Community: The Final Apologetic

Here's the sermon from our semester kickoff a couple Sundays ago, Community: The Final Apologetic. I really felt like we needed to do a very simple, straightforward, back-to-the-basics "this is why community is important" message. I stole the title from Francis Schaeffer.

Here's the basic outline:

1. We were created by community. God exists as three persons- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and each person is fully God, and God is one. Bottom line- God exists in community.

2. We were created for community. In Genesis 2:18, God says, “it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a companion who will help him.” In Theology for the Community of God, Stanley Grenz asserted, “each person can be related to the image of God only within the context of life in community with others. Only in fellowship with others can we show forth what God is like, for God is the community of love…”

3. Community was destroyed by our sin.

4. Community is restored by Christ. John 17:20: “I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me because of your testimony. My prayer for all of them is that they will be one, just as you and I are one, Father—that just as you are in me and I am in you, so they will be in us, and the world will believe you sent me.”

5. The Kingdom of God is expanded by community. In John 13:34-35, Jesus said, “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”