I'm going to read the Bible. If you can turn to Colossians chapter 3.
We're going to start at the beginning and go on to verse 17.
If then you've been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is,
seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above,
not on things that are on earth, for you've died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
Put to death, therefore, what is earthly in you.
Sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire and covetousness, which is idolatry.
On account of these, the wrath of God is coming.
In these, you too once walked when you were living in them, but now you must put them all away.
Anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Do not lie to one another, seeing you've put off the old self with its practices,
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator.
Here, there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, side-in, slave, free,
but Christ is all and in all.
Put on, then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,
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.
And above all of these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body.
And be thankful.
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom,
singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your heart to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus,
giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Over six weeks now, we've been bouncing our series in Colossians against the cultural air we breathe.
And we've sort of summed up the cultural air we breathe in the term,
therapeutic expressive individualism.
It's a worthwhile term to remember because it's so pervasive in our society.
And what it is really is it's the determination that people express today to be authentic people,
to be true to who they really are.
And that is driven by a desire for happiness,
which requires freedom to take the desires and feelings that are within me
and bring them to the surface and build my identity, my meaning and purpose from those feelings
with nobody daring to challenge how I want to express that good life.
One of the, perhaps the unintended consequences of that is that it has left people
with a very, very deep, profound sense of entitlement.
And I don't know whether you observe that, but that's one of the things I feel myself bumping up against every day
in society is this profound sense of entitlement that people are expressing.
An entitlement to do whatever they believe will deliver personal happiness and fulfillment,
no matter the cost to those around them.
To be free from any demands, free from any demands and expectations of others.
Don't you question me in the way I live.
And free to develop their own lifestyle.
The way I live is good, whatever that is.
The sense of entitlement to resist all external authority.
I think people mostly use their hands these days not to eat,
but to give the bird to anybody who tries to exert authority over them.
Anything that challenges my self-approving, my self-governing right to this good and full life.
And I think it's particularly ugly.
Even though people think that that's freedom.
Now against that, we've seen in Paul's letter to the Colossians,
that true authentic living, being true to yourself as a person,
and being a true person, true well-being, ultimate happiness,
true fulfillment, says Paul, lies in Jesus.
And there we have quite a sharp divide between the cultural air we breathe
and what we read and understand, and I believe, are committed to in the scriptures.
But here's a bit of a problem that arises out of that,
because we can never be apart from our culture.
And we'd be foolish in the extreme if we don't allow for the fact that we're constantly being tutored by our culture
as we observe how people around us live their lives and what's important to them.
And so almost inevitably, well actually inevitably, we will actually be part of our culture.
We will take some of that therapeutic, expressive individualism into our own way of living.
That's the power of culture.
The question then is, how much are we shaped by our culture, and how much are we shaped by the gospel?
How much do we still look for fullness in this therapeutic, expressive individualism,
this sense of entitlement?
And how much do we see and find fullness and rest in that in Christ?
Now, we need to be really careful not to reach for an easy answer here.
And if you've got my sermon script and a number you get each week, there's an important not in there.
We must not reach for a simple answer.
We must not think for a moment that we're immune to therapeutic, expressive individualism.
We must not think for a moment that we automatically find our fullness in Christ.
As I say, there'll be some degree of our cultural air shaping how we think and act,
both as individual Christians and, I would argue, as a community here together, a church family.
And the big question then is not if that's happening, but to recognize when it happens and how it happens,
so we might have a chance to resist it as we push back into the gospel and fullness in Christ.
For example, and see what you would do with these examples.
Are the examples of therapeutic, expressive individualism in our church family or in our own personal thinking?
So here we go, three or four examples.
Do you think that your life in Christ is a private, individual matter?
And that you should be left alone in that space?
Do you think that your personal expression of faith is what matters,
while engaging in a church family community like this is perhaps an optional extra?
Is church something you do, providing it delivers what you want?
So if it makes you feel happy, then I'm happy to be in it.
If I'm not too tired, I'm happy to be in it.
If it doesn't demand anything significant of me, then I'll be in it.
Or is church something you are by virtue of being a Christian?
And when you come to church, do you engage in worship because it makes you feel good?
Because you think that perhaps through doing that, then you'll get good things from God?
Or do you worship God for his own beauty and worth?
Do you think that that trumps other concerns in a community such as forgiving, loving, forbearing with others, maintaining unity?
So our question this morning then is, how will individual fullness in Christ be evident in community?
In this community, in our church family?
Well, into Colossians 3 then, verses 1 to 4 of Colossians 3 is a bridge.
So a bridge summarizes what's already been explained about fullness of life in Christ,
which then becomes also the launch pad for application into specific areas and circumstances of life.
And this morning we're looking particularly in the application of the community.
Look at verses 1.
And you'll see how the summary thing, the ESV has if then, but just as well or even better to call it since then.
Since then, because of what's all been said at the minute, since then you've been raised with Christ.
Look at verse 3.
Since then you have died with Christ.
Since then your life is hidden with Christ.
Verse 4.
Since Christ, who is your life?
Very, very strong summary statements.
Christ is your life.
Not just a part of your life as a Christian.
Christ is your life.
He's the entirety.
He's the fullness or the completeness of life.
Put it in other words.
As we've seen over recent weeks, we are inseparably connected forever to God through Jesus.
And the word there in chapter 3, the picture there is hidden.
Your life is hidden with Christ in God.
Now that's the word that means that we're so sort of enfolded into Jesus.
We're so embedded into Jesus that the distinction blurs.
And we can say that we're so deeply held, so closely held by Jesus that my life is his life.
His life is my life.
Christ is our life.
And when Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
So, Jesus is our life individually.
Because we must be saved individually.
Renewed individually.
So, it is right that each believer may say, I am in Christ.
I say that to you this morning.
I am in Christ.
With the guarantee that I experience the sufficiency of Jesus' work for me as a Savior.
I may also say as a believer that Christ is in me.
With the guarantee that I receive and enjoy all the benefits and blessings of being united with him as Lord.
We've seen that over the last few weeks.
Using the picture from last Sunday.
Listen up, boys.
Using the picture from last Sunday.
Our bucket individually is absolutely full.
With the fullness of life that only Jesus can deliver.
So, as it says in Colossians 3, 1-4.
As it commands us.
It's appropriate then that we set our bearings.
Set your mind on.
Set your bearings by.
Set your bearings daily according to this heavenly reality.
Of our fullness of life in Christ.
Shaping our lives as a daily practice.
Based on the source of life.
The source of our life in heaven.
The Lord Jesus.
But there's more.
We must also go on to say that Jesus is our life in community.
Salvation in Jesus is always more than personal or individual.
Now, that's a point I don't think we've got as Christians.
Or we deliberately ignore maybe that.
Is actually of itself expressive individualism.
Salvation is always more than personal.
It is right and proper for me to say that I am saved into an individual relationship of faith.
And into a personal walk with Jesus.
That is right.
It is wrong, however, if I go from there to think about salvation individualistically.
Jesus knows nothing of solitary believers.
Individualistic believers.
God's salvation plan.
You see it right through the scriptures.
God's salvation plan was always to save his people into new community.
Resurrection community.
The church.
God's salvation plan.
This is Paul's emphasis too.
He, so for all you English Nazis out there, you just have to, your ears will jar.
But that's why the word use that's common speak these days is such a good word.
Or if you want to be Southern American, y'all.
It picks up a deficiency in English grammar.
Because all the words that Paul uses throughout Colossians and most of his letters are plural.
You plural.
Use.
When Paul addresses the church, writes the church at Colossae, he wants the community as a whole
to understand that Christ is their collective life as he is their individual life.
He expects them to express fullness in Christ in community.
Shaping their community life or church culture according to the gospel.
And that's what we are.
As we live out what we believe the gospel is, then we create a culture.
We adopt a culture and we develop a culture.
We have a culture here in our church.
And we'll ask the question later on.
What is that culture in essence?
Paul wants them to express and live out a culture, display a culture that's in line with the heavenly reality
of being God's resurrection community.
Set your mind on things above.
Where you will be home with Christ in heaven as the church, praising and glorifying and living proper, full lives under the Lord Jesus.
Well, make that reality the very thing that drives and shapes life now in community.
As a microcosm of heaven on earth.
Paul also uses body language to describe their life in community.
If you turn back to chapter 1 verse 17 and verse 18, we're told there in that section about the preeminence of Jesus.
Jesus is the one who holds or binds everything together in God's world.
And then immediately it launches on to give an example.
The primary example of Jesus binding and making everything together.
His body, the church.
That's the first cab of the rank.
When we talk about what Jesus binds and brings together in himself.
And if you look at chapter 2 verse 19.
We looked at this week, last week.
Jesus is the head.
And the head, organically connected to the body, is what gives the body life.
And we said last week that Jesus was the ligament that actually holds the bones and the parts of the body together
and gives it structural integrity.
It's a community.
It's a corporate picture.
We are the body.
Connected to the head.
Individual, yes.
But not individualistic.
We can't be individualistic in a body.
This doesn't make any sense to try and do it.
And we're told there in chapter 2 verse 19.
That growth from God, therefore, happens in community.
Now I don't think that's something we think about very often.
That our growth and maturing in Christ happens in community.
In this community.
And it's the same idea then.
We've already seen it in chapter 3 verses 1 to 4.
True spiritual maturity is achieved through vibrant and close connection with their head,
our head, the Lord Jesus,
and living in the light of that reality in this salvation community.
Paul also speaks of servants and fellow servants to describe the reality of salvation community.
Now this is one you could probably argue with.
I've raised a few times a staff meeting and each time it hasn't got very much of a guarantee.
But I'm going to try it anyway this morning.
Feel free to reject it if you want to.
I think it's really interesting that in chapter 1 verse 1,
Paul introduces himself as apostolos.
He's an apostle.
That's his formal title.
That's his formal commission from the Lord Jesus.
But within the body of the letter,
whenever he is interacting with other Christians here in Colossae,
he always uses the term servant.
which brings him down to the level of others.
And we'll see,
I'll want to try and demonstrate that connection to you.
In 1 chapter 23,
sorry,
chapter 1 verse 23,
Paul says that,
which has been claimed,
they're talking about the gospel,
which has been claimed in all creation under heaven,
and of which I,
Paul became a minister.
That's the word servant.
And then he goes on in verse 25
to make a connection,
a seamless connection,
a servant of Christ.
Paul's a servant of Christ,
which means,
verse 25,
he becomes a servant of the Colossian church.
And if you go back to chapter 1,
he talks about being a fellow servant with Epaphras,
who brought the gospel
and was responsible for these guys being converted.
And,
so putting that together,
Paul says,
to be,
for him to be a Christian
is to be a servant of Christ,
is to be a servant of his body,
the church,
is to be a fellow servant
with everybody else in the church.
And if you follow through in chapter 4,
you'll see that servant,
fellow servant language used heaps.
Friends,
putting it all together,
here's the point.
Church is not something we do,
especially not as we feel like it.
Church is something we are
by virtue of being united with Christ.
Christ.
And here's a thing
I want you to take away with you today.
Gospel doctrine,
experienced personally,
ought always
to produce
gospel culture
in community.
Friends,
to go back to the bucket illustration,
your bucket of fullness
is not
simply contained
to you
in some individualistic way.
Your bucket of fullness
actually overflows
through you
into
fullness
in this community.
A community
of saved people.
Why?
So that together
we might
enjoy
fullness
in Christ.
And we will do that
together,
I would argue,
in a way that we cannot
actually do it
individually.
Because that's the way
Jesus has set it up.
And all of that
is a launch pad
for verses
5 to 17.
And so
you'll see how this
sort of flows on
from there.
As a family unit,
as a community
of saved people,
yous
or y'all
should be struggling
together
to express
fullness
in Christ.
That's essentially
Paul's point
as he moves forward.
Now,
verses 5 to 11,
Paul says
that means
getting rid of
everything
on anything
which is at odds
with your new
identity,
your fullness
in Christ.
Your new
orientation
to Christ.
get rid of it.
Again,
the bucket
illustration.
If the bucket
is full
with all the
fullness of
deity,
if the bucket
is full
of the
character
of God
through Jesus
and grace
and mercy,
when it
overflows
into the
local church
community,
what would
you expect?
You wouldn't
expect a
pile of stuff
like you just
dipped into
a sullage pit.
No,
it will overflow
with the
character of
Christ,
with grace
and mercy.
the fullness
of deity.
So we've
got to get
rid of
anything
that's
inconsistent
with that,
that's
incongruous
with that.
And so
we could
spend hours
working through
each of
these words.
There's such
dense words,
such intense
stuff in here,
but I'm just
going to
slide across
the top
and try
and lift
it up
and summarize
it.
verses
5 and
6.
I'll
read them
and then
I'll just
make a
summary
comment.
Here we
go.
Put to
death,
therefore,
what is
earthly in
you.
And then
there's a
list of
sexual
vices,
sexual
immorality,
impurity,
passion,
evil
desire,
covetousness,
which is
idolatry.
on account
of these,
the wrath
of God
is coming.
As a
community,
we've got
to say
no to
selfish
expressions
of sexuality.
Our world
says,
I am a
sexual being.
I can
only be
authentic
and true
to myself
and complete
in myself
when I'm
free to
express my
sexual
desires,
whatever
they may
manifest as,
when I'm
free to
express my
sexual
desires and
use others
around me
for my
satisfaction,
no matter
the cost
to them.
That's
essentially
what our
world
says.
God
says,
that's
got no
place among
my people.
Verses
7 and
8.
In
these you
too once
worked,
when you
were living
in them,
but now
you must
put them
all away.
Anger,
wrath,
malice,
slander,
seen talk
from your
mouth.
Those are
all
statements
of
manipulation
and
exploitation.
And Paul
says,
we've got
to say
no to
manipulation
and
exploitation.
Again,
our world
says,
I can
only be
happy and
fulfilled
when my
desires,
my cravings
are met
to my
satisfaction.
And this
gives me the
right to
manipulate,
to exploit,
to consume,
to control
people around
me in the
pursuit of
my own
happiness and
fulfillment.
Paul says,
that's got
no place
in a
resurrection
community.
Verses
9 and
10.
Do not
lie to
one another,
saying that
you have put
off the old
self with
its practices
and put on
the new
self which
has been
renewed in
the knowledge
after the
image of
its creator.
Say
no
to any
thought that
the end
justifies the
means.
See,
again,
our world
says to us,
happiness and
validation is
so important
that I'm
prepared to,
I'm entitled
to manipulate
truth to my
own advantage.
Even if it
means telling
bold-faced
lies when
necessary.
Truth's
relative.
truth will
trump your
truth in
the pursuit
of my
happiness.
That's what
our world
says to us.
Paul says
no.
In
community,
the resurrection
community has
got to deal
with truth.
Got to be
known for
truth.
Get rid of
such thinking.
In verse
11, I
pondered this
one a fair
while but I
think this
might be
okay.
Paul says,
here there's
not Greek
and Jews
circumcised
and uncircumcised,
barbarian,
Scythian,
slave,
free,
but Christ
is all
and in
all.
Say no
to evaluating
people according
to the world's
categories.
See, our
world says,
I need to be
on top of
the pile.
Whatever pile
that is I'm
operating in,
I need to
be the
top of
it.
It might
be a
racial pile,
it might
be a
political
pile,
it might
be an
economic
pile,
it might
be an
intellectual
pile,
it might
even be a
spiritual
pile.
Well, I
need to be
on top of
it and the
way to be
on top of
it is to
knock other
people down.
I build
myself up by
knocking other
people down.
And so we
pull out the
racial card,
we pull out
the economic
card,
we pull out
the whatever
card it is,
the super
spiritual
card.
Paul says,
no,
there's no
place for
that in the
resurrection
community.
And then he
goes on to
verse 12 to
17 to talk
about putting
on,
to put on
or to be
shaped by
things that we
already have.
So the word
there is like
clothing, so
it's putting
on a jacket.
You already
have the
jacket that's
there.
All you need
to do is put
it on, is
Paul's point.
We already
have all
these graces
in Christ.
That's what it
is to be
renewed in
Christ.
We just
need to
embrace them.
We just
need to put
them on.
We need
to be
shaped by
them.
And the
more we
get rid
of these
things that
have no
place in
Christ's
community,
the more
we'll be
seen to be
dressed.
in the
things that
should
adorn us
as Christ's
community.
Verses
12 to
17.
We don't
need to
create them.
We simply
need to
embrace them.
And here
again, that
connection is
lovely.
That gospel
doctrine
ought always
and easily
overflow
into gospel
culture.
Our bucket
is full of
the fullness
of deity
in Christ.
the
other
flood
will be
gospel
culture.
Rich
gospel
culture,
a culture
of grace.
The
gospel
doctrine
of grace,
gospel
culture
of grace
in all
its richness
in our
community,
our church.
What will
this gospel
culture look
like?
Well,
again,
we could
spend weeks
on these
individual
characteristics
here.
But I
think I
can just
summarize it
by saying,
what will
gospel culture
look like?
It will
look like
Jesus.
It will
smell with
a savor
of Jesus.
Jesus.
It will
speak like
Jesus.
It will
absorb hurts
and grievances
and offense
like Jesus.
It will
forbear with
others'
failures
like Jesus.
Gospel
categories,
gospel
culture.
Let's
jump
through
these
fairly
quickly.
Verses
12,
13,
and 14.
Put on
then as
God's
chosen
ones,
holy and
beloved.
There you
go.
There's the
orientation
thing again.
That's what
you are.
You're now
God's
chosen
ones,
holy and
beloved.
Beloved.
compassion,
kindness,
humility,
meekness,
patience,
bearing with
one another.
And if
one has a
complaint against
another,
forgiving each
other as
the Lord
has forgiven
you,
so you
must also
forgive.
see,
all these
gospel
categories
have been
modeled
strongly to
us by
Jesus.
And that's
what we
need to
make these
commands work.
Commands will
never be
enough.
Forgiveness
and forbearing
and kindness
and patience,
all these
things are
hard.
Simply be
commanded to
do them will
never work
for us.
But when
we have
gospel
categories
modeled to
us by
Jesus,
when we
realize that
we're holy
and beloved,
chosen
children,
then we're
in a
zone.
The heavenly
reality will
enable us to
do the hard
work here
of being
Christ's
community.
and it
will be
expressed in
offering
radical
forgiveness,
gospel
reconciliation.
Now,
what does
gospel
reconciliation
and peace
do in the
body?
Well,
gospel forgiveness
and reconciliation
resets the
relationship.
And it
does so at
great cost
to self.
That's the
model of
Jesus.
It also
commits never
to use that
offense against
the person in
future relationship.
And my friends,
that's how each of us
individually has been
forgiven.
That's what it is to
understand and live
in grace.
And add to
that being
other person
centered.
Being servant
hearted.
Bearing with one
another's failures
as I've already
said.
Loving strongly
while speaking
truth.
Being committed
to the best
interests of
those around
us.
Regardless
of personal
cost in
that.
That's the
model of
Jesus.
And when we
talk about
forgiveness,
gospel forgiveness,
it will be so
different from
cultural forgiveness.
Forgiveness is a
big thing in our
society these days.
But it's always
self-interested
forgiveness.
It's always a
given, I will
forgive because it
makes me feel
better about
myself.
It doesn't
actually matter
if I resume
relationship, full
relationship with
a person.
No, it's just
something I do.
It makes me feel
better about
myself.
Or it allows me
to take control
back of the
situation.
It stops them
from hurting me
more.
I cut myself
off from
negative people,
negative vibes.
It's not
the gospel
forgiveness
that Jesus
models and we've
experienced.
Forgiveness at
great cost
himself.
Verse 16.
Let the word
of Christ dwell
in you richly,
teaching and
admonishing one
another in all
wisdom, singing
psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs
with thankfulness
in your hearts to
God.
And whatever you
do, in word or
deed, do
everything in the
name of the
Lord Jesus.
Giving thanks to
God the Father
through him.
Well, so many
words in there,
but again, we're
just to be steeped
in God's word.
So steeped, so
familiar with
God's word that
actually shapes our
concerns for one
another.
It shapes our
interactions with
one another.
Rather than being
driven by our
personal hurts,
our personal
desires, our
personal grievances,
righteousness.
And all of that
is in the context
of thanks,
thankfulness.
Verse 17.
Very similar thing
when it all boils
down.
Being as Christ
to one another
in all these ways,
being as Christ
to one another
is the greatest
expression of
thankfulness that
we as individual
Christians can show.
Because it shows
an understanding
of what I
personally have
experienced in
Christ.
Being as Christ
to one another
is the greatest
expression of
worship.
Being as Christ
to one another
is the greatest
expression of
authentic Christian
living, authentic
living of any
sort.
Friends, this is
what gospel
culture looks
like.
And then we
move to a very
simple question,
but perhaps a
challenging question.
Is this what
our church
culture looks
like?
And are you
on a weekly,
daily basis
so engaged
in the community
that you are
helping build
a gospel culture
in our church
as opposed
to building
something else
that's just
not fitting?
Allah,
verses 5 to
11.
Amen.
Are these
the attitudes
and actions
which overflow
in you
because of
fullness in
Christ?
If they're not,
then again,
we're breaking
something that
should be together.
We've got gospel
doctrine,
we're talking
the talk,
but not walking
the walk of
gospel culture.
I just want
to conclude
with the
question we've
asked each
week in this
series,
and that is
what will
keep us
from experiencing
and modelling
fullness in
community,
our resurrection
community,
in our church
family unit?
Well,
at risk of
there's always
a thing about
landing sermons,
but I'm just
going to stop.
So I may
seem to be
abrupt,
probably seem
to be a bit
eorish,
a bit negative,
but I just
want to end
by listing
four things
I've already
mentioned in
the body of
my talk here
this morning,
and I want
to list them
just for
emphasis,
because there
are four
things that
will rob us
of fullness
as a
community of
Christ's
people.
One,
continuing to
be therapeutic,
expressive
individualists,
rather than
Christ-filled,
expressive
individuals and
community.
if you hear
the way I'm
trying to
play the
two terms
off against
each other.
See,
each of us
needs to
work hard,
each of us
individually
and together
we need to
work hard
to understand
how our
world continues
to influence
us and our
thinking and
our actions,
and where
those influences
are coming.
Only then
will we have
any chance
of resisting.
But until
we do the
hard work
of analysis,
we won't
see anything
to resist.
Number two,
continuing to
think that
church is
something we
do,
an optional
extra when
it suits me
or makes me
feel happy,
rather than
understanding
that church
is what I
am in
Christ.
A fundamental
expression of
being united
with Christ.
Number three,
seeing two
when we
ought only
to see one.
Gospel
doctrine,
gospel
culture.
See,
churches
are very,
very skewed,
I think,
to protecting
gospel doctrine,
especially the
churches that
we are part
of and
associate
with.
They're very
skewed to
protecting
gospel doctrine,
and that's
important.
But ultimately,
protecting gospel
doctrine, if it
doesn't flow
through into
gospel culture,
is just
intellectualism.
And vice
versa.
Some churches
are skewed to
promoting gospel
culture and the
vibe and the
relationship.
But if that's
promoted at the
expense of
gospel truth,
then all you
have is
sentimentalism.
These are not
options,
gospel doctrine,
gospel culture.
These are two
sides of one
coin.
number four.
Trying to be
the church
without
Christ-full
gospel categories
to shape our
interactions with
one another.
In other
words, if we
try and be the
church without a
deep commitment
to truthing,
loving,
forbearing,
forgiving,
reconciling,
encouraging one
another,
then, as I
understand this
passage, if we
try and do that,
then we will not
have a distinctive.
We might be
passionate, we
might be serious
minded, but we
won't be
distinctive.
And if we're
not distinctive,
then we'll
bring shame
to our
Lord, not
honor.
Join me in
prayer.
Lord, these
words, as we
always find when
we dig into
your word,
these words are
very challenging.
Lord, help us
to do the
hard work,
and in lots
of ways, the
scary work of
analyzing what
culture we do
exude individually
and as a
church family.
Help us to
see the
difference, Lord,
between sprouting
gospel doctrine
and not
actually
expressing that
in gospel
culture.
Lord, help us
to hear your
word.
Help us to
have that
passionate desire
to grow together
in community.
Help us to be a
distinctive community
so that, Lord,
when people come
among us, they
might really see
something authentic
and compelling
and satisfying.
In Jesus' name I
pray.
Amen.