose of Christian communities like a youth group or local church is for them to be a place where you can open up about what's going on in your life, where you can share the struggles and trials you're facing, and where the people around you can love and support and encourage you as you go through life.

    One of our leaders couldn't be at our meeting last night because a family in his other church had lost their child. He was with the family at the funeral, just being there for them as they mourned. When someone from our community goes through something devastating like that, we are called to show up, to be there for them in their hour of need. Likewise, when we are going through something, members of our community ought to show up, to be there for us.

    But, how can they be there if they don't know what's going on? This is why God places so much emphasis on sharing with each other and bearing each others burdens. I am not saying you have to tell every Christian you meet everything that's going on, but you should connect with your Family Group leaders, or other trusted members of your faith community, and open up about whatever struggles you're facing.

You don't have to face those things alone.

    I know that I am moving soon, and I won't be around in person after this summer is over, but just because I am not with you in person doesn't mean I have stopped caring about you. Wherever I am, and wherever you are, I want you to know that you can always call/text/email/dm me when you need someone to talk to. We are eternally bonded by our common faith in Jesus.

We depend on God.

We depend on each other.

We need each other.

Amen.

New Year, Same Questions

 Hey yall, so we just started the new year (2022 woot woot) and we had our first Summit of the year last night. As I expected, attendance was low. Omicron is running rampant through our area (my wife and I both had it through Christmas break and now the rest of my family has it) and I even advised yall that if you weren't feeling well you shouldn't come. This is okay. We missed you and we pray that God restores your health and well-being, if it be His will.

So, since we had such a small group, I decided to change up the message. Rather than sharing the message I had prepared (which was an awesome message I think and you'll get to hear it next week) I decided to engage in an interactive discussion. I opened it up to those who were there to ask the questions they had related to faith and the Bible. Of course, there were some jokes, we laughed, we had fun with it. Some of the questions asked were:

1. Are there aliens and would their existence debunk the Bible? We talked about this and concluded that it is totally within God's power to have created aliens. The Bible makes no mention of extra-terrestrial life, and we run into some theological problems if there is intelligent life out there. For example, that would mean they are stuck in a sin-filled and decaying universe because of Adam and Eve's sin, even though they have absolutely no connection to or knowledge of our planet. On top of this, part of what makes Jesus Christ's sacrifice on the cross work for us is that He was a man. If there are aliens, they would not be able to find salvation through Jesus Christ. All of this being said, I think it is entirely possible that there could be life out there in the universe, but I do not believe there is intelligent life. If I'm wrong, and there are intelligent aliens out there, that doesn't mean the Bible is wrong, it just means there are things we didn't know before and things that God did not reveal to us through the Bible. Don't let aliens shake your faith. =)

2. How tall was Jesus? Apparently, the average height of Jews 2,000 years ago was around 5'5". We don't know exactly what Jesus looked like, and its really not important, but He isn't described as being particularly taller or shorter than others, so He was probably between 5'3" and 5'7". Again, we don't know so don't let that shake your faith.

3. Are there animals in Heaven (and specifically pets)? This actually got asked a couple of months ago, but we talked through it again. The short answer is, we don't know. God doesn't take the time to lay out exactly how everything is going to be when we are with Him for eternity, so we can only speculate. In Revelation John describes the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. We think this will probably be a restored and perfected version of the original creation, and since that one included animals, it would make sense that there would be animals in the new earth. However, I agree with something Dr. Jason Lisle talked about, which is that it won't be the same animals that we have today. The reason for this is that the animals we see today are all part of the decaying world we live in (just like us). Since we, who are made in the image of God, will be resurrected with new glorified bodies, it would make sense that the animals in the new earth would be restored to a perfect state. To make that simpler, I believe there will be animals in the new earth, but I don't believe any of our pets will be there. Now, Dr. Lisle also shared that he believes it is within God's power to bring our pets to the new earth, so if you asked God to bring your pet back, He could do that. At the end of the day, we don't know, so as I have been saying - don't let this shake your faith.

4. The last question was one that I asked: what is the purpose of church? I was amazed and extremely encouraged to hear some of you recall what we had talked almost two years ago from Acts 2:42-47.

"42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 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, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

These were the practices of the early church. The main part of our discussion was about what would happen if a Christian became separated from the church. They would be more easily tempted away from their faith, they would be more easily discouraged and overwhelmed by the world, and they would find it much harder to keep following Jesus. Being a part of a local church allows us to have community with fellow believers, to learn more about our faith, the Bible, and God, and to be encouraged in our walk and in obedience to God. It is easier and more fulfilling to live the Christian life in community with other Christians than it is to try to go it alone. So, if you are reading this and you are not a part of a local church, please please please go and be a part of one. Our church is open to you.

The Sharpest Tools in the Shed

 For some of you, reading that title immediately got you singing Smashmouth's "All Star" (just writing it got the song stuck in my head). I tip my hat to you. Well, last night I had a blast bringing back 4-Square in the gym. Turns out I'm not as rusty as I thought! We also brought back the insanely dangerous awesome game of Hungry Hungry Humans. If you don't know what that it is, just go look it up quickly on YouTube and you'll be sorry you missed out. ;)

Have you ever had to mow the lawn? When I was a teenager that was one of my responsibilities at home. I hated it. I always ended up sweaty and gross, covered in bits of grass and dirt and almost always with at least one new bug bite. The job itself seems pretty simple - turn on your mower and walk over the grass. On paper its a very simple job. But add in the heat, bumps in the ground, sticks in the way, and elevation changes and that simple task just became a lot harder.

Now imagine that I go out to mow my lawn and I think to myself "Hey Mike, you don't need a lawnmower to do this, you can handle it yourself!" And then I proceed to bend down and start ripping the grass up with my hands. With this method, how long do you think it is going to take me to finish "mowing" the lawn? The whole day? Maybe several days? With the size of my current lawn, I think the grass where I started will have regrown by the time I finish, meaning I'd have to start all over again! My hands would definitely be hurting something bad by the end of it (assuming I managed to finish at all).

The obvious question in this scenario is "Why didn't I use the tools at my disposal to handle the work more wisely and efficiently?" I had the tools, but I was choosing not to use them. And that's what we talked about last night: God has given us specific (and powerful) tools to handle the problems of life. So let's look at those together. Check out what James says in chapter one of his book:

James 1:2-5 - "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." (Emphasis mine)

The first tool God has given us is prayer. DO NOT underestimate the power of prayer. Prayers aren't just empty words spoken in a conversation, they are words filled with hope and expectation spoken to the God who can actually answer them. It is one thing to say "I wish I was wiser." It is something else entirely to pray and ask God for wisdom. When I wish for something, I'm just expressing a desire. "I wish I had some pizza right now." "I wish I wasn't lactose intolerant." "I wish I was as buff as Dwayne 'the Rock' Johnson." But when I pray for something, I am asking God to give me what I desire. The difference? God can actually give it to me.

In fact, according to those verses above, God gives out wisdom freely. You want the wisdom to handle the problems of life? Pray and ask God, and He will give it to you.

I would also like to note that these verses assume that we will face trials of many kinds. James is like "Hey guys, you're going to run into problems, you just are." And he says we should "consider it pure joy" when we do. Why? Because facing problems is what causes us to grow and mature - both in life and in faith.

When I started to rock climb at the Gravity Vault, I got very comfortable climbing 5.9s (just one grade more difficult than beginner). That's all I wanted to do because I was good at it. Finally, my friends challenged to try something harder. When I did, I failed. I couldn't do it. I wasn't strong enough and didn't have the skill or technique to do it. But they encouraged me to keep trying, to keep facing the problem. And as I did, I slowly became a stronger climber and was able to work my way up the grading scale all the way to 5.12s (one step below expert). If was never challenged to do something harder, I never would have grown stronger. So James is right to tell us to take joy in facing our problems, because through them we grow stronger, more mature and complete in our faith. And prayer is one of the tools God has given us to overcome those problems.

Now let's look to tool #2, and for that we'll take a look at Proverbs 3:1-6 - "My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, for they will prolong your life many years and bring you peace and prosperity. Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Well, the joke is on you. We've actually been using tool #2 this whole time! The second tool God has given us is His Word - the Bible. Proverbs, in particular, is packed with wise sayings about how to handle (or avoid) the problems of this life. The Bible, the Word of God, is not just a bunch of stories about the history of Israel or even all about the life of Jesus. It is full of the knowledge of God, and guidelines for living wisely and confidently in this broken world.

I'm not much of a "car guy", to the point that I can never even remember what size windshield wipers I need for my car. It seems like a small problem, but the wrong size can make it so they don't work properly on the car. There are a couple of ways I can go about trying to figure it out: 1) I can buy a bunch of different sizes until I get the right size, 2) I can go ask a mechanic or someone who would know (although they can get it wrong), or 3) I can look it up in the vehicle's manual - which will tell me exactly what size wiper I need.

I think too often we try to face our problems with option 1 - we keep trying different things until something works. Sometimes we'll opt for option 2, and ask someone for advice (but they could be wrong or give bad advice). Really, our first thought should be option 3, to go to God and His Word for the right answer of how to handle whatever situation we've come across.

As these verses advise, we should keep the Word of God close to our hearts, reading portions of it every day and continuing to think about them throughout the day. We should definitely be living by the teaching of the Bible, loving others and being faithful to our word every day. And in verses 5-6, it says we should trust God fully and not rely on our own understanding of things. We need to recognize when we don't know what to do and then go to God for guidance. What will happen when we do this? He will show us the right way to go.

There is a 3rd tool hidden in there, too. The book of Proverbs was written by a man to his son (using God's wisdom as his primary source of knowledge). God hasn't sent us out into the world alone. No, He has given us a global community of fellow believers to support us (and whom we should support). When we're not sure what to do, we can go to other Christians and ask for advice and guidance (this is literally what Pastors are there for).

So, God has given us several tools to work with in facing the problems of this life. He has given us the power of prayer so we can ask for His help directly, His written Word so we can use it as a reference and guide, and other Christians who can encourage and support us in times of need.

If you are reading this, here is what I want you to do. Think of a problem you are facing right now (it can be anything, big or small). It shouldn't be too hard to think of one - we all face problems on a daily basis. Once you have a specific problem in mind, I want you to pray and ask God to give you the wisdom to handle that situation. Do it. Right now. Pray something like this: "God, give me the wisdom to handle this situation the way You would want me to."

Once you have prayed, look to the Bible. In order to be reading this you must be in some kind of web browser, so open up a new tab and look up what the Bible has to say about what you're dealing with. Maybe you are struggling with a particular sin, or drama in your friend group. If its the drama, you can look up what the Bible has to say about our relationships with others and how to maintain peace and harmony.

Once you have done this, follow the advice. If you're not sure what to look for, or you're not sure what to do in response, use tool #3. Ask your fellow Christians. Shoot me a message or ask another one of the leaders from youth group. Don't just sit there in confusion, seek out an answer.

God has given us these tools so that no matter what problem we face, we are equipped with the tools we need to face it. He doesn't send us to mow the lawn without a mower. He doesn't leave us to pull up the grass by hand. He equips us to face life, and He stands with us and faces it with us. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight."

God bless yall.

Dude, You Need to Hear This!

 HEYO! Last night was an odd one, as everyone seemed to be weighed down by the week. We had some fun, and I even learned a new version of Bananagrams! Although, it seems I'm not very good at it. We mixed things up a bit and had our singing and message time in the middle of the night instead of right at the end, and closed out with Noodle Hockey. If you like hitting things (and people) with noodles and enjoy hockey, you definitely missed out.

The message last night closed out our Devotions of the Early Church series with the final devotion: Welcoming New Members. I shared about how Steam (a gaming platform for the pc) often will have special, limited time deals on games, and how every now one of you will reach out to me and say "Hey Mike! There's a deal out right now to get this game for free! Don't miss out!" It's super cool that they thought of me, but if I am being honest, more often than not I don't take advantage of the deal. But hey, at least they reached out, right? My sister, when she worked at Shoprite, would do the same thing for their deals. "Hey Mike! Shoprite has a deal on 2-liter bottles of soda right now, you should get some for the youth group while the deal is still on!" I think I only took advantage of those... once. =/ But hey, she reached out and let me know, right?

Acts 2:47b contains the last devotion of the early church: Welcoming New Members. However, look at how the verse reads: "And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved." What is being done in this verse? New believers are being added to the church. This was not an exclusive group. Anyone could join as long as they believed in Jesus. Now, who is doing the work in this verse? The Lord. If the Lord is doing the work, then what is our role in this? Accepting the new members. The early church was devoted to welcoming these new members as the Lord added them. But, is this our only role in evangelism (sharing the Gospel)? Are we just supposed to be welcoming new members? Nope. Check out what the apostle Paul wrote in Romans 10:12-17.

"For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile - the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, 'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!' But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, 'Lord, who has believed our message?' Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." [emphasis mine]

Read that last verse again. Seriously, go back a line and read it. What Paul is saying here is that as Christians, we have been sent by God to tell others about Jesus. Matthew 28 confirms this when Jesus commands His disciples to "go and make disciples of all nations". We have been sent. Now notice the progression of Paul's thought process here.

1. Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

2. You cannot call on the name of the Lord (Jesus) if you have not believed in the Lord.

3. You cannot believe in the Lord if you have never heard of the Lord.

4. You won't hear about the Lord if no one ever tells you about the Lord.

5. No one will tell you about the Lord unless they have been sent.

So then, who has been sent to tell others about Jesus? The church. Us. You and me. Part of our role as Christians is to tell others about Jesus. When we come across people who have not heard about Jesus (which we do almost everyday), we are supposed to tell them about Him. Then, what they decide to do with that information is between them and God.

We call this evangelism - the idea of sharing the Gospel of Jesus with others. And I think we feel so much pressure about it because we put all the responsibility of it on ourselves, as if it is up to us to save people. We are afraid that people will reject the message, reject Jesus, and reject us. And we are afraid that if they reject God, we will be failures. HOWEVER, this is not the case! Because when we tell others about Jesus - we have already succeeded! Well, partly succeeded.

The second half of this, and what is really meant when we talk about welcoming new members, is that when someone chooses to believe, when they accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they join our community. They become one of us. Then, it is our responsibility to show them the ropes. To train them (we use the word disciple) in the ways of God. They come in to learn with us, serve with us, worship with us, pray with us, fellowship with us, and devote themselves to all the things we've talked about in this devotion series. All of those things we are already devoted to, they need to be brought in to be devoted to, too.

So whether somebody believes the message about Jesus is between them and God. God is the one who changes hearts and draws people to Himself. As the church, our job is to proclaim that message to everyone and then to welcome people into our community when they choose to believe.

I think each of you reading this knows someone who doesn't know or doesn't believe in Jesus. How will they ever believe in Him if they never hear about Him? Part of your role as a Christian is to share the news. Just like my sister shared the news about Shoprite's soda deals, we have a much more important "limited-time-only" deal to tell people about - the salvation that can be found in Jesus Christ! So let them know what's up, and let them decide what they want to do with that information.

Then, if they accept and believe, welcome into the church! Welcome them into our community! Guide them on where to go next - reading the Bible, connecting with other Christians, praying, serving, the whole nine yards. Show them the way. That's what it means to be devoted to welcoming new members.

Community: True or False?

 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.

Be There or Be Square (because you're not aROUND)

 Hey gang! We had a great night last night and I was so glad to see some familiar faces return to our Summit gathering! We got in a massive game of UNO (10 players!) and plenty of 9-Square action. Those of you who were unable to attend, you missed a fun "new" song we sang together - You Are Holy by Michael W. Smith. Check it out and imagine the guys and girls singing their respective parts. It was pretty sweet.

The message this week was focused on Fellowship. Last night, we answered 3 basic questions: 1) What do we mean when we say "Fellowship"? 2) What does Fellowship do/accomplish for us? and 3) How can we be devoted to Fellowship? To focus our attention, we used Hebrews 10:24-25 - “And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”

What do we mean when we say "Fellowship"?

Hebrews 10:24-25 uses the phrase “meeting together”. Taken very simply, Fellowship is whenever we meet together. But it is also much more than that. It means more than just “showing up”, being devoted to Fellowship means being present in the group and actively engaged in what the group is doing – if the group is praying, you’re praying. If the group is singing, you’re singing, if the group is playing games, you’re playing games, if the group is serving others, you’re serving others. You see what I am saying? I can easily “show up” on a Wednesday and be completely disconnected from the group – I can go sit in a corner and ignore everyone. So, when we talk about Fellowship, we are talking about being actively engaged with a group of believers in whatever that group is doing. It is about doing stuff together.

What does Fellowship do/accomplish for us?

A lot of the Christian life is impossible to live out on a Sunday morning (or Wednesday night) alone – evangelism, good works, serving the community, personal prayer and devotions, generous giving, life witness, etc. Most of that happens throughout the week, outside of our time at church.

Fellowship is part of the glue of all the other things we are to be devoted to. It forms the context for everything: we are taught in groups, we meet in groups, we pray in groups, we praise God in groups, we serve in groups. God set up the church so that His people would not be lost in isolation, sitting in a corner by themselves, trying to do His will. He set up the church so that we could be together and obey Him together. To build His Kingdom together.

All of the other things we talked about two weeks ago (teaching, prayer, sharing meals, true community, praising God, and welcoming new members) are meant to be done as a group, not individually. This is because God knows that human beings need companionship. We need each other. In a group, we can support one another, love one another, encourage one another, correct one another when we mess up or go the wrong way, and celebrate together when God works in our lives.

How can we be devoted to Fellowship?

-Show up. Make it a point to be here regularly.

-Be active when you show up. Don’t just come in and sit down – be active. Play a game, start an activity, strike up a conversation. Don’t just be a potato.

-Meet together outside of Summit or church on Sunday. And not just to hang out (not that that is a bad thing). Meet to go help someone, or to read the Bible together, or to witness to a friend (that’s right, that’s not supposed to be an individual thing, either). Meet together to pray, sing songs of praise, or to learn something new about God. Do it with food, after all, sharing meals is a thing we are supposed to be devoted to.

-Join a Bible Study. These are small groups of people meeting together to learn and grow – it is fellowship.

-Invite others to join you here, or to church, or to other events and activities. A lot of fellowship is about being invitational. It is only when we are inviting that we get the opportunity to welcome new members!

-And finally, for us here, you can use our Discord channel. That’s a useful social tool for connecting outside of Summit. You can chat, play games together, and communicate through Discord.

My challenge to each of you is to make the decision to be devoted to Fellowship. No matter where you are (here, in college, or moved to another state), don't ever give up meeting together with other believers. "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching."

A Christian's First Step - God's Community

 HEYO!

I do not remember when I started saying that, but it has been a staple in my YG greetings for many years now. It has that light-hearted, ecstatic feel to it, you know?

Last night we had yet another small group - but we had fun with it. I introduced a couple of you to the wonders of "Love Letter" (simple game, loads of fun) and I am anticipating a great time at our upcoming Game Night. While I had left Gaga set up from last week, none of us touched it (although MadFrame and I played a nasty game of Wall Ball). Is it just me, or are we all ready for Covid-19 to get over itself?

This was week 2 of our worship experiment (using the bluetooth speaker to play music as we sing along) and I think it went rather well - except for when I printed the lyrics to the wrong version of the song, hehe. The two songs we sang together were We Fall Down and God of Wonders, both by Kutless. They brought our minds to submission and wonder before our mighty God.

Now, on to the message. I shared last night that before I met Emilie, I had been praying for many years for God to bring the right woman into my life. I was getting impatient and frustrated because I was longing for companionship in my life. Then, just a year or two before Emilie showed up, I was hit with a challenge in the form of a question: "Are you the right man for her?" The idea being that I needed to grow and mature and become the man that my future wife needed. I needed to strive to be Mr. Right for my Mrs. Right. This changed everything. Rather than longing for God to bring the right woman, I switched gears and started growing into the right man. And now, looking back, I honestly believe that if God had brought Emilie into my life before this challenge, we would never have gotten married - because I would have messed up the relationship. I was too immature and selfish to handle being in a committed relationship, and it never would have worked. God, in His infinite wisdom, had chosen to hold off on bringing Emilie until I had grown.

Last week, we talked about a mindset shift for Christians: When we become a Christian, we are not trying to fit God into our story, but rather we are looking for our place in His Story. And this week we looked at part one of the answer to that, the first step in finding our place in God's story - entering into a Christian community (the Church). To see what this looks like we read Acts 2:42-47, which is a picture of the very first church community and what they did as a community. Keep in mind before you read this (below) that immediately before this the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus' disciples and allowed them to speak in tongues (other languages) and Peter gave a rousing sermon (and Gospel presentation) to the Jews in Jerusalem, after which 3,000 people came to faith in Jesus! THAT is the community this passage talks about:

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."

At the earliest point of the church, when someone became a Christian, they weren't just left on their own to fend for themselves - they were added to the church community. I condensed the main activities listed here into 7 categories:

1. Teaching

2. Fellowship

3. Breaking of Bread (sharing meals)

4. Prayer

5. True Community

6. Praising God (worship)

7. Welcoming new members daily

Our youth group is a modern day Christian community, so let's see how we measure up to the activities that should be found in one:

1. Teaching - we have teaching (this was a message, was it not?) - check.

2. Fellowship - we have fellowship - check.

3. Breaking Bread - if snack counts as sharing a meal, then we break bread! - check.

4. Prayer - we spend time in prayer, though not much and its usually just one of us, so - half-check.

5. True Community - do we check up on each other outside of YG, helping and building each other up? Perhaps a little bit, but this is definitely lacking - half-check.

6. Praising God - especially now with our worship experiment - check.

7. Welcoming New Members - taking Covid-19 into account, this is still very lacking in our group - no check.

So, we have some of these things in our group, but we really need to work on a few. What is interesting in the passage, and we'll talk more about this below, is that the last part says "the Lord added to their number...". This is where my opening story ties in. Just as God didn't bring Emilie into my life until I was ready to have a committed relationship, so I believe He won't bring in new members to our community until we are ready to welcome them in. Are we the kind of community that is going to help a new believer grow in their faith? So with this in mind, let's look at what it means that the early church devoted themselves to these things and then think about how we can devote ourselves to them as well.

Devoted to teaching: paying attention to lessons and messages for the purpose of understanding how it applies to everyday life. Just like we talked about in our Sunday School series from James 1, its about doing, and not just hearing what God has to say to us. This would also involve reading the Bible on our own and looking for ways to live it out.

Fellowship: This is more than just hanging out. This means that we look for ways to spend time together and work together in service to the Lord. We look forward to doing life together, eating together, serving together, working together, laughing together, mourning together - its that sense of togetherness.

Breaking Bread: This was not only a commitment to observing the Lord's Supper (communion), but also eating together and making sure that everyone had enough food to feed their families - so it involved providing food for the poor and hungry.

Prayer: This wasn't just praying over a meal or sharing requests with each other, this involved praising God, talking to God, thanking God, and looking for the will of God throughout the day. Not just once a day or once a week, but all the time. They prayed both in groups and on their own.

True Community: This involved making sacrifices for the good of others. Now, not everyone sold all they had, but those who had extra stuff (the rich and well-off) sold their excess so that others in the community could be provided for. This involved thinking about the needs of others before their own interests. "Others First" is the mentality here.

Praising God: This involved way more than singing a few songs together on a Wednesday night. This was a mindset of joy that was constantly thinking about God and putting Him first in everything. It certainly included singing songs of praise, but also included acts of kindness and obedience to what God says is right and good.

Welcomed New Members Daily: Now, God was doing the work here. He was the one adding to their number. But why was He adding to their number? Because they were the kind of community that new believers needed in order to grow and mature in their faith. God was doing the work, and the church got to be a part of it.

This is important because we are supposed to be a Christian community, and as such we should be welcoming in new members. Covid-related reasons aside, this isn't really the case, which tells me that perhaps we are not the kind of community that God wants to add new members to. I am not trying to put words into God's mouth, but the evidence is there. So, how do we become a healthy Christian community? By devoting ourselves to these things! Last night we discussed some practical ways to devote ourselves to these things, and I took a picture of the results of our discussion (see below):

We defined "devote" as meaning "to give our whole attention, time and energy to something". So as you look at some of these things, think about what it would mean to give all of your attention, time and energy to them. How would our community change?

Teaching - pay attention to messages, take notes, think through specific ways to apply message, look back at past notes to remember, join a Bible Study (also applies to fellowship, prayer, and breaking bread in some groups), talk to others about the messages...

Fellowship: Get to know other members of the YG better - intentionally have conversations with people you don't know very well...

Breaking Bread: Invite friends over for meals, bring food to contribute to our church's Perpetual Pantry...

Prayer: Pray in the morning before school or at night before bed, talk to God throughout the day, ask other people for prayer requests and offer to pray for other people, share requests/praises with others, volunteer to pray at YG, look at past examples of prayers (like the Lord's Prayer), keep a prayer journal to track how God answers prayers...

True Community: pay attention to what others are going through, offer to help when you can, be willing to give up what you want in order to provide for someone else (example, rather than buying new shoes, offering to buy groceries for someone else), or offering to help someone else go to camp, shoveling someone else' driveway/sidewalk (without asking for payment) - the 5 love languages (acts of service, words of affirmation, giving gifts, quality time, and physical touch - demonstrate love and care practically...

Praising God: Singing worship songs in the car or at home or at YG, thanking God for things throughout the day, obedience = praising God...

Welcoming New Members: invite friends, pray for God to provide new members, BE WELCOMING WHEN SOMEONE NEW COMES, and share the Gospel with your friends - they need Jesus, too!

I hope you are challenged by something shared here, and I hope you begin to work on at least one these areas this week. And don't stop there, continue working on each of these until we all grow into maturity of faith!