Tools for a great Group, Galatians 2:12-21
#5 of Core Values of Christian Community series
Eric A. Snyder, Minister, Farwell Church of Christ
November 3, 2002
A man’s grandfather leaves him $10 million, and the next week his longtime girlfriend agrees to marry him.
After three months of married life, the fellow notices that his beautiful new wife is ignoring him more and more. Whenever they are out in public, she flirts with other men. Finally he decides to confront her.
"You know," he says, "I think the only reason you married me was that my grandfather left me $10 million when he died."
"Don’t be ridiculous," she replies. "I don’t care how you got the money
Upon arriving home, a husband was met at the door by his sobbing wife. Tearfully she explained, "It’s the druggist. He insulted me terribly this morning on the phone." Immediately the husband drove downtown to confront the druggist and demand an apology. Before he could say more than a word or two, the druggist told him, "Now, just a minute, listen to my side of it.
This morning the alarm failed to go off, so I was late getting up. I went without breakfast and hurried out to the car, just to realize that I locked the house with both house and car keys inside. I had to break a window to get my keys. Then, driving a little too fast, I got a speeding ticket. Later, when I was about three blocks from the store, I had a flat tire.
When I finally got to the store there was a bunch of people waiting for me to open up. I got the store opened and started waiting on these people, and all the time the darn phone was ringing off the hook." He continued, "Then I had to break a roll of nickels against the cash register drawer to make change, and they spilled all over the floor. I got down on my hands and knees to pick up the nickels; the phone was still ringing. When I came up I cracked my head on the open cash drawer, which made me stagger back against a showcase with a bunch of perfume bottles on it...half of them hit the floor and broke.
Meanwhile, the phone is still ringing with no let up, and I finally got back to answer it. It was your wife. She wanted to know how to use a rectal thermometer...and believe me mister, all I did was tell her!"
Confrontations are never easy are they. We don’t necessarily like to confront others and we don’t necessarily like being confronted ourselves. Our story today is about a confrontation that happened in the Bible.
Things were going well. The church was growing, But they were facing some new issues as a church and in this text the actions of a prominent church leader is hypocritical. So Paul has to confront him on it.
We’ve been talking for the last 4 weeks about small groups and why everyone should be part of one. We have talked about real community and a sense of belonging, we have learned about caring for one another and building each other up but today as we conclude the series I want to map out the TOOLS that that each group has that helps it to become a great group.
In this text today there is a confrontation taking place but it is only able to take place because Peter and Paul were willing participants in a great group. Their group had all the tools necessary to be the life changing dynamic group that God wanted them to be.
Our text today is Galatians chapter 2:11 When Peter came to Antioch, I (Paul)opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? 15 "We who are Jews by birth and not ’Gentile sinners’ 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.
As I read this text I think Wow. There is some pretty harsh language here. Paul says “Peter was wrong”, he basically calls him a hypocrite. You may be thinking this is not the best verse for us to use when promoting small groups. You may be wondering what this verse has to do with small groups. I have to tell you I read this verse and my first thought is not “man I want to go join a small group” But I think there are some important points in this verse that are also elements in a small group.
First this confrontation could only go this well because both Peter and Paul serve a great God. Isn’t it great that we serve a God that can help us make each other sharper and also bring us together in the bond of unity? Small groups need to be a place where we help each other see the full measure of God’s goodness and remind us to be on the right track.
This verse contains an issue that a lot of churches still have an issue with today. It’s the Law vs. Grace issue. I have known many people who still today attempt to live under the Law with a mixture of Grace. That’s where Peter was in this text. He was a Jew forcing people who were not part of Jewish tradition to participate in Jewish tradition and law.
Paul says “That’s wrong” Even those of us who grew up Jews know that salvation is because of Jesus not because of Law or tradition. That’s what Paul is saying in verse 15 "We who are Jews by birth and not ’Gentile sinners’ 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ.
This morning I want you to see that verse the context of the surrounding story. Paul was correcting misguided behavior in the church. But more specifically a misguided belief and sin in the life of another Christian.
Is there anyone here with a misguided belief about God?
Is there anyone here who is still participating in sinful behavior?
I think that for a lot of people those may be reasons that we don’t get involved in a small group. Because a small group will eventually challenge all of my beliefs. It may challenge things that a family member told me.
Recently I was talking with someone who had been attending with us for a while and this person was talking about how cute my daughter is. This person told me that they believe that babies can see angels.
Now that’s not a teaching of our church. In fact I can see some major holes in that theory. Such as, If babies see angels, do they see demons too?
Paul point out that Peter was not living consistently with the teachings of Jesus. Have you ever thought You had arrived? That there was nothing left to learn. That you had it all figured out? If anyone thought they had arrived spiritually it probably would have been Peter. He had one of those “Case closed” personalities.
Peter starts walking out to Jesus on the Sea of Galilee, He thinks he’s got it all together and takes his eyes off Jesus, He starts to sink.
Jesus says to Peter “You’re going to deny that you even know me” Peter says “No way” Open and shut case.
Peter preaching to a huge crowd and over 3000 becoming Christians after the first message. Peter is the guy we look at and say. He’s arrived
Here he is. Having done so many great things but messing up here. But he was able too get back on track because he had the tools of a great group.
A great Group is full of TRUST
We talk quite a bit about trusting God and there is something to be said for that however today we also need to place an emphasis on trusting each other. Great Groups trust each other.
When I was in Youth ministry one of the popular things to do to promote a team spirit was to break people up into groups and give them tasks to do. Like a scavenger hunt or service project. I remember I wanted to do something different, so I organized a sound scavenger hunt I made the list and it included all kinds of things. Like a fire engine siren and a drive through person saying “welcome to Burger King” it was just a fun thing to bring the group together.
That night one driver didn’t show up so I ended up driving one group around and I have to say It was a little embarrassing. We went to the fire station and asked the firemen to sound the alarm on the fire engine, which they did but I was a little embarrassed.
I later found out that that event was probably the best thing that we could have done together because we really built some trust as a group. My kids didn’t care if they embarrassed themselves publicly because what mattered to them was the trust and commitment from others in the group.
Sure you look at this text and Peter is probably embarrassed but I think he knew he needed that confrontation, which could only happen because he trusted Paul. How much do you trust the people around you?
Today we have to have acceptance before accountability. You have to make yourself available in a non judgmental way before you can extend a hand up. You have to earn the right to be heard, That requires time effort commitment and becoming a person that others can trust.
A lot of TRUST is earned by being OPEN, In fact OPENNESS is another tool of the great Group. Great groups provide an environment where we can be open and honest with one another.
That’s why support groups like Alcoholics anonymous are popular today because everyone there knows that everyone else has the same problem that they have. So it becomes a safe place to share their struggles.
I remember the Great group dynamic of my youth group when I was in high school. We all knew right from wrong, I remember one of those meetings we had a girl tell us that she was pregnant. The group stayed a little longer and we all prayed for her and let her talk and get some things off her mind. As a result our group was stronger because of it.
But then I think of a friend of mine who got involved in a youth group and one night he felt like there was something he had to say. And he shared that he had a struggle with pornography. That group ate him alive. He was not made welcome and eventually he ended up leaving and never returned.
I tell you those 2 stories for 2 reasons. First this needs to be a safe place where confessions and openness are kept in high security. Small groups should help those who are struggling. But instead what happens sometimes to those who need help is tragic. Openness will not work if trust is not established. Please know who you can trust and ask them to help you through it.
Another tool of a Great group is OWNERSHIP. As a church we are always battling this principal. I am pleased when new leaders step up into areas of responsibility. A group will never be all it can be unless the people in the group take on responsibilities and begin to OWN the group. That’s true in the small group setting, and that’s true in the church.
Small groups should be owned by everyone. Everyone should feel like part of the group belongs to them.
A New York lawyer had always dreamed of owning his own cattle ranch, and finally made enough money to buy himself the spread of his dreams in Wyoming.
"So, what did you name the ranch?" asked his best friend
when he flew out to visit the ranch
"We had a heck of a time," admitted the new cowboy.
"Couldn’t agree on anything. We finally settled on the
-Double R Lazy L Not For Profit Trust, Ltd. Ranch-. "
"Wow!" his friend was impressed. But looking around he saw no cattle. "So... where are all the cows?"
"None of ’em survived the branding”.
I can promise you that owning a little bit more responsibility is something you can live through. In fact if you are interested in getting the most out of your faith and seeing this church flourish in this community. Owning a piece of responsibility is a key part to success in both areas.
Incidentally, our older members have done a great job and are still doing a great job carrying the burden of responsibility around here. My prayer is that all of our members would shoulder the burden. But our younger members seem to need help on issues of owning the vision of the church.
Loving each other is another major tool of a great group. Jesus spoke of Christian love and says that it needs to be the foundation for whatever is happening in the life of His followers.
Groups should learn to Love one another deeply. This is honestly something we have to work at. Because at one time or another we all require just a little extra grace. We all need to know that others love us despite our short fallings. That does not mean that we get a pass on being held to a certain standard. But it does mean helping each other get it right.
I’m sure that if you were to interview Paul, He probably would have said “I Love Peter as a brother in the Lord” and one of the best ways to live up to the love of God is to set the record straight with a gentle spirit.
Finally a Great Group SUPPORTS each other.
We need to make a point to encourage each other and help out when necessary. Support in the church can come in many different ways. In fact the bible says that the first church was so busy that they had to set up a leadership structure.
Today we call that structure the elders and deacons. But even if you are not in one of these roles please support those who need your help. W have lonely people who need others to visit them and remember that they still need friends,
We have people around here who can not move like they used to and so they need someone to come over and help with the yard work or some house cleaning.
Paul talks about how each person is a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They church is the most effective when we are all ministers, sitting with people through surgery, rejoicing in the joy of new life coming into the world
But it also means being there when times are hard and when people need to feel your support the most.
The last 5 weeks we have been talking about how to become a part of a Small group, I hope that today to have identified some tools to use in a small group and for that mater I hope you have found some tools to help get you through life.
Small groups are where you will feel most ministered to. I encourage you to find one that is right for you. If you are here with us today and have not yet found your place where you belong we hope you will feel comfortable here. Jesus will accept you today if you are willing.
