Created for Connection

The Bible makes it very clear that God created us to live life in connection with Him. However, as a result of the fall and sin described in the earliest pages of the Bible, we are disconnected from God and out of fellowship with one another. Jesus comes to restore that. Today, that's what we're talking about. So, open with us to Genesis chapter 2 and follow along. Amen. God is great and greatly to be praised.

Good morning to you, church. Would you take out your Bibles this morning? If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. We are beginning 2020 by discussing our vision here at Cross Connection Church: life in connection with God, one another, and the world through Jesus. As we continue to talk about that today, we will open to the book of Genesis again. Genesis chapter 2 is where we will be, starting at verse 7.

If you have a question today as we're going through the Scriptures, you can text your questions to the phone number on the screen, and I will receive those. Pastor Mark and I will record the questions podcast this week. If you're looking for that, you can find it at thequestionspodcast.com.

We have some good news with Garrett. Not only is Garrett going to be a dad, but that means Pastor Mark is going to be a grandpa. Pastor Jason is going to be a grandpa too because Nick and Adella are pregnant as well.

In Genesis chapter 1, verse 28, it says, "Then God blessed them and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply.'" They are fulfilling the command of Scripture right there. We have obedient people here at Cross Connection.

Now, let's turn to Genesis chapter 2, verse 7. "And 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 is 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.

Down to verse 15, we read, "Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it."

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat. 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 He brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. Whatever Adam called every 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. The rib which the Lord God had taken from man He made into woman, and He brought her to the man. 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 mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed.

God, as we open the Scriptures today, not just here in Genesis but in some other places as well, I pray that You would help us to comprehend not just what the text says, but what You, by Your Spirit, are seeking to speak to each of us individually. God, You have a word, a message for us as You continue the work of transformation that You are doing in us by the working of Your word and by the power of Your Spirit.

I pray in 2020 that our lives would more and more be transformed to reflect Your glory and Your grace. That our nature would be more conformed to Your nature, and that we would experience the joy of that sanctifying work. Also, Lord, You would use us to be like a bright light, a city set on a hill that cannot be hid, so that people would see our lives and be drawn to know You and Your grace.

And Lord, we pray also today for the Green Bay Packers, that You would help them to beat the 49ers. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. Amen.

You don't like the 49ers, do you? No, I see you're shaking your head. Alright, well, you can't please everybody all the time. It's okay.

Most of you know that my wife and I have four kids. Although it may not be socially acceptable to say, I would admit that before we had children, I wasn't entirely sure that I wanted them. It would be worse to say that after having children, there are times when I have questioned that decision. Some of you may have felt that way as well, but you would never admit it because, again, it's not politically correct or socially acceptable to say such things. Be that as it may, research has shown that our experience of emotion—both the highs and the lows—increases when you have children.

When you have children, especially when they hurt or are sick, your experience of emotion is significantly heightened on the low end. You feel emotions to a greater degree as a result of seeing what happens to your children. I think all of us who are parents would acknowledge that. On the high end, your experience of joy also increases greatly when you have children. In many ways, this is due to the fact that children can do and say some pretty funny things. Having four specimens of children has caused my wife and me to laugh quite frequently. The things they do and say can be quite amusing to watch.

As an example, our daughter Evangeline, when she was a little more than three years old—which is hard to believe was six years ago—decided at that point that she didn't need anybody else's help in life with anything. For those of you who may have been here several years ago, I actually showed a little video to illustrate this. I figured I would show it again this morning.

In the video, you can hear her saying, "I do all by myself on my bed. I do all by myself. I do by myself. I do all by myself. All by myself."

By myself. Any road. All by myself. That's a great song. It's going to be stuck in your head the rest of the day, right there. That's little Miss Independence. She hasn't changed a whole lot. For the life of me, I have no idea where she got that little kind of stubborn independence streak at all. I can't imagine where it came from.

In fact, most of us have a stubbornly independent streak. Our American culture seems to highly value and, in some ways, nurture or encourage that spirit of fierce independence. You definitely see it in our nature, and in a lot of ways, it could be a good thing. There are potentially many benefits to fostering that independence.

We are a people here in the United States of America who are wholly committed to the concepts of individual rights, freedom of thought, freedom of speech, and freedom of expression. These are fundamental American values, and they inspire people to want to make this place their home, to come here because of that mindset.

However, even though we are committed to these concepts of liberty, self-determination, and freedom of thought, speech, and expression, there is a danger that this can push us into a place where our independence becomes an isolationist mindset. We start to think that we can do it all by ourselves and live this life alone. I would say it's something of an infantile understanding of liberty and independence to believe that we can do everything on our own.

This passage in Genesis 2:18, where the Lord God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; therefore, I will make a helper comparable to him," underscores the reality that God does not desire for us to live in isolation or apart from one another. He created us to live life in connection with one another. That's why it's part of our vision here at the church.

Now, I believe that firsts in the Bible are important. And there in Genesis 2:18, we see this foundational truth.

The first negative recorded in the Scriptures is found in the phrase, "It is not good." The word that is translated as "good" is repeated seven times in the first chapter of the Bible, in Genesis 1. In Genesis 1, verse 4, and then again in verses 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, and 31, as God speaks all things into creation, He beholds the things that He has made. At the end of each of the creation days, God observes what He has created and declares, "It is good." Not only does He say that it is good, but in verse 31, as He looks at all the things He has made, He proclaims, "Behold, it is very good." The superlative is placed at the beginning to emphasize that what God has made is exceedingly good.

When we reach Genesis chapter 2, we find a restatement of the creation account with a bit more detail. Here, God forms man from the dust of the ground and breathes into him the breath of life, making humanity distinct and unique as the image bearers of God. In Genesis chapter 1, verses 26 and 27, God says, "Let us make man in our image and in our likeness." Thus, God creates us distinct from all other beings. We observe this fact even in a time when some people attempt to discount the reality that we are set apart in all creation. This is how God made us.

God looks at us, whom He has made, and states, "It is not good that man would be alone." In this statement from Genesis chapter 2, verse 18, we learn a very valuable lesson. Point number one on your outline: God never intended for us to live alone in isolation. Although there may be a desire for autonomy, which is also a product of creation and reflects our being made in God's image, we cannot live without one another. This is a foundational, basic, and fundamental fact that the Bible observes.

I am fascinated by the fact that one of the oldest pieces of literature, the book of Genesis, identifies human connection as a basic necessity of life. The modern social sciences, such as psychology and sociology, also affirm this understanding.

Anthropology and the modern social sciences acknowledge a significant truth: what the Bible has affirmed from the beginning is being confirmed in contemporary research. This realization has emerged prominently over the last 150 years.

When we delve into the study of psychology, a relatively modern science, we find an acknowledgment of the necessity for connection. In the middle of the 20th century, a psychologist named Abraham Maslow developed a concept known as Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Among the five needs he identified, one is the drive for belonging—to be part of a group, to love, and to be loved. This need is essential; it is not merely a desire but a fundamental requirement for human beings.

In an article published in Psychology Today in July 2003, a psychologist from the University of Chicago stated, "Friendship is a lot like food. We need it to survive." He further explained that we seem to have a basic drive for social connection. Psychologists have found that human beings possess a fundamental need for inclusion in group life and for close relationships. We function best when this social need is met.

Evidence has been accumulating that when our need for social relationships is unmet, we can experience significant mental and physical decline. The effects of loneliness can lead to increased risks of suicide due to depression and anxiety, as well as heightened levels of perceived stress. Loneliness can also contribute to hypertension, high blood pressure, heart disease, and various other health issues that arise from the stress and anxiety caused by our biochemical makeup. This reality underscores the importance of being connected to one another.

In the sad aftermath of the Second World War and the Cold War, one notable observation—extensively documented and studied—was the baby boom that occurred in the former USSR, coinciding with a similar boom in the United States. In Ukraine, during that time, there were not enough caregivers for the children. Many of these children were orphaned or neglected and placed in orphanages, where they lacked sufficient adult supervision. Although their basic needs for shelter, food, and water were met, the absence of emotional and social support had profound implications for their well-being.

But there was, for many of these children, unfortunately, no physical contact with other human beings. They found that nearly a third of those children died before age two because of the lack of connection with others. Most of the rest of the children who did survive experienced developmental or mental effects, including mental illness, because there was no human connection.

What the Bible has affirmed for thousands of years, modern science is also confirming to be true. The reality of this is self-evident. We don't necessarily need the Bible or modern science to tell us this; we sense it in ourselves—the need to be connected with other people. God created us this way. That would be the Christian proposition. Why does this exist in us? Why do we see it in science? Because God created us with a deep desire to be connected to one another.

Not only did God create us this way, but He also provided a means to satisfy this desire. We see this in Genesis chapter two, where God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into him the breath of life. He said, "It is not good that man should be alone. I will make a helper comparable to him," one that can be joined together with him. From man, God took something—many English translations say a rib; some part of man was taken from him to create woman. Woman was created out of man for the purpose of them being joined together, man and woman as husband and wife, to become one flesh.

The Scriptures tell us, in one of the oldest documents of human literature, that for this cause, a man should leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh, united together as one. God has given us this opportunity to satisfy our desire with what is presented in Scripture as the deepest and most rich human relationship that exists.

From this relationship, as a product of it, we have the formulation of families, which, of course, creates communities, societies, and culture. All of this grows out of what God has originally created. It is fascinating to see that this is articulated in the earliest writings of Scripture, inspired by God to reveal to us what He has done. Yet here we are, thousands of years removed from this.

And we see in our culture today that there is a fight against what God fundamentally created at the beginning: male and female. I don't know why, but I was driving here this morning, and I had a podcast playing while my phone was plugged in. It came to my mind to ask the name I shall not mention of the person that lives inside my phone and sounds like a female. If I say her name, then maybe your phone will turn on, and I don't want to do that. But I thought, "Hey, so-and-so, are you a man or a woman?" She sure sounds like a woman, but she said, "I have no gender." I just thought, well, there you go. There's an articulation of it.

In our modern culture, we are fighting against these things, not just at the level of which God has made us male and female, but also in respect to the issues of marriage and family. We see that we are fighting against it. This indicates that there is an adversary that fights against God's working in this world, in and through His creation, which bears His image. That's a total sideline; I could get on a whole study on that one.

God created male and female to be joined together as husband and wife, through which they would procreate others who would develop families, communities, societies, and cultures. All of that leads to that first commandment, which I mentioned a few minutes ago in Genesis 1:28—the commandment that Garrett, Grace, Nick, Adela, and so many of you have faithfully fulfilled: "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

God did all of this, as is recorded in Genesis chapters one and two, because, point number two on your outline, life is better together. This is observably true: life is better together. I would argue that the connected life, living life in relationship with one another, is the fullest expression of life as God intended it.

When we read in the New Testament, John 10:10, Jesus says, "The thief has come to steal, to kill, and to destroy. But I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly." This exceedingly good life is one that is lived in connection with God, which we have talked about in this series previously, and a life that is lived together with one another. I believe that C.S. Lewis...

He hints at this in his book called The Reflections on the Psalms. He alludes to the fact that our joy is not fully consummate; it's not fully complete until it is expressed to others and experienced with others. Our heightened joy of experience comes through experiencing it with other people. When we experience those same things alone, we don't have the same maximal joy. Not just experiencing it with other people, but sharing it and expressing it to others, enhances the joy that we experience in this life. We delight most in sharing our experiences with others.

I've shared the illustration before, but I think it's fitting. It's kind of like the experience of going to Disneyland. Probably most of you have gone there. It's not too far away for us living here in Southern California, even though it sure is expensive. I've gone to Disneyland many times growing up, and at a certain point, you've seen all the rides, ridden all the rides, seen all the shows, and eaten all the corndogs that you really need to have, along with Dole Whip, even though it's maximally good. After all of that, if I never went to Disneyland again, it wouldn't be the end of the world. It's not like I'd die if I didn't go to Disneyland.

However, when we took our children to Disneyland a few years ago, it was as if the joy of that place was heightened by seeing my kids experience Disneyland. We experienced it in a new way. Now, by 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when you have four kids at the happiest place on Earth, it’s not the happiest place on Earth anymore. And when you get the credit card bill, it’s definitely not. But when we experience something in relationship with other people or see someone else experience something that brings us great joy, when we see their joy, our joy is increased.

Life is better together. We love shared experiences because life is better together. An interesting outgrowth of this is that we also enjoy sharing our experiences, which many people now do through social media. This has a cutting edge to it, in the sense that there is an element of being observed. You may have even seen this in yourself or in some of the other people in your family. As we see other people experiencing joy while we are not having the same joy—when they show it to us in Instagram or Facebook posts—we can feel what they call social media depression because we are not experiencing the same thing. Yet, we love to share these things with others. Unfortunately, the unseparated connection...

In Genesis chapters one and two, we read about the perfect world that God created, but it didn't last long. If we look over at Genesis chapter three, we know the story well, as we have recently examined it. For those of you reading through the Scriptures this year, you are likely familiar with Genesis.

In Genesis chapter three, we see the devastation of the world that God created as a result of sin, which came through the temptation of the serpent. The serpent interacts with the first woman, Eve, and asks her, "Has God indeed said you shall not eat of all the trees in the garden?" Eve responds, "We may freely eat of all the trees in the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we shall not eat of it, nor shall we touch it, for the day that we eat of it, we shall surely die." The serpent counters, "You will not surely die, for God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good from evil."

When Eve saw that the tree was good for food and desirable to make one wise, she took of it and ate. She then gave it to her husband, and he ate as well. In Genesis 3:7, we read that the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked. If we skip back to verse 25 of chapter two, we notice how that chapter ended: "They were both naked, the man and his wife, and they were not ashamed." Now, however, their eyes were opened, and they recognized their nakedness. This brought about a vulnerability and shame that had not existed before.

They sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings to hide their nakedness. Where they were once joined together as one, there was now a division. Before Genesis chapter three, there was no shame, no separation, and no division. God created us to live life in connection with Him and with one another, and that is the greatest experience of this life.

As we have considered many times before, point number three on your outline is that sin brought separation and destruction of community, and it still does. Anytime you see relationships divided, at the core of that division is some form of sin—pride, arrogance, anger, malice, contempt—whatever it may be. I don't believe it can ever be placed solely upon one person.

There are many reasons for the divisions that happen in our lives, whether it's an estrangement between you and a sibling, a parent, a child, or a spouse. Anytime there is that division, at the center of it is some form of sin. Sin always brings destruction; it always brings division. It alienates.

On this side of Genesis chapter three, following the fall described there, the acute effects of sin are experienced by every single one of us. We know brokenness, division, segregation, separation, and death very well, even though we desire genuine connection with one another. We long for oneness in our relationships, but sin hinders that. This is why Jesus had to come.

I mentioned a few weeks ago that the overarching story of the Bible begins with creation, which was very good. God made it very good. Then comes the fall in Genesis chapter three, and the story from the fall until now, extending into the future, is one of redemption. Ultimately, there will be the final segment of this story: restoration, where God makes all things new.

Right now, we are living in the midst of this redemption, which comes about through Jesus. In the New Testament, He says, "I have come that you may have life and that you may have it more abundantly." What was stolen and destroyed by temptation and sin in the Garden of Eden is restored and redeemed by Jesus through the cross. Sin and death are crucified there, nailed to a tree, and He overcomes sin and death in His resurrection.

The night before the cross, the night before Jesus went to die, He prayed in what is commonly referred to as the high priestly prayer of Jesus. This prayer is recorded in the Gospel of John, specifically in John chapter 17. You can turn there if you'd like; it's about two-thirds of the way through your Bible, following the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and then John.

In John chapter 17, we find this high priestly prayer of Jesus. He is praying to the Father in heaven, which can be a challenge for some to grasp because it illustrates something we find in the Scriptures: the doctrine of the Trinity, that there is one God who exists in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

And though it's difficult for our minds to grasp, we see it presented before us in the Scripture from Genesis chapter one, where we read, "Let us make man in our image," all the way through the end of the Bible in Revelation. We see this principle, or this doctrine of the Trinity, revealed to us.

Here in this passage, God the Son, Jesus, the incarnate God, is here upon the earth, and he's praying to the Father in heaven. Again, it is hard for us to wrap our finite minds around the infinite nature of God, but here he is praying. Look at what he prays in John 17, verse 11. He prays, "Now I am no longer in the world, but these, my followers, disciples, they are in the world, and I come to you. Holy Father, keep through your name those whom you have given to me." Why? "That they may be one as we are one."

He desires that they would experience oneness of relationship, oneness with God, united relationship with God, and fellowship with one another. Skip down to verse 20, John 17, verse 20. His prayer continues: "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in me through their word." Who's that? Us. Jesus, 2,000 years ago, prayed for you, who would trust in Jesus based on the gospel handed down by the earliest hearers of Jesus.

So he prays for those who will hear, who will believe in him through their word. In verse 21, he prays, "That they 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." He continues, "And the glory which you gave me I have given to them, that they may be one." There it is again in verse 22, just as we are one. "I in them and you in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me."

So Jesus came and prayed that you and I would experience oneness. What was there before Genesis chapter three, when God made us in his image and created us to be connected to him and connected to one another? He comes to restore that, and he prays that this would be fulfilled.

How is this oneness brought about? Well, the sin that brought death, that brought separation and division, had to be dealt with. Jesus was raised up on the cross to deal with that sin. It's recorded like this in the book of Ephesians, chapter two: "For he himself," Ephesians 2:14, "Jesus himself is our peace, and he has made both one."

Those two, He has made them one; He has joined them together and broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity that is the law of commandments contained in ordinances. He did this to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them, restoring them to one another again.

When you have two individuals who have been estranged because of pride, anger, or whatever it may be, when they are restored to one another, it is called reconciliation. Jesus, on the cross, makes it possible for us to be reconciled—reconciled to God and reconciled to one another. Through His death on the cross, He takes two and makes them one, thus making peace, so that He might reconcile them together in God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.

Point number four on your outline: Jesus destroyed sin to make connection and reality again. This is the good news of the Gospel. This is the good news that you and I have been given to share with other people and to experience ourselves. Sin devastated God's original intended creation, and we feel the devastating effects of sin. We see it around us in our culture and around the world, and it seems to be not necessarily getting any better. We seem to be more divided than at many other times in history, at least as a people in our own nation.

There are many reasons why we divide ourselves. We divide ourselves based on political views. We divide ourselves based on whether or not you like the Green Bay Packers, which, God bless you if you don't. But we have a tendency to make these differences the most important and biggest things to ourselves. Everything about our sin nature caters to that. However, God in Christ wants to do a new work. He wants to bring us this joining together so that we can be reconciled to one another.

As Christians, not only do we come to understand and realize this and experience connection with God and connection with one another, but we are also given, as 2 Corinthians 5 says, the ministry of reconciliation. If you are a follower of Jesus today, you get to be an ambassador.

Of reconciliation, we are called to share with others that they can be joined together and united once again. In Jesus, we experience a restoration to the oneness that God intended from the beginning. Where is this oneness expressed? Where is it seen? It is meant to be seen within the church.

What is the church? The original word in Greek, "ekklesia," simply means the gathering of people. It is a gathering of followers of Jesus, where we experience life in connection with God and with one another. Jesus promised in Matthew 16, verse 18, "I will build my church." He is the one who puts this into place. Then, in Mark 16, verse 15, He told His disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel, the good news of the kingdom, the good news of Christ.

As followers of Jesus, we have been joined together with God and with one another in Christ Jesus. We are commissioned to take that good news to others and preach the gospel to every creature. In Matthew 28, what we call the Great Commission, we are instructed to go and make disciples of all nations, bringing them together as one.

What does that practically look like? Jesus said, "I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18) and instructed us to go preach the gospel and make disciples. What does it look like in practice? The earliest description of this is found in the book of Acts, chapter two. If you are in John 17, just turn a little to the right, and you will find the book of Acts.

Acts chapter two tells the story of the church being birthed. Jesus said in Matthew 16, "I will build my church," and in Acts chapter two, the Holy Spirit of God begins the work of building the church. This happens through the preaching of the gospel. Jesus commanded us to go preach the gospel to every creature, and in Acts chapter two, it is the Apostle Peter, one of Jesus' earliest followers, who preaches the gospel.

As he preaches, the Spirit of God moves in a powerful way, resulting in radical transformation. These people put their trust in Jesus and are joined together as one body, as the church. What did it look like when they were joined together as the church? In Acts chapter two, verse 42, we see the description of this gathering of believers.

Many thousands of people, at least 3,000 individuals, believed that day. They continued steadfastly and were committed wholeheartedly to the apostles' doctrine, which involved gathering together for the teaching of the Scriptures. The apostles' doctrine also included fellowship, a communion that united people as one. This fellowship involved the breaking of bread, which most people would say refers to the Eucharist, where we partake of the bread and the cup in remembrance of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. However, it could also refer to gathering together to share meals. Therefore, there is a both-and component to that.

They continued in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and in prayers. Fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. All who believed were united together in communion and had all things in common. They sold their possessions and goods and divided them among all as anyone had need.

Continuing in verse 46, daily, with one accord, they gathered together regularly in the temple. The temple in Jerusalem was a common meeting area where they would come together. They continued in one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to house. This was not just in corporate gatherings but also in gatherings throughout the community in the homes of individual members of the body of Christ. They gathered together to break bread from house to house, eating their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all people. The Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. This is the practical outworking of Jesus saying, "I will build my church. Go preach the gospel, go make disciples." Thus, the church was birthed.

In Christ, we experience the restoration of community within His church. This is where life in connection with God and one another is expressed, or it is meant to be that way. It is not about the building, whether it is Emmanuel Faith's building, Mission Hills Church's building, or North Coast Church's building. It is not the building; it is the people who are gathered together, experiencing life in connection with God, one another, and the world. This is to be the expression of that communion with God and community with one another, and it is our hope that we would fulfill that, not only to experience it but to live it out.

We want to extend our connection to other people. That's why we say life is in connection with God, with one another, and with the world. All of this happens through Jesus. How then, and in what ways do we experience that connection? What does it look like to experience that?

As we gather together in worship, in fellowship, for the breaking of bread, for the Apostles' Doctrine, or to pray with one another, we are expressing and experiencing that connection. In all of these ways, we seek to fulfill what the New Testament presents as "one another" relationships. There are literally dozens of passages in the Bible where we are told to love one another, to pray for one another, to care for one another, and to comfort one another. Over and over again, the New Testament tells us that this is how we are to express this new life in Christ.

We do this as a church when we gather together on Sunday mornings to open the Scriptures and study them, or when we have Bible studies throughout the week, wherever they may be. When we serve together, when we sing praise together, and when we give together, all of these activities are ways in which we connect with God. Beyond this, our hope and desire is that you would connect with one another. One of the primary ways we do that is through our connect groups.

As we finish up our service today, I want to encourage you to get plugged into a connect group. Just two nights ago, we hosted our connect group in my own home. There were probably 30 people there, most of them kids, so it was a bit chaotic, but it was a joy. When we gather together for life and connection with one another, we experience relational connection in Christ Jesus. It is an awesome joy.

Most often, the pastoral care of tending to the needs of people within the church happens within connect groups. You are ministering to one another. As I look around the room, I know quite a few of you are involved in connect groups, but we want more of you to plug into this. You are not fully experiencing the life that God desires for you in Christ Jesus apart from living life together within the body of Christ. It is not sufficient to gather together only on Sunday mornings. This connection must happen beyond that, and in many other ways, but connect groups are one way to do it.

If you are not involved in a connect group, I encourage you to consider plugging into one. It is pretty simple to do. You can just go to our website, lifeinconnection.com/groups.

If you go to lifeinconnection.com/groups, you will find a list of some of the connect groups. However, we are running into a problem: we just don't have enough groups at the moment. I want to talk to those of you this morning who have the gift of hospitality. You may wonder, how do I know if I have the gift of hospitality? If you enjoy serving other people or inviting them into your life and your space, your home, then you have the gift of hospitality. If that sounds terrible to you, then you probably don't have the gift of hospitality. You likely won't open your home for a connect group unless God, by His Spirit, does a miraculous work transforming you.

You may not be very nice to people. I know, you might be a 49ers fan. Just kidding! Give me some grace. You should also plug into a connect group because God wants you to be a part of that. If you think you have the gift of hospitality, we would love for you to be a part of the connect group ministry. We need more groups. It doesn't mean you will have 30 people in your home; maybe it's just a group of six or eight people. That's fine. It doesn't need to be massive; it just requires you to open your heart and your home and invite people in.

If you can be a host, if you have a heart for people, are willing to open your home, can serve others, and can talk about Jesus, then you can be a host. We would really love to plug you into that. This year, we would like to add more connect groups because we believe it is an important part of the life of the church.

All you have to do, if that might be you, is look at the bottom of your sermon guide. There is a web address there: lifeinconnection.com/host. If you go to that website, there is a very quick form to fill out. Once you fill that out, it will come to our office, and one of the staff members will contact you to help you get plugged into connect groups.

This is a really important part of the life of this church and a wonderful way through which God reaches out to others. There have been connect groups here where the hosts or the attendees invite a friend, neighbor, or family member who doesn't go to church. They come to the connect group, and the next thing you know, they are a part of the church because they were connected to the body of Christ. It is said in Acts 2:47, "And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being redeemed, rescued, saved, out of darkness and into His marvelous light."

As we wrap up this series this year, let's remember the importance of connection and hospitality in our community.

Life in connection. Again, I just want to encourage you that God wants to work through you to extend His love to the people in your life. You interact with people on a daily basis that I will probably never have an opportunity to talk to unless they end up coming here. However, you interact with people who are far from God and isolated. God desires for you to be an ambassador of reconciliation, so that they would come into a relationship with Him and with His church, and experience life as God intended it to be. God created us to live life in connection with Him and with one another.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer?

God, thank You for Your grace. Peter wrote that we are to proclaim the praises of You who called us out of darkness into Your marvelous light. We who were not a people have been made Your people. We who had not obtained mercy have received mercy and grace from You. Lord, it is Your mercy and Your grace that has made it possible for us to be reconciled to You and connected to one another.

I pray, God, that we would experience in a greater way in 2020 the fullness of this life connected with You and connected to one another. I pray that we would be able to share that with other people, because there are so many people that we see or interact with on a regular basis who are far from You. They do not have the joy of union with You and community within the body.

So, God, would You use us to be lights shining that life to other people? I pray that the joy of that life would be upon our faces, that it would be evident that we are experiencing fullness of joy in Your presence within the body of Christ.

So, God, do a work in Your church. We ask this today in Jesus' name. Amen.