I Need You Series

Introduction: Play Video Clip #1

You and I were meant to live in community. God has designed us to be together in community. Go back to the creation account in Genesis

In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. Over the course of the next 48 verses in the Bible, God completes his creation, rests on the Sabbath and places Adam in the Garden of Eden. In those 48 verses, God refers to all of his creation as good or very good.

Then we come to verse 18 of the second chapter of Genesis and note what God says… The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone”.

Imagine the God who had the ability to create light with a spoken word, form both mountains and seas, and create all kinds of animals – looked over his creation and announced something was not good. What was not good – man’s loneliness.

The world despises loneliness

Mother Teresa – The biggest disease today is not leprosy or cancer. It’s the feeling of being uncared for, unwanted-of being deserted and alone.

A Jewish Proverb states – Loneliness eats at one’s soul

Loneliness is no respecter of persons everyone has experienced loneliness. You can be in a room full of people and still experience the pain of loneliness.

God designed us to live in community with one another. It is through relationships our…

Faith is developed

Friendships are deepened

Love is demonstrated

Jesus understood the need to have relationships – study the life of Christ and you discover his life was one of community with other people.

The 12 disciples

Mary, Martha & Lazarus

The times he was a lone he was in community with the Father.

When it came to living in community, Jesus gave his disciples a command regarding how to relate to one another.

John 13:34-35

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

This command is probably the most difficult command in all of scripture. I believe this command is more difficult to obey than the command to pray, serve or even evangelize.

Did you catch what Jesus said?

A new command I give you – Love one another

It would be great if he would have stopped right there. Love one another! We can do that – we can love one another – CONDITIONALLY

I will love you if you love me

I will love you as long as you agree with me

I will love you as long as you make me happy

I will love you as long as you do as I say

Jesus is not asking us to love conditionally

Note the next part of the command - As I have loved you (Jesus is the example of love) you must love one another. TRANSLATED – You must love one another regardless of the circumstances. Remember Jesus is calling us to live in community and in this community we are called to love one another

Finally, he gives the reason for loving one another – by this (your love for one another), all men will know you are my disciples. The Message puts it this way, This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.

Jesus says it is love that gives your identity – this is how people know you are my disciple.

Jesus says the world does not know you are a disciple by…

the type of church you attend

the kind music you have on your IPOD

the way you choose your entertainment or clothing or vocation.

The world knows we are a disciple of Christ by one simple fact the way we love…ONE ANOTHER

Over the next several weeks, we are going to talk about this subject of relationships in the body of Christ. My goal is for us to learn how to live in genuine community with one another.

In the video clip, the narrator made this statement; EVERY RELATIONSHIP ENDS UP SOMEWHERE, FEW RELATIONSHIPS END UP SOMEWHERE ON PURPOSE

My desire is that PBCC will have purposeful relationships. The kind relationships, which will enrich our fellowship with one another and deepen our relationship with God.

The text for this series of messages comes from Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. In the greatest sermon ever preached, Jesus gives us 8 statements which help us to relate to one another.

These eight statements foster genuine community and banish loneliness from the body of Christ.

Let’s discover what it means to have true community through Jesus’ teaching on the Sermon on the Mount.