Gospel-shaped Community W/ Pastor Brad

On this Graduation Celebration Sunday, we explore what it means to be a Gospel-shaped community through Philippians 2. In a culture marked by division, isolation, and performance, Jesus invites us into deep, Christ-centered relationships marked by humility, compassion, encouragement, and shared life. The Gospel of Jesus saves us and forms us who walk through both joy and suffering side by side where Christ is at the center and no one walks alone.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Well, I was thinking about this moment right after this time of honoring grads, and welcome. Welcome to the time of mid-May. This is the time of the year for invitations, right? Whether commencements, graduations, weddings, open houses that are filling up this place, a lot of reservations here at the church lately. And I want to begin with another invitation this morning. Jesus invites us to deep, lasting, and spirit-filled community. Jesus poured his life into a community of 12 disciples who would then begin the church. That then began a group of 120 people. And the Spirit of God led them to where we are today in this very hour. So turn to your neighbor and say, You're invited. You're invited. Yeah, get them both. There are a few times in the Bible where we get a clear picture, a beautiful, vibrant picture of community that is centered on Jesus. One beautiful place is from Philippi. Here's just a little bit of a context. The author of Philippians 2 is a brother by the name of Paul, who was a church planter. God called him to many different cities and urban areas of the known world at that time. And it cost him for sharing the good news of the gospel. He was imprisoned. He's in prison when he writes this letter because he has a church that is on his mind. He's in prison in Rome and he writes a letter from his heart to this small church by the name Philippi. The Church of the Philippians. And so listen to the joy that is in his heart as he pours into this community as he writes from prison. In honor of God's holy, living and active word, let's stand to our feet and let's read together this scripture, these two slides together. Here we go. Three, two, one. Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, value others above yourselves, looking to your own interests, but to each of you, to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. This is the Holy Word of God. Amen. Yes, you may be seated. My title for you this morning is called Gospel Shaped Community. And I want to go section by section of this scripture because each one is so applicable and relevant for this very season. Verse one begins by saying, Therefore, and every time you see a therefore, you gotta ask, What's it there for? Therefore, if you have any encouragement, but that encouragement comes from somewhere from being united with Christ. In other words, unity, unity, unity with Jesus is so important today. Because when we are responding to that invitation to be unified with Jesus in our lives, there is a result. And the fruit of that is encouragement. So one way how this will be practiced is that we're gonna share encouragement and joy together in a little bit. We'll pass the mic together as we share both joys and concerns. The thing about joy and encouragement is that it's contagious, it grows from one to the next. And if someone has encouraged you, looked you in the eyes, and spoke words of blessing, it's contagious and it deepens and it's meant to be shared. That's the encouragement that comes from unity with Jesus, but it continues. If you have any comfort from his love, this is the concern side. This is when we share what we're really facing, the debasement levels of our lives. The love of Jesus comforts us, and then we get to share it with one another. Maybe you've heard the phrase, if one part of the body hurts, the whole body hurts. I remember when I was in uh high school, I had an ingrown toenail, and if my toe just even grazed something, I would feel it all the way to the top of my head. Man, so glad that's over. The love of Jesus comforts us, and gospel community spreads that comfort. And this is something that we get to experience all together. Then it continues if you have any common sharing in the spirit, if you have any tenderness and compassion, uh last week we looked at the theme of compassion as we closed out a series in the book of Jonah. And in Jonah, God says this, he asked this question, really a cliffhanger, where he says, Should I not have compassion and concern upon that great city? The great city of Nineveh. And then we applied it to today, where is one way that God is calling us to spread his compassion in the city. And yet, common sharing, common sharing in the spirit, what is that about? That's when compassion is so deep and convicting that you are driven to share common life with one another. And the first church was marked by this in very radical ways. One of the ways how we practice common sharing in the spirit, if you've been here for some time, you know I'm gonna give a plug for small groups. One of the primary ways where you will experience care and love beyond these walls and common sharing is to be in a small group together, going through life as we share joys and concerns. And the majority of the church is plugged into small groups. And if you are interested in walking through life beyond these walls in a small group, this is that opportunity. Hit that QR code and Brother Ryan LaRue. We have many Ryan's, they're all blessed and highly favored here. And uh he'll help you get plugged in into a small group to walk through life together. Can I get an amen on that? Verse 2 says, Then make my joy complete. Paul, he's he's in prison and yet he's filled with joy. He's like, make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Gospel community gives us one love, one spirit, and one mind. That when our relational glue has the same love, the same spirit, and unity of mind, the community of Jesus strengthens in radical ways. So if you've ever read a bit of Paul in the New Testament, oftentimes he's in teaching mode and he's teaching about various important and critical topics. But here he's building off that. He's building off of teaching and then making it be lived out and encouraging practice of God's ways. Gospel community is more than knowledge. It needs legs. Recently I heard it said that this is what love is: love is local. True human connection and healing occurs in loving local communities between you and your neighbor, you and your spouse, you and your family, and those in closest proximity to you. Now, I I usually quote my wife at least once in a sermon, and this is that time. Early on in ministry, she taught me this truth because I love knowledge, I love learning. Um, I can often spend too much time on Wikipedia, one link after the next. But she taught me this truth. People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care. Fingles finger snaps on that, church family. We're called to be a caring community. In verse 3, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. That's an old school word of saying, pride. Right? And I loved during the worship, Stacy, as he was leading us, was calling out the name of pride, and we need the name of Jesus, right? But rather, in humility, value others above yourselves. You know what the sign language for humility is? Check this out. Take one hand, go like this. Take your other hand, go above it, and now this is the action, go underneath. That is the sign of humility that we are called to be about. Jesus often teaches about the gift and the importance and the calling of humility. And one particular way how he teaches us this is through prayer. If you've noticed, maybe before, as we recite together the Lord's Prayer, it helps center us and roots us as a people who are humble in him. I don't know about you, I need that reminder often. Because the Lord's Prayer says, our Father. So it begins with adoring our God and our relationship to him. Hallowed be thy name, right? That his name is holy. We revere him and we worship him. That thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory, right? This is this is the truth that he is sovereign over us. And when we first recognize who he is, then the needs come out, right? Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those that sin against us and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, right? Jesus teaches us humility through prayer that centers our hearts in who God is first, and then through that, we are self-reliant, not or we're not relying on ourselves, but called to rely on Him, to be a God-dependent people. And then verse 4, not looking to your own interests, but each of you to the interests of others. We're starting to get the shape here, right? Of gospel community. Christianity wasn't meant to be a solo lone ranger thing. We can't do it alone. Being part of a local church means engaging with one another. Our purpose is to know Jesus and to make him known in community. And one way to get at this is does someone know you? Does someone know what you are going through and facing? And also, do you know what your brothers and sisters are facing around you? God calls us to be a people who seek him, and then as that falls afresh upon us, the concern for others increases. Uh, when we brought our first child home, the thought hit me um, how do we keep this thing alive? Right? The nurse isn't coming home, right? And I feel the 14 years into this, I'm still learning and growing in many ways. I came across this of uh how many summers in general a parent has with a child. All right, so math people help me out. One summer with your baby, three with your toddler, nine with your child, five with your teenager, that adds to eighteen. Eighteen summers generally, right? This is just a general rule of thumb. It takes work, it takes effort, it takes years and a willingness to grow as a parent for kids as they age, as they go from summer to summer, right? It's very much the same way in church life. It takes work, effort, years. This isn't something that happens uh like a microwave. Gospel-shaped community takes time, courage, and a willingness to grow relationally in the Lord. Now, this this past week I ran into an engaged couple uh who is so excited to be married in a couple weeks, just so giddy, it was very obvious how excited they were. Jesus should so impact us that those immediately around you notice. That they can see it, they can experience it. Let the Spirit of God use you to bless and impact others around you. Christ-centered community is distinct and it's unique because through the church, Jesus is the center of who we are. He takes center stage, and then we're invited to say yes to follow him to grow in gospel-shaped community. I heard this yesterday at a graduation service, and the speaker said this. What is that? Here it is. The temptation today is to perform for everyone and belong to no one, to be globally visible online and yet locally invisible. Say with me. To have thousands of followers and yet no one actually knows where you live. And then the speaker said, resist this. Build community, put down roots with the full intention of growing where you've put down roots. Learn less usernames and learn more actual names of the living, breathing people around you who have proximity to you. And I'll apply that to the church serve, come alongside, build the thing your church community needs, even if, especially if the internet never sees it. God has given us gifts right now for today. So go. God has called us and saved us with the opportunity to reflect his love to others in community shaped by his gospel. Because the last verse right in verse five, Paul says, In your relationships, have the same mindset of Christ. And what is that mindset? Oh, this is the beautiful Philippians 2 that's often depicted as a hymn. You can go to verse 6. Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider a quality with God something to be used for his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Therefore, God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledged that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. This is a beautiful picture of the gospel where Jesus comes and he serves. He serves his disciples, he serves the people, he serves the world by being obedient even to death, death on the cross for the sin of the world, but he conquers death itself for us. Walks out of the grave three days later, and he is exalted at the right hand of God the Father, that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. We receive this by his grace, and then we are invited to community. His gospel shapes this community, and here are a few hopes. That South Hill, right here, will be a community where folks who do not yet know Jesus, and the they will, they'll experience it through you, grow in the word and local church. That South Hill will be a community where believers can do life together with Christ at the center, with honesty, forgiveness, and love in various settings, and to belong to each other and to support each other through the mountains and the valleys. So that when you need a new start, you're not alone. That when you're facing a new start, certainly we honored the graduates here, but this is for everybody who is here today, that you're not alone. That when a family member is going through a valley, you're not alone. If you're facing a diagnosis of some kind, you're not alone. If you're facing the storms of life, you're not alone. If you've been hurt by someone you know, you're not alone. If you're moving into an apartment or a new home, you're not alone. If your kids keep you on your toes, you're not alone. I'll close with this last image and then we'll go into a time of uh joys and concerns. If you've heard of uh a lion's sanctuary before, raise your hand. Okay, yeah, a couple of us. Uh a lion sanctuary is essentially a place where lions that have been hurt, or if they've been maimed in some way, they're brought to a place of refuge and healing where they are restored again. It's a lion sanctuary. This place is also a sanctuary, right? Designed to be a refuge of the Lord to receive his healing, his freedom, his forgiveness, and new life. Not individually, but collectively, united as one. I'll pray us together and then we'll pass the mic. Heavenly Father God, we come before you and we thank you so much for this morning. We thank you that indeed you are our refuge, you are our strength, you are our song. Let all other names fade away. Jesus, take your rightful place in our hearts, and we thank you for the invitation right now, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to be a people who are shaped by your good news, so that this community grows deeper and stronger in you. We praise you, Lord, and we lift up uh this opportunity, opportunity to lift up both hands, both the joys that we're experiencing, the encouragement, but as well as areas where we've got concern, where we've got laments, or a suffering, Lord, that we need to share. And so we want to honor you in advance as we pass the mic and lift up the needs of this local body. We thank you, Lord, that you are the head of the church globally and also right here at Madison Church, South Hill.

SPEAKER_01 20:19

In your most holy name, we pray. The church say. Amen. Amen. And amen.