Community - God Design For Helping People

Community – God’s Design for Helping People

I Peter 2:9-10 “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”

This summer we have had many projects around the church. We are getting ready for company and making changes for our growing church and school.

• New carpeting has been installed in the church and school offices and Hanson room. All offices and classrooms have been freshly painted.

• A wall was removed to make a larger classroom for the school and church.

• Two offices were created out of one.

• The church sign has been repainted.

• A new fence was installed at the church parsonage

• The church lawn irrigation system has been upgraded.

• Tan bark was added to the playground

• New lighting installed in several classrooms

Thanks to all who assisted in the various projects. We do all these things to better carry out our mission of “Bringing people to Jesus, loving, equipping, and sending them out to make more and better disciples.” Our goal is to be a community of caring people.

Community is God’s design for helping people.

Why did God create the heavens and the earth? God is all sufficient and needs nothing, yet God created the universe and all that dwells in it.

The very nature of God seems to be “community.” After God created the universe, the sun, moon and earth, oceans, plants and animals, God saw that all His creation was good, but He did not stop there. Genesis 1:26-27, “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”

Man was created in the image of God to talk to his creator and make choices and express love and enjoy fellowship with his creator.

God first created Adam and said in Genesis 2:18, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

In the beginning God created “community.”

I. Community provides a way for people to not be alone in the world.

When God looked at his creation and at Adam a lone human being, he said, “It is not good for the man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18)

Most people if they are honest admit that they want to feel needed by someone else. There is a basic need to love and be loved. There are a few who may say, “I’m okay. I don’t need anyone. I’m on cruise control.

There is a story of a young man who believed that buying his first car would be the epitome of all his dreams. He worked hard and saved his money and finally the day arrived when he was able to purchase his dream machine. It was a van--beautiful, loaded, and luxurious--as good as they come. It was the result of perfect engineering and design. The young man had every right to expect a great deal from this mechanical marvel, and he drove it off the lot with pride and the aura of a man who knows that destiny and determination have conspired to bring about the perfect union.

The next day, however, the beautiful new van came back to the lot on a tow-truck. It was bent and battered, obviously un-drive-able. Shortly thereafter the livid owner stormed into the salesman’s office, demanding not only a complete refund, but also threatening to sue for medical damages.

"What happened?" asked the startled salesman.

"I bought your van," sputtered the young man, "and I drove it out to the interstate to give it a test run. I set the cruise control, went to the back to make a cup of coffee, and it ran off the road!"

Even those who have their lives on cruise control can crash.

Our American culture gives honor and praise to rugged individuals like the Rambos who take on an army by themselves. The fact is even the Lone Ranger had a side-kick named Tonto.

God created a helpmate for Adam. A single person finds community in a small group. People don’t enjoy being alone all the time. Some of the time is okay but not all the time. Go to Starbucks or Barnes and Noble and you’ll see people hanging out in little groups.