Jesus I'm Just Not Feeling It #1 Series

Today we begin a new series based on the book of Philippians call, “Jesus, I’m just not feeling it.” The line itself is the number one breakup line between couples. It is also very appropriate for those in the church because a recent study (Reveal- willowcreek) reports that as many as 25% of the people in church on Sunday morning could pre-occupied, uninterested and contemplating leaving the church. Church has just become another obligation or routine. It has stopped being a holy place, a place to worship the king, a time of encouragement and instead it has become just another ritual of an unfulfilling life.

The original call to God was powerful and now it’s waned. The blinders are off. The church doesn’t seem so perfect and time alone seems time better spent. Less complications seems to be the most frequent justification for not showing up to worship but that’s just plain unbiblical.

The bible begins with God’s creation and our role within God’s larger story. God begins with the environment. He creates all things – atoms, air, water, plants, fish, birds, mammals, water buffalos and then humans. He doesn’t just created in one offs. He creates in multiples and commissions creation to make more. The premise from the beginning seems to have been to create in community so that we would live in community. After all, all of creation points to the creator in whom the perfect community is demonstrated in the relationship of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit all working seamlessly together.

The question is, “Why?” The answer is simply, community is a powerful catalyst for experiencing God and heaven in everyday relationships. However, this presents real challenges for us self center humans and even more so, when we claim to be Christians.

(Slide of Henry Nouwen quote)

Henry Nouwen (Page 103 in Prayers) stated that a Christian is:

And yet you are Christian only so long as you look forward to a new world, only so long as you constantly pose critical questions to the society in which you live, and only so long as you emphasize the need for conversion both for yourself and for the world. You are Christian only so long as you do not let yourself become established in a situation of seeming calm, only so long as you stay unsatisfied with the status quo and keep saying that a new world is yet to come. You are Christian only when you believe that you have a role to play in the realization of this new kingdom and when you urge everyone you meet with a holy unrest to make haste so that the promise might soon be fulfilled. So long as you live as a Christian, you must keep looking for a new order, a new structure, a new life.

This Holy unrest is probably the reason much of the New Testament is written to the churches of the day to encourage and discipline one another to persevere. It also answers the question of what makes a Christian group different than any other group you are a part of. This has been a sticking point for me personally for some time. I struggle with some who call themselves a Christian group just because they do an activity with Christians. If I water ski on Sunday morning with Christians then that makes it a Christian small group? Now, water skiing is not a bad thing. Groups who gather to water ski are not a bad thing. However, my issue has been that a Christian small group must differentiate itself from other groups of like nature by answering a single question, “How do they in the practice of gathering and being together glorify God and encourage, grow and push each other to persevere in the faith?” There are many answers to this question and all hold credence.

(Slide of water buffalo rescue)

There is an amazing video on-line from 6 years ago. It’s about 5 minutes long. (http://youtu.be/u2wOhlWeYpY ) It shows a lion pride attacking a water buffalo heard and separating out this young calf to devour. Just when you think the lions have the calf, the whole heard charges the lions and by the strength of their numbers and action together they fend off the lions and rescue the baby water buffalo. It’s graphic but inspiring. It also is a good example of the power of group that works together, caring for one another, helping each other to grow and all the while thwarting the enemy that wishes to destroy them.

The purpose of the Christian group is to increase everyone’s faith through the group. Around this church, we call this becoming more devoted. It’s not to provide self help advice (although that happens), it’s to provide, discuss, discern and experience Christ’s solutions to life’s issues. It is also to increase the bond of connectedness so that in a very tangible way, we can experience the Christian assurance that we are never alone, encouraged that we are never forgotten and always aware of the power of the God among us. Finally, it is in and through these experiences a sense of gratitude (recognition of Christ’s love) turns our hearts to be more generous towards others through the use of our time, talents, gifts and resources.