Purpose #2: You Were Formed For God's Family Series

Purpose #2: You Were Formed for God’s Family

Colossians 3:12-17

Becoming the “Place for You”

Introduction

A. Have you seen our church brochure, stationary, business cards?

B. They are pretty nice if I do say so myself.

C. However one them they all say “A Place for You…”

D. Pretty catchy phrase huh?

E. What does that mean?

F. And how do we become a place for you?

G. Glad you ask, today we are going to talk about

a. What it means to be the “Place for You”

b. How to become the “Place for You”

I. What it means to be the “Place for You”

A. Authentic

1. Explanation

a) An Authentic person is one you are instantly drawn to

b) Someone who is willing to admit he is wrong, you admire

c) People who are honest, genuine, and sincere those are the people you want to be with

d) After a while you do not want to be around the person that has it “all together”

e) People who wear masks end up looking shallow liars

2. Application

a) I want to encourage you to be honest

b) I want to encourage you to be yourself

c) I want to encourage you to be open

d) To have real fellowship, real connection if you will, you have to be authentic

3. Illustration

a) Last week at Edinboro, this one girl had a shirt that said, “I have Issues.” I liked that shirt. Let me encourage you, I have never seen a church with as many people willing to wear the “I have Issues” shirt as Bakerstown. Why? Is it because we do have more issues that most churches? NO! It is because we have authenticity

b) Everyone has issues, to become “the place for you” we need people willing to admit they have issues

B. Mutuality

1. Explanation

a) The art of giving and receiving

b) Mutuality is going beyond the “What’s in for me”

c) Mutuality is saying “you helped me, how can I help you”

d) Mutuality is saying “I know you need help, let me help you, I someday will need help”

2. Illustration

a) I love our secret sister program. Concept is simple; you pick a name out of a hat and you shower the person with gifts the whole year. You do not know who has you and the person does not know whom you have. You do not give to look good. You give out of love.

b) You are not responsible for everyone in the Body of Christ, for they are brothers and sisters

c) Just like in a family however, you are responsible to them.

3. Application

a) Lets face we all like to receive

b) But we need to have mutuality, we all need to be giving and receiving

c) How many of you have had a give give give relationship with someone, one were you did all the giving and none of the receiving?

d) Question? Do you still have a healthy relationship with that person

e) To have real fellowship we must maintain mutuality

C. Sympathy

1. Explanation

a) Sympathy is something we often lack.

b) However, we try and mask sympathy with quick cosmetic help

c) I point fingers at myself

d) Someone will come to me with a problem, and I will instantly come up with this “cheep” answers like

(1) Trust God

(2) Turn it over to God

(3) God will take care of it

(4) Don’t worry It will all work out in the end

e) That is not sympathy, that is not wanting to deal with someone else’s problem

2. Illustration

a) One of my counselors who just graduated from High School came up to me last week completely burdened and heavyhearted. She had been counseling for 3 weeks, in those three weeks, she loved her campers so much that their burdens became hers. On Thursday she was overloaded. She came and talked to me about it. I did not tell her this too will pass I did not give her a quick way to get over it

b) You know what I told her – I’m glad you are upset. That means you love your campers. That means you are getting involved to the point it hurts. Ministry is draining, you are drained. Nothing wrong with you, keeping on loving your campers.

c) She went away feeling better knowing that what she going through an ok feeling, I told her I know exactly what she is going through, I sympathized with her

3. Application

a) Real fellowship is not giving quick answers

b) Real fellowship is to go through pain with the person

c) To be willing to but yourself in a vulnerable place

d) To come along someone and say “It hurts”