Building Genuine Relationships Through Prayer and Community
Summary
### Summary
Today, we focused on the importance of prayer, particularly for Israel and the surrounding nations embroiled in conflict. We prayed for peace and for the well-being of citizens on both sides, recognizing the special promises God has made to Israel and the role they play in His divine plan. We also discussed the personal journey of dealing with hurt and the masks we put on to protect ourselves, which often turn into prisons of our own making. This led to a broader discussion on the importance of genuine relationships within the church community.
We explored the concept of the church as a family and the necessity of meeting together, especially in small groups. The church is not just an institution but a gathering of believers who support and uplift each other. We delved into the problems facing the church today, such as individualism, loneliness, rising rates of anxiety, depression, and immorality. These issues are exacerbated by a lack of genuine, accountable relationships.
The solution lies in fostering three types of relationships: upward (with God), inward (within the church), and outward (with the world). We emphasized the need for small groups where members can serve each other, worship and pray together, study the Word, and hold each other accountable. These relationships are crucial for personal growth, healing, and the overall health of the church community.
### Key Takeaways
1. The Importance of Prayer for Israel and the Persecuted Church: Praying for Israel is not about agreeing with all their actions but recognizing their unique role in God's plan. The peace of Israel is tied to the ultimate peace of all creation. Our prayers should focus on the well-being of all affected by the conflict and for divine revelations to lead them to Jesus. [25:08]
2. The Masks We Wear and the Prisons We Build: Many of us create personas to protect ourselves from hurt, but these masks often become prisons. True freedom and healing come from genuine relationships where we can be open and honest. This requires a community that balances acceptance with the transformative love of Christ. [33:42]
3. The Necessity of Meeting Together: Hebrews 10:19-25 emphasizes the importance of not neglecting to meet together. As the day of the Lord approaches, our need for community and mutual encouragement increases. Meeting together is essential for spurring one another on to love and good deeds. [45:46]
4. Addressing Common Problems in the Church: Issues like individualism, loneliness, anxiety, depression, and immorality are prevalent both inside and outside the church. These problems are often linked to a breakdown in genuine, accountable relationships. The church must create environments where people can share their struggles and find support. [50:46]
5. The Role of Small Groups: Small groups are vital for the health of the church. They provide a space for serving each other, worshiping and praying together, studying the Word, and holding each other accountable. These relationships form the foundation for personal growth, healing, and the overall strength of the church community. [01:12:36]
### YouTube Chapters
[0:00] - Welcome
[0:30] - Prayer for Israel and the Persecuted Church
[25:08] - The Two Types of Peace for Israel
[28:54] - Praying for Divine Revelations
[32:14] - Personal Update and Request for Prayer
[33:12] - The Masks We Wear
[34:22] - Building Walls vs. Building Prisons
[35:34] - The Journey of Sanctification
[36:23] - The Church Community and Acceptance
[37:10] - The Disconnect and Loneliness
[38:04] - The Lies of the Enemy
[40:00] - Living in Prisons of Our Own Making
[41:53] - The Church as a Family
[42:44] - The Highest Call and Lowest Position
[43:30] - Do Not Neglect Meeting Together
[45:46] - The Importance of Community
[50:46] - Addressing Problems in the Church
[51:28] - Individualism and Loneliness
[55:54] - Rising Rates of Anxiety and Depression
[58:51] - The Breakdown of the Family Unit
[01:00:14] - Immorality and Impurity in the Church
[01:07:19] - The Benefits of Religious Service Attendance
[01:12:36] - The Role of Small Groups
[01:20:07] - Confession and Accountability
[01:27:04] - A Call to Reengage and Heal
Study Guide
### Bible Reading
1. Hebrews 10:19-25: "Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."
2. Ephesians 3:10: "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms."
3. James 5:16: "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."
### Observation Questions
1. According to Hebrews 10:19-25, what are the two main actions believers are encouraged to take in response to the gift of salvation?
2. What does Ephesians 3:10 say about the role of the church in God's plan?
3. In James 5:16, what are believers instructed to do for one another, and what is the promised result?
4. What are some of the common problems facing the church today as discussed in the sermon? ([50:46])
### Interpretation Questions
1. How does the instruction in Hebrews 10:25 to not neglect meeting together relate to the issues of individualism and loneliness mentioned in the sermon? ([51:28])
2. What does it mean for the church to reveal the "manifold wisdom of God" as stated in Ephesians 3:10, and how does this impact our understanding of the church's mission? ([40:57])
3. How can the practice of confessing sins to one another, as mentioned in James 5:16, contribute to personal and communal healing within the church? ([01:16:20])
4. The sermon mentioned the masks we wear and the prisons we build. How do these concepts affect our ability to form genuine relationships within the church community? ([33:42])
### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your current prayer life. How often do you pray for Israel and the persecuted church? What specific prayers can you offer for their peace and well-being this week? ([25:08])
2. Think about a time when you wore a "mask" to protect yourself from hurt. How did this impact your relationships with others? What steps can you take to be more open and honest in your small group? ([33:42])
3. Hebrews 10:25 emphasizes the importance of meeting together. How can you prioritize attending and participating in small group meetings, especially when life gets busy? ([45:46])
4. The sermon highlighted the issues of individualism and loneliness. How can you foster a sense of community and accountability within your small group to combat these issues? ([51:28])
5. Consider the role of small groups in your church. How can you contribute to making your small group a place where members serve each other, worship and pray together, study the Word, and hold each other accountable? ([01:12:36])
6. Reflect on the concept of the church as a family. How can you strengthen your relationships within the church to create a more supportive and uplifting community? ([41:53])
7. The sermon mentioned the rising rates of anxiety, depression, and immorality. How can your small group address these issues and provide support for members struggling with these challenges? ([55:54])
Devotional
Day 1: Praying for Israel and the Persecuted Church
Prayer for Israel is about recognizing their unique role in God's divine plan. It is not necessarily about agreeing with all their actions but understanding the special promises God has made to them. The peace of Israel is tied to the ultimate peace of all creation. Our prayers should focus on the well-being of all affected by the conflict and for divine revelations to lead them to Jesus. This is a call to intercede for both Israel and the surrounding nations, asking for peace, protection, and divine guidance.
[25:08]
Isaiah 62:6-7 (ESV): "On your walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen; all the day and all the night they shall never be silent. You who put the Lord in remembrance, take no rest, and give him no rest until he establishes Jerusalem and makes it a praise in the earth."
Reflection: Think of a specific conflict or area of unrest in the world today. How can you commit to praying for peace and divine intervention in that situation?
Day 2: The Masks We Wear and the Prisons We Build
Many of us create personas to protect ourselves from hurt, but these masks often become prisons. True freedom and healing come from genuine relationships where we can be open and honest. This requires a community that balances acceptance with the transformative love of Christ. The journey of sanctification involves removing these masks and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable within a supportive church community. This vulnerability is essential for personal growth and spiritual healing.
[33:42]
James 5:16 (ESV): "Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working."
Reflection: Identify one "mask" you wear to protect yourself from hurt. How can you begin to remove this mask in a trusted relationship within your church community?
Day 3: The Necessity of Meeting Together
Hebrews 10:19-25 emphasizes the importance of not neglecting to meet together. As the day of the Lord approaches, our need for community and mutual encouragement increases. Meeting together is essential for spurring one another on to love and good deeds. The church is not just an institution but a gathering of believers who support and uplift each other. This communal aspect is vital for spiritual growth and maintaining a strong faith.
[45:46]
Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV): "And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."
Reflection: How can you prioritize meeting with your church community this week, whether in a small group or a larger gathering?
Day 4: Addressing Common Problems in the Church
Issues like individualism, loneliness, anxiety, depression, and immorality are prevalent both inside and outside the church. These problems are often linked to a breakdown in genuine, accountable relationships. The church must create environments where people can share their struggles and find support. By fostering genuine relationships, the church can become a place of healing and growth, addressing these common problems effectively.
[50:46]
Galatians 6:2 (ESV): "Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."
Reflection: Think of someone in your church community who may be struggling with loneliness or anxiety. How can you reach out to them and offer support this week?
Day 5: The Role of Small Groups
Small groups are vital for the health of the church. They provide a space for serving each other, worshiping and praying together, studying the Word, and holding each other accountable. These relationships form the foundation for personal growth, healing, and the overall strength of the church community. Small groups create an intimate environment where members can deeply connect and support one another in their spiritual journeys.
[01:12:36]
Acts 2:46-47 (ESV): "And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved."
Reflection: If you are not already part of a small group, what steps can you take to join one? If you are, how can you contribute more actively to the group's growth and support?
Quotes
1. "But you couldn't show them. You were just telling them about it. Anyways, that worked in grade four. But it began a pattern in my life of putting on masks. So, you know, you get hurt. And we've all been hurt. And a very common response to that hurt, you know, I mean, some of you might have just really matured. You know, you process it with those that are close to you and that you love. And when necessary, you confront those that hurt you and that sort of thing. And you forgive perfectly with Christ. It's wonderful. But then the rest of us, we have all sorts of other ways that we deal with hurt. And one of the more common things that people do, human beings, is we build up walls to protect ourselves." [34:22] (40 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
2. "My point is, though, what I ended up doing is instead of building walls to protect myself, I actually built a prison that locked myself in. I was inside of a prison of my own making. Now you fast forward because you give your life to Jesus, and those things just all disappear. Right? Isn't that how it works? No. No. Yeah. Some of you know already, but it doesn't work that way. And it's the most wonderful part of the best journey of your life that lasts for eternity. You give your life to Jesus. Okay? So it's that. But this whole process of sanctification, though, takes time, change. It takes time, and we grow and become more like Jesus until the day that we see him face to face and we become like him." [34:56] (49 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
3. "I wonder though, how many people here today are in a room full of people. We're laughing together. We're worshiping. We're praying together. We love each other, but you're still living in prisons that you erected years ago to protect yourself. I don't think the Lord wants you living in a prison. That those prisons are surefire ways. To struggle with loneliness, anxiety. They are a breeding ground for addiction and a whole host of other dysfunctional things. But I think our series on being the church actually has the answer." [40:00] (39 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
4. "The church is actually the vehicle through which God is going to reveal his manifold wisdom to even the principalities in the heavenly realms. There is something he does through the church that reveals a part of him that nothing else had shown up until the church existed. That's what Paul is saying. So a very quick recap, parts one, two, and three, like very fast. In the beginning, we talked about church, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. After that, I preached a series on being the church and in part one, we talked about the ecclesia, the called out assembly of God, which is also called the family of God. So it's an assembly, a family gathering, it's a gathering. So we talked about viewing church as a family gathering. It has a completely different connotation and way of thinking when you look at passages about the church when you see it through the eyes of family." [40:57] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
5. "Do not neglect meeting together. Relationships seems rather basic, but relationships, if you think about, you know, Paul talks about the church being like a body. We've talked about it being a family. In either way, my members of my body all have a relationship together. They're attached together. But families are all about relationship, a specific kind of relationship, right? We know family relationships are different than other types of relationships. Same is true with the family of God. I know it's basic, but I think it has to be said, and we're relational beings. Whether introverted, extroverted, it doesn't matter. Without relationships, and good relationships, we suffer. Studies have even shown that loneliness increases your mortality rate." [43:30] (44 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
6. "So, meeting together wasn't optional. It was an essential part of being the church. So today, we're going to look at the importance of small group gatherings of believers. It's crucial, according to Scripture. But I also want to look at practically, you know, how they help us overcome some of the key problems we're facing in society and in the church today. moving to problems that the church is facing. Now, first off, problems the church is facing. I know, you guys probably want to be a part of a perfect church, and that doesn't exist. It never has. You know, often we want to go back to the way church was, right? Back to the Acts church. And I certainly would love that. That'd be amazing. Some of the things we read about in Acts are absolutely amazing. Absolutely incredible. So, who wouldn't want to be a part of that?" [48:24] (52 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
7. "Individualism and loneliness are linked, because I think expressive individualism, which is what's preached in our culture today, is actually linked to individualism and loneliness. And it's actually, at the core, responsible for a lot of the loneliness that we're experiencing today, because we're taught that it's all about you, do what's best for you. Well, a society that's built on people that do what's best for them is a society that becomes lonely. It was interesting when we're, you know, across the sea, it's very, very different, and people are thinking more… They don't think… They think less what's best for me and more what's best for my community. It's just an entirely different approach to how they view life. Sales, how you encounter people on the street, and so on and so forth." [51:28] (41 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
8. "We actually find out who we are best in the context of a relationship with God and a relationship with people. You guys can tell me a lot about who I am, right? That's why often those personality assessments, they say, do this yourself and then have someone close to you evaluate your answers. Yeah, they're often different. Yeah. Anyways, individualism, that's one problem. Problem number two, rising rates of anxiety, depression, and suicide. Now, who's to blame for that? I am not going to give the full answer. I don't actually know all of the nuances that are to blame, but I will name a couple of things, or at least we'll look at one thing that someone in our current culture says, because people are asking that very question. Who's to blame and what's the solution?" [54:46] (48 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
9. "Healthy churches, healthy churches, produce healthy families. Healthy families produce healthy societies. But none of those can prevent people from malfunctioning because we are all born with a sin nature. The real problem in society isn't pointed at any one specific group or organization. It goes right back to what we find in Genesis 3, the fall of mankind, sin. Any problem or solution that doesn't address that is off. Okay, let's look at problem number three. So, so far we looked at first problem was individualism and loneliness. That's one problem that we're seeing that's common in our society and church. Then we're seeing rising rates of anxiety, depression, suicide inside the church too, not just outside. So we're seeing it in both spots. And we also see the third one now is immorality and impurity." [58:51] (54 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
10. "The church offers the solution for all of the problems that we listed above in more ways than one. But one of the primary ones is actually through the relationships that we are called and commanded to grow and instill within the church body. Those relationships actually form the foundation upon which we can find healing and growth and be strengthened together. So, let's look at three types of relationships that we need if we're going to be the church. First one, and I've stolen, by the way, the idea of upward, inward, outward. I stole it from a guy named Mike Breen. He wrote about it in a couple of his books that I really enjoyed. But upward, the idea of upward. So, three directions of relationships. Upward, our relationship with Jesus." [01:07:19] (44 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)
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