Holy Spirit and Community
Read this Sermon Recap
In our fall preaching series, we’ve been having an extended conversation about the focus of Refuge Church heading into our next season of life and ministry together. We’ve already discussed our vision statement (“To see the goodness of God’s kingdom fully realized in the Refuge family and in our city”). And over the last 3 weeks, we’ve been exploring our mission statement, “Being transformed through life with Jesus.”
In previous sermons, David discussed the activities of our mission, under the 3 headings “Learn from Jesus, Practice his way, Be healed by His love and power.” This week, Gary spoke on the environments of that mission – “In community, by the Holy Spirit.”
In the 3rd century, Antony of Egypt became one of the first prominent monastics, leaving behind a large estate and much wealth to go into the desert in order to spend his life in fasting and prayer. While most of us aren’t drawn to that kind of life, we may still be living with that kind of life as an ideal we measure ourselves against.
As an example, when we consider how our walk with Jesus currently is, we often evaluate our individual devotional practices – how often are we having a “quiet time”, how meaningful are those times, how “close” we feel to God afterward. These “alone with God” times become the primary way we consider our spiritual health.
But what if that’s wrong? What if the Bible would lead us to ask a different set of questions.
From the beginning of Scripture, we see that God – who exists in community, a Trinity, the 3-in1 – made humanity in his own image. Even in the perfection of Eden, life alone with God wasn’t called “good”. Instead, God said it wasn’t good for the man to be alone. We were meant to live in community, just like the God who made us.
Sin fractured that community, both in our relationship with God and in our relationship with each other. But God in his love and mercy pursued us, intending to reconcile us. In Jesus, we see how God was willing to do everything necessary to accomplish that reconciliation.
Through Jesus, we can be restored to community with God. And, through Jesus and by the Holy Spirit, part of God’s work of restoration is placing us into community with other followers of Jesus. And that very community is enabled by the Holy Spirit to participate in his work of healing and restoration, every member gifted in some way to serve others.
If we are going to follow Jesus where He leads, community isn’t optional – it’s necessary and essential. It’s “the room where [transformation] happens.”
Entering Conversation
1. Let’s get right into it. What stood out to you from this week’s sermon? Was anything new? Did anything especially connect with you?
2. You’re here because you’ve made a commitment to be part of this small group. What made you want to join this community? What do you hope to receive from it? This could be anything from “friendship to fun to spiritual conversations – and it’s all part of being human. As you answer, feel free to be as honest as you’re able.)
3. The most common NT picture of life in Christian community is a human body – where every part is connected together. We learn to love and be loved, serve and be served. You’ve reflected a bit on what you hope to receive from community. Do you have a sense of what you have to give? (Feel free to wrestle with this question, even naming the emotions it might bring up just by being asked. If your group has been together long enough, this might also be a space where you express gratitude to others for how you’ve been blessed by their presence with you.)
Practice for the Week
Small groups as a form of community can sometimes feel like just a scheduled moment each week. This week, take a few minutes a day to remind yourself of the others in your group. Pray for them by name. Consider sending a text to someone new each day, just to let them know you’re thinking of them. If possible, get together with one or two others for a casual moment sometime before your next meeting.