Sermon Recap: August 28

SERMON RECAP: AUGUST 28, 2022
PASTOR NATE LEVERING

A joy-filled Monday to you, church family. Worship leaders, Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe's, The Blessing is cycling through my head as I consider the recap for you today.

The Lord bless you and keep you, make His face shine down upon you and be gracious to you.

Over and over, this is my prayer for you today. Whether you're reading this from the pick up line at school, in a cubicle, in line at the grocery store, or from the comfort of your jammies, may the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord shine His face upon you and be gracious to you. If you couldn't tell by the enthusiasm of Lead Pastor, Nate Levering, on Sunday, let me reiterate just how passionate he is for you to jump in and join the community here at Sierra Bible Church. He sat in my office this morning and shared, again, how his heart breaks for those who come and don't feel connected. How can we best help you get connected here?

What does it look like when God sets us back on the path toward connection? From the beginning in Genesis, God sets the story in community. We were never created with the intent to be alone. Even us introverts need our people. So whether your people are those you eat with around the dinner table, in your LifeGroup, the group thread you text to celebrate or commemorate an event, or anyone in between, our hope is that you are plugged in and anchored to community.

Philippians 1:1-9 says this:
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

In the early 2000's, I lived at Hume Lake Christian Camps as a student in the Joshua Wilderness Institute program. At that time, it was a non-accredited 9-month discipleship program. During this time, we were required to memorize the entire book of Philippians. My memorization up to that point was not excellent. What I learned through living alongside 25+ other college-age peers trying to figure life out was this: memorization is hard. Just kidding. That's not all I learned. I don't want my folks to think their tuition payment went in the garbage. I learned that I alone, did not have the skills required for a successful life. I was not born like that. Maybe you, like me, have learned from people along the way on how to behave, how best to learn, and what makes us grow. During that year, an older staff member noticed the frustration of many of us while we sat and worked on memorization. Her suggestion was to do something physical while memorizing. So what did a few of us do? We worked out. We'd repetitiously recite a string of verses while we walked on the treadmill, lifted weights, or stretched. Somehow by May, just before graduation, we recited the entire four chapters of the book. I went into that 9 months knowing I was one of the older students and assuming my ways would carry me through and I think we do this in our daily lives as well. We allow our experience, age or expertise trick us into thinking we don't need shared ideas, supportive community or the challenge of our faith. Friends, I don't know about you, but this is how and when I grow the most- when I realize I have no clue and God graciously sets me back on His path of truth and grace.

Pastor Nate reminded us that:

1. We have a common KING, not a common INTEREST.

2. We have a common MISSION, not a common MEANS.

3. We have a common GOOD, not a common ENEMY.

4. We have common QUESTIONS, not common ANSWERS.

Community is here, friends. It's for you, available to you. May the Lord bless you and keep you today. Amen.