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Just recently I heard a sermon about the importance of community in our lives. The pastor mentioned that in Genesis, God looked at all of creation and declared it to be good. However, there was one exception to that.

Genesis 2:18 The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”

People were not created to be alone, to be solitary. While some people seem to prefer to isolate themselves, most do not. They crave interaction with other people. This is especially true of the elderly, who often times because of circumstances beyond their control have been cut off from daily contact with friends and family. Video chats and phone calls are good, but they cannot replace face to face time with other people.

However, not all community is good. As people who are sinful by nature, we will often seek community that accepts our sinful behavior, or even affirms and condones those sins. Have you ever wondered why gangs are so strong and popular? They accept sinful people and encourage them to stay and even grow in their sin. The same is true of what has come to be known as the LGBTQIA+ community. They affirm people just as they are. The world praises them for being accepting, but it is hardly a loving thing to let people think that sinful behavior is not harmful.

Scripture warns us about being part of the wrong community.

1 Corinthians 15:33 Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Churches are also made up of sinners. But instead of affirming them in their sins, we encourage people to receive the forgiveness Jesus earned for them.  When some hear hymns like “Jesus Sinners Doth Receive” and “Just As I Am,” they might be tempted to think they can stay as they are and continue to sin freely. But that is not what God wants for anyone. Yes, Jesus welcomed sinners, but when He invited them to follow and believe in Him, His admonition was to live a new way. In His encounter with the woman caught in adultery, Jesus welcomed her, refused to condemn her as the crowd did, and said:

John 8:11 “Go now and leave your life of sin.”

Our community of faith is supposed to be all about God’s grace. God does not give us what we deserve: condemnation. Instead, He gives us what we do not deserve: forgiveness for all sins, life now and forever with Him, and the certainty of heaven. Jesus earned all that for us and gives it freely to those who put their faith in Him.

Think about someone today in your community of faith who needs a visit and make time for them.

There was a young man who grew up on a farm. Like many children in that situation, he spent a lot of time with chores and work on the farm. After high school, he was unsure what he wanted to do in life. One day he was driving the tractor, plowing a field, when he looked up into the sky and saw the clouds shifting. As he watched, those clouds seemed to be forming letters. When the shifting stopped, he clearly saw two letters: P and C. He took this to be calling to Preach Christ. He immediately enrolled in a Bible college. However, he did not do well at all in his classes. He was determined to continue, so he volunteered to lead chapel one day. It was a disaster. He was tongue-tied, mixed up Scripture, and his message ended up being all about people having to be good to earn their own way into heaven rather that telling people that Jesus did it all for us.

The Dean called this young man into his office and wanted to know why he wanted to be a preacher. The young man told the story of what he saw in the clouds, clearly seeing the letters P and C. The dean listened and sat quietly for a moment and considered what he had just heard. They he said, “Young man, did you ever consider that perhaps the Lord was telling you to Plant Corn?

While all the followers of Jesus are called to share Jesus, not all are called to be preachers or pastors. Everyone has a calling in life, and we should live out that calling as followers of Jesus. You need to live as a a Christian farmer, banker, pilot, teacher, realtor, physical therapist, stay at home parent, plumber, janitor, delivery person or whatever your occupation might be. Paul wrote about it this way.

1 Corinthians 12:27–31 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues. Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret? But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.

People read that last part about “the greater gifts” and assume that those who are first in the list somehow have a higher calling. I don’t believe that is necessarily true. All Christians are called to follow Christ whatever their role in life may be. And in the verses just after this speak of a “more excellent way” of living, which is to first and foremost love as God has loved you.

Maybe the greatest thing you can do as a disciple of Jesus is to live in a way that shows your faith in Him.

Rebranding has been popular in industry for many years now. There are different elements to rebranding, but the idea is to change a company’s image with a new name or logo to draw attention to their business and make them stand out. It is done by corporations large and small. Even Walmart has rebranded itself several times over the years.

Rebranding has actually been around a lot longer than you might think.

Isaiah 62:1-5 1 For Zion’s sake I will not keep silent, for Jerusalem’s sake I will not remain quiet, till her righteousness shines out like the dawn, her salvation like a blazing torch.  2 The nations will see your righteousness, and all kings your glory; you will be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will bestow. 3 You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’s hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.  4 No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate.  But you will be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; for the LORD will take delight in you, and your land will be married.  5 As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.

This Scripture talks about some new names that God gives His chosen people. They had been called “Deserted” and “Desolate” by their neighbors, but God promises to give them new names: Hephzibah and Beulah, which mean “delight” and “married.” It was not just a cosmetic name change, but God was reaching out and proclaiming them to be His chosen, redeemed people. These are the names He gives them because they have been turned around, declared righteous by God for having put their trust in Him. These names describe what God has made them and what He wants them to be.

God rebranded each of you who have been brought to faith in Jesus. When you were baptized, God put HIS NAME on you:  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. You are those who have admitted your sinful condition, heard the message of salvation by grace through faith in Jesus, and trust in Him for life everlasting.

Let me remind you of some other names that God has given you, and what He would like you to do for Him.

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.

As members of the royal priesthood, the holy nation, God’s chosen people who belong to Him, you should do more than just bask in the light of who God has made you. We should all declare God’s praises, calling others out of darkness to join us in His wonderful light.

Today is Groundhog Day. Did you know the movie “Groundhog Day” came out thirty years ago? It was about a weatherman sent to cover whether or not Punxsutawney Phil would see his shadow. This was his fourth year to cover the story, and he does not want to be there. When he awakes the ‘following’ day, he discovers that it’s Groundhog Day again, and again, and again. He is caught in an endless loop. First he uses this to his advantage, but then realizes that he is doomed to spend the rest of eternity in the same place, seeing the same people do the same thing every day. Eventually he learns that he can help and protect others from making the same mistakes. He uses the time to learn new things, better himself, and treat others kindly.

In a way, we all live this. We do the same things over and over again in our lives, often repeating the same mistakes. Those who are wise will learn from their mistakes and try to avoid them in the future. And the followers of Jesus should make every effort to help and protect others from making mistakes, too. We hopefully learn that being kind to others is a much better way to live.

Thinking about this reminded me of what God had Paul write to the church in Galatia:

Galatians 6:7–10 ⁷ Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. ⁸ The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. ⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. ¹⁰ Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

One day we will awaken to the day that we enter our Lord’s presence. We have that certainty because we have placed our faith and confidence in the one who lived and died and rose again to secure our forgiveness and salvation. Until that day arrives, let’s make the most of every opportunity to share Jesus and His love with our neighbors.

1 Corinthians 13  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.   Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.  When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.  Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.  And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Some of the last lines written by playwright Oscar Hammerstein include the phrase, “Love isn’t love ’til you give it away.” I think that conveys the kind of love God would have us show. It is not something we keep to ourselves or direct only at our own person, but we are to love others as an expression of the new life to which we have been called. True Christian love is concerned for the other person and seeks their good.

The words above exalt love. This passage comes right after Paul wrote about all the different spiritual gifts. The apostle asserts that love is far superior to spiritual gifts, and he also says that love is needed to use your gifts as God intends. You may be very talented, a great speaker or teacher or administrator, but if God’s love in Jesus Christ does not fill and flow through your efforts, they are ineffective. That is why Paul says that love is “the greatest.” Love has the most fruits. Love is where your faith is put into action with fellow men.

“Love isn’t love until you give it away.” We have also seen this graphically demonstrated by God Himself in the gift of Jesus to be our Redeemer. We begin to receive and understand the joy of love by remembering where it comes from. We have all heard God’s love described in John 3:16. But there is another verse in 1 John 3:16 that explains this even further:

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

The ultimate expression of love was God’s rescue of you and me and all men from hell. That was done through the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ. His death was accepted by God as the full payment for sin. Through faith, you make that payment your own, and are forgiven. This act of God’s love is at the core of our existence as Christians. It should be our motivation to love others as God has loved us.

John 1:43-51 The next day Jesus decided to leave for Galilee. Finding Philip, he said to him, “Follow me.” Philip, like Andrew and Peter, was from the town of Bethsaida. Philip found Nathanael and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the Law, and about whom the prophets also wrote– Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.  When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.” “How do you know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, “I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.” Then Nathanael declared, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.” Jesus said, “You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.” He then added, “I tell you the truth, you shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

We all have our doubts! You may doubt politicians, weathermen, economic predictions and sports teams.  Not only to we doubt things, we are usually quick to express out doubts. “I don’t think it will work.”  “We’ve never done it that way before.” Doubt is part of our lives.

The passage above, like many passages of Scripture, addresses doubt. Doubt  is perfectly normal, but there is one doubt that can be especially damaging in our lives: doubting the existence of God and His love for us. The world prides itself in knowledge. We are an educated people, we live in the information age, and many people think that modern science and technology hold the answers to everything. People who think this way often eliminate the need for a God, so they doubt His existence.

But the good news is that Jesus accepts our doubt. He does not reject a person simply because of questions or doubts. While recruiting His disciples, He told Philip to follow Him. Philip was anxious to share the news, so he went to Nathanael and tells him: We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and about whom the prophets also wrote–Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. He was saying that Jesus was the Messiah, the Savior God had promised. But Nathanael had his doubts. He was from Cana, a town that was close to Nazareth. As is typical of towns that were close together, there was a rivalry of sorts between Cana and Nazareth. It was normal for the people of one town to make disparaging remarks about those from the other town. Nathanael did not expect a king or a Messiah to come from Nazareth.

In addition, Nathanael was familiar with the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah. We are told that he was found under a fig tree. In that day, that was the place recommended by the rabbis for studying the Scripture. Whenever the Bible speaks of someone sitting under a fig tree, we understand that to be a reference to sitting there for the purpose of study and reflection upon God’s Word. Being a student of the Scriptures, then, Nathanael knew that there was no clear prophecy stating that the Messiah would come from Nazareth. This, along with the fact that he was from the rival town of Cana, leads him to doubt and declare with a holier-than-thou-attitude: CAN ANYTHING GOOD COME FROM NAZARETH?

Yet Jesus accepted him — In spite of His doubts, Nathanael became a disciple. Jesus recognized that there was honesty in doubt. Doubt doesn’t want to be taken in. It probes and examines. It rejects what is false. It doesn’t settle for anything less than the truth. Nathanael was as anxious as the next guy for the coming of the Messiah, but his doubt told him not to accept just anyone who claimed to be that Messiah. He wanted to check it out. And Jesus provided proof to overcome his doubts. He displayed that He was the all-knowing God. He told Nathanael that He had been sitting under a fig tree, which He did not see with human eyes. Jesus also makes a judgment as to his moral character, saying there is nothing false in him. That gave Nathanael some of the proof he needed, and he declared, YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD.

You have also been given proof to overcome your doubts. That proof comes in many forms. One source of proof is the Bible itself. When you read and study God’s Word, you find in it comfort and assurances.

Another proof that God offers as to His existence is His love, displayed in many ways. He cares for you by providing a world that has everything you need to support your lives. He gives air to breathe, water to drink, food to eat, and every other necessity. And your bodies themselves are miracles. They function under the laws that God has established. Your digestive systems extract nutrients from food. Your skin regulates your body temperature by perspiration. When you get sick, your body has a built-in defense mechanism that fights the illness.

The most obvious proof that we have of God’s love is that He paid the ultimate price, the death of His Son, so that the world might live. Jesus suffered, died and rose again in order to give you what you need the most–forgiveness of sins and eternal life. If you look to Jesus Christ and what He has done for you, you will find the proof you need to overcome your doubts.

Are you comfortable? When someone is trying to take care of you, they might ask you that question.

• If a person is ill and in bed, the caretaker might ask “Are you comfortable?”
• If you are a guest somewhere, your host might ask “Was your room comfortable?”
• If someone is trying to tend to your needs and serve you, he or she will ask “Are you comfortable?”

As God’s people, should we be comfortable? Do you feel safe and secure as a follower of Jesus. I sure hope so!  You should. Comfort and peace are blessings from God. God wants you to be comforted by His grace and mercy and promises.

• Isaiah 40:1 Comfort, Comfort my people, says your God.
• When Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit, one of the descriptive titles he gave Him was “The Comforter”
• Jesus tells us that through faith you and I are the sheep of His pasture and that we are safe and secure and no one can snatch us out of His hand (John 10:27-28).

God wants His people to be comforted with the message of forgiveness and life and salvation that is yours in Christ Jesus. You have the assurance that His perfect life made up for your lack of perfection. His horrible death satisfied the judgment that rightly stood against you. His resurrection is your guarantee of life everlasting. God wants you to be comforted in knowing who you are as a forgiven, redeemed, dearly loved child of God. The Lord’s Supper we share together in worship is one way in which that comfort and assurance is given to us. God wants you to be comforted. But does God want you to be comfortable?

Are you in the church to be taken care of, or are you to be taking care of others? What is the primary mission of the church? I can tell you what it is not – it is not the mission of the church to make her members comfortable. Sometimes we behave as though that is our primary concern. We exert the bulk of our time and effort tending to the needs and wants and desires of those who are already in the kingdom. Members will gripe and complain about everything from whether or not we are ushered out after worship to what color carpet is in the sanctuary and what hymns we did or did not sing. It is so easy to place our own personal preferences and desires over and above everything else. But that has nothing to do with the task Jesus has given us as His disciples. Jesus did not tell us to go into the world and make disciples of some people and then concentrate all our time and effort on making sure those folks are comfortable. What did He say? We have been tasked with making disciples of all nations — everyone. And the command Jesus gave us has to do with us loving others the way Jesus loved us. (John 13:34)

Jesus was not one for playing it safe. He was out there living on the edge as far as the people of his day were concerned. He was introducing things that were radical and out there and scoffed at by the established religious leaders.

• Love your enemies
• Pray for those who persecute you
• Turn the other cheek

This stuff didn’t make a lot of sense. And because Jesus was so far out there, among the tax collectors and sinners, the outcasts of society, he was often misunderstood. He made the good, upstanding righteous people of His day uncomfortable. So did those who followed Him. And there was a reason His disciples were like this.

Acts 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

Spending time with Jesus changes you. At least it should. If you follow His example and His teachings, you will find comfort and at the same time make the world uncomfortable.

More on this tomorrow.