WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.219 And the texts that we look at are going to be a little different in that a characteristic 00:00:06.219 --> 00:00:11.620 ! of my approach to preaching is to get right to the passage pretty quickly. 00:00:11.620 --> 00:00:21.980 ! And there are a couple unrelated things that I want to draw your attention to, and then we are going to look at the subject of why we do small group ministry. 00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:27.179 First of all, let me draw attention to one little piece. I don't know if you caught John 00:00:27.179 --> 00:00:35.880 trying to get my attention before the last two songs. He just wanted to double-check with me and see, 00:00:36.079 --> 00:00:41.659 should we sing two or should we sing one? How many of you saw that? And he actually pointed to his watch 00:00:41.659 --> 00:00:49.260 and said, go for it, John. I love listening to you sing. I want you to know that, okay? And the reason I love 00:00:49.259 --> 00:00:58.119 hearing you sing is because the music of this congregation reflects the Scriptures. I want to make this clear. 00:00:58.820 --> 00:01:07.000 The Bible is what informs our singing. I did have a harebrained idea, and I have to confess that many of my ideas are bad. 00:01:07.000 --> 00:01:14.200 So let's just kind of let this, I'm throwing it out there, and it may not stick, but I was thinking, 00:01:15.400 --> 00:01:21.420 Connie, where are you? She's in the nursery, okay. Greg, carry this message to your wife. 00:01:22.659 --> 00:01:28.859 I am thinking that along with the background that we have, and I like the backgrounds. I know some people 00:01:28.859 --> 00:01:33.439 like white, but I like backgrounds. Why don't we have little Scriptures that are stuck up in the corner 00:01:33.439 --> 00:01:39.019 related to the songs? How many would like that? Cheater helps, you know? It's like, so when pastor 00:01:39.019 --> 00:01:46.719 gets up and says, what passage of the Scripture did you think about? You know, okay. And in relation, 00:01:46.819 --> 00:01:51.539 I know, I know, I know, it's probably a bad idea, but just trying it out. The other one would be, 00:01:52.140 --> 00:01:57.719 we can, we, John, we let people know what songs, I mean, early on, we could put it out on the net, 00:01:57.719 --> 00:02:02.079 and so you could kind of throw those in to help Connie or whatever. It's like, I thought of this Bible 00:02:02.079 --> 00:02:08.560 passage, and I thought of that Bible passage, okay. Okay, that's one thing. The other is this. 00:02:09.620 --> 00:02:13.819 Over the years, one of the things that goes with being an older pastor is you end up speaking with 00:02:13.819 --> 00:02:21.819 younger pastors. Makes sense. And I have often said to younger pastors that healthy bodies tend to 00:02:21.819 --> 00:02:28.659 heal themselves. Now, you're wondering, where is he going with this? I'll get there. The reason I bring 00:02:28.659 --> 00:02:34.079 that up is because not only do healthy bodies tend to heal themselves, but healthy bodies tend to 00:02:34.079 --> 00:02:41.639 produce children. And we're blessed to have lots of kids. I'm happy for that. But one of the things 00:02:41.639 --> 00:02:48.500 that has been a challenge for us is how we care for those kids in our nurseries. Everybody smiled and 00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:55.319 said, I understand. Okay, yeah, that's where we're going. And now you make the connection, right, 00:02:55.319 --> 00:03:01.519 between healthy bodies heal themselves. We're going to solve this problem. We tried to take a step of 00:03:01.519 --> 00:03:07.079 doing this electronically. I mean, let's like, you know, we have a problem with scheduling, and so what 00:03:07.079 --> 00:03:12.340 we're going to do is we're going to rely on electronic means of doing the scheduling, and we took a shot 00:03:12.340 --> 00:03:20.019 at it, and I have to tell you that we ain't there yet. But I do want you to know that this would be the 00:03:20.020 --> 00:03:25.000 rare exception that just at the very beginning, if you want to fire up your phone or your iPad and 00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:29.700 just go to the Maranatha website and just kind of check in on how to sign in if you want to help with 00:03:29.700 --> 00:03:35.280 the nursery. We're going to talk more about that later, but there is a way for you to get there and 00:03:35.280 --> 00:03:40.080 say, hey, I'm here to help. And all God's people would say that anyway, wouldn't they? I mean, wouldn't 00:03:40.080 --> 00:03:52.200 you say, I'm ready to help? Oh, what would you say? Am I ready to help? Hey, we're all in. Healthy 00:03:52.200 --> 00:03:58.820 bodies do what? They heal themselves. We work at this. Now, we're not there yet, but we are going 00:03:58.820 --> 00:04:04.800 to get there. And we who are involved in ministry and leadership together are going to make this work 00:04:04.800 --> 00:04:07.900 in such a fashion that when it's all over, we're going to look back on this and say, wow, 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:16.680 God helped us. Okay? More to come later, but do go to Maranatha. What is it? Maranatha.org? 00:04:17.160 --> 00:04:24.340 What is it? NBC. Who am I? You know, it's NBCColumbus.org, and there we are. Or you can actually talk to 00:04:24.340 --> 00:04:28.379 Pastor Andrew, and one of the dangers of talking to Pastor Andrew about electronics is he's going to 00:04:28.379 --> 00:04:34.579 say something like this, that's basic. I mean, he's done that to me. Anytime I have a computer problem, 00:04:34.579 --> 00:04:37.840 it used to be I'd call Pastor Saul and say, would you help me with this? Pastor Saul, 00:04:37.899 --> 00:04:46.120 never said that's basic. Thank you, Pastor. So now that Pastor Saul is retired, of course, 00:04:46.159 --> 00:04:50.979 he's in here every week, you know, but when I have a computer problem, and it happens occasionally, 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:56.099 I just call Pastor Andrew and I said, I'm having a basic problem. I don't even, I just get over here. 00:04:57.539 --> 00:05:03.799 So if you're having trouble with the electronic piece of this, talk to Pastor Andrew, talk to Todd. 00:05:03.800 --> 00:05:09.520 God, we're working on this, and we'll get there. We're going to involve our coordinators in figuring 00:05:09.520 --> 00:05:15.340 out how to do this better, and remember what I said, healthy bodies what? Heal themselves. 00:05:16.660 --> 00:05:17.759 Okay, now I'm going to preach. 00:05:17.759 --> 00:05:27.959 There's only one way to start a sermon, and that's to go to a passage. 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:34.120 So I want you to turn your Bibles to Acts chapter 2, verse 42. 00:05:37.199 --> 00:05:43.740 Early in my ministry, I have to confess that I remember hearing horror stories about 00:05:43.740 --> 00:05:47.540 older pastors who kept on preaching the same sermon over and over again, 00:05:47.980 --> 00:05:56.259 and I had this pathological fear of falling into that temptation, and so I consciously and 00:05:56.259 --> 00:05:59.480 deliberately said, I will not preach the same sermon twice. 00:06:03.480 --> 00:06:09.180 It came to my attention, however, that when I did communion on a monthly basis, guess what? 00:06:09.180 --> 00:06:18.840 I was preaching on the same topic over and over again, and I also recognized that it's appropriate 00:06:18.840 --> 00:06:23.199 around Christmas time to preach on the same thing. It's appropriate around Thanksgiving, 00:06:23.620 --> 00:06:27.920 and there are other times where preaching on the same thing is entirely appropriate, 00:06:28.060 --> 00:06:32.579 and then I realized that, you know, the truth of the matter is, is there are some things that are 00:06:32.579 --> 00:06:38.939 worth repeating all the time. One of them, for me, in my relationship with Judith, 00:06:38.939 --> 00:06:46.339 is I tell her I love her all the time. I tell her she's beautiful all the time. I tell her I am 00:06:46.339 --> 00:06:55.379 incredibly thankful for her all the time. And so things that are important deserve repetition. 00:06:57.060 --> 00:07:05.639 And so while the subject matter today, for some of you may seem to be repetitious, 00:07:05.639 --> 00:07:14.719 I want you to understand that no true preacher of the Word can preach the same text or sermon twice. 00:07:17.159 --> 00:07:23.139 And I say that because at the heart of biblical preaching is the enabling of the Spirit of God 00:07:23.139 --> 00:07:28.579 and His desire that the glory of Christ and the preaching of His Word be fresh and clear and 00:07:28.579 --> 00:07:35.719 passionate and convicting every time. And so I can preach the same passage more than once and rely 00:07:35.719 --> 00:07:42.199 upon the Spirit of God to make it personal and real and significant to you, even though you've heard it 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:51.159 before. And so I want you to imagine this morning that you happen to be listening in over my shoulder 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:57.360 when I was talking to someone who was brand new to our fellowship and they recognized that we have 00:07:57.360 --> 00:08:02.040 small groups. I mean, you can't miss that we do small group ministry here. It's there. 00:08:03.780 --> 00:08:08.400 And so if you were listening in, the first thing that you would hear is hear me say, 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:16.240 why do we do small group? Why is it that we're engaged in this? Why is small group ministry a 00:08:16.240 --> 00:08:24.040 significant part of our fellowship and the process whereby we engage in the ministry of helping one 00:08:24.040 --> 00:08:33.500 another grow in grace? I have to tell you that we are committed to the Scriptures and we're committed 00:08:33.500 --> 00:08:39.620 to building relationships that build saints. There in Acts chapter 2 verse 42, we find a passage that 00:08:39.620 --> 00:08:45.500 kind of gives us an idea of what the early church did. Let me read it to you. 00:08:45.500 --> 00:08:54.580 And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread 00:08:54.580 --> 00:09:05.820 and prayers. I suppose I can tell you this, that as we engage in the search process, we've had a 00:09:05.820 --> 00:09:13.059 number of different very profitable, very clear communications with individuals that we're 00:09:13.059 --> 00:09:19.279 considering. One question that was asked just lately was, are there any sacred cows in this fellowship? 00:09:19.379 --> 00:09:23.599 Do you know what a sacred cow is? I grew up in India. I know what sacred cows are. 00:09:24.279 --> 00:09:31.759 They're things that you don't touch, okay? And the deacon that was asked this question said that 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:37.059 one of the things that we, I suppose a nicer way of saying it is one of the things that we really 00:09:37.059 --> 00:09:44.339 value and prize, not a sacred cow, would be prayer. Corporate prayer is not just kind of an add-on for 00:09:44.339 --> 00:09:51.459 us. It's front and center. It's very significant and very important. And so when we think about those 00:09:51.459 --> 00:09:57.000 things that are center, it's not only prayer, but also small group ministry is a very significant part. 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:03.080 So let me explain why. Why? Well, number one, it's not a church fad. 00:10:06.059 --> 00:10:10.019 It's not something that we bought into at one point or another. I went off to a seminar and said, 00:10:10.399 --> 00:10:15.240 oh, what, this will make a significant difference and lead to having 17% growth this year. 00:10:17.240 --> 00:10:22.919 And I have to confess that churches, like everybody else, are vulnerable to market swings and ideas 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:28.240 and can get carried away by them. How many of you, don't raise your hand, but how many of you bought 00:10:28.240 --> 00:10:35.299 into the prayer of Jabez? Pray this 30 days in a row and blah, blah, blah. Or how many of you remember 00:10:35.299 --> 00:10:42.899 when the passion of Christ was hot? I mean, you know, the movie. I remember hearing one actual 00:10:42.899 --> 00:10:50.599 statement made by someone that I gave previous credibility to was said that this is going to be 00:10:50.600 --> 00:10:59.060 next in significance to the day of Pentecost. That was pretty substantial. I thought, whoa. 00:11:00.180 --> 00:11:04.920 Well, okay. How about this one? How many of you remember Promise Keepers? Anybody remember 00:11:04.920 --> 00:11:09.620 Promise Keepers here? Wave at me if you remember Promise Keepers. And here we're really aging ourselves 00:11:09.620 --> 00:11:17.200 out. How many of you remember Bill Gothard and Basic Youth Conflicts? Okay. I mean, hey, things come and 00:11:17.200 --> 00:11:25.060 go. And I want to tell you, many of them met needs, but they're not here today. 00:11:27.480 --> 00:11:32.040 Small group ministry is not something that we bought into because it's a fad. 00:11:34.660 --> 00:11:40.160 The reason we have small group ministry is because we trust the Word of God to inform us 00:11:40.159 --> 00:11:48.120 in all that we need for life and godliness. I want you to turn from that passage in Acts over to 2 Timothy 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:55.600 chapter 2 and mark what it says in 2 Timothy about the Word of God. Interestingly, this morning as I was 00:11:55.600 --> 00:12:03.120 teaching the new members class, we were talking about why is it that our confession of faith begins, 00:12:03.120 --> 00:12:09.060 first point in our confession of faith is what we believe about the Word of God. Why is it first? 00:12:10.919 --> 00:12:18.299 It's because unless we have a clear understanding of what the Word of God is, everything else is very 00:12:18.299 --> 00:12:25.799 subjective. And we believe clearly that the Word of God is the inspired Word of God that we may rely 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:32.840 upon for all that we need for life and godliness. In 2 Timothy chapter 3 verse 16, Paul says this, 00:12:32.840 --> 00:12:38.240 all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for 00:12:38.240 --> 00:12:46.440 training in righteousness. What is the value? That the man of God may be competent, equipped for every 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:52.980 good work. And so when we look at why we do small group ministry, I want to assure you of this, that it 00:12:52.980 --> 00:13:00.139 is because of our understanding of the Word of God and the instruction we receive from the Word as to how we go 00:13:00.139 --> 00:13:07.559 about the business of corporate life. You see, our dependence on the Scripture is not just a line in 00:13:07.559 --> 00:13:12.179 our confession of faith, it is really something that plays out in real time in the way we do things. 00:13:13.199 --> 00:13:19.199 And I want to assure you that if our fellowship and our leadership had not seen a clear biblical 00:13:19.199 --> 00:13:24.700 warrant, now explain the difference. How many of you know the difference between a biblical command and 00:13:24.700 --> 00:13:30.100 a biblical warrant? You'll hear me use that phrase occasionally. A biblical command is something 00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:40.100 like, thou shall not commit adultery. That's a don't do this. A biblical warrant means that we see 00:13:40.100 --> 00:13:45.580 an example or a model of something and we're going to do it the same way. How many of you remember 00:13:45.580 --> 00:13:53.960 WWJD? What would Jesus do? Kind of a reminder that there are some examples that we can follow safely. 00:13:53.960 --> 00:14:01.280 And so we are engaged in small group ministry because of a textual principle, but also because 00:14:01.280 --> 00:14:07.780 of a biblical foundation that we have to that. And in relationship to this, let me take it further 00:14:07.780 --> 00:14:14.019 and say the reason we do small group ministry is because we are convinced that biblical relationships 00:14:14.019 --> 00:14:22.920 are essential to spiritual growth and life. Biblical relationships are essential to spiritual 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:33.539 growth and life. First of all, God made us to be in relationship with Him. And if you were to track 00:14:33.539 --> 00:14:40.519 through the Scriptures, you would find that that relationship with Him, which He initiated in the 00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:47.980 garden, broken by sin and yet nevertheless something that He designed the plan of salvation to bring 00:14:47.980 --> 00:14:55.360 about to a restoration and repair is one that puts us in union and communion with Him. And a recurring 00:14:55.360 --> 00:15:01.159 theme in Scripture that supports the issue of this relationship would be the fact that you find over 00:15:01.159 --> 00:15:07.460 and over again in Scripture a very sweet little statement, I will be their God and they will be my people. 00:15:07.460 --> 00:15:11.060 That's Him saying, I'm in relationship with you. 00:15:13.840 --> 00:15:21.000 Not only is God committed to a relationship with us, but we also need one another for spiritual growth. 00:15:21.820 --> 00:15:24.780 I want you to look at two different passages in a relationship there. We're going to just snap 00:15:24.780 --> 00:15:30.340 through these. But in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 24, and I'm going to just recite it, and then we're going to 00:15:30.340 --> 00:15:31.879 turn to another one. But in Hebrews it says, 00:15:31.879 --> 00:15:37.679 Let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, but what are we to do? Listen to me. 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:43.360 We're to encourage one another to love into good works. You're to encourage one another to love into 00:15:43.360 --> 00:15:48.320 good works. Look at where you are right now. I want you to look, just pay attention. What do you see 00:15:48.320 --> 00:15:53.059 right at eye level in front of you? Don't lift your eyes up to me. Right in front of you, what do you see? 00:15:55.740 --> 00:16:00.620 You see the back of Matthias' head, don't you? Huh? Carla? Matthias' head? Sarah? 00:16:00.620 --> 00:16:07.139 Sarah? Mary's head, right? John, what do you see? Carla's head. Pat, what do you see? John's head. 00:16:07.279 --> 00:16:11.240 I mean, the truth of the matter is, if we're just looking at eye level, what you see is whether or 00:16:11.240 --> 00:16:15.320 not the person combed their hair, and what color of hair they have, and how much hair they have. 00:16:15.460 --> 00:16:16.980 There are a lot of hair issues. 00:16:22.860 --> 00:16:27.039 And if you want to help each other to encourage the love and good works, you could lean forward and 00:16:27.039 --> 00:16:30.399 smack the guy on the back of the head and say, hey, do something. 00:16:30.620 --> 00:16:35.080 But not a very good thing to do. Would you agree with me? 00:16:36.600 --> 00:16:41.639 There's got to be a better way of going about this than necessarily sitting in rows. And there 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:47.860 is a time for sitting in rows and hearing the clear exposition of the Word of God delivered 00:16:47.860 --> 00:16:52.480 passionately with the enabling of the Spirit of God that puts you on the spot of saying, yes or no. 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:59.940 Okay? But there's a time we all get together. And how's that playing out in your life? How's it going? 00:17:01.980 --> 00:17:05.860 Hebrews said that we're to encourage one another to love and to good works. And I got to tell you, 00:17:05.940 --> 00:17:12.559 you're not doing it right now. And that's because something else is going on. So how do you do it? 00:17:12.559 --> 00:17:18.759 Look at another passage, and I want you to go here. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 15 and 16 says this, 00:17:19.099 --> 00:17:28.700 rather, speaking the truth in love, that's an operating principle and guidance that we receive. 00:17:28.839 --> 00:17:34.200 You need to speak the truth in love to one another. Speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:40.860 every way into Him who is the head into Christ. Now, listen to me. Characteristic of genuine conversion 00:17:40.860 --> 00:17:46.680 is that we begin to change from being who we used to be to who we will be. Everybody understands that, 00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:52.440 isn't that right? How many of you are thankful that you're not who you used to be because of the Lord 00:17:52.440 --> 00:18:02.600 Jesus Christ? How many of you recognize that He has done the work of salvation, and He is doing the 00:18:02.599 --> 00:18:11.419 work of progressive growth? How does He help you grow? It's not like a mushroom on a warm, moist night. 00:18:13.039 --> 00:18:17.619 Most of the growth in a believer's life comes about through the work of the Spirit. In fact, 00:18:17.679 --> 00:18:20.819 all of the growth comes through the work of the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, 00:18:20.899 --> 00:18:24.980 through the, what did I say? Through the Spirit of God, through the Word of God, and through other people. 00:18:26.079 --> 00:18:31.899 Now, what's the problem with other people helping you to grow? They're flawed. 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:37.619 They don't always see the whole picture. It's a little messy. How many of you would realize 00:18:37.619 --> 00:18:44.939 and agree that relationships are messy? But here it is, verse 15, speaking the truth in love, 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:48.740 we are to grow up in every way into Him who is the head into Christ, from whom the whole body, 00:18:49.219 --> 00:18:54.519 joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, 00:18:54.519 --> 00:19:02.519 makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love. God is interested in your progression. 00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:12.819 Progressive sanctification in your growing to be more like Jesus. And that happens in relationship 00:19:12.819 --> 00:19:19.459 with the body of Christ. You disconnect, you begin to wither in progressive sanctification. 00:19:19.460 --> 00:19:25.420 We need each other for spiritual growth, but we also need each other for spiritual safety. 00:19:26.680 --> 00:19:31.180 Ecclesiastes chapter 4, verse 9, and don't turn to it, but just let me recite the passage to you. 00:19:31.480 --> 00:19:40.500 It says, two are better than one. And the underlying statement is there is that because when one falls, 00:19:40.500 --> 00:19:46.319 the other is there to help him up. How many of you husbands have had your wife on occasion say to you, 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:53.819 that's not a good idea. And you are so thankful in retrospect that she had that brilliant insight 00:19:53.819 --> 00:20:00.779 that she was willing to share with you. Or a friend has said to you, whoa, stop, don't go there. 00:20:00.779 --> 00:20:07.740 Not a good idea. We need each other for spiritual safety, and we also need each other for wisdom and 00:20:07.740 --> 00:20:14.700 counsel and admonition. Look at Galatians chapter 6. Galatians chapter 6, verse 1 and 2. 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:22.419 Brothers, if anybody is caught in a transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of 00:20:22.419 --> 00:20:31.679 gentleness. Keep watch on yourselves, lest you too be tempted. Hey, how many of you are sin-free? 00:20:33.259 --> 00:20:39.119 None. Do we need each other to help us in this progressive issue of our daily life? We desperately do. 00:20:39.579 --> 00:20:44.240 And here's what it says. When you see another person struggling, you're to go alongside and help him. 00:20:44.240 --> 00:20:49.920 You don't get very much opportunity at coming alongside when you're looking at the back of 00:20:49.920 --> 00:21:03.559 the person's head in front of you. Agreed? Okay. So, we believe that we can better follow Acts chapter 2, 00:21:03.620 --> 00:21:09.660 verse 42 in our small group setting rather than in the larger setting of our corporate worship. 00:21:09.660 --> 00:21:15.600 And I want you to look back just in your mind. You don't need to turn to the passage itself, but Acts chapter 2 00:21:15.600 --> 00:21:22.540 where it says they gathered and they were committed to the apostles' doctrine, which is the preaching of the 00:21:22.540 --> 00:21:29.640 Word of God. But they were also gathered for the word fellowship. That word fellowship is not, and I've said this 00:21:29.640 --> 00:21:35.620 every year, it's not church dinners, though church dinners are a good thing. In fact, we were talking yesterday in the 00:21:35.619 --> 00:21:41.500 deacon's meeting about after the morning service next Sunday when we're going to celebrate our 50th 00:21:41.500 --> 00:21:47.619 anniversary, we're going to have cake and punch. It's an opportunity to share together in the blessing 00:21:47.619 --> 00:21:53.839 of this fellowship. Getting together is good. Having food in the process is not bad. 00:21:53.839 --> 00:22:04.079 But the word fellowship is not din din. The word koinonia is a word that actually in the Greek refers to 00:22:04.759 --> 00:22:09.679 partnership or joint participation or doing something together. 00:22:12.539 --> 00:22:19.159 And so, when we think about what koinonia means, it means that we're actually engaged in interacting with 00:22:19.160 --> 00:22:26.519 one another. And we recognize the Scripture has given us a great deal of instruction in what we are to do 00:22:26.519 --> 00:22:33.920 together. How do I know what the Scripture says that we are to do together? There is a little statement 00:22:33.920 --> 00:22:39.420 that comes up about between 46 and 50, depending on how you're counting it, between 46 and 50 times, 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:44.279 it says one another, one another, one another, one another. Okay? Encourage one another, admonish one 00:22:44.279 --> 00:22:52.879 another, love one another, forbear with one another, forgive one another, welcome one another. Just lots 00:22:52.879 --> 00:22:59.879 of little statements. And what the one another commands refer to is how we interact with one 00:22:59.879 --> 00:23:05.519 another in the process of being a family for the sake of spiritual growth and progress. 00:23:07.539 --> 00:23:13.399 And so, why do we do small groups? We do small groups because of our understanding of Scripture. 00:23:13.400 --> 00:23:18.300 And so, we would say it this way, we are committed to building relationships that build saints. 00:23:18.400 --> 00:23:22.840 Why do we do small groups? Because we're committed to build relationships that build saints. 00:23:22.920 --> 00:23:29.080 And we realize that relationships take a different kind of structure than sitting in rows. 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:34.019 So, how do we do small groups? 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:42.360 Essentially, what we do is we spend time together nurturing biblical relationships and working at the 00:23:42.359 --> 00:23:50.159 one another's. One of the things that has characterized our small group ministry is longevity and continuity 00:23:50.159 --> 00:23:59.559 in relationship. And that is not forced by design. Every January, actually it's in December when we have a 00:24:00.359 --> 00:24:08.439 recast. I don't know what the word would be, but every January or every December when we close off for the 00:24:08.440 --> 00:24:14.279 year, we give everybody a chance to decide what small group they want to be in for the next year. 00:24:14.660 --> 00:24:18.660 And so, if you decide you want to move, you have the liberty of moving. 00:24:21.240 --> 00:24:27.960 Not from the church. From the small group. But do you know what happens most of the time? 00:24:28.380 --> 00:24:35.640 Tom, where are you? Thank you. Tom and Todd, where's Todd? There. Okay. Tom and Todd with Pastor Andrew kind of 00:24:35.640 --> 00:24:41.320 do the, everybody gets to put in a ballot and we draw. It's like casting lots. It's kind of 00:24:41.320 --> 00:24:46.560 whatever. And what percentage of people have stayed in the same small group over and over again? 00:24:47.240 --> 00:24:54.780 Ballpark number. Isn't that amazing? 95. How many figured out that the relationship you're in 00:24:54.780 --> 00:25:00.820 is probably as safe as the one you could be going to? Hello? Everybody smile at me. You understand that? 00:25:00.819 --> 00:25:10.299 Our people are figuring that out. You might as well work it out where you are, 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.359 then pack up and go somewhere else and start over again. Now, that doesn't mean we don't have changes 00:25:15.359 --> 00:25:21.960 occasionally. Changes in schedule, changes in family structure, there are changes that happen, 00:25:21.960 --> 00:25:31.740 but people voluntarily choose to stay in the same relationships. I think that's unbelievably commendable. 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:42.039 And it's not forced by any formal design. So, how do we do small groups? Number one, 00:25:42.519 --> 00:25:45.980 we meet in small groups with godly leadership and helpers. 00:25:45.980 --> 00:25:53.120 I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the leadership of this fellowship. 00:25:54.860 --> 00:26:04.099 The men who partner with the pastoral staff as deacons and the families who partner together with the 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:11.279 congregation for the sake of small group ministry, our small group leaders have been so valuable to the 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:20.299 well-being of this body. And we rely upon their willingness to be servants to the bride of Christ. 00:26:21.759 --> 00:26:28.119 And I want you to hear me say it, don't ever take your small group leader for granted. 00:26:29.599 --> 00:26:35.879 They're a gift from Christ. And you should pray for them, you should thank them for their ministry. 00:26:35.880 --> 00:26:40.440 By the way, I understand the Greens had their entire house moved in what? 00:26:41.820 --> 00:26:46.860 Two hours. Two hours. How many people were there? About 30. 00:26:49.220 --> 00:26:57.120 That was not all my sons moving company. That was not two men in a truck. That was not college 00:26:57.120 --> 00:27:00.400 hunks and trucks with junk or whatever it is. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:09.360 I know I was getting myself in trouble, but I'm trying. I'm trying. Okay. It was our family 00:27:09.360 --> 00:27:16.259 caring for one another. And our small group leaders were right there in the mix along with our deacons. 00:27:16.380 --> 00:27:20.600 By the way, I was an exception and our search committee was an exception to that rule. Do you 00:27:20.600 --> 00:27:28.740 know what we were doing? We're praying. We're working. We're hoping. Right? Okay. Just to let you know 00:27:28.740 --> 00:27:34.380 that. Okay. So we meet together in small groups with godly leadership. We meet together for about 00:27:34.380 --> 00:27:39.240 two hours to focus on welcome. That means, hi, how are you doing? How's things going? 00:27:40.019 --> 00:27:45.120 Worship. That means singing together. That means sharing together. By the way, perhaps the most 00:27:45.120 --> 00:27:50.420 consistent blessing in every one of our small groups across the...how many years have we done this? I forget. 00:27:50.420 --> 00:28:01.120 Number. One of the most consistent blessings is the prayer time that we have. I'm a believer in 00:28:01.120 --> 00:28:06.160 corporate prayer. But the way in which we have done corporate prayer on Wednesday night means that 00:28:06.160 --> 00:28:11.080 for the most part, the same people don't pray together every Wednesday, right? Kind of bounce 00:28:11.080 --> 00:28:15.960 around different things, different things. And when you pray in the small group, you know the people 00:28:15.960 --> 00:28:19.640 from week to week to week. And when someone says, man, pray for me because I'm having a struggle at the 00:28:19.640 --> 00:28:23.660 job, you get to see that guy next week and say, how did it go? I was praying for you all week. 00:28:24.240 --> 00:28:33.080 I sent you a couple texts. How is it? We pray together. We study the Word together. Oh, we eat 00:28:33.080 --> 00:28:39.100 together. And we do projects together periodically. And so remind yourself, this is part of what we do. 00:28:40.300 --> 00:28:46.100 We also, as we talk about how we do it, we schedule times periodically where all of our small groups 00:28:46.099 --> 00:28:52.219 meet together. We call them family gatherings. And we do that one Sunday evening every month. 00:28:52.619 --> 00:28:58.179 And that time is a time where we gather together to study the Scriptures as a corporate body. We study 00:28:58.179 --> 00:29:03.579 issues that are front and center to our fellowship. I'll give you a little heads up. In the future, 00:29:03.679 --> 00:29:09.679 in the near future, on those occasions when we have a family gathering, I am going to be preaching, 00:29:09.680 --> 00:29:16.519 studying first and then preaching on how to find Jesus in every line. Okay? It's pretty easy to see 00:29:16.519 --> 00:29:21.779 Jesus in the New Testament. Everybody agrees with me on that one? It gets a little more complicated and 00:29:21.779 --> 00:29:27.500 a little more demanding that we begin thinking carefully about where else is Jesus and the entire 00:29:27.500 --> 00:29:33.100 Scriptures resonate with His reality. So, we're going to study that. So, let me come down to this. 00:29:33.099 --> 00:29:49.399 What can you do in your small group? First, believe what God says about the importance of lasting 00:29:49.399 --> 00:29:59.419 relationships. It is no accident that God designed marriage to be lifelong. It is no accident that God 00:29:59.420 --> 00:30:06.640 designed family relationships to be lifelong. And I got to tell you that we learn and grow over time, 00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:14.060 and we need each other together for that to take place. One of the distinct privileges of being the 00:30:14.060 --> 00:30:21.700 pastor at the same place for a long time is you've got to watch me change. I was talking with the new 00:30:21.700 --> 00:30:27.980 members class, and I said, you know, when I was younger, I was a whole lot more brassy. You guys have been 00:30:27.980 --> 00:30:33.980 incredibly patient and enduring with my slow learning process. And I've watched you change. I tell you, 00:30:34.360 --> 00:30:39.799 you do not know how much pleasure to a pastor it is to be able to look out in a congregation and see 00:30:39.799 --> 00:30:46.000 the evidence of the grace of God having brought people through one or another issue, and you know 00:30:46.000 --> 00:30:51.460 He's done this. Do you know why I can say to unbelievers, you don't have to stay the miserable 00:30:51.460 --> 00:30:59.400 person that you are? Because I've watched Him at work. And you don't get to see that if every couple 00:30:59.400 --> 00:31:05.799 years you're bopping off to another place. Believe what God says about the importance of lasting 00:31:05.799 --> 00:31:11.980 relationships. Secondly, accept that relationships take work. Let me say that slowly so you don't miss it. 00:31:11.980 --> 00:31:24.180 Relationships take work. We need one another. But since the day that sin entered the world, 00:31:24.799 --> 00:31:37.640 relationships are hard. That's why we find so many texts that give us explicit instructions on how to work 00:31:37.640 --> 00:31:43.300 at relationships. Let me give you just a couple to remind you of them. For one, I got to tell you, 00:31:43.360 --> 00:31:49.120 over and over again in the Bible, it says love one another. Why say that? Love one another. If you are 00:31:49.120 --> 00:31:53.180 the parent or have been the parent of more than one child, one of the things that you've had to say to 00:31:53.180 --> 00:32:01.759 your children repetitiously is, love your brother. Love your sister. And the reason you have said that 00:32:01.759 --> 00:32:07.340 probably is not because there was a lot of warm fuzzy going on at the moment. You dealt with that issue 00:32:07.339 --> 00:32:16.740 and said, hey, here's what you need. Work at it. Another thing that goes with the working in a 00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:22.959 relationship is forgiving one another. Any lasting relationship happens only when people continue 00:32:22.959 --> 00:32:28.919 to forgive and work with one another in their relationship. I got to tell you, one of the things 00:32:28.919 --> 00:32:36.559 that I'm convinced of, and I want you to hear me say this, is that a mark of spiritual maturity and 00:32:36.559 --> 00:32:47.319 progress is how easily we're offended and how quickly we get over the offense. Do you follow that? 00:32:48.359 --> 00:32:57.079 How easily we're offended and how quickly we get over the offense. And a key to getting over an offense 00:32:57.079 --> 00:33:03.559 is forgiving. By the way, I only want you to forgive. I don't want you to forgive any way beyond how Jesus 00:33:03.559 --> 00:33:09.220 has been forgiving of you, right? Got that? All I want you to do is kind of forgive like Jesus has 00:33:09.220 --> 00:33:14.119 forgiven you. Another is forbear with one another. The word forbear means kind of put up with some of 00:33:14.119 --> 00:33:19.059 the aspects of the weakness in other people. How many of you have certain areas of your life that 00:33:19.059 --> 00:33:24.379 are just spot on, you're right on top of it? I mean, have you ever noticed how the areas that you're 00:33:24.379 --> 00:33:30.460 right on just don't match up with your partner, your wife, or whatever else? And it kind of irritates you 00:33:30.460 --> 00:33:35.440 that she just doesn't have it all together in that area, right? I could tell a story on myself. 00:33:36.620 --> 00:33:42.039 I am punctual to a fault. I mean, 10 minutes early is borderline late. 00:33:44.019 --> 00:33:47.980 I came to the deacon's meeting yesterday actually one minute ahead of time. I was, 00:33:48.220 --> 00:33:55.600 God brought a wonderful wife into my life, and guess what her attitude towards punctuality is? 00:33:55.599 --> 00:34:08.299 It's like some of you. If it's before we're singing the invitation, there's no problem. Okay. 00:34:12.259 --> 00:34:18.719 That took you a while to get there. I understand. Here's what I'm not real good at, cleaning up messes. 00:34:18.719 --> 00:34:27.279 I am a perpetual remodeler, but after I'm finished starting on a project, I lay the tools down, and 00:34:27.279 --> 00:34:32.079 somehow providentially, just like my laundry, they end up back in the right place. It's like, 00:34:32.179 --> 00:34:37.719 how does that happen? Thank you, Jesus. You know, it's like, okay, we put up with one another's 00:34:38.459 --> 00:34:46.359 frailties because we love each other. So, number one, believe what God says about lasting 00:34:46.360 --> 00:34:50.160 relationships, except that relationships take work. Third, stay the course and engage in what 00:34:50.160 --> 00:34:58.099 your small group is doing. You can't be a kind of occasional drift in and drift out person and 00:34:58.099 --> 00:35:03.400 get the benefit of what small groups is all about. It just won't work. 00:35:06.079 --> 00:35:14.900 A person comes to me and says, well, I don't have any friends here. Really? So, if you're flying in 00:35:14.900 --> 00:35:20.160 here low and kind of dropping into a seat the last minute and then bugging out right after, you know, 00:35:20.280 --> 00:35:26.260 how do I have a relationship with you? It's, hi, bye. You know, it's a relationship take time. How many 00:35:26.260 --> 00:35:33.940 figured that out? Relation, let me say it slowly. Relationships take time. Stay the course. 00:35:35.700 --> 00:35:42.340 Invest in it. Finally, pray, participate, and be consistent in your small group. Not hard 00:35:42.340 --> 00:35:53.220 to say small group ministry is not a place and not a structure that is designed for anonymity. 00:35:53.940 --> 00:36:03.100 It's designed for relationship and for continuity. And so, if you're going to be part of what God 00:36:03.099 --> 00:36:13.639 has designed as relationship for the sake of progressive sanctification, I'm not saying this 00:36:13.639 --> 00:36:19.139 is the only way to do it, but it is the way we have found to be most effective. And so, I'd plead 00:36:19.139 --> 00:36:27.259 with you this morning, you come before the Lord and say, I am interested in continuing to grow 00:36:27.260 --> 00:36:36.820 spiritually. Check. I realize that that is going to take time. Check. And I am going to commit to 00:36:36.820 --> 00:36:44.860 invest with a certain group of people that I will spend time with for the sake of growing to be more 00:36:44.860 --> 00:36:55.260 like Christ. Check. So, by the way, quiz question. What's the purpose of biblical preaching? Does 00:36:55.260 --> 00:37:00.720 anybody know? Can you say it with me? The purpose of preaching is to bring people to the point of 00:37:00.720 --> 00:37:08.300 saying yes or no to God. Okay? So, I encourage you this morning to make a commitment to trust Him 00:37:08.300 --> 00:37:16.220 and to seek His glory in building relationships that build saints. Let's close in prayer. 00:37:16.219 --> 00:37:27.359 Our Father God, we are committed this morning to be Your people. We're incredibly blessed to have the 00:37:27.359 --> 00:37:31.639 Scriptures in our hand, to enjoy the ministry of Your Holy Spirit in our lives as believers, 00:37:31.919 --> 00:37:36.980 and we're thankful that we're part of a body that is committed to help us grow in grace. 00:37:38.719 --> 00:37:43.859 We want to have a humble heart to submit ourselves to one another and to the work that You're doing 00:37:43.860 --> 00:37:48.640 among us. And we would ask this in Your precious name. Amen. Let's stand together.