The Power of Community; Celebrating Christ, Caring for Community

One of the most important things you can do when you become a part of a church is the understanding of what you're connected to. This is so vital. The great thing that you can be a part of is a movement called the Church of Jesus Christ that has existed for 2,000 years. 

No matter where you are in the world when you meet someone who is a believer (has a relationship with Jesus Christ), you immediately have a connection that is stronger spiritually than any other connection. 

One statement beautifully captures this truth, "Celebrating Christ, Caring for Community."

While this certainly refers to reaching people outside the church, it also reminds us of the importance of the community that exists within the church itself. Our influence outside the church should be as strong as our commitment to one another inside the church.

 

We Were Created for Community

The Bible teaches that we were never created to do life alone.

When God created the world, He declared everything He made to be good. Light was good. The stars were good. The animals were good. The trees were good. Yet after creating man, God made one remarkable statement: "It is not good that man should be alone." (Genesis 2:18)

From the very beginning, God's design was for people to live in relationship with Him and with one another.
 

Life Is Full of Challenges

Every person experiences difficult seasons.

Some struggle in their marriages. Others face family problems, difficult children, major life decisions, financial pressures, or personal battles that no one else knows about.

The enemy would have us believe that we should face these struggles alone. He convinces us that asking for help is a sign of weakness.

Yet Scripture teaches the opposite. "A man who isolates himself seeks his own desire; he rages against all wise judgment." (Proverbs 18:1)

God's answer to life's struggles is community.
 

The Danger of Living in Isolation

It is possible to attend church every week without ever becoming part of the church family.

A person can walk in, sit through the service, greet a few people, and leave without ever becoming connected.

But God's desire is different. He does not want anyone to go unnoticed. He does not want anyone to go uncared for. His desire is for every believer to belong.

Living a life of seclusion could possibly be one of the most selfish things a person could do. You deciding not to be a part of a community could be selfish because somebody needs your help or input in one way or another. And guess what? You need someone else's help too in one or another.

Always remember that you have an enemy in the devil and his goal is to remove you from community. That's exactly what he did to Adam and Eve. He wanted them to destroy their relationship with God and so created sin.

And so after sinning they hid behind a bush, hiding from the very one who wanted to help them. It's the same exact thing that the enemy does to us as he tries to pull us away and be selfish. We don't even realize it, but we're disconnecting and yet someone needs our story and help as a result.

Someone needs to hear your testimony. You may not have even got through your situation yet, but there's somebody who needs to hear what you're going through right now because guess what? Maybe they’ve already gone through it, and they've had victory over it. And so you actually need their encouragement, and they probably need you too.

 

Why Community Matters

Choosing isolation affects more than ourselves. Someone needs your story. Someone needs your testimony. Someone needs to hear how God is working in your life.

Likewise, you need the encouragement, wisdom and prayers of others. Community allows us to both receive and give what God has placed within us.
 

Three Reasons We Need Community

1. Because Jesus Said So

Before going to the cross, Jesus prayed one final prayer for His disciples and for every believer who would come after them.

His prayer was simple: "that they all may be one, as you, Father, are in Me, and I in you; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that you sent Me”. (John 17:21)

Jesus understood that the strength of the Church would not simply be found in individuals but in believers living together in unity.

After Jesus' resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit, the early church demonstrated exactly what this looked like. They devoted themselves to:

• the apostles' teaching,
• fellowship,
• prayer,
• breaking bread together,
• caring for one another,
• meeting in homes,
• selling and sharing their money and possessions with those in need,
• and worshipping together.

As a result, the Lord added to the church daily.

Community became the foundation for spiritual growth and outreach.

 

2. We Are Better Together

Scripture reminds us that we are no longer strangers or outsiders. We belong to God's household and the church is our spiritual home.

Relationships within the church develop at different levels. Some remain casual acquaintances, while others grow into deep friendships built on trust, accountability and encouragement.

Real friends are willing to speak truth, challenge us, pray for us and walk beside us through life's difficult seasons.

God never called us merely to impress people. He called us to influence people. True influence only happens through close and genuine relationships.

Jesus also made it clear that loving God cannot be separated from loving people. Our relationship with God is demonstrated through the way we love and care for one another.
Community is where the love of Christ becomes visible.

 

3. We Hold Each Other Up

One of the clearest pictures of community is found in the story of the paralyzed man whose four friends carried to Jesus.

Unable to enter the crowded house, they climbed onto the roof, removed part of it and lowered their friend before Jesus.

The remarkable detail is that Jesus responded to their faith. Their willingness to carry someone else became the pathway to healing.

Today many people are paralyzed, not physically but emotionally, spiritually and relationally. Some are burdened by failure. Some are overwhelmed by broken relationships. Some are trapped by fear, shame or discouragement.

Community calls believers to carry one another to Jesus. As Scripture teaches: "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2)

 

The Invitation of Community

The greatest relationship anyone can have is a relationship with Jesus Christ. Through His death and resurrection, He offers forgiveness, freedom and a new beginning.

The church exists so that no one has to walk this journey alone. When people place their faith in Christ, they become part of God's family—a community where there will always be someone to pray, encourage, support and walk alongside them.

 

Conclusion

The Bible says where two or three are gathered in Jesus’ name, He’s there in the midst of them. God's presence is revealed where? In community. There's nothing wrong with worshipping God by yourself, praying by yourself, but it's not until one other person shows up and another person shows up and another person shows up that God says He’ll show up.

He also shows up in our personal times, but his word tells us that he will show up where two or three are gathered together. That's his commitment to community and that's his desire for us as well.

Community is not simply an activity of the church. It is the heart of the church.

God never intended us to do life alone and Jesus also prayed for our unity.

The early church grew because believers were committed to one another.

We are stronger together than apart because we carry one another's burdens.

We demonstrate God's love through our relationships and together, we become a powerful witness of Christ to the world.

Celebrating Christ. Caring for Community.