In last Sunday’s sermon, Ryan answered the question, “So What Do We Mean by Community?” We talk about it enough, but it’s important for us to know what we’re talking about when we do, and to think and talk about community in truly biblical categories.

From Hebrews 10:19-25, Ryan expounded the basis and purpose for Christian community. In the course of his sermon, Ryan mentioned seven spheres for community at DSC. I’ll list them here in case you missed them. Working from larger to smaller gatherings:

1. Sunday AM
2. The Lord’s Supper, every last Wednesday of the month
3. The church-wide dinner before each Lord’s Supper meeting
4. Various ministries, including women’s studies, men’s huddles, the hospitality team, etc.
5. Community Groups
6. Hospitality
7. One-on-One

The author of Hebrews instructs us to “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” (24, 25). Showing up isn’t the entirety of the Christian life. However, showing up is an indispensable part of what it means to be a Christian. We are born into the community of God’s people, and we depend on one another as the means by which God perseveres us in our faith.

With this kind of regular life-on-life gathering in mind it’s good to recognize the temptation we all face for counterfeit community. Ryan mentioned the danger of Facbeook as a place where people often feel more connected than they are. R.C. Sprou Jr. and Russell Moore have published helpful articles exploring the place of Facebook in the Christian life and the subtle way in which social networks can undermine true community while giving the opposite appearance. They are, just like so many things, something to use for God’s glory, but to think carefully and Christianly about in doing so.

At DSC, we regularly remind ourselves of what our church is about with the mission statement, “Spreading God’s Glory Broader and Deeper.” But, lately, we’ve also been using three words to summarize the kinds of things we do together in pursuit of that mission: Worship, Community, Mission. This Sunday, Ryan began a three week series in which he’ll devote a sermon to each of these three words.

In last Sunday’s sermon, “So What Do We Mean by Worship?,” Ryan answered that question with an exposition of 1 Peter 2:4-10. We are a house for God’s presence, a people for His praise, because we have a cornerstone that is precious.

The language of “worship” describes what is the totality of the Christian life. Indeed, everyone is a worshiper and they are busy worshiping something in every moment of life. Believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are those who have been brought to see the truth and Glory of God for what it is, and have turned from the worship of created things and the gods of our imagination for the worship of the One True and Living God.

But, as Ryan discussed on Sunday, our corporate gatherings are like the sprint one might do at the end of a jog. Sunday mornings aren’t just like other worshipful opportunities in the week. Sundays are unique expressions of the worship of God in pursuit of his merciful, presence among us. We should give it all, not coast on in.

So what are some practical implications for believing that gathering together on Sunday is a big deal? I’ll expand here on a few I gathered from the part of Ryan’s notes he didn’t get to on Sunday:

1) Coming and Engaging:

All of us could make Sunday mornings a greater priority in our thinking about it and preparing for it. Some of us need to come more. You need for it to not be easy to stay in bed or go to the lake. Some of us need to come earlier. Identify what is slowing you down and calculate some changes to remove those problems. It may mean going to bed earlier. It may mean making what-to-wear decisions the night before. Some of us need to make more appropriate spiritual preparations through prayer, confessing sin, meditating on Scripture. Some of us need to come ready. Some of us need to talk to people. Some of us need to figure out what we’re doing here anyway. We don’t meet to be awed by song or lights or personality. We meet to be awed by God in singing, speaking, and hearing his word, and seeing Christ more clearly when we do. Some of us need to realize that a critical spirit toward elements within the service, when those criticisms aren’t grounded in God’s own word but our preferences, is hurting the church, redirecting glory from God to an idol. A critical spirit could be stealing your (and others’) joy.

2) Hearing:

This sounds more simple than it is. How natural it can be to hear and not really hear! We want to be the kind of hearers that chew and digest and speak the things we hear because in hearing them we can be transformed. We want to live more peacefully, forgive more eagerly, give more generously, serve more fervently because of our hearing. That takes more than sitting there. It doesn’t mean feverishly writing things down – we don’t do that at a movie. It means letting the words have their way with us, to be absorbed in them. If you are in and out of town, maybe you would commit to listening and really hearing every message you miss, in part, so that you will know something of what you were missing and truly miss being there live when you’re gone.

3) Singing:

We’re a church that listens to preaching pretty well. When guests preach for us, they say that we’re a wonderfully listening church. Some guest preachers have told other preachers that DSC is a church that loves preaching. We should praise God for that. But we’ve also, at times, been known for not singing very loudly, for being rather passive participants during in our weekly gathering. We can grow here as a church, so let’s grow in volume, participation, and passionate expression.

4) Going and Taking and Doing:

Our worship on Sunday is an intensified block of the same things we’re to do all week. God’s glory can be praised in every mundane part of our normal lives: in our driving, talking, walking, working, waiting, and in our sleeping (1 Cor. 10:31). We are to go to his Word, and go to him in prayer, on our own and with our family. Let’s give our all on Sunday mornings, and let that truth, glory, awe, and worship launch into the rest of our week.

In Sunday’s message, “The Urgency of Unity,” we explored Ephesians 4:1-16 to see  that unity is a declaration of the gospel’s power. Unity between diverse peoples is something unnatural to Adam’s race, but not to Christ’s. In Christ, we are a new humanity.

As those who are redeemed to God, but in the process of begin redeemed in our practical faithfulness to God, we still need to hear the command to “walk in a manner worth of the calling to which [we] have been called…eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit” (Ephesians 4:1-3).

Paul Tripp, in his book, How People Change, asks a helpful question to encourage us toward unity: “What are some common obstacles that hinder redemptive relationships from developing in our lives?”

Here are Tripp’s eight suggestions mentioned in Sunday’s sermon:

• The busyness of life, keeping relationships distant and casual.
• A total immersion in friendships that are activity and happiness based.
• A conscious avoidance of relationships as too scary or messy.
• A formal commitment to church activities, with no real connection to people.
• One-way, ministry-driven friendships in which you always minister to others, but never allow others to minister to you.
• Self-centered, “meet my felt needs” relationships that keep you always receiving, but seldom giving.
• A private, independent, “just me and God” approach to the Christian life.
• Theology as replacement for relationship. Knowing God as a life of study, rather than the pursuit of God and his people.

Visit the Messages section of the site for additional sermons on Biblical Eldership, Church Membership, and biblical help in Conflict.

In his sermon, “The Mission,” Carlos Griego unpacked a text familiar to all of us. In Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus gives his disciples the mission that would govern the church between the time of his resurrection until his return. They were to “make disciples of all nations.” Jesus is the risen King who gives this command to his disciples on the basis of the authority given to him by the Father and with the promise of his own presence in the person of the Spirit. Carlos will be leading a core team from DSC out to plant a church in Rio Rancho in 2012, which you can read about at the Redemption Church, Rio Rancho Facebook page.

A message like this, of course, means we live strategically in this world. But if we feel too busy to invest in people for purposes of sharing the gospel, Carlos gave us a list from Jonathan Dodson of “Eight Ways To Be Missional (Without Overdoing Your Schedule).”

1. Eat with Non-Christians. We all eat three meals a day. Why not make a habit of sharing one of those meals with a non-Christian or with a family of non-Christians? Go to lunch with a co-worker, not by yourself. Invite the neighbors over for family dinner. If it’s too much work to cook a big dinner, just order pizza and put the focus on conversation with them. When you go out for a meal, invite a non-Christian friend. Or take your family to family-style restaurants where you can sit at the table with strangers and strike up conversations. Have cookouts and invite Christians and non-Christians. Flee the Christian subculture, and resist the urge to only eat with Christians.
2. Walk, Don’t Drive. If you live in a walkable area, make a practice of getting out and walking around your neighborhood, apartment complex, or campus. Instead of driving to the mailbox, convenience store, or apartment office, try walking. Be deliberate in your walk. Pray for your community and the people that live there. Say hello to people you don’t know. Strike up conversations. Attract attention by walking the dog. Bring the kids. Make friends. Get out of your house! Something as simple as gardening outside or barbequing out front can lead to conversations (and relationships) with neighbors you may not have had otherwise. Take interest in your neighbors. Ask questions. Engage them. Pray as you go. Be visible.
3. Be a Regular. Instead of hopping all over the city for gas, groceries, haircuts, eating out, and coffee, go to the same places. Get to know the staff. Go to the same places at the same times. Smile. Ask questions. Build relationships. Be a regular.
4. Hobby with Non-Christians. Pick a hobby that you can share. Get out and do something you enjoy with others. Try city league sports or other local recreational teams. Share your hobby by teaching lessons to those who want to learn. Teach sewing lessons, piano, violin, guitar, knitting, tennis, etc. Be prayerful. Be intentional. Be winsome. Have fun. Be faithful to speak the gospel in love. Be yourself.
5. Engage Your Co-workers and Neighbors. How hard is that? Take your breaks with intentionality. Go out with your team or task force after work. Show interest in your co-workers. Pick four and pray for them. Form mom’s groups in your neighborhood and don’t make them exclusively for Christians. Schedule play dates with the neighbors’ kids. Work and live on mission.
6. Volunteer with Non-Profits. Find a non-profit in your part of the city and take Saturday each month to serve your city. Bring your neighbors, your friends, or your community group. Spend time with your church serving your city once a month or so, and invite your non-Christian friends to come along. Serve the city.
7. Participate in City Events. Instead of playing X-Box, watching TV, or surfing the net, participate in city events. Go to fundraisers, festivals, clean-ups, summer shows, and concerts. Be a good participant in the community, and be on mission while you do it. Strike up conversation. Study the culture. Reflect on what you see and hear. Pray for the city. Love the city. Participate with the city.
8. Serve Your Neighbors. Help a neighbor by weeding, mowing, building a cabinet, fixing a car, etc. Stop by the neighborhood association or apartment office and ask if there is anything you can do to help improve things. Ask your local police and fire stations if there is anything you can do to help them. Get creative. Serve your neighbors.

Of course, it’s important for the relationships we build to lead to conversations about the person and work of Jesus Christ. We are not evangelizing if we are not sharing the good news. For encouragement and help in moving from relationship to conversation and sharing the gospel clearly, DSC is offering an Ambassador training class this Spring. Read about the class here and look out for details.

In Sunday’s sermon, “Jesus: God Dwells,” Ryan surveyed the storyline of the Bible tracing the theme of God’s presence with his people. The great thing about the garden was that God was with his people. The terrible thing about life outside the garden is that we’re separated from Him. But, as Paul writes, “in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”

As a preparation for the coming of Christ, God gave to his people concrete experiences in order to teach them of their standing before Him and what was required for their restoration to His presence. One of these was a temple. When Israel was settled in the land, God gave instruction to build him a house, a temple where He could meet with his people (1 Chronicles 22).

In his book, From Eden to the New Jerusalem, T.D. Alexander explains an important feature of the temple Israel built after returning to Jerusalem from Babylonian exile:

Although there are clear statements about God’s glory filling the tabernacle (Exodus 40:34-35) and the Solomonic temple (1 Kings 8:10-11; cf. 2 Chronicles 7:1-2), no similar event is described in the biblical literature concerning the temple built after the exile.

…the “Second Temple lacked five things which the First Temple possessed, namely, the fire, the ark, the Urim and Thummim, the oil of anointing and the Holy Spirit [of prophecy]” (quote from R.T Beckwith, “The Temple Restored” in Heaven on Earth: The Temple in Biblical Theology). The absence of these ‘visible tokens’ of God’s presence indicates that the Holy of Holies was empty.

So, we should see a connection here when John writes of Jesus, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (John 1:14). The word he uses for “dwelt” is really, “tabernacled.” And in John 2:18-22, Jesus even refers to himself as the temple of God. The coming of God’s Son into the world fulfills what the tabernacle and temple anticipated both in the revelation of God’s presence in the First Temple and in the absence of His Presence in the Second Temple.

God had a gracious purpose in mind in everything he instructed Israel to do and in every experience that Israel had as a people. And his gracious purpose in not revealing his presence in the Second Temple was to prepare them for the coming of His presence through Christ.

This sermon was second in the Christmas series, “Someone’s Coming”:

• Someone’s Coming
• Jesus: God Dwells
• Jesus: God Redeems (December 24)
• Jesus: God Reigns (December 26)