Live in Community

Weekly Update – February 6th, 2025 

By nature, as human beings, we were all created to be with other people.  In fact, in Genesis 2:18 when God created Adam, he said, “it is not good that the man should be alone.”  That statement from Genesis points to the divine image that we reflect.  God, who created us, eternally exists as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  This means that God is not an isolated being, disconnected from anyone and everyone.  Instead, he is a communal being, who has forever existed in a relationship within himself.  Therefore, as we model our creator, by nature, we too are designed to live in community with others.

The primary way that we live in community with each other is set out for us in the New Testament.  Through our common redemption in Christ, we as believers, are brought together as the church, to make known the “manifold wisdom of God” (Eph. 3:10), or better yet, to display God before all of the world.  In our salvation, we are placed within a community of faith to give the only appropriate response to our God:  worship.  We think of Psalm 29:1-2 which says, “Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.”  We fulfill this calling in worship privately when we read the Word of God and pray, but we also fulfill this calling together, corporately, when we gather each week on the Lord’s Day.

The secondary way that we live in community with each other occurs in smaller groups.  This time specifically fosters our application of the Word of God.  It is the idea of “living life” together.  It is in these groups that we do what you cannot do in our corporate times.  In particular, we live out what is called “the one another” commands (love one another – Rom. 12:10; live in harmony with one another – Rom. 12:16; stir up one another toward love and good works – Heb. 10:25; confess your sins to one another – James 5:16; etc.).  It is possible to live out these commands of the New Testament by only gathering corporately on Sunday morning, but we fulfill them much better and to a greater degree when we form relationships with others.

In preparing for this coming spring, I want to challenge you to dive a little bit deeper into this call to live together in smaller groups.  We have many formal activities such as Equipping Hour, Ladies/Men’s Bible Studies, Home Groups, etc., that encourage small group interaction, but even these opportunities can only go so far.  To grow together in the process of sanctification, we must be involved in each other’s lives beyond Sunday.  To experience mutual care, genuine fellowship and greater love towards each other, our formal gatherings must carry themselves over into our daily lives.

In many ways, it is difficult not to form friendships with people you have Christ in common with and those you see, week in and week out.  On the other hand, it is easy to simply come and participate in the formal activities of the church without being intentional with others every other day of the week.  As Joe Thorn says in his book The Life of the Church, “believers ought to read the Word and pray together, but we should also work and play together.”  This comes when we gather outside the walls of the church, interacting with each other in environments that are not always time restricted and age specific.  It is the idea of gathering with others in a smaller group or even one on one, in ways that are natural and less formal. 

Without deep relationships with others, it is easy to come to church and be known, but also come and be anonymous.  Others may know us, but they may not really know us.  There is a balance here.  On the one hand, gathering with each other on Sunday mornings is vital to our health as a church.  On the other hand, gathering in relationships with others is also key for our own growth as Christians as well as for the building up of God’s church.  Don’t forsake either one of these gatherings as they are not only key to your Christian life, but they are key to the lives of others around you. 

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson