Well, amen. Have you been blessed by the service so far this morning? I know I have as well.
Look down in the seat next to you. You might be blessed a little bit more. There's candy, okay?
The GA is the Girls in Action on Wednesday night. It's part of our kids' ministry.
Just left that as a little treat for you. So anybody like sour gummy worms?
Right there. First one up. There you go.
I don't have any more. It's not that kind of service, all right? I'm not Santa Claus.
Let's go to the Book of Acts, please. We're continuing on with our sermon series on community,
talking about how we can learn some lessons from the early church back in the Book of Acts.
By the way, if your kids haven't gone back to Children's Church, you can do that.
Slip out any time here. They're ready for them back there.
This is our third sermon in this series, and we kind of started out a couple weeks ago
talking about how we study truth together.
Four primary ingredients we've been starting out.
Two weeks ago, we covered the first one. Last week, the second one.
We're looking at the third one today. We'll conclude it next Sunday.
And these are four key ingredients we find from Acts chapter 2 in our study of how the early church,
kind of the first church that was established by Jesus, how it thrived, how it took off,
how it really grew into the missional organization and almost organism
that was alive, living, breathing, and powerfully moving across the world.
How did all of that happen? And how many centuries later can our church be the same kind of church
as those early churches in the Book of Acts?
So, we study truth together. That's one of the key ingredients that they did.
And our takeaway from that Sunday was,
will I commit to grow with my church community in studying truth together?
Together. Our dGroups are launching this week.
All right? Today's the day that we've been looking forward to for quite some time
in the launch of our discipleship groups that are meeting throughout the week.
And that's going to be one of the key ingredients of our groups is studying truth together.
Last Sunday, we talked about koinonia,
that fascinating Greek word that means fellowship.
All right? And we talked about what that looks like in Christian community.
What does fellowship look like? And our takeaway last Sunday was,
will I commit to partner with my church community in fellowship together?
Today, we are going to look at the third ingredient.
And I'm not going to let the cat out of the bag yet,
but we'll get there in just a moment.
Reminds you of this quote,
the church is the church only when it exists for others.
Let's try to read it together, can we?
The church is the church only when it exists for others.
Because the church is not about us.
It's about God.
And God's heart is for those who are not yet in his kingdom.
He wants all of his children brought in.
So the church is for, it's not about me.
It's about my brothers and sisters in Christ.
And it's about those outside these walls who God wants to bring in to our fellowship,
bring in to our community.
So we have to remember that that is a principle that God wants us to understand.
Acts 2.42, can I trouble you to stand one more time?
I'll promise I'll leave you seated after that.
Let's stand together as we read God's word together.
Acts 2.42, I'm reading from the New Living Translation.
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching,
to fellowship, to sharing in meals, including the Lord's Supper,
and to prayer.
A deep sense of awe came over them all.
And the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.
All the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had.
Amazing picture, isn't it?
They sold their properties and possessions and shared the money with those in need.
They worshiped together at the temple each day,
met in homes for the Lord's Supper,
and shared their meals with great joy and generosity.
All the while, praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people.
And each day, here's the result.
The Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.
And we pray together.
God, I pray right now that you would move mightily in our church.
That you would turn our hearts.
God, just a moment ago, we sang the words,
Christ, be magnified in me.
From the altar of my life, that means we've got to sacrifice it.
We've got to lay it down on the altar and let you be magnified.
Let you be preeminent.
Let you be number one, first and foremost.
And when we do that, God, we reap all that is you.
We reap all your goodness.
We get to enjoy all of your love and your mercy and your grace and your hope.
And we unlock all the blessings that you so desperately want to give us.
I pray that you would be magnified in our lives and in our church.
It's in Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
You may be seated.
Thank you for standing.
So, before we dive into this third ingredient of what healthy church community looks like,
I want to wish all of you a happy National Date Nut Bread Day.
And I'm a little offended that nobody wished me that before the service this morning.
Thank you, Jackson.
You're a good man.
I don't care what they say about you.
You're a good guy.
I'm messing.
But listen, I had to look that up, all right?
I was looking up on the national food calendar.
Yes, there is such a thing.
What is Sunday, September 8th, going to be?
And I don't know if you're aware, but there's a little bit of controversy
because some people would say that December 22nd is National Date Nut Bread Day.
I'm more of a September 8th guy.
But if you're a September 22nd person, that's all right.
We should still be able to get along, okay?
But I'm right.
And today is National Date Nut Bread Day.
Do you think that our country is a little bit obsessed with food?
Yeah, we are.
We really are, man.
America is the land of plenty.
Let's look at this picture for a minute.
Anybody know who these people are?
Any of them?
Yeah?
Yeah.
So you're obsessed with food too because it means you watch it on TV.
You don't just eat it.
It entertains you on the screen.
That's right.
You got Gordon Ramsay up there.
You got the first celebrity.
Okay.
The first celebrity chef that I remember is down here in the right-hand corner.
What's her name?
Julia Child.
Look at y'all.
Anybody under the age of 30 didn't say that, but that's all right.
Julia Child.
You said it?
Look at you.
Good job.
You've been educated well, son.
All right.
Julia Child kind of laid the pathway for these cooking shows on TV.
You got Rachel Ray over there, and you got Reed Drummond right up here in Oklahoma.
Of course, you got Gordon Ramsay, and he's probably my least favorite because he's kind of mean.
But that's all right.
And then you've got Emeril Lagasse.
He was my favorite growing up.
He always would throw seasoning on his food and say, bam, it was awesome.
And then you've got Guy Fieri, who is now just, he is his own person.
So he's a unique character.
Listen, there are so many others we could have put up on that screen, but I was just trying
to pull some up there and make the point that food is not just sustenance in our culture,
right?
We don't just eat to live more often than not.
We live to eat.
And it has become a world unto itself.
That's right.
It's a hobby.
It's an occupation.
Now it's not just I want to make food for my family or even I want to make food for a restaurant.
It's, you know, I want to cook food on TV and entertain millions with my cooking.
Truth is, there's power in food.
There's power in a good meal.
You don't believe that.
Look at this quote by Oscar Wilde.
After a good dinner, one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives.
Sometimes we see that around the holidays.
When you're hungry and angry, it's a really bad combination.
It comes out to being hangry, right?
Nobody wants to be there.
There is a lot of power in food.
There's a lot of ways to turn your mind around, ways to turn your emotions around, ways to help
you think a little more clearly.
I know there's a lot of science behind that.
I don't know all the science behind it, but that's okay.
We don't have to get bogged down in that.
But I want to share this quote by you by a chef named Heston Blumenthal.
It says, to me, food is as much about the moment, the occasion, the location, and the
company as it is about the taste.
That's an interesting thought.
And the truth is, food has kind of always been that way.
You go back throughout human history, back to the Romans and the Greeks, and all societies
primarily have centered so much of their culture and their community around food.
So it's interesting that God created mankind in his image.
And throughout human history, for as long as we've been around, we have been a people that
would like to feast, would like to gather around food.
When we have meetings, we usually make something for the meeting.
And Jesus did not fight that.
Fact is, he embraced it.
He modeled it.
We get to learn a lot from how Jesus was with food.
So let's look back at our text verse this morning.
Acts 2 42.
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching.
Two weeks ago, we studied truth together, right?
And to fellowship.
Last week, we fellowshiped together.
And to sharing in meals.
So today, we eat together.
Now, I don't mean we're going to eat together right now, okay?
I'm sorry.
I didn't provide snacks.
The GAs were looking out for y'all, and they put food out there for you, okay?
So if you need to get a little snack while we're eating, I won't judge you.
While we're studying here, I won't judge you.
That's all right.
Yeah, we can eat together right now.
But listen to this.
Eating together unites us in our common need.
The funny thing is, no matter where we are around the world, people eat.
People need to eat.
No matter what side of life you're from, the wrong side of the tracks or the right side
of the tracks.
No matter what your socioeconomic background is or how much money you have in your bank
account.
No matter what race you are or how you're looked at or who your friends are.
We all have this common need to eat.
So eating together unites us in our common need.
That this is something that we all share in common, this need for physical sustenance.
So truth is, people like oftentimes the same foods.
I watched this thing on Food Network TV about chefs, famous celebrity chefs and their favorite
foods they like to eat.
And you know what most of them said?
I don't want to go home and cook a gourmet meal because I do that for work.
I want to pull through McDonald's and get a Big Mac.
I want to go through Taco Bell and get a whatever thing is going to give you indigestion later.
But rich and poor alike eat oftentimes the same foods because they like the same foods.
You go to cultures all around this world.
I've had the opportunity to travel to all 50 states and even 20-something countries around
the world growing up.
And I saw that street foods in all these different countries are enjoyed and prized and prioritized
by everyone.
It's like, man, no matter who you are, if you're visiting someone rich or someone poor, they
all say, oh, you got to go down to this food stand over here and try this delicacy.
They love it.
They take pride in it.
We may have little else in common, but here in Texas, we like our Tex-Mex.
We like our barbecue.
We like our steak.
We like our burgers, our chili, basically any other way that mankind has invented to digest
red meat.
If there's any vegans in here, I apologize for that, okay?
You know you're in the minority.
You live in Texas, all right?
That's all right.
Nothing against you.
But we are bound together by this.
And we're bound together by our common need for food.
So let's look at what the scriptures have to say.
Isaiah 55, verses 1 and 2.
Is anyone thirsty?
Come and drink, even if you have no money.
Take your choice of wine and milk.
It's all free.
Why spend your money on food that does not give you strength?
Why pay for food that does you no good?
Listen to me, and you will eat what is good.
You will enjoy the finest food.
Isn't that interesting that he's casting it in these terms of our physical need for food?
Of course, the prophet Isaiah is talking about the words of God.
He's talking about going to God for our strength.
But he's appealing to our need and our sense of hunger and filling that need inside us physically.
And he's saying, just like you can fill this need, you can come and drink of the well of God, even if you have no money.
And he will give you the satisfaction that you crave.
Once again, he's appealing to their physical hunger, their desire for sustenance.
You know, man, they didn't have it great in Egypt, did they?
The children of Israel, they were under oppression, and then God liberated from that.
And he took them on this 40-year wandering in the desert.
But all the while, he kept this promised land in front of them and said, hey, listen, just hang with me.
I'm going to take you on the journey you've got to go on.
But the promised land is going to hold for you the sustenance you desire, the satisfaction you desire.
And he cast it in the terms of food.
Because that's where we live.
It's the world we live in.
Some of us have lived there a little too much.
Okay?
I'm one to talk.
I'm right there with you.
But I will have you know that since I started training for my 5K, I'm down 25 pounds.
Okay?
Yes.
Sorry.
That was blatantly asking for a clap.
And I apologize.
But I had to let you know how I'm doing.
All right?
I haven't forgotten it.
I haven't quit training.
I actually went out and ran outside this morning.
I've done a little more in the gym while the weather's been so hot.
But, yeah, I actually went outside.
Wasn't it nice this morning?
Like 50-something degrees when we woke up?
Okay.
I'll do with that any September in Texas.
That'll work.
Eating together lowers our defenses.
Eating together unites us in our common need, but it also lowers our defenses.
Isn't that interesting?
Think about that for a minute.
Sometimes you can be in maybe a little bit of an argument with your husband or wife or something,
and you're both hungry, and you know that's probably part of it.
And then you go eat.
And then afterwards, what were we fighting about?
Why does it matter so much?
Whether it's a really good night's sleep you crave or a really good meal you crave,
sometimes it's just a physical need that makes everything seem worse.
But once you're fed, once you're satisfied, it lowers some of those defenses,
and it's like, hey, we can probably work this out.
Food is maybe the only universal thing that really has the power to bring everyone together.
No matter what culture, everywhere around the world, people eat together.
One of those chefs from that picture just a minute ago, Guy Fieri, said that.
And I thought it was really applicable to what we're learning today.
Food is the universal language.
It is this force that can bring us together,
because one of the reasons for that is it does lower our defenses.
It reminds us we all need this.
We all want this.
And this can help us.
And it helps us to lay down our weapons and eat together.
So, Jesus practiced eating together.
We're not just here to look on the screen and see what chefs had to say about food, all right?
They're kind of in the business, so you think they're going to be slanted a little bit toward that.
But Jesus himself practiced this.
And this is what we're going to study this morning.
Jesus specifically is recorded eating together with others no fewer than 14 times throughout the New Testament.
Many other times, it's probably implied that he ate together.
For instance, when he went to Zacchaeus' house, it's probably understood that they ate together,
but I'm not counting that in the 14 times.
But we see specific instances of Jesus breaking bread and eating with others no fewer than 14 times.
Some of his most astonishing miracles and meaningful instruction came around the table, around food.
So, Jesus didn't do that accidentally.
And that information is not included in our holy scriptures accidentally.
God could have just told us the instruction.
He could have just told us about the miracles without including the fact that they were eating together.
But he wanted us to know that.
Because there's something special about sharing food, isn't there?
In our discipleship groups that are about to start,
first one starts tonight.
And we've got two on Tuesday.
We've got one on Wednesday.
We've got one on Monday night, tomorrow night.
Throughout the week, we have discipleship groups that are going to be gathering together.
And we've prioritized eating together.
Doesn't have to be a full meal.
Could just be a snack.
But we will eat together every time.
Listen, that can be difficult to coordinate.
But we think it's worth it.
Think it's worth it because, number one, Jesus did it.
And number two, it unites us together.
And number three, it lowers our defenses.
And as we eat, we talk about our week.
The week that passed.
The week that's coming up.
Time after time.
Meeting after meeting.
We're beginning to grow together as we eat together.
So, Jesus practiced this with his disciples.
With others.
The Bible says with publicans and sinners.
Those who were the least of society.
Those who were looked down on by others.
Jesus put his reputation on the line.
And went and not only spoke to them.
He sat with them.
He went in their homes.
He ate with them.
He fellowshiped with them.
He practiced community with them.
Luke chapter 9 and verse 16.
It's just one of those instances.
Taking the five loaves and the two fish.
Looking up to heaven.
Jesus gave thanks and broke them.
Then he gave them to the disciples to set before the people.
Jesus understood that it was going to be difficult
to teach the valuable gospel message of God's kingdom
to these thousands of people gathered there
without first meeting their physical need.
Y'all, there is a principle there that you and I have to understand.
You can't just beat people over the head with the Bible.
You got to meet their physical needs first.
Sometimes their physical needs may be too much for us to be able to meet.
But that should never be an excuse for not meeting any need.
There is a story that I heard a long time ago
about an old man who went down to the beach
and he saw a little boy out there picking up starfish
that had washed ashore and throwing them back into the ocean.
Very good.
He's heard that one before. I like it.
The old man was like,
Son, you're never going to save all these starfish.
He said, No, I'm not.
But I can save this one.
And I can save this one.
And that is the point that we must carry through with us.
I heard a preacher put it this way.
Do for one what you wish you could do for everyone.
We're not the Father in heaven.
We can't meet every need.
But God places people in our path
that we may be able to meet their need.
Jesus didn't feed the whole world
while he was down here on this earth.
But he fed these 5,000.
And time and time again,
he didn't heal all of the physical problems in the world.
But he healed the ones who came to him.
He met the needs of the ones who crossed his path.
Can you and I honestly say that we meet the needs that we can?
Whether they're physical or they're spiritual.
Maybe they're emotional.
Maybe they're mental.
Maybe there are people with problems in your life
that God could use you powerfully to help them.
But we've got to open up our heart and be willing.
Say, God, use me.
Just like you helped people,
I know that now I'm here on this earth
as your hands and feet.
And I want you to help me,
work through me,
and help others.
So Jesus practiced this.
Time and time again,
we could show scripture after scripture
of Jesus using food
to help others,
to open up their ears,
to lower their defenses,
to make them more receptive
to what he had to say.
And that's why we prioritize
this way of fellowship,
eating together.
Plus, number two,
heaven promises
that someday we're going to be eating together.
Someday we're going to be eating together.
Anybody know what that's called?
The marriage supper of the Lamb.
You can read about it in the book of Revelation.
We don't have to spend a lot of time
diving into what that looks like
or what's going to be served, okay?
I know what's going to be served.
But if I say what I want there,
it probably won't be the same as what you want.
But God promises
that everything will be beyond anything
that we can comprehend
in its majesty,
its glory,
how wonderful and great it is
in heaven someday.
So whatever we're going to do in heaven,
whatever we're going to eat in heaven,
it's going to be the best, all right?
I think personally it's going to be fajitas,
but you may not want that.
If you do,
we all need to pray for you, all right?
But that's okay.
The reality is
God promises us
this wonderful supper in heaven.
Why would he do that
if he didn't know that food
was so important to us
and apparently important to him?
So we're going to eat together.
But the thing about that is
Jesus is always the center.
No matter what example
you can find in the Bible
of eating together,
of Jesus using food,
Jesus was always
the main attraction.
He was always the center,
the uniting host.
That should characterize,
that should describe
our times of eating together
as a body,
as a community.
Jesus should always be the center,
the uniting host.
Revelation 3.20 says this,
look, I stand at the door
and I knock.
If you hear my voice
and you open the door,
I will come in
and what does it say?
We will share a meal together
as friends.
I love that paraphrase
of what the Bible verse says
because it really makes it clear
for us what he's trying
to get across here.
He's saying,
I'm knocking at the door,
open the door,
I will come in
and we will fellowship.
We will have community.
We will be friends together.
Y'all, I promise you,
some of us,
Jesus is knocking on the door
of our heart right now.
We've got to let him in.
He wants to come in
and share a meal with us,
so to speak.
He wants to be our friend.
He wants to have a real
meaningful relationship with you.
What happens
when you just see people
from time to time
around the community
and you say hi to them
and then maybe in conversation
somebody brings up that person
and you say,
oh yeah,
I know who you're talking about.
They seem like a nice guy
or she seems like a nice girl.
Oh, do you know her?
Well, I mean,
I know her to say hi to,
you know.
We're not that close,
but they seem like a nice person.
But what happens
when you have dinner
with that person?
Do you just sit there
in stony silence
and eat your food?
Be awkward, right?
If you do,
there probably won't be
a second invite to dinner,
right?
Wow, that was weird.
They just looked at us
the whole time
as they ate their enchiladas.
But no, you talk.
You talk,
you share stories.
Where are you guys from originally?
Oh, you're from around here?
That's awesome.
How'd you meet?
Where'd you go to school?
You find the things
you have in common.
Do you like the Cowboys?
Good.
Because if you didn't,
you'd have to leave right now.
By the way,
for all those who are wondering,
the Cowboys re-signed
Dak Prescott.
He is the quarterback
once again.
Trying to get that out.
In case you were
checking your phone,
it happened.
Just let it go.
You can read about it
after church.
Look,
there are so many things
that you and I
can have in common.
But we find those out
oftentimes over meals,
sitting down and talking.
That's the picture
Jesus is painting.
I'm standing at the door
of your heart.
Y'all,
he's not talking
to lost people here.
Now,
he wants them
to invite him in as well.
But the reality is,
Jesus wants us,
his children,
to open the door to him.
He said,
I already know you.
You need to get to know me.
And I want to reveal myself to you.
And he uses this example
of sharing a meal together
as friends.
How powerful is that?
We can't miss that.
So,
that's why we're
emphasizing that
in our discipleship groups.
It's amazing to me
sometimes
how people evaluate
groups,
small groups,
by
kind of similarly
to how they evaluate
a lot of other things
in life
by what they personally
get out of it.
Now,
careful,
don't get offended here,
okay?
They'll say,
well,
you know,
small groups
just aren't really my thing.
They don't really work for me.
But you're kind of missing
the point here.
In a small group,
you give yourself
away.
That's what Jesus
is telling us.
I want to give myself
away.
I want to open myself up
to you.
And that's what we do
in the groups.
We open ourselves up
to each other
because we
love
each other.
or at least
we say we do
because we love
God
and we love
God's people
and we love
the people
outside this church,
in this community.
And so if we do,
then we open
ourselves up.
In a small group,
you got to give
yourself
away.
The writer in Acts
did not
list
what
these groups
got out of it.
they listed
what they gave.
They listed
how they served
one another.
How they opened
themselves up
to one another.
That
was the takeaway
from these
early
D groups
that became
the most powerful
church movement
that we've ever seen.
And we've been trying
to get back to it
ever since.
So Acts
goes on
and on
about how
extensively
how
carefully
the church
cared
for one another.
How they gave
to each other.
Their generosity
that they found
in Jesus Christ
was then
modeled
for each other.
Should be a
regular occurrence
that you care
for someone
in this church.
Should be a regular
occurrence
that we care
for one another.
That should be
common
in our community
and it should be
most common
right here
in this group
of people.
Isaiah 25
Matthew 25
Revelation 19
all reference
this coming
feast in heaven
where God
will prepare
this wonderful
sumptuous meal
for his people.
So you and I
are going
to eat together.
We're going
to fellowship
together.
We're going
to have community
together
whether you like
it or not.
Whether it's
your thing
or not
it's gonna
happen
in heaven
someday.
So why not
get into this
heavenly habit
right now.
So it would
have been really
awesome if we'd
had a big old
meal ready for you
in the fellowship
hall as soon as
this church was
over.
WSC before church
said so we eating
together today or
what?
And I was like
well the GAs
took care of that
for us.
here's the
takeaway.
Will I commit
to unite
with my church
be part of
this community
by eating
together?
Two weeks ago
we said will I
commit to grow
with my church
by studying
truth together?
Last week
we said will I
commit to partner
with my church
in fellowship?
This week
we're saying will
I commit to
unite with
my church
community
by eating
together?
We're going to
do that in
groups.
We do that
here at the
Lord's Supper.
We do that
when we have
our meals
together sometimes
in the
fellowship hall
back there.
But beyond
that y'all you
can get together
outside of those
times.
God wants us
to do that.
He wants you
to invite people
over to your
house.
Get to know
them.
Build strong
bonds and
relationships in
this church and
it doesn't always
have to be the
people in your
Sunday school class.
It doesn't
always have to be
the people that
you already hang
out with.
Sometimes God
wants you to reach
across the aisle so
to speak and find
somebody that you
don't know as well
and say hey I want
to get to know you
better.
God's brought us
into this church at
the same time
together so that
must be for a
reason.
I want to break
down any potential
walls between us
and understand life
from your
perspective.
You understand life
from my perspective
and then we see
what God has taught
us and how God is
growing us and man
iron sharpens
iron.
Right?
We grow together
but sometimes it
takes an invitation
to dinner.
Let's pray together.
God I pray that
right now we would
extend that same
invite to others.
You have invited us
to your dinner.
You've invited us
to learn everything
about you.
You've given us what
you call the bread
of life.
You've given us what
you call the water
of life.
You've promised us
this sumptuous feast
in heaven someday
and you've encouraged
us to fellowship
together by eating
together just like
you did when you
were here.
I pray that you
would use this to
inspire us to take
active steps toward
building community
with one another in
this church and that
the result of that
the fruit of that
would be people see
a group of Christians
united like never
before.
In community like
never before and
continually inviting
others in to that
community.
And then maybe God
can add to our
number just like he
did back in the book
of Acts.
Maybe more people
will be drawn to a
relationship with
Jesus not just by how
much scripture we can
quote them.
That's important.
But following your
example saying hey
let's let's go for a
meal.
Let's get together for
lunch.
Let's have coffee.
Let's sit down come
over my house for
dinner and make an
effort to meet them
where they are where
God met us.
And then maybe he'll
use us to make a
powerful impact in
their life.
But God first I want
to extend an invitation
to those who maybe
have never yet invited
you in.
With our heads bowed
is there anybody in
the room that would
say I need to start the
relationship with Jesus
today for myself.
Not asking how long
you've been in church.
I'm not asking how
much you put in the
offering plate.
That has nothing to do
with anything.
I'm not asking if you've
been baptized or not.
I'm asking if you have a
personal relationship with
Jesus.
And if you say I don't
have that and I want to
talk about it would you
slip your hand up and I'll
pray for you.
Say I want to become God's
child.
I want to have a
relationship with him.
Thank you.
What about the rest of us?
Say maybe God has put
something on my heart.
Maybe somebody I could
reach out to.
Build a bridge to.
Maybe have over for dinner
or something like that.
Say there's somebody that
God wants me to reach out
to and start a relationship
with or strengthen a
relationship with.
Would you slip your hand
up?
I'll pray for you as well.
Thank you.
All over the room.
Thank you.
God you know exactly who
those people are.
Those faces.
You know what the needs
are.
The complications.
I pray that you would
work in our midst right
now.
Give people the boldness.
Sometimes if you're not a
naturally a people person
it's hard to step out and
make the first move.
But God by your spirit
draw us together.
Unite us.
Steve prayed earlier before
the offering.
Unite our church God.
Build this strong community.