We are beginning a new series on “Becoming Like Family” as our online community begin to share the daily challenges with friends, and we begin to gather our larger community together.
Why would we bother? One survey found that 59% of 18-29 year old Americans with a Christian background dropped out of church. Four-in-ten American young adults with a Christian background (43%) believe going to church and having Christian friends is optional.
It’s clear that not everyone feels it’s essential, and with our use of technology to form a new church, you might think we mean to simply form an “online” church where no one ever meets in person. But we believe it’s essential. We believe church is essential, but to be clear, we are talking about a community of people.
We’re not saying going to a building is essential
We’re not saying attending a particular kind of worship service with particular kinds of music is essential
Those might be good things. But they are things that churches do, not what makes them a church in the first place.
We want to ensure our church community will have five main characteristics. The first was learning common things about discipleship, and we explored that last week. The second, this week’s focus, is to be spending time in community together.
Some churches do this at bake sales, ham suppers, and such. For us, it will happen in groups that meet regularly to discuss how they’re growing as followers of Jesus. We’ll grow and learn together. Yes, we’ll be learning focused, but we’re also supposed to be a functioning community, a fellowship, in both small groups, and as a large group.
Perhaps you’ve heard the saying, “It takes a village to raise a child.” Well, it takes a church to raise a follower of Jesus.
Question: Why do you think people might avoid joining a church today? Have you been part of a church before? Why or why not?
Reminder: Last week we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.
Read the Bible in Sync Today
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This week, we're looking at foundatinos in life.
Jesus spoke to this in his conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount which we've been exploring. This is our second last week on this theme!
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24-27 ESV)
Truth 1: We all build on something in life, and that makes all the difference.
Both guys in this story want the same thing – a house. And they build one.
What’s different is location, location, location.
Just for fun, I recently toured an open house that’s double the price of my own. The house has some premium finishes, sure, but not enough marble and granite to double the price. The price difference was because of the location…the land is what’s most valuable.
Are you happy with where you're building life? We build on all kinds of things: Career, Kids, Sexuality, Power, Control, etc.
We can build some beautiful homes on those foundations, but it's all for nothing if the foundation crumbles and all that beauty falls down.
The foundation in life is the number one decision, upon which all other decisions are dependent. If your foundation decision is about debt reduction, then you'll sacrifice other things to pay down a loan. If it's your kids, then you'll sacrifice travel and independence. These are just examples, of how the foundation impacts other areas of life.
Question: What do you think is the difference between a sand and rock foundation in life? Give some examples.
