BECOMING A CONTAGIOUS CHURCH
(Inspired by Bill Hybels book: Building a Contagious Church)
ILLUSTRATION:
A PARAMEDIC was asked on a local Dallas TV talk-show program: “What was your most unusual and challenging 911 call?”
“Recently,” paramedic began, we got a call from that big white CHURCH on 11th and Walnut. A frantic usher was very concerned that during their WORSHIP service an elderly man PASSED out in a pew and appeared to be dead. The usher could find no PULSE and there was no
noticeable BREATHING.”
“What was so unusual and demanding about this particular call?” the interviewer asked.
“Well,” the paramedic said, “we carried out four guys before we found the one who was dead.”
A. We don’t know whether to LAUGH or CRY.
1. We SNICKER at the story because we’ve been in WORSHIP SERVICES that put us to SLEEP.
2. We SIGH because we know that God DESERVES better than that.
a. Ephesians 5:14b- “. . . Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”
b. Revelation 3:1-2 (READ and COMMENT)
COMMENT:
We often think that in order to be a LIVE, VIBRANT, EXCITING church then we have to be BIG — a MEGA-CHURCH.
I’ve been in some LARGE churches with a 1500 plus membership that were as DEAD and DRY as can be. And I’ve been in some SMALL churches that were on FIRE for the Lord and could LIFT the ROOF off of the BUILDING with their PRAISE.
B. Our congregation—the Rossville Church of Christ—can never COMPETE with the MEGA-CHURCHES,such as Southeast Christian in Louisville or Willow Creek in Chicago.
1. Of the 7 churches of Asia that Jesus addresses in Revelation, Smyrna and Philadelphia were the
SMALLEST and, yet, Jesus has nothing but PRAISE for those two small congregations.
2. We may never become a MEGA-CHURCH, but Rossville can become a CONTAGIOUS CHURCH.
COMMENT:
We can BECOME a community of BELIEVERS so AMAZED by the GLORY of God, so TRANSFORMED by the LOVE of Jesus Christ, and so YIELDED to the POWER of the Holy Spirit in our lives that people in our world would be DRAWN IN and TRANSFORMED by what they EXPERIENCE here.
C. When I think of a CONTAGIOUS CHURCH, the Jerusalem congregation comes to mind.
1. On its very first day of EXISTENCE, there were at least 3,000 people who gave their lives to Christ.
COMMENT:
The CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT of the Jerusalem church was not based upon its LARGE NUMBER, but was GROUNDED in the HEART of the INDIVIDUAL Christian. On the Day of Pentecost, the church started out with only 120 members (just a little smaller than this CHURCH). But they were 120 disciples whose ENTHUSIASM and JOY and LOVE for God had a CONTAGIOUS EFFECT that ATTRACTED others to Christ.
2. The CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT of a CHURCH is not dependent upon its SIZE—LARGE or SMALL. It is determined by the way individual Christians feel about God.
MESSAGE:
COMMENT:
Acts 2:42-47 (READ). In the book of Acts we see the FORMATION of the CHURCH—the community of Christ’s followers—who were so CONTAGIOUS with the Gospel and the LOVE of Christ that people from all over the WORLD, from all WALKS of LIFE—all ETHNIC and CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS—were IMPACTED and DRAWN into this new COMMUNITY and TRANSFORMED by what they EXPERIENCED.
This morning I want us to take a look at what made the Jerusalem congregation a CONTAGIOUS CHURCH and honestly REFLECT on our own LIVES to see just what we can do to CREATE this kind of CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT here at Rossville.
I. A CONTAGIOUS CHURCH BUILD AND NURTURE THEIR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD
A. This is where it all BEGINS.
1. Before a church can create a CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT, there has to be a DEEP and ABIDING RELATIONSHIP with our Heavenly Father and our Savior Jesus Christ.
COMMENT:
We have to LOVE them more than ANYTHING or ANYONE. And that LOVE has to be REAL and has to GROW on a DAILY basis.
2. The church on the Day of Pentecost began with only 120 DISCIPLES.
a. These were the people who knew Jesus the BEST.
COMMENT:
They FOLLOWED Him wherever He went. They saw his deep COMPASSION for HURTING people and how He went out of His way to RELIEVE those HURTS. They witnessed His YEARNING to bring LOST people to God—BEFRIENDING them, LOVING them, MAKING them feel ACCEPTED. They WATCHED as He held children TIGHTLY in His arms. They saw Him CRY at a friend’s FUNERAL. And they could hardly believe their EYES as they WATCHED Jesus voluntarily GIVE His LIFE on the CROSS for their SINS.
b. These people fell DEEPLY in LOVE with Jesus during the three years they knew Him.
3. And the 3,000 who were BAPTIZED on the Day of Pentecost?
COMMENT:
They WITNESSED much the same. In fact, many of them were part of the HURTING that Jesus HELPED. But what they remember most about Jesus is how they CRIED out in ANGER the night He was TRIED, “CRUCIFY HIM! CRUCIFY HIM!” They remember how ELATED they were when they finally NAILED the BLASPHEMER to that CROSS. But they began to have second THOUGHTS when they HEARD Him lovingly say, “Father, FORGIVE them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Some may have even SHED a TEAR when they heard Jesus CRY in AGONY, “My God! My God! Why have you FORSAKEN Me?”!
It HIT them for the first time when they heard Peter’s SERMON on the Day of Pentecost—they had truly CRUCIFIED God’s SON. But when they heard that God GAVE UP His Son for them—that Jesus DIED that HUMILIATING and EXCRUCIATING DEATH so they can LIVE—it PRICKED their HEARTS. The LOVE they had for God and now for His Son, DEEPENED like never BEFORE.
You could see it in their LIVES and hear it in their VOICES—these people had FALLEN DEEPLY in LOVE with the Father and His Son.
B. No wonder we read in Acts 2:42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, to
the breaking of bread, and to prayer.”
1. I wouldn’t expect anything LESS from people DEEPLY in LOVE with God!
2. They were DEVOTED:
a. To regularly having their thoughts and actions shaped and molded by the WORD OF GOD.
b. To regularly gathering together with other believers to WORSHIP GOD and to CELEBRATE
HIS ACTIVITY in THEIR LIVES.
c. To consistent times of PRAYER—both PRIVATE and PUBLIC.
d. To meeting together in EACH OTHERS’ HOMES FOR ENCOURAGEMENT,SUPPORT and ACCOUNTABILITY.
COMMENT:
At the heart of the word that Luke used for “DEVOTED” is the IDEA of ENDURANCE or STICKING TO SOMETHING even when it would be EASIER not to. In other words, their DEVOTION to BIBLE STUDY, to PRAYER, to WORSHIP, to FELLOWSHIP didn’t come any easier than our DEVOTION to these things.
In fact, they had outside PRESSURES from the Jewish community that made it even more DIFFICULT. But it was their LOVE for God that kept them COMMITTED to the things necessary that would help them grow SPIRITUALLY and CLOSER to their Father and Savior.
3. The CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT emanates from a CHURCH that has a DEEP and ABIDING LOVE for God.
II. A CONTAGIOUS CHURCH ENJOY BEING WITH THEIR FAMILY IN CHRIST
A. That was certainly true of the Jerusalem church.
1. In this little section of Scripture, the word “TOGETHER” is used 3 times—this church ENJOYED
being TOGETHER.
a. They MET in each others’ HOMES sharing MEALS together.
b. They WORSHIPPED together on a DAILY BASIS.
c. They PRAYED together.
COMMENT:
Here were people from all WALKS of LIFE, from DIFFERENT parts of the COUNTRY, with different BACKGROUNDS, who had nothing in COMMON except one important thing—JESUS CHRIST.
2. When God SAVES people, He puts them into a COMMUNITY called the LOCAL CHURCH.
COMMENT:
This simply means that He puts us together PHYSICALLY. He wants us to learn to LOVE one another. He wants us to find a way to PULL TOGETHER in the SAME DIRECTION.
ILLUSTRATION:
Before the Day of Pentecost the 120 DISCIPLES were together DAY and NIGHT in the UPPER ROOM for 10 days waiting for the POWER of the Holy Spirit. What do you think they were doing all that time?
Well, they were certainly PRAYING some of the time. But they were also TALKING—SHARING their LIVES, their FEARS, their HOPES, and their HESITATIONS. They were taking the time to develop RELATIONSHIPS and to become ONE. They were becoming a TEAM . . . a COMMUNITY . . . a FAMILY.
B. It’s this TOGETHERNESS—our LOVE for each other as FAMILY that creates a CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT that DRAWS others to Christ.
1. John 13:34-35- (READ and COMMENT)
2. John 17:20-23 (READ and COMMENT)
ILLUSTRATION:
On August 28, 1993, Mark Knutson was diagnosed with CANCER. It was an especially BAD form of CANCER and he was already in the LATTER STAGES of it. He wasn’t given LONG to live. Mark was not well enough to receive VISITORS. He WORRIED about his WIFE and two CHILDREN. How would they HOLD UP? Would they be LOVED and SUPPORTED through his ORDEAL?
On September 19, he received his answer. The Knutson family opened the window and saw the street FILLED with Christian FRIENDS. After completely ENCIRCLING the HOUSE, the people JOINED hands and PRAYED. They prayed for Mark. They prayed for his family. They
prayed for GRACE and STRENGTH. They let the Knutson family know that they were LOVED.
This wasn’t the one and only time these Christians PUBLICLY displayed their LOVE for this FAMILY. For the next Six weeks, a day didn’t go by that groups from 2 to 20 would PRAY for Mark and his family in the CORNER of the YARD. They kept a PRAYER REGISTER on the back PORCH so Mark could know who had been there without DISTURBING him. Some faithfully sent CARDS of concern and support while others helped with TRANSPORTATION and other needs of the Knutson’s children. The Knutson family said, “We truly FELT a hedge of LOVE ENCIRCLING our HOME.”
In November of that year, Mark PASSED AWAY knowing that he and his WIFE and CHILDREN were deeply LOVED by their CHURCH FAMILY. But that’s not all! As a direct RESULT of WITNESSING for SIX WEEKS straight the LOVE that these Christians had
for this FAMILY and for EACH other, three of Mark’s NEIGHBORS obeyed the GOSPEL.
COMMENT:
Spending more time TOGETHER as FAMILY in and away from the CHURCH BUILDING, creates a greater CLOSENESS and LOVE for one another. And where there is LOVE for each other as BROTHERS and SISTERS, there is a CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT that ATTRACTS people to Jesus.
III. A CONTAGIOUS CHURCH SERVE THOSE IN NEED
A. Here we see the Christians of Jerusalem, “SELLING their POSSESSIONS and giving to anyone as he had NEED”- v. 45.
1. NO ONE WAS IN NEED!
ILLUSTRATION:
Imagine how the FRIENDS and NEIGHBORS of the POOR WIDOW lady with 5 small CHILDREN reacted when they SAW her come home from WORSHIPING at the TEMPLE COURTS with a BIG BASKET of FOOD to FEED her FAMILY.
“How are you ABLE to BUY all of that FOOD?” they asked. “I didn’t BUY it,” she said with a SMILE. “It was GIVEN to me.”
“Given to you? Who GIVES away FOOD?” “My FAMILY,” she says.
“What FAMILY?” they ask. “You have no one.”
“Oh, no,” she says shaking her HEAD. “I’ve got thousands of BROTHERS and SISTERS who SERVE and TAKE CARE of each other.”
COMMENT:
Do you think her FRIENDS and NEIGHBORS wanted to KNOW more about her CARING FAMILY?
2. Not only did the Jerusalem church TAKE CARE of each other; they SERVED those outside of Christ as well.
a. Galatians 6:10- “As we have opportunity, let us do good to ALL people, especially to those who belong to the family of BELIEVERS.”
b. No wonder Luke RECORDS that the Jerusalem church “ENJOYED the FAVOR of ALL the PEOPLE”- v. 47a.
B. A CHURCH that reaches out beyond their WALLS to DO GOOD to people and MEET their NEEDS, will find itself IMPACTING many LIVES for Christ.
1. Matthew 5:16- “Let your light shine before men, that they may see your GOOD DEEDS and PRAISE your Father in heaven.”
ILLUSTRATION:
Several years ago while going home from work, Giles Tate, a brother in Christ from Amarillo, Texas, saw two children PLAYING in a VACANT LOT. They were DIRTY, RAGGED, and HUNGRY LOOKING. He stopped his car and asked where they LIVED. They POINTED to an old ABANDONED school bus standing near the ALLEY. They told Giles that they lived their with their Dad who was very SICK.
Giles went into see what he could do for the children’s father. The BUS was in TERRIBLE CONDITION. The WINDOWS were BROKEN OUT and CARDBOARD was substituted. Beds were made of old, DECAYING seats, newspapers, and weeds. It was a PATHETIC sight.
The children’s father was too WEAK to stand. Thinking him near DEATH, Giles took him to him to the HOSPITAL. There it was determined that the man had TUBERCULOSIS. He was put into a HOSPITAL ROOM and QUARANTINED. Giles, this SERVANT of Jesus, told the hospital that he would PAY for all of the man’s MEDICAL EXPENSES.
Giles took the CHILDREN to his HOME and continued to VISIT the man. Since he couldn’t go into the ROOM, he stood outside and talked through the WINDOW SCREEN. One day the man asked Giles why did he CARE so much. Giles simply answered, “Because Jesus CARES for me.” When the man was finally WELL enough to leave the HOSPITAL, he
requested that Giles BAPTIZE him into Christ.
2. A church full of SERVANTS like Giles Tate, cannot help but develop a CONTAGIOUS SPIRIT that draws people to Christ.
CONCLUSION:
A. Luke records that the Jerusalem CHURCH “ADDED to their number daily, those who were being SAVED”- v. 47b.
1. That’s not SURPRISING, is it?
COMMENT:
In the introduction, I said that a SMALL church could become a CONTAGIOUS church. But a CONTAGIOUS CHURCH will not be SMALL for long.
2. Wouldn’t you like to see this congregation to become a CONTAGIOUS church?
