We are beginning a new series on “Becoming Like Family” as our online community members begin to share the daily challenges with friends, and we begin to gather our larger community together. We want to have five main characteristics, and the one we’re focusing on this week is to be spending time in community groups.
Yesterday, we saw that four-in-ten American young adults with a Christian background (43%) believe going to church and having Christian friends is optional.
You might think that this is a new phenomenon, but today we’ll read about a similar story from the Bible, written in a letter to some of the first Christians, within 50 years of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:23-25 ESV)
First, please notice how clear this is that being a church here is about a gathering of people. The Greek word for church is ekklesia which literally means “an assembly” or “gathering of people” called out to be and do something specific. The author of the Letter to the Hebrews was not specifically speaking about a building. Even if they worshipped at the temple occasionally, it was primarily a place of Jewish ritual sacrifices, not a place that was immediately associated with Christian worship just because of its architecture or presence.
He was referring to a people group, a movement, who actually did spend time together – sometimes in temple, sometimes in homes, sometimes in rented rooms, and probably some places in between.
But the other thing that’s clear here is that they aren’t meeting together as much as they should, and it’s essential that they do.
The author doesn’t say why. Did they get lazy? Are they afraid of being identified by persecutors? Have they actually stopped believing?
No one can be sure. But the author is clear that being a regular part of a Christian community is critical regardless. He says it’s this important, it represents holding fast to what we claim/confess to believe. That involves connectedness with others who claim and confess the same things.
Gathering with other Christians is also a visible reminder of who we are – God’s beloved but distant children, trying to follow Jesus to know him again.
Someone I know recently went out West on business, and was planning to go to an Oilers vs. Leafs game, wearing a Leafs jersey! She went there knowing she’d be alone, and would endure persecution, where no one else would be dressed like her. But then at the game, she looked out, and saw a few other Leafs jerseys, and a few more, and a few more. She was reminded she wasn’t alone.
This is what church is about. Although we may feel alone at times as Christians, when we are part of a church we remind ourselves that we are not alone, as we catch a glimpse of others wearing our colours. We are not the only ones trying to live as followers of Jesus in a hostile world. In fact, there are millions of us, all over the world, and all around our offices and neighbourhoods. But we need to come out and recognize each other. As we gather together, we remember that we are part of a community. We see this, we feel it and we are encouraged. And we are challenged, to be there for each other throughout the week as well.
Question: Why do you think it’s important for followers of Jesus to meet together? What should come of their meetings?
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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Hi. Welcome to Redeem the Commute. I'm Ryan, your host to the daily challenges. Normally we follow a weekly rhythm that helps us explore a different topic and how following Jesus impacts that topic.
This week is going to be a little different. We're going to be taking an opportunity to just kind of see where we are as a community. Now you probably know us as a mobile app and website for busy commuters but we're also trying to become a church community as we explore what it means to follow Jesus. As individual people engaged in a busy lifestyle, we want to make sure that we're not completely disconnected from one another and that even though we're usually quite scattered as a community, we want to take time to gather as well.
As a gathered community, we want to make sure that we are committed to some of the same things in common and so that's why through this week, this week alone, it's going to be kind of a special week. We're going to be looking at each of the things our community is committed to one by one and see how we're doing as a community by hearing the stories of individuals who are part of our growing on-line community or our in-person courses who are seeing their lives changed. We hope they'll inspire you to see some transformation in your own life as well.
The five things that we're committed to as a community. I'll start with being committed to growth in discipleship. We have some common content to learn together. We also want to be committed to God in worship, committed to generosity in our resources, committed to grace in our lifestyles and witness and finally, committed to groups in community. We're going to be look at each of those points one by one this week and today, being Monday, we're going to start by looking at growth in discipleship.
Today in our series, just a bit of status update for Redeem the Commute and how we're progressing to becoming a church community called Redeemer Church, we wanted to talk about the importance of a place in our community on generosity of resources. A few months ago we shared a story with you from a woman named Carol who had chosen to use some of her financial resources to support the work of Redeem the Commute and it becoming Redeemer Church.
We shot a great video of her telling her story of why she has chosen to give to support God's work in various forms but particularly Redeem the Commute. We'll show you a couple of clips from that now and I think the real highlights are how she felt that this was an important way to respond to God's relationship with her. There was no decision made on a whim here but rather she felt God's distinct calling to support this ministry because she had been a commuter herself who found she needed resources to help her follow Jesus while she was going about that busy part of her life and now wants to share that opportunity with others.
Generosity of resources is all about taking what God has given us and returning some of it in thanksgiving. To say thanks to God for the great gifts he gives us, we give him a small portion in return.
I know that I found ... I spent seventeen years commuting and I'd commute sometimes anywhere between an hour and two and a half hours one way. I used to try and spend quality time with God in my car. I think that the whole idea of Redeeming the Commute is an excellent way to use time that's otherwise wasted.
My husband and I sensed that we should give a particular amount of money as a one-time gift to Redeem the Commute. I'd seen Ryan actually at a conference and when I saw him, I thought, I think we're supposed to support his ministry in Redeem the Commute. We didn't have the money at the time and that was okay because we've learned that God does provide. Income tax refund came in, check was written and Redeem the Commute came part of our financial ledger at home.
And then just got the sense that God wanted us to start supporting Ryan monthly. One day I was praying and Redeem the Commute came to mind and I knew that the timing was the timing that day and so that evening I went on to the website and accessed the giving form and set it up so that we now are monthly supporters.
Now Carol just didn't make a one-time gift to Redeem the Commute. She chose to actually make an ongoing gift. She recognized that Redeem the Commute was a weekly enterprise. We are producing videos every week and putting them out there for people to learn what it means to follow Jesus. That happens every week whether you're watching or not. She wanted to make sure she made a regular, ongoing monthly gift to the work of Redeem the Commute. That kind of commitment is what allows us to do our work, knowing that every week, every month we have a portion of our needs covered.
Unfortunately it is not all. We're supported by grants from our denomination, the Diocese of Toronto, and those grants decline over time. We're hoping that those who are part of our community, on-line and in person, will start to give to cover the cost of this ministry. Start to give thanks for how you've been touched by giving so that others can be touched as well.
Think about how it works. You're able to watch this video today because of the kind of gift that Carol made. Her regular ongoing gift supports our ministry and has enabled it to reach you. How many more people could we reach if each of you watching were to make a regular gift to Redeem the Commute as well?
We could grow our ministry by leaps and bounds to reach not just people in Ajax and Durham, but across the GTA. We could see more lives transformed, more marriages saved, more parenting skills improved, more families brought back together through the work of Redeem the Commute supported by people like you. As Redeem the Commute becomes a church community called Redeemer Church, generosity is going to be an important part of who we are and, yes, that comes across in supporting the ministry itself of Redeem the Commute becoming Redeemer Church but also in our general attitude of generosity as we go about our daily lives.
We want to be a community of people who are known for our generosity, generosity of our financial resources, generosity of our time, generosity of our compassion as we encounter others in this world.
I am encouraging you to make Redeem the Commute a regular part of your giving, of your charitable giving. You give through our website at redeemthecommute.com. You look for the give back link. You'll be able to get a tax receipt from the Diocese of Toronto, our denomination, when you do give a gift of over ten dollars.
I'd encourage you to make us a regular part of your giving but also to include other charities, other Christian ministries, other things in our world that are consistent with God's kingdom and finally, save some money so you can give generously to those you know who are in need. That's the big picture of generosity. We've explored that before in other challenges. I'd encourage you to go back to our series to becoming like family to see a bit of that or some of our earlier segments as well.
Your challenge for today is to find a way to support the ministry of Redeem the Commute, whether that looks like you may be giving your time to help us start our worshiping community or maybe giving some of your talents if you have particular gifts and skills that you think would be useful as we do that, or it can be giving financially to support this ministry and there are a few ways to do that.
One is to go to our website as I mentioned earlier, and look for the give back link right at the top of the page. You'll be led to a page where you can give through our giving page at the Diocese of Toronto. Your tax receipt will come from them but it will still have been directed to Redeemer Church. As long as it says Redeemer Church on the form, you know you're in the right place and you're giving specifically to this ministry which is part of a much larger ministry called the Anglican Diocese of Toronto.
When you give on-line to Redeem the Commute you've got a few options. You can just make it a one-time gift but if you are able to, I'd encourage you to set it up as a regular, ongoing gift through your credit card. If you prefer not to use a credit card and you'd prefer to maybe use debit, I'd encourage you to set up a preauthorized withdrawal. You can set up a regular monthly gift, again through the Diocese of Toronto. I can put you in touch with the right people if you'd like to make that kind of a gift.
The same thing if you'd like to give through cash or by check. I can give you some instructions on how to give that way and make sure your gift is directed to Redeemer Church as well. These are all great ways to give to support the ministry of Redeem the Commute but I hope it's touched you and it's a way to help make sure we can touch other people's lives as well.
We're meant to become a self-funding church community over time. Although we started with grants, very generous grants from the Diocese of Toronto, we want to become self funding. I'd love to hear from you this week in how you plan to support the ministry of Redeem the Commute so we can keep this touching lives like it's touched yours.
That's it for today's topic. Hope you're working with a group and can discuss with them maybe what your plans are for giving of your time, your talents or your treasure to support the work of Redeem the Commute. I'd encourage you not to delay but to take some steps today to do that because you might forget if you don't do it today.
Please consider making a regular gift to Redeem the Commute. This is a project of Redeemer Church, a new Anglican church forming in Ajax that wants to help busy, commuting people. We are so new, our denomination handles our donations using the form below or at this direct link. Your charitable receipt will come from The Anglican Diocese of Toronto.
