The Value of Community

Introduction

You probably can’t see it, but I have a little salsa on my shirt. So I guess now those of you watching live stream, you can’t see it. I don’t know why I said it. I just wanted you to know I was aware of it. That’s the big thing. That’s the big thing. All right. Well, put on my glasses here so we can see. Let’s uh get started by maybe going to God in prayer, please. Father, we’re thankful for the afternoon, for the chance that we have to reassemble, to come to think about things that are spiritual. We pray, Father, that in our discussions that we would be attentive, that we would be helped, and that we would all find ways to improve our efforts to serve you.

Again, thank you for this opportunity. Just bless us over the next several minutes. We ask especially in Jesus’ name. Amen. All right. Good to see you. We we were just a little bit late. We were listening to Ken tell preacher stories. So that’s why that’s why we were late. But uh good to be back with you. Okay, let’s get started. We’re not going to go as long in this session, but uh let’s get started. I I asked you a question. I think I asked you a question in your questions that I gave you about what do you think I meant when I talk about the value of community? So this would be a great time for several of you to tell me what you think I mean.

Yes, sir. Um communicating with the people in the church, coming together, helping each other, pray for each other, according to each other when we say, you know, maintaining that that relationship like a community. Good. Good, good. That’s that’s good. Everything you said works good. Accountability. Accountability, okay. That’s there’s a value in that. Any anybody else? Ma’am? Support? I love that. It takes a village. Takes a village, okay? Good. Takes a village. What else? This is not this is not hard to figure out, right? Everybody can read Bible and talk about the value of community. I think all that is good. Let me ask you this question. Do you think that the past two years have caused us to re-evaluate the value of community? Yeah. In a lot of ways.

And we had discussions about what we’re going to do. How much are we going to try to meet? When we do meet, what are we going to do? Are we going to wear a mask? Are we going to not wear a mask? And of course, all those are questions that had to be dealt with. And we’re not going to get into all those discussions. That’s not what this session’s about. What everybody should do or not do. But it did change things. And uh there for a while I was preaching to an empty auditorium and I did a children’s class and I was singing wise men built this house, and I was singing it by myself, being filmed, and that’s kind of hard to do, you know, when you’re trying to sing kids songs without any kids there.

So you have to kind of be a kid, which I don’t have a problem doing anyway. But but all of that, all of those things were hard. Okay. Let me ask you this. Do you think what we’ve gone through? And I’m kind of I’m kind of assuming we’re at the end of it. But do you think what we’ve gone through has helped us evaluate our community, our church community? Or you think it’s been a negative or a positive? What? I think it’s both. Yeah. It’s negative because we’ve had to do it, right? But it’s positive because why? Because we’ve had to do it. Right. And I want to I want to read you something. I’m I’m I’m not one to uh promote books except the Bible.

I try to promote that. And I’m gonna share something with you that probably several of you have even read. Some of you may have read it and didn’t like it, some of you may have read it and liked it, but it’s it’s it’s a book called Church Reset. How many of you have read this book? Reset. Ken’s read it. Uh well, I’d like to talk to you about it, but anyway, we’ll do that later. It’s just a book that looks like a real, I don’t know the man, relatively young guy. He preaches.

But he was just asking some questions. And here’s here’s kind of why he said what he said. He the name of the book is Church Reset, God’s Design for So Much More. I want to read you what the back cover says. He says, If have you have you ever driven home on a Sunday with that question on your mind? You’re not alone. When we read about the church in the Bible, there’s a beauty and an appeal to it that so often seems missing. And our busy, distracted, consumeristic world, it seems as though becoming a self-sacrificial, tight-knit, Christ-like family like the early Christians, is a pipe dream. In church reset, God’s designed for so much more, which is book, Jack Wilkie traces the problem back to its roots to show how we’ve deviated from God’s plan and how we can get back on track.

How we can stop operating as an organization and start living like a family. How do we stop creating church customers and start making dedicated disciples? How do we abandon man-made strategies and rediscover the power of God’s design? Church reset cast an exciting vision for what Christ’s church can be by pointing back to what it was meant to be from the very start. Now, I’m not, again, I’m not necessarily recommending this book. There’s some things in here. He talks in very general terms. I think there are some good things in here. But not everything about it would be things that I would typically agree with. But his reason for writing, I think is good. And I think what’s happened probably to all of us, and most churches that I’m either familiar with, aware of, or would be more associated with, let’s say, this has happened.

Churches have had to figure out if what they have been is what they need to be. Wouldn’t you agree with that? And my guess is you’ve had to do some of that, and I guarantee you, your elders and your preacher has had to do some of that. And all of you probably have had that discussion. One of the elders where I go, where I worship and where I work, is a man that comes to buy my office probably once a week, maybe more. And we have a lot of good discussions, and his favorite word now is what we’re doing effective. That’s his favorite word. Is it effective? Of course, it’s always assuming that it ought to be scriptural. That that’s that’s an understood thing. But then his question is, is it effective?

Is that is that what we’re trying to do? So really what this book, I think, tries to deal with, and I’m not again, I’m not either promoting it or anything like that, but I’m just saying what this guy’s having to deal with, I think we’re all having to do with. So I think in a positive way, this has been a good time for us to go back and try to evaluate that. And I want us to I want us to think about that a little bit in this session. What is what is the value of a local church? What can we maybe do better? What do we need to continue to do? What advantage is that to us? Does that make sense? That’s kind of the direction I want us to go.

1. We Cannot Be a Team of Common Men

And I want us to be, I’d like for us to be very open about that and talk about that. You you you tell me some things that would be good for all of us to do. That’s really what I want us to try to do in this particular section. Uh can we can we run that clip? We are you ready to go with it? All right, I want to I want to set up, I just want to show you. You know, I’m in Orlando, so I gotta do something Disney. Deedra said you gotta do something Disney. So in 2004, a movie came out that you that you I’m sure you saw called Miracle. It was about the 1980 men’s U.S. hockey team who beat Finland. That’s not the game you remember, but they beat Finland for the gold medal, but they beat the Soviet Union in the earlier game to get to the gold medal game.

And of course, it was a miracle. Not really, but that’s of course that’s the name of the movie. And it uh this clip I want to show you is uh is Kurt Russell is playing Herb Brooks, who was the coach of the men’s hockey team, the U.S. men’s hockey team. And uh they have just played some, I don’t know, I don’t know who they played, an exhibition game, and and the team didn’t they didn’t play hard. They didn’t do what they should have done. So Herb Brooks decides, played by Kurt Russell, he decides after the game to get back on the ice. And you may remember this part of this movie, but he says you get back on the ice. And of course, the guys are going, we just played a game.

What do you mean get back on the ice? So he tells them, get back on the ice. And I just want you to, I want you to listen. It’s I think it’s a three or four-minute clip. I want you to listen to what happens, and then I want to I want to make a couple of points about it, but I want you to think about it in reference to how we need to be. Okay? So go ahead and run it.

He wants to clean the ice and then go home.

Again. Again. You keep playing this way. You won’t beat anybody who’s even good, let alone Frank. You want to make this team, and you better start playing at a level that’s gonna force me to keep you here. Again.

Where are you going? Back on the line.

Again.

How about you, O. C. You ready to go down? I think I got my money on you, Burkoda. Of course, you got a hot date in about an hour, but you’re not looking too good for that right about now, are you? Send them.

This cannot be a team of common men. Because common men go nowhere. You have to be uncommon. Again.

Somebody’s going to get hurt.

Everybody get on that line. Hey.

Come on, Craig, what it was. Again.

Play for the United States of America. That’s all, gentlemen.

Alright. So that’s my Disney. That’s my Disney for today. So that was the assistant coach blowing the whistle. That was the team doctor who kept saying this is crazy. And then that was the coach saying, back on that line. So what what do you think? What what can we draw? We think about the team that we’re on when you think about our local church community. What is it? What are some quick lessons that you draw that we can draw from that that would help us in what we’re trying to accomplish here? Somebody tell me one. Yeah.

He’s got to keep pushing. The coach and who’s our coach? God. The Lord’s our coach, right? The Lord’s our coach. He we want him to keep pushing us, right? Okay. What else do we know? They were sending mixed signals for weapons. The one guy didn’t want to blow the whistle, the doctor went out on him. So that to me as a team player, I’m thinking, oh, I’m gonna go to the one who’s not gonna make me do it. So it kind of makes me question things. Okay, so we’ll make sure. Not sure who I’ll be listening to. Okay, good. Yes, sir. Yeah, I’ll let you know there’s a pastor and Philippians.

So we’re strive together for the faith in God. Okay. Love it. Strive together. Okay, good. Yeah. Know who you are. Know who you are? Good. That’s good. Yeah. Now there’ll be those that walk away.

Walk away. You’ve got to show your resilience in that. The message doesn’t change, the messenger doesn’t change, regardless of how it affects other people or they react to it. You are responsible for yourself as part of the character. That’s part of the group that’s trying to remain faithful together. Yeah. Good. Good. Anybody else? Keep reminding you. Yeah.

We have to remember who we represent, and we give that our all. We give that cause our all. Yeah, it’s not it’s not hard stuff to figure out is not hard. Yeah, who are you gonna say what you’re saying? Keep reminding each other. Yeah. Who we are? Do you think that what he was saying was we have to win every game? No. It never was about that. You remember, and you may not, because it’s hard to hear, and I’ve watched it over and over because it just it just moves me. He said we cannot be a team of what? You remember uncommon? We cannot be a team of common men. Cannot be a team of common men. We have to be uncommon. Okay. And and and I think all of those are think when we think about a community, and again, I’m not trying to say, you know, we learn we learn how to be a local church by watching movies.

I’m not I’m not suggesting it, but I’m saying that I think part of what we have to be is we have to be people who we understand the team concept, we understand our roles, we understand what what our responsibilities are, and and to his point, you know, we give it every every single thing we have, and we push each other. That’s what it is. And I think during this pandemic, you correct me if I’m wrong, but I think that’s been that’s been a little hard. It’s been a little hard for us to do that because we we’ve we sometimes tried to separate, and now’s not the time to separate. Now is the time to pull back and even be closer together, right?

2. Give Everything for the Team Concept

I’m going to share one other thing with you, and then we’re going to get to the text a little bit. All of you know I have an athletic background. I’m a I’m a legend in my own mind, but nobody else’s, okay. Uh this is a trophy. I want John wants you to read this trophy. What does that say? 1971. Tri County Champs. Wells B. 12, Ken Noir. Yeah, okay. 1971. I got this trophy in 1971. I got this trophy when I was 13. Okay. Uh now I hadn’t won every athletic accomplishment in my life, but I’ve won more than one trophy. But this trophy taught me more than anything else. At 13 years old, I want to tell you what it taught me. This I got this trophy in uh Jamestown, Indiana when I was 13.

The church there asked my dad to come and preach for them over the summer, just a few months. And I said, Dad, I don’t want to go because why? Because I can’t, by God can’t play baseball. He said, Well, I do this. He said, If you if he was gonna go regardless, but he said, if you’ll go, I’ll make this promise. I’ll try to find you a place to play baseball. I was 13. I said, okay, that’s good. So we’ve been in town about 15 minutes, and the first thing we did was we got in the car and we started looking. So we went to a convenience store, as I recall, and dad asked the guy, said, Is there a he explained the situation? We’re just moving around, we’re only gonna be here a few months.

Is there a place that my son could play baseball? He said, Well, I don’t know if a place, but he said, go out to the high school and see what you can find. We went out there, and it just happened to be a man and a baseball team. And they looked about my age. So dad pulled up to make a long story short. He talked to Jake Cunningham, who was the coach, and he explained the situation, and he said, Well, my team is the B team. They’re the B team, Wells B. There already was a Wells A, but I was too late for the Wells A, and I was really too late for the Wells B team. But Jake Cunningham said, Hey, your situation is a little different.

We’re gonna let you be on our team. Which was great. And that man and those boys took me in to play. They didn’t know me, they they’d never met me, and they took me in. And 13-year-old boys. Now, let me ask you a question. It would if if a new guy came in into town and just wanted to be on the team and came late and your coach let him play, and when he got there, you took somebody’s place. How do you think most of those boys would react to you? Go back where you came from. Not these boys. These boys took me in. I don’t remember anybody, including the boys whose the boy whose place I took. I don’t remember any of those boys treating me any differently than they treated everybody.

As a matter of fact, they helped me. I I I can’t explain it. But what it taught me was that if you find people who are willing to give everything they have and treat each other the right way, the outcome of that’s going to be very positive. We were the Wells B team. Now, if you know anything about B teams, that’s usually not the A team, right? And the A team is usually the varsity, and the B team’s what? It’s the B team. Well, that was kind of what this is. We were playing with the guys that, at least in the minds of some people, had inferior talent, and we went undefeated that year. It was exciting, it was an exciting time. Okay. But what it taught me was that when you find people who are willing to give everything that they have for the team concept, then really good things can happen.

So I’m not telling you that so you remember that I got a trophy when I was 13. I’m telling you that because that’s a kind of situation that in my mind a local church really needs to be. It needs to be made up of people who are a team, who understand the nature of the team, who understand they’ve got to give it their all. And in this time of church reset, let’s rethink, let’s reevaluate, let’s reassess kind of what we’re doing. Everybody’s got to be committed that way. And I’m here to tell you, I believe that when when people are like that, that the church, God’s church, the Lord’s church can be the kind of people we need to be. But we need to be willing, I think, to go back and reevaluate that and and and try to try to be everybody kind of fill their role and do what they need to do.

3. The Value of This Community

Now, with all that said, I want to talk to you and I want us to try to evaluate and I want us to think about what can we do if we’re honest with ourselves. Let’s talk about how this church can be at its very best. Okay? So I want I want to do that by you helping me think about what are some advantages or what is some value is it that this church community is to you? We’ve already mentioned a few things, but let’s go back and talk about them in a little bit more detail. The value of this community. What is it? Because when we we when we remember it when we value it like we should, we’ll be better at what we’re trying to accomplish, right?

So let’s go back and talk about that for a few minutes. What’s the real value of this community to you? Let’s talk about some of that. So somebody give me a give me an idea. Let’s say support. That was what was something you said, right? In what way are we supportive of each other here? We’re helping each other get to heaven. Okay. That’s kind of the underlying question, right? Reason. Are there some things that make that hard, you think? What would be something here? Let’s just take it here. Because I think I’ve got a little bit of grasp on that for you. What are some things that make it hard here for you to be supportive, help each other get to heaven? Am I going? Go ahead, Joe.

That requires us to get personal with one another, which oftentimes involves conflict and maybe uh getting into one another’s business. You like that? No. It’s not easy, is it? No. Okay. That’s good. That’s good. Are we are are we supposed to be? Let me put it this way. Is there a need for us to be in each other’s business when it comes to our spiritual lives? Sure. Yeah, yeah. But I know it, I know it’s difficult. Yes, sir. Expression. Clicks. There are clicks in the congregations. Believe or not. I’ve been around a while. Sure. Is that troublesome? That there are clicks. How do you since we’re since we’re kind of into it now? How do we deal with that? Jim?

Sometimes clicks uh just perception. Sometimes they’re deliberate. Where people, you’re my friend, and I don’t want to talk to anybody else. But sometimes clicks are perceived in the mind of others. And I guess it’s it’s it’s upon us to make sure that we want welcome. Um invite the people who seem to be on the outside. It’s like you go out of your way. We we talk about it, but it’s hard to do at times. Not the servants, you just end up talking to instead of people. Yeah. And some just pass by and say hi. It’s it takes evidence. Yeah. Okay, I’ll I’ll tell you, I I’m in the middle of something here with y’all that it I know it’s very it can be touching. I get that.

I get that. I’m not, and I’m not trying to open up a can of worms, but I am I am interested in us thinking about it. What’s cuc cause what’s gonna make what’s gonna make you better, right? That’s what we’re thinking about. Yeah, Jim. Open your eyes to it. Just be aware that it is clicks naturally for them because people of like interest are just comfortable being around each other all naturally and to congregate. So it’s kind of like um be aware that they happen and and develop eyes to look for the isolated. Right. Right. It’s like new kid joins it’s in the cafeteria and you know you sit with your friends, okay, fine. But invite them to come join you means you’re adding vulnerability because you don’t understand.

Yeah. You know, that’s right. Um you know your friends, you like your friends. You don’t know you’re gonna like this guy, but it it adds a little bit of vulnerability there, but it’s just looking to keep your eye on the board. Good. Yeah, I think there’s kind of two questions. One is how do we deal with it, and how should we deal with it? And I think you know a lot of the comments here we’re talking about how should we deal with it. The question is, do we? You know, if you’re in one of those cliques, you have a responsibility to act and reach out to others. If you’re outside one of those cliques, you have a responsibility not to just sort of go away angry and complain about it, but to maybe assert yourself a little bit more.

Yeah, the thing is it’s easy for everybody to point fingers all the different directions, but everybody has a responsibility in something in something like a click is going on yeah good John well I’m gonna take a different angle I I I don’t think uh I want maybe naive want to get people the benefit of the doubt I don’t think clicks performed intentionally it’s not like school high school junior or whatever don’t talk to those people type thing you know get together I don’t think people here are in congress congregations that we we’re not gonna do anything with them it’s just like Jim said it’s just a habit of being with people somebody like Alabama football I like to hang around with them and talk about the game and stuff it’s just it’s just a natural thing you have to make an effort to go talk to other people that don’t usually talk to you.

Yeah anybody hear that no no same well basically John was saying you know he he doesn’t think that happens intentionally clicks aren’t formed intentionally it’s not because we don’t like people or we don’t want to be with people it’s just sometimes those those happen naturally and I think there’s some truth to that so basically his point we have to make a better effort to be inclusive of everybody and I think that’s I think that’s well said. Yes ma’am COVID all that happened um one thing positively I want to say about this congregation is that we have decision to have groups and they would rotate people and move the form together and leader you may see sometimes believing in these houses and that would be very helpful as far as getting to where you talk and community getting other people COVID.

Thank you. Thank you. Yeah. Good. Very good. Yeah. And 1 Corinthians 13, where it talks so much about love and the value of love. One of the things it says is love does not seek its own. And if you’ve got members of a congregation, of a group that is self-seeking, then there’s something lacking there. We we all need to be looking out one for another, not for each person individually. Good. Very good. Do you think that happens everywhere? What we’re talking about? Yeah. And I’m gonna tell you something that you know. But part of what the value of community is is you feel a part of the community. And if you don’t feel part of the community, what are you gonna do? You’re gonna look for another community.

Okay. And I think I think to that point, we we don’t want to be common people. And I don’t mean that we’re better than somebody’s, but I mean that these kinds of things are things that every I think the benefit, one of the benefits that every local church can have is your awareness of those of those people that may not be as easily integrated into groups. Uh be aware of that and make a strong push toward helping people with that. That’s that’s that’s good. And uh and again, that’s not a that’s not a statement about what has or happened here. I don’t know about that. I’m just I’m just post-COVID trying to think about you know the value of what we’re trying, what I know you’re trying to accomplish here, and what every local church is trying to do that I’m aware of.

So I think that’s important. Yeah. How many people? How many people have worked in public? You got a few.

When I worked at Publix in 2005, one of the rules was the 10 second rule uh 10 feet rule. 10 feet rule. If you had a customer within 10 feet of you, you said I to them. They don’t do it anymore. You go to a public and they hardly ever say, you know, you’ll have somewhere like building it. But as a policy, we do go to public people will walk one, the workers will walk by lines, not even know that you’re there, wouldn’t you make eye contact? But the 10 people, you know, if we would do that here, um, and I’ve said this a number of times. Sometimes we get comfortable in the same pew, same location. If we all be a concerted effort to sit in different places, and when you’re there, the people that are around you, the 10 feet rule, get to know them.

You know, you can get with your friends later, but that that way, because I know there are people here that I don’t really know that well, that I may not, and I’m regardless to say I may not introduce myself to them. And with COVID, with the masks, for goodness sakes, there are people that come to worship now that are probably been coming for six months, but I didn’t know that because they’ve been wearing a mask. And I think that’s one of the things that’s kind of taking us to back in this whole mask issue of you know not staying away from each other, not really seeing who that person is. Sure. Good.

Well, I was here and was not here.

See, I told you it was about stirring you up. I told you that, right? It’s an option. Well, to your point, okay. We’re talking about some real practical things here. But but again, I think that’s valuable for us to think about. It uh it’s not listen, it happens everywhere. And you know, I think if again, if people don’t find the community that they’re looking for, then they’re gonna try to find it somewhere else. Yeah, a congregation that we moved here from uh in Indiana. Um, one of the things is they had uh greeters, they you know, a different family would be greeted each month. One month uh I I was one of the greeters, and somebody comes in. I said, It’s my responsibility and my duty this month to welcome you, you know.

Thanks for being here, you know. Well, that’s that’s the idea that so many people have, you know, and and that takes away from that community that you’re talking about. Here it’s a little different though, because coming out of COVID, now we’re in an environment where you don’t wear masks, and we’re still learning cruise members, you know, because you haven’t seen faces for so long, and there’s been people that’s that’s been worshiping not personally but but online and things such as that because of underlying conditions and things such as that, but um plus there’s so many visitors here that that come because of Disney and things such as that, but one of the things that we’ve noticed is the friendliness, which was very beneficial. I mean people just welcome me because you don’t get that at every congregation, other than it’s my responsibility, my duty to welcome you today.

So well done. Well done. That’s that’s such an important part of what you’re trying to accomplish, right? Any other comp Jim?

We we we know we’re a family. I don’t think we always actually that way in the way in which we think of people. I know we may be distinctions between what family and this family, but should there be there’s certain responsibilities or put that aside though? If you’re at a family or reunion and there’s some relative you’ve not met before, which is possible for everything, and they’re spread all over the country. You have a desire to be how do you treat them?

I think we do think of them differently all too often. Yeah. But they should be family you haven’t met in.

That’s okay. Uh for myself anyway, it’s okay. Um I don’t know what direction I want to go really with it. Um how do we? Let me ask you this. What do we use to help people feel part of this community? Is that a good way to ask that question? I don’t know if that’s a good way to ask it for what kind of community are we? Let’s ask that question. What kind of community are we? How would you answer that? Based upon even what we’ve talked about already today? We’re uh family that’s God focused. What’s another word for that? What? We’re believers. Okay, here we go. I’m asking questions that only occupy my mind. I know what I’m asking, right? We’re spiritual family, right? We’re gonna do spiritual things.

4. Together to Stir Up Love and Good Works

We’re going to use spiritual means to accomplish those kinds of all these are all these are principal things that I think this group would agree on. We’re going to do spiritual things using spiritual ways. But for for instance, turn over, turn over to a passage that we’re all familiar with. Turn over to Hebrews 10. Okay. What verses we’re going to go to? 24 and 25. Let’s go there. Let’s just go there and let’s talk about that these last few minutes. We we don’t have but a few minutes. Uh, because we got here late because Ken was telling preacher stories. Uh no, he really didn’t, but anyway. Um, somebody read. Who’s who’s got a loud voice? Ken Chapman, read Hebrews 10, 24 and 25, please, sir. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good words, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the matter of some, but exhorting one another and so much more as you see the day approaching.

Okay.

What is that not saying? What is that? What are those verses not about? Maybe, maybe I ask that. Is that a fair question? Are those verses saying, Don’t ever miss church? Is that what that’s saying? No, the contact theory isn’t about the worship service. No. Well, what? It’s not. What? The context is not about the worship service. Melanie, what Bible are you reading? Well, what? No, let’s talk about that a bit, okay? It is there is there is some level of assembling there, right? Not assembly, but assembling. Does that does the Hebrew writer tell us that there’s value in assembling? Yeah, oh yeah. That’s very obvious. That’s the point to that, right? But what kind of assembly? Could could they be talking about this? Sure. Could very well be.

I mean, all my life. I mean, when I’m talking about don’t miss church, where do I go? Go to Hebrews 10. Don’t miss church, right? I don’t think that’s what that’s talking. I think that’s saying is there is value in being together. There’s real value in what COVID has done, at least a little bit. It’s kind of pushed us away from that. Okay? And we need, it seems to me, we need to be pushed back toward it a little bit. Why? Because God says there’s value in assembling and in being together. What’s what according to this passage? What’s the value of that according to this passage? Exhorting one. Exhort one another. All these all these consider one another, exhort one another, right? For what purpose? Stir up love and good works.

Okay? That’s why it says you need to be together, right? To stir up love and good works. Now, let me ask you a question. And I’m not, I don’t want to take anything away from what’s going to happen tomorrow in this same building. But could you do tomorrow what we’re going to do together tomorrow? Could you do that in your own home tomorrow? Could you do everything tomorrow that we’re getting ready to do tomorrow here in this assembly? Could you do it all at your house? Sure you could. You think you could uh could you learn something from God’s word? Could you pray? Could you sing? Could you take the supper? Then why come? Because it says to come. It says, don’t miss that, right? Encourage.

Yeah. No. John, to your point. It says there’s value in being together. And when we don’t see that value, we’ve missed something very important when it comes to our faith and who we are. It’s not just I’m coming for me. That’s a part of the problem. We think we’re coming for me. Do you know part of why you come? In who? In everybody else. It’s not just about you, and it’s not just about me, it’s about what we give each other. It’s about giving and it’s about receiving. And I don’t mean in any kind of way to deduce the value of what we do when we assemble our worship period. But may I ask you a question? I don’t know if maybe I shouldn’t ask this, but I’m gonna ask you anyway.

Do you think does it surprise you that so little is said in Scripture? Or do you even agree with the point that so little is said in Scripture about an actual assembly like we have? You ever thought about that? Is there much in the New Testament that said about a church assembly where you sing and pray? Don’t, don’t, don’t, I’m not, I’m not trying to go off the deep end here. So don’t people go, where’s he going with this? Is he saying we don’t need to do that? No, I’m not saying that at all. I’m not saying it at all. Hang on. It doesn’t specifically say these people, but it mentions many times the church. And what is the church? It’s a spiritual entity, right? I 100% agree with you, okay.

But but the value, I think the value of this is it’s I’m not suggesting that what we do is meet and change everything. I’m not saying that at all. But I find it interesting that there’s not a lot in scripture that says when you meet together, you do these, you do these five things, right? Why do we do these things? Well, it may be, but but do we find it in Scripture? We do find it in Scripture. So I think it’s it’s I think it’s exactly what we needed. I’m not I’m not minimizing it, but I’m saying let’s remember we’re coming together to do this for good reasons, but it’s also to stir us up. It’s not just so we can learn something about God’s word, and so we pray together and do this.

It’s to stir us up for love and so there’s so there’s motivation here, other than let’s just come together and and check the boxes and let’s get these things. I’m not minimizing it. Please don’t misunderstand me. But let’s see every, let’s see every aspect of it. That’s that’s what I want us to do. Yeah, Jim. So, I mean, coming back to what David said, the word we translated church literally means. Literally means what? Assembly. Yes. I mean, so if we were to read the verses, not and translate church back to it, we say, you know, to the assembly that to the assembly this. Yeah. All of that. So it’s it’s intrinsic. Yes. It is always present. The idea of assembling together out of the world, fuller meaning.

Yeah, is intrinsic to it. So to resist that is to resist what we are. That’s right. I I agree 100%. And it’s and it’s also resisting what this passage is just telling us to do. It’s telling us, it is telling us to assemble. It is telling us that to being together is important. But it’s not just because of what happens. It’s not just so we can hear a sermon, so we can sing together. It’s so that we can stir up one another to love and good works. There’s more to it. That’s my only point. There’s more to it. I’m not saying we need to exclude it, I’m saying, but there’s there’s there’s more to it than just let’s get together and do these five acts of worship that we talk about.

Okay. I mean, if we were to get together, say nothing and meditate, it would have value. I mean what there’s there’s value, it’s part of our identity, don’t undergo. I agree. Right. It’s part of our identity, and it distinguishes us from the rest of the world. That’s also introduced the idea. So you won’t feel alone or isolated. There shouldn’t be a yearning to be with people that you just don’t see around anymore. Yeah. This is one of the reasons why what we, in my judgment, what we do, we have to ask this question. Are we being as effective in what we’re doing as we need to? Is it stirring us? Is it moving us so that when we leave here we are stirred to love and good works?

You see what I’m saying? So so there, but there’s there’s reasons why this takes place. And we don’t need to be shying away from it. We need to be pulling toward it. We need we need to be coming together for these for these very kind of things. I I hope I’m not clouting the issue, and I don’t want you, I’m not trying to minimize what I think the value of this is. But I think all I’m saying is when you look at that passage in Hebrews 10, what’s the purpose of us coming together? It’s to stir us up. How does that happen? By preaching, by singing, by praying, sure. But but just the fact that just the fact that we’re we’re we’re together. That’s that’s encouraging us.

5. Value What It Means When You’re Together

And when we’re not together, it it doesn’t make us as good as we can be. Okay. Here that’s hard for don’t isn’t it hard for you sometimes to assemble? I don’t mean hard in the sense of you’re trying to decide are you going to or not? But practically, you live in this town, if you live a little ways from here, does it get hard? Yeah. Then come live where I live. You can get to you can get to our building a lot easier, okay? But here’s what I’m saying. Value what it means when you’re together. Value that. And look for opportunities to be together that may not be just here. Okay. And again, I’m not telling you, this is nothing you don’t know, okay? But but understand the value of all that.

And when you and when you do, it’ll make it’ll make this, it’ll make this even better when you pull together like that. Right? Yes, sir.

Well, it’s in my notes, but we I gotta stop. I can’t get to it.

Yeah, no, it’s uh we were going to read beginning in Acts in verse 40, as a matter of fact, but we’re not going through now, yeah. Well, what instead made me think of um something my dad used to always say is that if you don’t value being together with your fellow Christians, whether it be in worship service or in in other places or whatever, why what are you doing? What do you think heaven is? That’s true. I mean, you’re obviously you’re gonna be there with God in worshiping him, but who are you gonna be with? Your fellow believers and Christians, and so it just makes no sense. Yes, you know. I’ve had I’ve had a few people tell me in the past two years, well, we’re just staying home because what?

Because we can’t. You’re missing, you’re missing. You’re missing the point of being together. I’m not those of you watching online, that I think that’s great. I’m hoping that you’re watching because you can’t be here, or maybe you’re too far away, whatever. But but there is a value of being here together. There is that value. I mean, it’s clear, okay? To me, it’s clear to me in varieties of ways. It’s clear from our worship, it’s clear from uh our teaching, it’s clear from when we dismiss, because what do we typically do? We stay around, why do we do that? Because we want to be together, we want to be together. I mean, I can’t think of any better people in Orlando to be with than you. If I was here, this is what I’d want to be with you.

I want to come here and be with you. That’s that’s who we are. That’s that’s who we are. And we don’t want to lose that. We want to, and and I think maybe it yeah, I think it’s fair to say we’ve lost a little of that in what’s happened, and we want to pull that back in. We we we have to do that, and and because there are there are other people looking for this. Listen, that I I know that there’s a lot of people in this town, city, who would love to have what you have. So you just keep you just keep working. Just keep working at it and keep trying to locate those folks, okay. Any other comments. If we have time, we’ll talk more about it.

Conclusion

We can, but I just want to I just want to keep encouraging you to value, value what you have. Keep building it, keep working it, keep keep trying to make it as effective as you can, and and keep appreciating what you have. That’s really what I want to do. Okay. Yeah, welcome.

I think many times just looking at nature and some of the things God teaches us through that. I think our physical families, like mother, and father, wife, and husband and children, it teaches us how we are to even be as a spiritual family. And sometimes one of the challenges to that, like the passage of as I am sharpens iron soul, we sharpen the continents of one another. We like the nice sound and part. But that I am rubbing against iron, that’s friction. Sometimes things you have to deal with, and these things make you even more vulnerable, and it’s challenging for us to deal with difficult things at times. So I come to church, and then I get up and take off. And maybe not talk too much people or just a few.

But it’s the more we interact with each other and get to know one another.

Yeah, I love it. I love it. It is a true benefit. It’s a great benefit. And it’s and it’s God directed. I don’t want you to miss it because of the value it is, and because of what you can get from it, what you can give to it. Yeah. It’s great. Okay. That’s it. 2 30. Shut it down. Okay. So hey, I appreciate it, appreciate. Listen, that that to me, this has worked out better than I’d ever hoped, because I thought, what if they don’t talk? Well, I didn’t have that problem. And that’s a really good thing. That says a lot about you and your willingness to want to talk about it and benefit from it. And like like it always happens, I’m the one, I’m the one that’s gained the benefit.

So I want to thank all of you for doing that. I hope to see you tomorrow. And we’re going to come and worship. We’re going to be together, and we’re going to it’s going to be a great help to us. So I look forward to that time to be with you tomorrow. Okay? All right. God bless. Ken?