Connect With One Another

God created us to live life in connection with one another, but the early part of the Bible describes how that connection was destroyed because of sin. Jesus came to restore it. This week at Cross Connection, we're talking about life in connection with one another. So, open your Bible to Genesis chapter 1 and follow along with us.

Amen. Good morning. Stay standing if you would, please. Open your Bibles to the book of Genesis, specifically Genesis chapter 2, right at the beginning of your Bible. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. Genesis chapter 2 is where we're going to pick up our reading today, and we're going to begin reading at verse 4.

Genesis 2:4 states, "This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens." Before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown, the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground. But a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.

Then the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being. The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. Out of the ground, the Lord God made every tree grow that was pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now, a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four river heads. The name of the first was Pishon, and this is the one which skirts the whole land of Hivala, where there is gold, and the gold of that land is good. Bedlam and onyx stone are there also. The name of the second river was Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Kush. The name of the third was Hidikel; this is the one that goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is Euphrates.

Then the Lord God took the man whom He had put in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it. The Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden, you may freely eat."

Eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it. For in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die. And the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him." Out of the ground, the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. Whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.

So Adam gave names to all the cattle, the birds of the air, and to every beast of the field. But for Adam, there was not found a helper comparable to him. And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept. He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh in its place. Then the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, He made into woman and brought her to man.

So Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man." Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.

Father, as we consider Your word today, I pray that You would continue to use Your word, which is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, to transform us by the renewing of our minds. Lord, that we would more fully be able to glorify You. God, make our lives what You desire them to be so that wherever we go this week or throughout this year, we would be able to bring glory and praise to Your name. God, do that work in us that only You can do by Your Spirit and by Your word, for we ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen." You can be seated.

I begin every year, as I have for many years, talking about the vision of our church: why we, as a church, gather and why we exist. We began this last weekend talking a little bit about that, and we'll talk about it a little bit more today and next week as well. Our vision, as it is stated on the front of our bulletin and at the top of the sermon guide in your bulletin, is life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus. If you've been a part of Cross Connection for a little while, then you've probably heard me say that or talk about it before. At this point, when I say our vision here, you might even roll your eyes and think, "Oh yeah, I've heard it." You might even begin to mimic it.

I hope that these words come to a point where they make you roll your eyes. Life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus is our vision. Why? Because if you're a part of this church and you meet someone—whether at work or out in the community—and something comes up about spiritual matters or church, and they ask, "Oh, you go to church? What church do you go to?" you would quickly respond, "Cross Connection Church. It's all about life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus."

I will talk about this quite a bit because I want it to be drilled into your mind. If you were here last week, some of what we discuss today in Genesis and other places may bore you a little bit. I apologize if it does, but I believe the Lord wants us to understand and grasp this concept because it has so much to do with the good news of the gospel that He has given to us.

Last week, we talked a little about life in connection with God, and today we will focus on life in connection with one another. In this passage at the very beginning of the Bible, in the book of Genesis, we find a wonderful truth. Point number one, which is on your sermon guide in your bulletin, is that God never intended for us to live independently of one another. This is greatly articulated in verse 18 of Genesis chapter 2, where the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone."

It was never God's intent for us to live independently of one another. We live in a culture that highly values the concept of independence. Our nation's founding came about through the Declaration of Independence, as we declared our independence from the United Kingdom as a colony. In 1776, we made this declaration, and it has become ingrained in the very fiber of who we are as Americans. However, we need to understand that this independence does not mean we should live completely solitary lives. It should not lead to isolation from one another.

Not only do we find this truth in the scriptures, but we also see it reiterated religiously. We are not meant to be alone or isolated from one another.

We are interdependent creatures, even though we are a culture that highly values independence. In July 2003, Psychology Today published an article stating that friendship is a lot like food; we need it to survive. Moreover, we seem to have a basic drive for it. Psychologists find that human beings have a fundamental need for inclusion in group life and for close relationships. The article emphasized that we function best when this social need is met. Our lives operate more effectively when our need for closeness, for relationships, and for friendship is fulfilled.

The article went on to say that evidence has been growing indicating that when our need for social relationships is not met, we fall apart both mentally and physically. There are significant effects on the brain and body when we live in isolation. Some of these effects include an increased risk of suicide, higher levels of perceived stress, increased blood pressure—which raises the risk of heart disease and stroke—sleeplessness, depression, and many other issues that result from being alone.

It is amazing that after nearly 250 years of independence being drilled into our mindset, we now live in a very lonely time. Research conducted in 2012 by Gallup and other organizations found that a third of Americans report living a lonely life. This is despite the fact that we have text messages, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, and every other social media platform you can imagine. There will likely be new platforms emerging tomorrow that will also be huge. Even with all these means of connection through technology, we find ourselves in an isolated and lonely time.

In the last 20 years, the rate of suicide in our nation has increased, and many times this is related to isolation and loneliness. We were created to live life in connection with one another; we are not meant to be independent and isolated. We were designed to live in community. It is not good that man should be alone, and science is confirming this in the 21st century, just as it has been understood for thousands of years.

God said in the Scriptures that it is not good for man to live alone. We recognize this to be the case; we were created to live in community. At the very beginning, God made one man, and so He set out to remedy the problem of being alone. It is very interesting how this is described in Genesis chapter 2. God took that one man, Adam, whom He had placed in the garden He had made for him, and He caused all the beasts of the field to pass before Adam. It was Adam's task at that moment to give them names.

Now, however long this took, I have no idea; maybe he was more efficient than I. The whole point of this exercise was for Adam to see his need. God did not need Adam to name the animals; it was so that Adam would recognize the need for a counterpart. As all these animals passed by, he saw male and female. He saw that there was a lion and a lioness. He observed all the different intricacies of God's design, where there was a counterpart.

But what was the end result of this exercise? It says that there was not found a helper comparable to him. Adam could not find a helper like him; there was no counterpart. We see in Genesis chapter 2, verse 21, that the Lord caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept. He took from his side—many English translations say one of his ribs—and closed up the flesh in its place. Then, from the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, He made into woman and brought her to man.

When Adam saw her, he said, "Whoa, man!" That's my translation. He continued, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man." Therefore, because God did this, a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. From one, God made two for the purpose of joining them together as one.

In Ecclesiastes, one of the wisest men who ever lived, Solomon, said that one is easily overtaken, but two can withstand. A threefold cord is not easily broken. God intended for us to live life in connection with one another. It is not good for man to be alone, and once God joined the first man and woman together as husband and wife, He...

God gave them a command, which is recorded earlier in Genesis 1:28. He blessed them and commanded them to be fruitful and multiply. As we sit here on January 10, 2016, there are more than 7.4 billion people that populate the earth. This may be the one command of God that man has done a really good job of obeying: be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth, and subdue it. I feel like my wife and I have done our part; we have four children. Once we passed the replacement rate, we were all good.

God commanded us to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it, and to have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves upon the earth (Genesis 1:28). Why did God do this? Why did He create two, and from the two bring them together as one, and give them this command to be fruitful and multiply? What was the purpose of this?

Well, God, in His infinite wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, knows that this is very true. Point number two on your outline: life is better together. I know that in saying this and explaining it, someone will come to me—I've had it after the first service, and I'll probably have it after the second service—and disagree with my point, telling me that they like to be alone. However, they are the exception and not the rule. If you left them in complete solitary confinement, they would go mad. In fact, that's what researchers have found time and time again: people left in solitary confinement for long periods go insane. Life is better together; we all know this at an experiential level.

I've shared the illustration before, and it fits well. Living here in Southern California, perhaps you can relate to this: I have been to Disneyland probably more than a dozen times in my lifetime. After you've gone that many times, you've ridden every ride more than once, eaten every treat, seen all the little shows, and bought the Mickey ears and the whole deal. The Magic Kingdom doesn't have the same magic that it once did. However, a couple of years ago, in January, my wife and I brought our two oldest kids.

Ethan and Addison went to Disneyland for the first time, and it was like I was experiencing it for the first time through them. There was a greater joy in watching them experience it, even on rides that I wanted nothing to do with. I waited in line for over an hour for Peter Pan. Now, come on, what adult does that without kids? Life is better together. We know that because it's more fun. You've experienced this, I'm sure. When you eat at a good restaurant that you really like, you want to share it with somebody else. You want them to go with you so that you can see how they experience it.

You see a movie that was really good, or a show that was really enjoyable, and you want others to experience that as well. You want to see them enjoy it because your joy increases through their experience of it. Life is better together because God made us to live life in connection with one another.

Of course, we know that this is true. It is described biblically and revealed scientifically through research. We can all align with it experientially in our own lives. Yet, we see the problem. We know that there is a disconnect, a brokenness, and a division. This separation came about in Genesis chapter 3 through the fall of humanity into sin. We talked a little bit about it last week, and we have discussed it quite a bit here at Cross-Connection.

In Genesis chapter 3, the third chapter of the Bible, there is a description of man's disobedience and fall into sin. God gave a command in Genesis chapter 2, verse 17: "Of all the trees in the garden, you may freely eat, but of the tree in the midst of the garden, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, you shall not eat of it; for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die."

Genesis chapter 3 describes the event wherein Adam and his wife Eve partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They did not physically die in that moment; they did not just fall over dead. However, there was a death that took place. It's very interesting that the last verse I read in Genesis chapter 2 states that the man and his wife were both together, and they were naked and not ashamed. But if you look at Genesis chapter 3, what happens as soon as death and sin entered? In Genesis chapter 3, verse 7, it says, "Then the eyes of both..."

Adam and Eve were opened, and they knew that they were naked. They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. In Genesis 2:25, it states that they were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed. There was total oneness; there was nothing hindering their oneness—no separation, no hindrance, no shame.

However, in disobeying God's command, sin came in. Sin brought division and separation, and now there is a knowledge of that nakedness where it wasn't there before. There is now fearfulness and shame, which is not explicitly stated in the words that they were ashamed but is seen in their actions. What did they do? They tried to cover their nakedness. They were totally vulnerable to one another prior to that, and now they try to cover it because sin comes in, and sin destroys.

Point number three on your outline: sin destroyed community. Their eyes were opened, and they were filled with shame over their nakedness. Their oneness was lost because sin destroyed community. Sin still destroys relationships; it destroys community. Sin brings division; it always separates and alienates. Sin results in death, always in some way, shape, or form.

Every one of us has experienced this at the relational level. When I say that sin destroys relationships, many of you have a relationship in mind that has been broken because of sin. Perhaps it was the divorce of your parents, or perhaps it was a divorce that you yourself experienced. It could have been a close friendship or a relationship with a family member, a brother, or a sister that you were close to. Yet, your sin, their sin, or your sin together brought devastating consequences, leading to alienation, separation, and division.

Apart from a work of grace and a work of forgiveness, it cannot be restored. There are people, and I pray with people on a regular basis here after a service, who have tears in their eyes because of the devastation of a relationship that is broken because of sin. We all feel it. Sin destroys oneness; it destroys community. This side of Genesis chapter 3, all 7.4 billion of us live in this reality.

All of us live in a world filled with brokenness. We live in a world characterized by separation, alienation, division, and death. Yet, inside every one of us is a desire for the restoration of oneness. This desire goes all the way back to the very beginning, to Genesis 1 and Genesis 2, when that relationship was present and oneness was experienced. It is as if the residue of that relationship, generations back, still exists within every one of us—a longing across all of humanity for unity in relationship.

We try to fix this in our lifetime. How many peace accords have there been in your lifetime? The United Nations has attempted to mediate relationships between warring parties, to reconcile people, to establish ceasefires, and to bring about repairs. Every heart longs for that unity. At the end of this year, we will have a new president, and you can guarantee that one of the first things he will do, whoever that president may be, is assemble a team to work on achieving peace in the Middle East. How many times have we heard those words: peace in the Middle East? Every president has had that desire.

Even beauty queens express a wish for peace on earth and unity. We have this great experiment here in the United States of America, where people from all over the world have come together, creating what we call the great melting pot. We strive to see how we can be unified as one nation, even though we come from many different places. Look around this room; there are many different faces and places represented here in this country we call America. It is a great place, but that unity we desire at the deepest level is impossible without Jesus.

We all long for it, and Jesus came to restore that community. The Son of God came to the earth to mend that community. On the night that He would be betrayed by one of His closest disciples, on the night He would be arrested and turned over to the Romans for crucifixion, He prayed a great prayer.

It's recorded for us in the Gospel of John, chapter 17. Would you turn there with me? John chapter 17 is right after Matthew, Mark, and Luke, just before the book of Acts.

The night that Jesus would be betrayed, He prayed. God the Son here on earth is praying to God the Father in heaven—two persons of the Trinity, one God existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Jesus, in relationship with the Father, prays this:

Look at verse 11. John 17:11 says, "Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world," referring to His disciples. "I come to You, Holy Father; keep through Your name those whom You have given to Me." Notice this: that they may be one as We are—Father and Son—that My disciples may be one as We are.

Let's skip down to verse 20. Jesus is still praying. John 17:20 states, "I do not pray for these alone," referring to His disciples right there with Him, "but also for those who will believe in Me through their word." Who's that? That's us. Jesus prayed for you 2,000 years ago.

What did He pray? "I pray for the church at Cross-Connection on January 10th, 2016, at 1675 Seven Oaks Road." He prayed for them.

Verse 21 continues, "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."

And the glory which You gave Me, I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one. "I in them, You in Me, that they may be made perfect

God, how's that? The world has tried so hard for thousands of years to create oneness, with devastating consequences. The only one who can truly create oneness in humanity is God, who created humanity. Jesus says, "So that the world may know that you, Father, have sent me, make them one." This is why division within the church is so bad. We need to fight against division within the church because sin always causes division.

At the root of every division within any church—some of you have been a part of church splits, and we've seen little divisions here in our church over the years—every division is always rooted in sin. Anytime we see division, we need to get to the root of it. What is causing this? What gossip, what anger, what malice is at the heart of it? It is always the enemy trying to destroy and divide the church. What a bad witness it is to the world when they see the division within the church. It reflects poorly on us, just like the rest of us.

Jesus says, "Know that the world may know that you have sent me. Make them one, make them one, make them one." Jesus came and prayed that you and I would experience true oneness. He restores community in dealing with sin and the effects of sin: death and separation.

If you would turn from John 17 to the right, you pass Acts, Romans, and 1st and 2nd Corinthians, then past Galatians to Ephesians. In Ephesians chapter 2, we looked at this verse last week, and I love this passage. Ephesians 2, verse 14 reads: "For He Himself, Jesus, is our peace, who has made both one and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from two."

What does Jesus do? He takes those who were once at war, in conflict with one another, and He makes them one in Him. It can't happen apart from Him; it happens in Christ, through Jesus, by the gospel. He takes two and makes them one, thus making peace.

And that he might reconcile both of them to God in one body through the cross. Jesus died on the cross to make this possible, therefore putting to death the enmity.

Point number four on your outline: Jesus destroyed sin to restore oneness. Jesus destroyed sin to restore oneness. That's the gospel; that's good news. The sin that destroyed the connection that God created at the very beginning, in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, is the same sin that came in Genesis chapter 3. Jesus destroyed that on the cross. He said, "It is finished," and the separation that was between man and God, the veil in the temple, was torn from top to bottom. He says, "Now you have access to God in Christ Jesus." We can be connected to God.

But then, that restorative aspect of Jesus Christ among all peoples allows us to experience it as well. Sin devastated the connection, but God has restored it through Jesus. In Jesus, we experience that restoration unto oneness.

Where does that oneness express? Where does it happen? I suggest to you that it happens within the body of Christ. He makes us one in Christ. What is the body of Christ? The church. It happens within the context of the church.

You're in the book of Ephesians; turn to the left back to the book of Acts, right after the Gospel of John that we were just in. In Acts chapter 2, we have the birth of the church. Jesus promised that he would build his church and that the gates of hell would not stand against it, as stated in Matthew chapter 16.

Then, in Acts chapter 1, it finishes with Jesus ascending into heaven. His disciples wait for a week, worshiping God together in one place. God pours out His Spirit. One hundred twenty disciples gathered together in an upper room in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is poured out upon these followers of Jesus. It comes like a rushing mighty wind, and it says that they all were filled with the Spirit and spoke with other tongues.

Now, we don't have time to get into that today; that's for another story, another study. But they spoke with other tongues, and it was so amazing what happened that a crowd of people started to come to where they were. Everybody was wondering, "What's going on? What is this? We've never seen..."

Anything like this before? Peter, one of the disciples, stands up and begins to preach the gospel to all the gathered people. There were people from all kinds of different nations, countries, and languages represented there. As he speaks to these different people groups, we read in Acts chapter 2, verse 40, at the end of his message: "And with many other words, Peter testified and exhorted them, saying, 'Be saved from this perverse generation.'"

Those who gladly received his word were baptized, which means they were introduced into the church, identifying with Jesus's death, burial, and resurrection. On that day, about 3,000 souls were added to the church. Here’s what they did: they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine, in fellowship, in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 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. They sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all, as any had need. They continued daily in one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to house. They ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all people. So the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. They were together in one place and had all things in common.

God took these people from different language groups and tribes, brought them together, and made them one. At that moment, they were all Jewish people, but a few chapters later, the gospel moves out of Israel to a place called Samaria. Those were people who were part Jewish and part other nationalities, and they got saved. Then, in Acts chapter 10, the gospel moves out to Gentiles, who are non-Jewish people, and they get saved as well. They are joined together as one.

There is not a Jewish church, a Samaritan church, and a Gentile church; there is one church, one body. How many Gentiles are here today? Non-Jews, lift up your hands! Praise the Lord! There is one church, one body. There is not an Armenian church, a Russian church, this church, that church, an American church, or a German church. There is one church in Christ Jesus. He destroyed sin to bring oneness.

Point number five on your outline: the church is God's plan for the restoration of community. I heard a discussion recently among some politicians and thinkers in our society.

There are many in our nation who are pushing for more and more separation of church and state. They often ask the question, "What good does the church do for the community anyway?" I thought to myself, there would be no community without the church. What good do you really do for the community anyway, Pastor? The church is God's plan for the restoration of community. It is here, within the body of Christ, that we fulfill the "one another" commands of the Bible. We experience community and grow in our connection with one another.

How do we grow in our connection with one another? It's point number six on your outline, labeled as 6A. There may be more ways, but here are six ways that we at Cross Connection grow in our connection with one another.

Number one, letter A: worship. We grow in our connection with one another through worship. When we gather together on Sunday mornings, this whole 75 minutes that we put together is a time of worship. We worship God in song, we worship God through sacrificial giving, and we worship God through the study of the Scriptures. All of this is us worshiping God together, and we grow in our connection with God, but also with one another, through worship.

This is why the author of the book of Hebrews, in Hebrews chapter 10, says, "Do not neglect the gathering together of the body of Christ." There has been a lot of discussion recently because many churches are live-streaming their services online. Some people say, "I'd much rather sit on my couch, drink my coffee, and watch church on TV." Listen, I'm with you; I would too. But do not neglect the gathering together of the body of Christ. Why? Because it is here that we grow in what God saved us for, and that doesn't happen through YouTube. I'm sorry, it doesn't.

We put our messages up on YouTube, and God bless you if you miss a service; you can watch one on YouTube. Praise the Lord! You can send it to your friends all over the world; that's awesome. But do not neglect the gathering together of the body of Christ. This is where we grow in our connection with one another.

Not only through worship, but secondly, letter B: Bible study. We grow through the Scriptures, studying together with one another. This should not just happen here as we gather on Sunday mornings to go through the Scriptures, but hopefully, you do this at other times with other brothers and sisters. Get together.

With a group of two or three people, go through a book of the Bible. Get a Bible study online and go through it together, because you'll grow in your connection with one another as you explore the Scriptures. When our men's ministry and women's ministry start up again here in just a couple of weeks, on Tuesday mornings and Wednesday nights, we will gather together to study the Scriptures. As we do this, we are growing together in our connection with one another and experiencing fellowship.

Learning together is important. I know that this goes along with Bible study, but when we gather together in the body of Christ, we hear the same message that God is speaking to us from His Word. We are all growing and learning together about God's Word, having a common experience. This allows us to challenge each other about those things throughout the week as time goes on.

Fellowship is another key aspect. Some people might say, "I bumped into this guy in Home Depot, and he's a Christian; we had fellowship," or "I bumped into this person down on Grand Avenue; we had fellowship." While that’s great, it’s not exactly what the term "fellowship" means in the Bible. Acts 2:42 states that the early church continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and in fellowship. The word "koinonia," which means fellowship, conveys the ideas of oneness and community. It includes the concepts of caring and sharing with one another.

We are commanded in 1 John 4:11 to love one another. In Hebrews 10:24, we are instructed to stir one another up to love and good deeds. 1 Corinthians 12:25 tells us to care for one another, while 2 Corinthians 13:11 encourages us to comfort one another. Ephesians 4:2 reminds us to bear with one another as people go through difficulties, and Romans 15:7 commands us to welcome one another and be hospitable. 1 Peter 4:9 says to show hospitality to one another. This is communion; this is fellowship—caring for each other and sharing with one another as each one has a need. The early church exemplified this by sharing with one another in their needs.

Through worship, Bible study, learning together, and fellowship, we also engage in prayer. Corporate prayer and praying for one another are essential. James 5:16 says to pray for one another. This is why every single week we have prayer cards, and we want to pray for you. I encourage you that when you meet another brother or sister in the church and they share a problem they are going through, ask, "Can I pray with you right now?" You don't have to be perfect at prayer; just pray.

Pray, and let me tell you, you get some really strange looks from people. You're in Vaughn's, and someone from church jumps in and says, "Yeah, I'm really having a hard time. This is half of my life." You say, "Hey, can I pray for you?" and they're going to go, "Right here? Right now?" Yes, right now! Put your hand on their shoulder and start praying for them. All the people walking by with their carts look at you like, "No, don't go down that aisle. They're doing something weird over there."

Joining together, one another. Fifth and finally, or sixth and finally, number letter F: service. Serving together. First Peter 4:10 says, "Each one has received a gift; use it to serve one another as good stewards of the very grace of God." You will grow in your connection with others within the body of Christ, experiencing community and life in connection with one another as you serve alongside people. That's why we ask you constantly to get plugged into a team and serve here at Cross-Connection.

With the remaining time that I have, which is not a lot, I want to introduce you today to two servants that are partnered with us. They are connected with us even though they live thousands of miles away. These two servants have been serving the Lord faithfully in Sudan, in Dora, Sudan, for a period of time: Brett and Kathy Holzer. We support them as missionaries, but we count them as friends connected to our church as well.

So, we have a short video we want to show you from Brett and Kathy, and then we'll invite them up to share with us for just a moment. I'm torn between myself and your truth. These cursed memories forever see me, myself, face down on your shore. You say, "Come to the river. Lay yourself down. Let your heart be found." You say, "Come to the river. Drink from the cup I pour."

And thirst no more. My restless heart, oh, lead me astray. Through my selfish pride, I became my own slave. But You placed the thirst in me with no drink in sight, because I could not see until I saw through Your eyes. You say, "Come to the river, oh, lay yourself down. Let your heart be found. You say, come to the river, drink from the cup I pour and thirst no more." Oh, oh, lay yourself down. Let your heart be found.

You say, "Come to the river, oh, lay yourself down."

Matthew is a physician's assistant over in Douro, so why don't you share with us?

Alright, well, thank you very much. We are very connected with you as a church. We're connected through service, through prayer, and through fellowship. We are in Douro, Sudan, as you said, and that is in South Sudan, the north of Sudan. Because of the actual sin that we heard about today and the breaking of community, those leaders have brought war against their own people in the southern part of North Sudan.

Because of that war, these people have fled to our area. We are now surrounded by over 135,000 people, and we are able to witness the gospel of Jesus Christ and share Him with many Muslims. Many Muslims are coming to Christ because of this.

I'll let Kathy, who manages the biggest project we have in Douro right now, tell you about that and our ministry there.

Good morning! It is a real blessing to be here for such a time as this. Living through two years of war ourselves in South Sudan has been challenging. We have war in the north, war in the south, and peace in our hearts, knowing that we are in the center of God's will. God has brought these people to us, just as He probably wants to bring these refugees to our country. His greatest desire is that people hear about the love and grace of our Lord.

In fact, when we ask all of these people who are coming to Christ what led them to leave Islam and become Christians, they say two things: love and grace. These are two things they did not see in their own faith. You got to see some pictures in this video, which is just a tiny glimpse of our colorful life. The Ngesanas are the major people group in that area, and they are refugees from the north. They have never heard about Jesus. There are 90,000 of them in the refugee camps, and we have made it a point to reach out to them for the last couple of years. We both speak Arabic, and now we have three churches among the Ngesanas.

This year, they celebrated their very first Christmas, and we missed it, unfortunately. However, our little church, which is mostly composed of people from the Nuba Mountains, baptized 58 people this year, many of whom were from a Muslim background. God is moving and doing great things, and we are just so thankful that you are part of it, especially with the Talking Bibles. Thank you for providing for that. We still need to raise funds for 400 more of them; we need $12,000 more so that your wonderful church can purchase those for us. We can take them back with us on the plane when we go back to Sudan in April.

Thank you for partnering with us. Cross Connection Church has always been there whenever we have needed support.

We did not know where help would come from—financially, prayerfully, or just in terms of encouragement. We thank you for standing with us because this is not something we can do alone. As a community, we are displaying the love of God to those who have not heard.

As part of our traditions here, we want to pray for Bubba and Kathy. We invite anyone who wants to come up and lay hands on them with us to do so. God is doing a great work, and we are excited to be a part of it. The Talking Bible, if you don't know what that is, is a ministry located right here in Escondido on Grand Avenue. They make these little audio scripture units, and the one they are using has the Bible in Arabic on audio. We know that faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. We are blessed that the Word of God is going out in Arabic to these people, and they are coming to know the Lord. We want to lift them up to the Lord.

Ed, would you pray?

Father, we are so grateful to hear of Your great work among the nations, especially in South Sudan. We pray Your blessings on this couple, on the work, and on the whole SIM team. We ask, Lord, that You would be working among the team, that there would be unity, and that this would showcase to Your people those whom You are calling to Yourself. We thank You for the testimony of those who celebrated Your birth for the first time—how wonderful that is!

Lord God, we thank You for these newly baptized individuals. We appreciate that they are identifying with Your death and resurrection. We pray for our friends here, asking that Your peace would be upon them. We pray for the practicalities of being on furlough and the craziness that entails. We ask, Lord, that You would indeed bless them with the funds needed for the Talking Bibles. We pray for provision for other needs while on furlough. More than anything else, we pray for Your peace to be upon them as they go forth.

We lift this to You and praise You, Lord. We give You all glory for a church that rallies behind them. We pray for many more who will support this important work for Your glory. We dedicate this time to You and this couple to You, Lord, in Jesus' name. Amen.

If you're interested in meeting Bubba and Kathy and talking with them a little more, they will be having a time together with us this afternoon at 1 o'clock in Room 6. Also, Ed, who just prayed, and his wife, Kelly, are part of our church.

They just returned from serving in Africa for ten years. They were missionaries in Africa for ten years, so you will get to know Pastor Ed for a while as we go forward.

Now, let's stand together, and we are going to finish our service, as we always do, by singing praise to God. Sing ten times as loud, okay?