MEANT TO BE TOGETHER

Written By Ryan Coon

At the age of 8, I was sitting on this railing just outside our education wing. I was daydreaming and reflecting as I looked out at the grass where I would play during and after school, while my parents worked here. I remember one of the aftercare workers walking up to me asking if I had lost a friend or something, and I said, “No, I’m good.” She didn’t know it, but I was having a moment with God where I was thanking Him for my life, my friends, the school, and the church. Somehow, at a young age, I was keenly aware of my surroundings and the presence of God, including that very moment. I didn’t feel alone on that railing; I felt at peace because I knew I belonged to God, to my parents, my church, my school, and my friends. 

Today, my heart burns and beats for people to experience a true relationship with God and the joy, love, and strength of healthy Christian fellowship. My heart beats to see people have a healthy culture of togetherness in their lives because I have experienced it in my family, my marriage, and this church, and it has brought me so much joy and purpose. God has provided relationships and community for our well-being and benefit. God has also provided the love and wisdom on how to live in harmony, together. 

Main Scriptures: Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis 2:18-23; Acts 2:42-47; and Hebrews 10:24-25

Notes:

We are Created for Connection

Whether we want to or not, we are created for connection, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It’s part of who we are and how we are hardwired in the brain, in the heart, etc. 

Genesis 1:26-27 

  • God exists in relational community — the Trinity. 

    • The Trinity is relational fellowship. 

  • God created us in His Image…relational beings.

    • This is why we have an innate desire to know and be known, to love and be loved.

Genesis 2:18-23

  • God created us to live and thrive in relational community 

  • Relationships are a foundational building block for the human race. We are wired to be in a relationship with God and in community together. 

  • Being that we are wired for community, God has provided companionship, connection, and support in relationship with Him, in marriage, in family, in church, in friends, in neighbors, and in society.  

  • The community we live in is a support system. We see in humanity a powerful sense of community when facing a shared experience, such as coming together after the destruction of a devastating storm. Or when we gathered in the community on July 4th to watch the fireworks. For an evening, our differences, our backgrounds, political party, religious affiliation, or ethnicity didn’t matter because we all came together as one nation under God. 

God’s design is an incarnational community (A personal, face-to-face fellowship)

  • God came to us in human form through Christ. Some very fortunate people were able to walk and talk with Jesus. God was with us on earth. That is incarnational living. 

  • Acts 2:42-47 

    • The church is meant to be an incarnational community

    • Upon salvation, we are born into the family of God, the household of God (John 1:12; Ephesians 2:19-22). We are considered the house or temple, or fellowship of God (Ephesians 2:20-22). We are the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; 27). 

    • "Koinonia (Greek word for fellowship) is sharing a common life with other believers — It is a relationship, not an activity. Those first Christians of Acts 2 were not devoting themselves to social activities but to a relationship — a relationship that consisted of sharing together the very life of God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They understood that they had entered this relationship by faith in Jesus Christ, not by joining an organization. And they realized that their fellowship with God logically brought them into fellowship with one another. Through their union with Christ, they were formed into a spiritually organic community…It is not primarily an activity; it is a relationship. It is this spiritually organic relationship that forms the basis of true Christian community. It is not the fact that we are united in common goals or purposes that makes us a community. Rather, it is the fact that we share a common life in Christ." Jerry Bridges, True Community

    • This means knowing and being known by one another is part of our existence and journey as Christians. We are baptized into the body and family of Christ. To deny or ignore active fellowship is to rebel against our creator’s provision for support, encouragement, and spiritual growth. 

  • Hebrews 10:24-25 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

    • God calls us to be together so that we can encourage, care, love, work, serve, and change the world together. 

Intentional relationships with God and other believers meet our need for connection.

  • Psychologists and scientists agree that the quality of our lives often depends on the quality of our relationships. 

  • The surgeon general in 2023, Dr. Vivek Murthy, released a report revealing some concerning trends that were exacerbated by COVID shutdowns…

    • “Loneliness and social isolation are urgent public health concerns, more widespread than smoking, diabetes, or anxiety. It also turns out that loneliness poses severe risks to health and longevity…lacking connection can increase the risk for premature death to levels comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.” -Dr. Vivek Murthy, U.S. Surgeon General, https://weillcornell.org/news/

    • Psychiatry.org - New APA Poll: One in Three Americans Feels Lonely Every Week https://share.google/nDTsM4WxT4fd8FX9a

  • We live in a more connected world, but lonelier than ever

    • “Across age groups, people are spending less time with each other in person than two decades ago. The advisory reported that this was most pronounced in young people aged 15-24, who had 70% less social interaction with their friends. Murthy said that many young people now use social media as a replacement for in-person relationships, and this often meant lower-quality connections.” -NPR, https://www.npr.org/2023/05/02/1173418268/loneliness-connection-mental-health-dementia-surgeon-general

    • We’ve seen in our society a replacement of true social connection with digital social networking. Now, many people feel like they don’t know how to be in social circles…

  • This is where the Biblical church community is critical and helpful…Distant, digital, and online church is not what God intended. Thank God for phones so we can video call distant relatives and friends. Thank God for online church when we are sick or traveling, or handicapped in some way. But we need in-person fellowship, worship, eating, and having fun together. 

  • Relationships meet our need to be known and to know others. Relationships meet our need to be loved and to love others. Relationships give us purpose and meaning. We get to be helpful and make a meaningful impact in the lives of others. We get to leave legacies. We get to be role models, stand in parental roles for orphans, or become extended family for widows and widowers. We get to be the hugs and smiles of God. Intentional, meaningful relationships deliver God’s love. 

  • If we're created and wired for connection, then we're going to feel it if we aren't experiencing some form of a life-giving relationship.

Takeaways: 

Since we know we’re meant to do life together, that comes with basic expectations like intentionally making life together a priority and being a person who brings Christlike life to the community. 

Bravely embrace relational community with others

  • Avoid isolation and open your heart to being in intentional life together with others. 

  • Someone needs your funny sense of humor, your listening ear, your wisdom and counsel, your mentoring and example. Someone needs your spiritual gifts, your love, your laugh, and your smile. Someone needs your shoulder. And you need this too!

Be mindful of what you bring to the community around you

  • The double-edged sword of community, whether it's with friendships, marriages, co-workers, families, or the church, is the human element of it all. In a community, you can find love, loyalty, and joy, but you can also experience betrayal, hurt, and pain. 

  • We need to learn to be self-aware of our contribution to the relationship. We need to have emotional intelligence and notice if we are being a giver, not just a taker. A blessing and life giver after we’ve gone through our need and burden. Bring joy, not just constant despair. We’re going to have our days where you’re not as pleasant, or you’re running on empty and haven’t been a blessing…this is real life. But when we get through it, we need to look outside of ourselves and help others get through their battle…

Grow in your love and care for others

  • We aren’t life-giving in community by accident. We can grow and be life-giving together, but it takes work and sometimes some serious heart surgery and healing. 

  • This is why the Bible gives so much instruction on the subject. This is why the apostles offer dozens of “one another” scripture passages that instruct marriages, families, and the church how to get along and foster a healthy community together. 

Close

Families, marriages, friends, church, the second greatest commandment is to love one another. This is hard to do if we’re not spending quality time together. Married couples, you need to date. Families, we need to make time to have fun together. Friends, you need to be there for each other. Church, we must not neglect gathering together so we can continue encouraging and spurring one another on towards faithfulness to God, love, and good deeds. 

We are created for connection…However, many of us discover that finding community, making friends, and supporting one another as God intended isn’t always easy. Some might even find the idea scary or overwhelming. Others may feel that people are just too difficult and not worth the effort. How can we live together with all the challenges and difficulties that come with it? And why is it important, anyway? We’ll explore these questions and more in our new sermon series, Together. During the series, we’ll talk about how to care for one another using Godly wisdom and how to build thriving friendships, marriages, and families.

So buckle up because we need this series, and if we apply and grow in our ability to be better and stronger together, we will be a blessing that changes lives and brings glory to God

Discussion

  • What is one thing from the message that resonated with you?

  • According to Jerry Bridges, “Fellowship is not an activity, but a relationship.” What does that mean?

  • Have you ever experienced real "koinonia" (fellowship)? What made it special/real?

  • Why do you think loneliness is such a big issue today, even though we're more digitally connected than ever?

  • Hebrews 10:24-25 encourages us not to neglect meeting together. What are the dangers when we do?

  • What relationships in your life need more care and investment?

  • What additional notes did you make during the sermon?

  • What can we pray for regarding the sermon? Do you have any prayer needs?

The most important decision you will ever make!

If you’re ready to trust in Jesus for salvation and eternal life, we encourage you to process this decision with a strong believer and when you’re ready, say a simple prayer like this from your heart: Dear God, I acknowledge and admit I have sinned. I see my need for Jesus Christ. I believe in Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I believe I am forgiven and cleansed of my sin by His death. I also believe I have eternal life because of His resurrection from the dead. I repent, I turn away from my old ways and I choose to live my life to worship you and follow Jesus, Amen!

We would love to know if you decided to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Let us know here.

Pray Together

We hope you found this AFTER THE SERMON discussion helpful for your walk with Jesus. We pray you can find ways to apply it this week!

Ryan Coon
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