Becoming Family

Paralyzed by Options

May 21st – Jim Moss

"Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor."

Romans 12:10

“Who is my mother? Who are my brothers? Then he pointed to the disciples and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

Covenant Community says:

I’m with you

I’m for you

I love you no matter what…

Bob Sorge – The Secret of the Secret Place

What if I told you there was place that anytime you were discouraged you could find hope, anytime you wanted the presence of God you could get it would you be interested?

Colossians 3:12-15

12Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. 13Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

The primary task of our life is abiding in love.

Our teaching team came together to answer your questions and go deeper into our current series, Becoming Family.

BECOMING FAMILY

A Community of Vulnerability

5.14.23

Humans are wired for social connection but we are becoming increasingly isolated.

Community deepens when we are honest about our brokenness and willing to practice vulnerability with one another.

As the Family of God, we were created to practice vulnerability in the right places with the right people.

ISOLATION to FRIENDSHIP to COMMUNITY to DISCIPLESHIP

2 Corinthians 12:1-10

I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. 2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. 3 And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— 4 was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell.5 I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. 6 Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say, 7 or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. 8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

In what ways is God calling you to move towards vulnerability with the right people?

In what ways is God using your weakness to draw you to His heart and to His strength?

Only when the gospel of Jesus Christ becomes our primary identity is both unity and diversity possible.

Adiaphora – non-essential matters that are deemed scripturally neutral

Romans 14:1-9

1Accept the one whose faith is weak, without quarreling over disputable matters. 2One person’s faith allows them to eat anything, but another, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. 3The one who eats everything must not treat with contempt the one who does not, and the one who does not eat everything must not judge the one who does, for God has accepted them. 4Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

5One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. 7For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. 8If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. 9For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

The goal of the church is unity, not uniformity. It is gospel unity that is proof of the deep work of Jesus to change our lives and how we interact with one another.

Romans 14:10-15

10You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. 11It is written:

“ ‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,

‘every knee will bow before me;

every tongue will acknowledge God.’ ”

12So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

13Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister.

14I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. 15If your brother or sister is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy someone for whom Christ died.

Romans 14:19-20

19Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification. 20Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food.

How can we be a radically united church in a radically divided culture?

Find our identity in the gospel of Jesus Christ

Practice humility and empathy

Embrace diversity

Actively listen

Pursue reconciliation

Pray for unity

Jesus' Blueprint: Intimacy, Community, & Ministry

"Let him who cannot be alone beware of community.

He will only do harm to himself and to the community. Alone you stood before God when he called you; alone you had to answer that call; alone you had to struggle and pray;

and alone you will die and give an account to God. You cannot escape from yourself, for God has singled you out. If you refuse to be alone you are rejecting Christ's call to you, and you can have no part in the community of those who are called....

Let him who is not in community beware of being alone.

Into the community you were called, the call was not meant for you alone; in the community of the called you bear your cross, you struggle, you pray. You are not alone, even in death, and on the Last Day you will be only one member of the great congregation of Jesus Christ. If you scorn the fellowship of the brethren, you reject the call of Jesus Christ, and thus your solitude can only be hurtful to you." - Bonhoeffer

Intimacy: connection with the Father

Luke 3:21-22 ESV

21 Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heavens were opened, 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form, like a dove; and a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son;[a] with you I am well pleased.”

3 Essentials of Intimacy:

Identity, Affection, & Affirmation

3 Questions:

Who do you say that you are?

Who do others say that you are?

Who does God say that you are?

Community: connection with others

Diversity, Accountability & the Danger of Religious Activity

Ministry: Intimacy + Community Overflow