Connect With Community (Life In Connection part 3 of 3)

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42–47)

Life is lived better when it's lived together—and that satisfying community is found only in Christ.

We Were Made to Live Connected

The Bible reveals from the very beginning that God created humanity to live in connection with one another. That's one reason our church is called Cross Connection—God wants us to live out a connected life. In this Life in Connection series we've been looking at how we do that. We began with a message called "Know the Vision," then talked about the importance of worshiping together, and today we look at the importance of connecting with community.

This passage in Acts 2 is central not just to our church but to many Bible-teaching churches. It identifies just what we are about as a body living under God's grace, awaiting His return—doing what the early church did 2,000 years ago: continuing in the teaching of the Scriptures, in fellowship and breaking of bread, and in prayers.

A High Value on Connection

We want to clearly articulate our mission, vision, and values—who we are, why we exist, what we do, and how we do it. Our vision statement says that because of the cross of Christ, we have been connected to God and one another in life-giving and satisfying communion; as a family of God we grow into His likeness through worship and the application of His word; and as a community of faith we labor together for the joy and justice of all peoples.

No fewer than seven times in our three-sentence vision statement do we see the ideas of connectedness, communion, and family. The church is to be the expression of community—that is God's desire for us. The connected life is ultimately the abundant life.

An Abnormal Age of Isolation

These concepts aren't earth-shattering, but they land in an era where people live increasingly separated lives—separated not only from extended family but from their immediate family. We live in a culture that is abnormal to human history, though normal to us. For decades people have left what they know, leaving family and the culture they grew up in, scattering across the nation or the world.

The effects are clear. In 2006 the American Sociological Review published research showing social isolation in America grew dramatically from 1985 to 2005. The number of people saying there was no one with whom they discussed important matters nearly tripled. Those who said they had only one close confidant pushed from a quarter of all Americans to almost half. Out of more than 330 million Americans, nearly half have no one—or only one person—they would turn to for counsel or to confide in.

In May 2013 another study found that one-third of all middle-aged Americans (ages 35 to 55) are chronically lonely. In America, more people now die by suicide than in car accidents. From 1999 to 2010 suicides among the middle-aged rose 30 percent, and among men in their fifties, 50 percent—most of those incidents rooted in loneliness.

This is striking because we live surrounded by people. You can live in a Southern California housing development close enough to touch your neighbor's house and never know his name. We build bigger boxes so we don't feel caged—the garage opens, you drive to a cubicle, the garage swallows you again at the end of the day, and no one sees you. People sometimes die in their homes and aren't discovered for weeks. We live disconnected lives, and it is abnormal to human history.

Life Is Better Together

You don't have to look far to prove the cliché: life is better together. It's not as fun to watch a football game alone. In my neighborhood I can hear cheering from five different houses when the Chargers score—people gathered together. We don't plan barbecues by ourselves; we invite people, because life is better together.

I've been to Disneyland ten or more times—there's not a ride I haven't done. By myself it would be mundane. But this past Thursday my wife and I brought our two oldest kids for the first time, and you re-experience it through their eyes. Our daughter Addison wears a princess crown every day. We walked through the gate and everyone said, "Hi, princess!" Then we came around the corner toward the castle and she gasped—"Oh my!" The daily realities of life become mundane and lonely if we're not living life together.

Humanity Was Created for Community

Why was life meant to be lived in community? First, humanity was created for community. Every worldview must answer the questions of origin and purpose—where we came from and what we were made for. Genesis 1 and 2 reveal both.

Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness..." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:26–27)

God is one God existing in three persons—the doctrine of the Trinity that every orthodox Christian holds. Within the godhead there is already community: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in relationship. God did not create us because He needed relationship; He already had it. When He made man in His image, He created them male and female as an expression of who He is.

Genesis 2 tells us why:

And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone." (Genesis 2:18)

God looked on humanity created in His image and said it is not good for man to be alone. To fulfill this, He not only created woman but gave humanity the ability to perpetuate community:

Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply..." (Genesis 1:28)

All human beings share a common ancestor—described here in Genesis. From one man God created woman, and from that union He brought forth the human race, created to live in community.

Community Was Lost in the Fall

The story gets complicated in Genesis 3, where community was lost in the fall. God had commanded that man not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, warning that in the day he ate of it he would surely die.

Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (Genesis 3:7)

Before the fall, Genesis 2 says the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed. There was no shame and no fear. But once they partook, their eyes were opened and they were instantly filled with shame, covering themselves. The oneness God intended between husband and wife—and between all humanity—was broken.

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God... So He said, "...Where are you?" (Genesis 3:8–9)

Adam answered that he was afraid and ashamed, so he hid. At creation we were united with one another in community and united in communion with God. Both were broken at the fall. Every human being born after Genesis 3 has experienced this loss—yet because we were created for community, deep inside us is a yearning to have it repaired, to be in communion with God and community with one another.

Longing We Cannot Satisfy Ourselves

Humanity is longing for this, even if it cannot articulate it. Death brought separation; sin brought death; therefore we live disconnected lives. All of man's attempts—religion, fraternities, clubs—are attempts to restore community by his own strength. But there is no genuine, satisfying community outside of Christ. People move from one relationship to another, never finding it, grabbing onto fallen representations of community and never being satisfied.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards tapped into this. In June 1965 The Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" hit number one in America—still ranked number two on Rolling Stone's top 500 songs of all time. They still headline with it. It connects with us because we all know the reality: I can't get no satisfaction.

Christ Came to Reconcile Us

Third, Christ came to reconcile us to God and one another.

...remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh... that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation. (Ephesians 2:11–14)

Sin brought death and death brought separation, but Jesus breaks down that wall, abolishing in His flesh the enmity, creating in Himself one new man, "that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross." This is why we are called Cross Connection—through the cross of Christ we are brought back into connection with God and one another.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation... Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17–20)

We who were once far off have been brought together as one in the body of Christ, and now we carry the ministry of reconciliation—the gospel—to a world longing for community.

No Substitute Will Do

This community is not found on Facebook. Seventeen percent of all humanity have a Facebook account, yet the American Psychological Association now describes "Facebook depression"—you see everyone's best posts and pictures, conclude their lives are easy and yours is miserable, post something yourself, and no one responds. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat—they create a sense of community but not true community.

You can sit in a coffee shop with twenty other people, all on their devices, completely anonymous while only five feet apart. Years ago, before smartphones, Pastor Eric and I were on a crammed New York subway during rush hour—everyone buried in a book with headphones on, wanting nothing to do with anybody. Jesus' death in our place made the way for us to be reconnected to God and one another in life-giving, satisfying community that extends into eternity. Escape from eternal punishment is not the only wonderful thing about salvation; God desires that we would live in community now.

The Church Is God's Plan

Fourth, the church is God's plan for the restoration of community. Within the church we experience and express community again. In Acts 2 God poured out His Spirit on 120 believers at Pentecost. Peter preached grace and salvation, and when the crowd was cut to the heart and asked what they must do, he said, "Repent and be baptized for the remission of your sins." About three thousand were saved and baptized, united together as one in Christ.

What did they do? They continued steadfastly in four things: the apostles' doctrine (the teaching of those who had lived with Jesus), fellowship (the Greek word koinonia), the breaking of bread, and prayers. The breaking of bread here is not primarily the Eucharist but hospitality—experiencing oneness by sharing meals together. They had all things in common and shared their possessions as anyone had need. That caring and sharing is fellowship in the New Testament sense.

Connect Groups

Our aim at Cross Connection is to promote a vision for fellowship and community, and one of our biggest desires this year is to increase opportunities for it. We do that first by teaching its importance, and second by intentionally creating opportunities—what we call connect groups. We want our whole body involved in living in community.

This is not merely a home Bible study ministry. There is no lack of good Bible teaching in our day—it's all around us on radio, video, and the internet. What is lacking in most churches is fellowship, hospitality, and prayer. Even within the church there are many lonely people who say they have no friends. Connect groups exist to extend fellowship, hospitality, and prayer.

To do this we need hosts—not leaders, but hosts. A connect group host is someone who (1) has a heart for people, (2) is willing to open their space, (3) will serve their guests, and (4) will simply talk of Jesus. You don't need to give a ten-point message on Ephesians 1. If you have a heart for people, you're willing to open your home, serve those who come, and talk of Jesus, we invite you to our connect group host meeting on Wednesday, February 12th, at 7:00.

An Evangelistic Community

Almost five years ago we ended our midweek Bible study to open up opportunities to live in community, because we believe this is exceedingly important—we were created for it. The wonderful thing is that genuine, satisfying community, found only in Christ, is evangelistic. All of humanity desires communion with God and community with one another. If we create an opportunity for it, God will add to the church daily those who are being saved.

Paul says in Romans that we are to stir people to jealousy—that they see what we have and say, "I want what they have." Besides salvation and eternity, one of the greatest things the church has that the world never will is community with one another and communion with God.

If you are still living a life disconnected from God and from the body of Christ because you have not received salvation in Jesus Christ, we want to give you the opportunity today. Jesus came to reconcile us to God; He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Closing Prayer

Father, we thank You that You loved us so much that You gave Your only begotten Son to die for us in our place, to make the way open that we could have fellowship with You and with one another. Lord, it may be as we're standing here that there are some who have not experienced that yet—they've not received salvation by grace through faith. Would You by Your Spirit draw them now. In Jesus' name, amen.