Invest in Community
Written by Ed Allen
Saturday, 29 January 2005 19:00
"As followers of Jesus, we seek to invest ourselves in community so that our corporate life reflects the very life and glory of God. Such an investment means that we will imitate the humility and servanthood of Christ by looking not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of those around us. Therefore, we will endeavor to understand our spiritual gifts and use them to contribute to the life of the body. Specifically, we will invest in a Home Fellowship and serve in an area of need, such as a team ministry at Gateway." - Gateway Community Church Covenant
John 13:13-16; John 14:26; John 17:20-23; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4:3-6; Philippians 2:1-11; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 Peter 4:10
Sermon notes
God's primary desire for us is not that we're happy, or have great faith, or fill in the blank____________. God's primary desire for us is that we love Him and that we love one another. He wants both, not one without the other.
In Deuteronomy 3:12-20, we see that 2 1/2 tribes (the Gadites, Reubenites, and the 1/2 tribe of Manassah) received land on the East side of the Jordan river in very fertile land. As a part of receiving that land, they had to cross over the Jordan river before the other Israelites to take the Promised land and then they could come back to their land.
Takeaways from Deuteronomy
- Community is of utmost importance to God
- Community is costly
- Receiving what God has for me is a community project.