Embracing Community: The Power of Church Engagement

Summary

### Summary

In today's sermon, we continued our series "Blueprints," focusing on the second pillar of our spiritual maturity plan: church engagement. We began by revisiting the importance of spiritual disciplines, which we discussed last week, and then moved on to the significance of being actively involved in the church community. The story of Tammy Harris and Joyce Schultz illustrated the deep human need for connection and belonging, which God designed us to fulfill through relationships. This need is often distorted by the enemy, leading people to seek family in unhealthy places, like gangs. However, the church offers a true family where we can find genuine relationships and support.

We explored Ephesians 2:19-22, where Paul describes believers as citizens of God's kingdom, members of His family, and parts of His holy temple. This passage emphasizes that our walk with God is a communal experience, not a solitary one. Being part of the church means we are part of a "we," not just a "me." This communal aspect is crucial for our spiritual growth and maturity.

We then discussed practical ways to engage with the church, starting with big group worship and small group participation. These are the foundational on-ramps for church engagement. We also talked about serving in various ministries and participating in church activities as ways to deepen our involvement. The key is to be intentional about our engagement, writing down our plans and calendaring them to ensure we follow through.

The sermon concluded with a personal story about the transformative power of church engagement in my own life, emphasizing that being part of the church community can lead to profound spiritual growth and life-changing experiences. We were encouraged to write down our plans for church engagement and to be intentional about our spiritual growth.

### Key Takeaways

1. The Need for Connection: Every human being has an inherent need for relationships and community, as illustrated by the story of Tammy Harris and Joyce Schultz. This need is often distorted by the enemy, leading people to seek family in unhealthy places. However, the church offers a true family where we can find genuine relationships and support. [32:17]

2. We, Not Me: Our walk with God is a communal experience, not a solitary one. Ephesians 2:19-22 emphasizes that we are citizens of God's kingdom, members of His family, and parts of His holy temple. This communal aspect is crucial for our spiritual growth and maturity. [40:05]

3. Intentional Church Engagement: Being part of the church means actively engaging in big group worship and small group participation. These foundational on-ramps help us build deeper relationships and grow spiritually. Intentionality is key; we must write down our plans and calendar them to ensure we follow through. [52:29]

4. Serving and Activities: Engaging with the church also involves serving in various ministries and participating in church activities. Whether it's helping in kids' ministry, joining a setup team, or attending special events, these actions help us live out our faith and contribute to the church community. [58:22]

5. Transformative Power of Engagement: Personal stories, like my own experience of spiritual growth through church engagement, highlight the transformative power of being part of a church community. When we commit to being involved, we open ourselves up to profound spiritual growth and life-changing experiences. [01:07:13]

### YouTube Chapters

[0:00] - Welcome
[0:45] - Introduction to Blueprints Series
[2:30] - Recap of Spiritual Disciplines
[4:00] - Introduction to Church Engagement
[5:30] - Story of Tammy Harris and Joyce Schultz
[10:00] - The Need for Relationships
[12:00] - Ephesians 2:19-22 Explained
[15:00] - We, Not Me: The Importance of Community
[18:00] - Practical Steps for Church Engagement
[20:00] - Big Group Worship
[22:00] - Small Group Participation
[25:00] - Serving in Ministries
[28:00] - Participating in Church Activities
[30:00] - Personal Story of Church Engagement
[35:00] - Call to Action: Write Down and Calendar Your Plans
[38:00] - Closing Prayer and Invitation to Follow Jesus

Study Guide

### Bible Reading
- Ephesians 2:19-22 (NLT)

### Observation Questions
1. According to Ephesians 2:19-22, what are the three ways Paul describes believers?
2. What was the main point of the story about Tammy Harris and Joyce Schultz? [32:17]
3. What are the two foundational on-ramps for church engagement mentioned in the sermon? [52:29]
4. How did the pastor describe the communal aspect of our walk with God? [40:05]

### Interpretation Questions
1. What does it mean to be a citizen of God's kingdom according to Ephesians 2:19-22? How does this change our identity?
2. How does the story of Tammy Harris and Joyce Schultz illustrate the human need for connection and belonging? [32:17]
3. Why is intentionality important in church engagement, and how can writing down and calendaring plans help? [52:29]
4. How does the concept of "we, not me" challenge the idea of a purely personal relationship with God? [40:05]

### Application Questions
1. Reflect on your current level of church engagement. Are you more of a "me" or a "we" in your walk with God? What steps can you take to become more community-focused? [40:05]
2. Think about a time when you felt a deep need for connection and belonging. How did you seek to fulfill that need, and how can the church play a role in meeting that need in a healthy way? [32:17]
3. What practical steps can you take this week to be more intentional about your church engagement? Consider writing down and calendaring your plans. [52:29]
4. Identify one ministry or church activity you can serve in. How can this act of service help you grow spiritually and contribute to the church community? [58:22]
5. Reflect on a personal story of transformation through church engagement. How has being part of a church community impacted your spiritual growth? [01:07:13]
6. How can you balance other commitments, like sports or work, with your commitment to church engagement? What intentional steps can you take to ensure you don't miss out on spiritual growth opportunities? [55:00]
7. Consider the idea of being part of God's family and temple. How does this perspective change the way you view your role in the church? What specific actions can you take to live out this identity? [50:56]

Devotional

Day 1: The Need for Genuine Connection
Description: Every human being has an inherent need for relationships and community. This need is often distorted by the enemy, leading people to seek family in unhealthy places, such as gangs or other harmful environments. However, the church offers a true family where we can find genuine relationships and support. The story of Tammy Harris and Joyce Schultz illustrates this deep human need for connection and belonging, which God designed us to fulfill through relationships. By engaging with the church community, we can find the authentic connections that our souls crave. [32:17]

Ephesians 4:15-16 (ESV): "Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love."

Reflection: Think of a time when you felt a deep sense of belonging. How can you seek out and foster genuine connections within your church community this week?

Day 2: We, Not Me
Description: Our walk with God is a communal experience, not a solitary one. Ephesians 2:19-22 emphasizes that we are citizens of God's kingdom, members of His family, and parts of His holy temple. This communal aspect is crucial for our spiritual growth and maturity. Being part of the church means we are part of a "we," not just a "me." This collective identity helps us grow spiritually as we support and encourage one another in our faith journeys. [40:05]

1 Corinthians 12:12-14 (ESV): "For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit. For the body does not consist of one member but of many."

Reflection: Reflect on how you can contribute to the communal life of your church. What specific actions can you take to support and encourage others in your church family this week?

Day 3: Intentional Church Engagement
Description: Being part of the church means actively engaging in big group worship and small group participation. These foundational on-ramps help us build deeper relationships and grow spiritually. Intentionality is key; we must write down our plans and calendar them to ensure we follow through. By being deliberate about our church engagement, we can ensure that we are consistently involved and growing in our faith. [52:29]

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: What specific steps can you take to be more intentional about your church engagement? Write down your plans and schedule them to ensure you follow through.

Day 4: Serving and Activities
Description: Engaging with the church also involves serving in various ministries and participating in church activities. Whether it's helping in kids' ministry, joining a setup team, or attending special events, these actions help us live out our faith and contribute to the church community. Serving allows us to use our gifts and talents for God's glory and helps us grow in our faith as we serve others. [58:22]

1 Peter 4:10-11 (ESV): "As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."

Reflection: Identify a ministry or church activity where you can serve. How can you use your gifts and talents to contribute to your church community this week?

Day 5: Transformative Power of Engagement
Description: Personal stories, like the speaker's own experience of spiritual growth through church engagement, highlight the transformative power of being part of a church community. When we commit to being involved, we open ourselves up to profound spiritual growth and life-changing experiences. By engaging with the church, we allow God to work in our lives in powerful ways, transforming us and helping us grow in our faith. [01:07:13]

Romans 12:4-5 (ESV): "For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another."

Reflection: Reflect on a time when your involvement in the church led to significant spiritual growth. How can you deepen your engagement with the church to experience further transformation in your faith journey?

Quotes

1. "Every member of that family on both sides is looking for family. They're looking for relationships. They want people in their life because God created us not to be alone. God created us to have relationships. And so family was the primary place for that. But the way the enemy works, the enemy takes good things that God creates and then he tries to destroy those good things or pervert them or distort them." [34:52] (24 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

2. "Loneliness is epidemic in America. In fact, there's a startup that's called Ground Floor. Started in the Bay Area of California, now in LA. Ground Floor, this is what people described it. Ground Floor doesn't describe it as this, but they said it's like, after school club for adults. And so what Ground Floor is, is they've got space where you can work there. You can rent out meeting rooms for work. You can rent out what's basically a phone booth to be your cubicle if you want to work there." [36:11] (28 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

3. "If you're following Jesus, it's a we, not a me life. I hear people say, quite a bit. We talk about church and things like that. They go, I don't go to church. My relationship with God is just personal. Like I have a personal relationship with God. Well, here's what I'll tell you. Like if you have a deep personal relationship with God and you begin to read his word, you begin to understand what you will begin to see is that this walk with God is not a personal walk with God. It is a we and not a me walk." [41:28] (27 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

4. "I love America. But if I'm ever put into a place where it becomes America or Jesus, I have to turn in my passport because I'm not from here. My citizenship isn't American when it's all said and done. There's a time that I'm going to go home to the place that I was created for, to heaven, to be with God. And I'm leaving all of my American flags and all of my American stuff. I'm even leaving all my Texas stuff, which is going to be hard. I'm going to be leaving it behind because I'm not a citizen here." [45:37] (33 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

5. "Paul says, hey, you are blood related now. Your blood is Jesus' blood and you are family. It is we, not me. We live like family. I get the opportunity on Fridays to talk with one of our football teams. I love it. I love hanging out with our guys. And I told them this story a couple of weeks ago. We were talking about brotherhood. I told them a story about my brother. I've got two. You know, one of them, Brian leads worship here. I have an older brother. His name's Brad." [46:59] (23 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

6. "If we are a family, family, if we are the temple of God, then it makes sense that we are engaged together, right? We don't do this alone. And so a part of your discipleship, a part of your spiritual maturity is being intentional, thinking through how do I engage with my church? What does that church engagement look like? When we talked about spiritual disciplines, of course, there's a ton of them and there's a ton of ways you can engage with the church. But let's talk about two on-ramps, the two easy kind of first things." [52:29] (34 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

7. "It's about intentionality. It's not about, hey, my plan's right and your plan's wrong. It's what is happening in your life right now over the next year. What is God doing and what can you do to intentionally engage with your church? Big group. How many? That's the first on-ramp. Second on-ramp, if you're going, hey, where do I start? That's a small group. You got a big group, you got a small group. We're trying to create some ways now where we can put people together where they can hang out with people." [57:23] (26 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

8. "Church engagement matters. I'll close with this story. Some of you probably heard it cause it's just a part of my story. So if, if you know me or you've been around me a lot, you hear my story come about. I started following Jesus right before I turned seven. I was a little kid. Grew up, grew up in church. Like we went, we weren't four Sunday a month. We were four Sunday a month people. And then we were also fifth Sunday a month people. Like if the doors were open, we didn't just do Sunday morning. We did Sunday night and we did Wednesday night." [01:03:05] (29 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

9. "Had I not been there that night, when the Spirit of, I would have never known my name wasn't red. When the Spirit of God began to move, I'd have been out of the room. But it was because we were engaged in our church and we'd made those commitments that I was sitting in the room. And when the Spirit of God showed up and blew me away, it changed my life forever. That's why I'm, it's not about church attendance. It's not about small group numbers. Do we track those things? Yes, because we want to know where people are and who they are." [01:08:35] (32 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

Chatbot

Transcript

What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?

Were there any personal stories shared?