Get in the Game Week 2: Group Up and Go Deep | Acts 2: 42-47
The following is a manuscript of the sermon presented by Senior Pastor Dr. Roger Patterson on Sunday, January 14, 2024 at our Crosspoint Church-Bellaire campus. To view the sermon in full, check out the link below.
I hope you had a great holiday season. We had a special moment just after Christmas. Our oldest son, Brady, got engaged.
And here’s a special announcement of it on the marquis in New Braunfels.
Now, we are thrilled for him, but do you know what it means for us? It means that we have a wedding to get skinny for.
I’ve put about 20 pounds back on…I’m not proud of it…but it happens. And then my son goes and gets engaged.
It’s time to make the transition, once again.
You know the transition I’m talking about, right?
The transition from Fat…to Fit…
The difference in fat and fit is one little letter. But the time and space between the “a” and the “i” is full of tremendous discipline and struggle.
I remember back in 2013 when I got really serious about getting in shape. I got a trainer, and we went to lunch to get to know each other. Isn’t that what you do? You take your trainer to eat…like your last meal…before they put you through the ringer?
Now, this is before I discovered Avenu Fitness…and here is what he said to me.
Roger – here is what it is going to take.
- Atmosphere – Be in the right atmosphere to train your mind and body to go from fat to fit.
- Be teachable – From rest to food to workouts, trust me. I have been on the journey and know what it takes to go from fat to fit.
- Be accountable – Be on time, Be committed. Do the work.
- Be transparent –I have to tell my trainer what is and isn’t working, where I am successful and where I am struggling.
Being Transparent is risky, isn’t it? Tell someone else your struggles and your victories. Tell someone else you are rooting for them.
On Dec . 31st of 2013 some friends invited us over for dinner.
A few other couples
At end of evening – How can we pray for you this year?
At first – awkward pause-
That moment when, before conversing with others you are having a conversation with yourself:
Am I going to share my struggle?
Am I going to go first?
And I don’t know if I went first, but I know I took the leap.
Guys – Here is my struggle
Would you pray for me and periodically encourage me?
Others then shared about some of their challenges and struggles, hopes for their kids and careers.
It was powerful.
Do you know what the biblical term for it is:
Fellowship
Let’s look again at Acts 2:42
Acts 2:42
They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
The word Fellowship is the word Koinonia in Greek
It denotes a close mutual relationship, participation together, sharing partnership.
It comes from the root word
Koinos = Common
So another way to say it is community.
Remember our Big Idea here.
These new believers, who had new people joining them every day, were persistently obstinate in their commitment to 4 core disciplines.
- The Apostles teaching – last week – the Gospel of Grace
- The Fellowship
- To the Breaking of Bread
- To Prayer
The attitude was that we must never let go of these things
Continual Devotion.
So what does a continual devotion to Fellowship look like?
It is a persistent, obstinate, steadfast commitment to one another, while making room for someone new.
Here is what I am asking you to do. Just like the early church, would you be devoted to Fellowship? Will you GROUP UP and will you PAIR UP?
Would you be devoted?
→have a persistent, obstinate, steadfast commitment to one another, while making room for someone new?
You see, I believe that this is what faithfulness to Jesus Christ looks like. I believe that living for Christ everyday involvs being in Christian community, while looking to reach others.
You see, our devotion, or lack thereof, to one another shows.
Texans Chapel in the Kubiak Era –
- Schaub QB,
- Owen Daniels,
- Damico Ryans (as Linebacker),
- Jonathan Joseph,
- Danieal Manning,
- Andre Johnson…
I was sharing with these men about being united around the idea of making Jesus Christ famous. I was sharing a message with them that I had shared with you – that as Christians, we must understand that:
- It is the Father’s heart that his Son be made famous
- It is the Father’s heart that loves the world with the same love that He has for the Son,
- And that the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus is for believers to unify around this cause.
I then began to address this idea of unity.
I said,
“You know, Christian people will fight over the silliest of matters. Across Orthodox Christianity, there is about 90 – 95% of Doctrine that we will agree with, but it is the 5 – 10% of the Doctrines that divide us and keeps us from being unified.”
I then started talking about how this can happen to teams.
The offense gets frustrated with the defense, or the line backers don’t like the defense linemen. Now these guys can understand that.
About that time, Danieal Manning, the Texans Safety, bends down the front row to pick something up.
As he does, I realize he is wearing a Texans t-shirt with Matt Schaub’s name and # on it.
I went over to him and pointed out what I was trying to get at.
Guys, here is an example of what unity looks like. It is a devotion to being together, united in battle, upholding one another.
We need this type of devotion to one another.
Then I kicked over his drink…
Here is the truth –
Matt Schaub used to throw interceptions to the other team’s secondary that often led to touchdowns.
And Danieal Manning would get burned over the top on some big plays deep that led to touchdowns.
They both had their flaws and struggles and ways their game could improve.
But here is what is special – in spite of their flaws; they were committed to one another.
- How would it inspire you to live for Christ if you knew of those in your Community Group were deeply committed to you, in spite of your flaws?
- How might it stir you to live, that when you were transparent with your struggle, people prayed with you, called you, challenged you and checked on you?
Guess what? It would change your life.
This persistent, obstinate, steadfast commitment to one another flows right out of the Apostles teaching.
Remember the Apostle’s Teaching: The Gospel of Grace to our relationships.
Colossians 3:12-16
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.
Why is this in here?
Because a continual persistent devotion to one another can be hard.
The New Testament addresses relationships quite often because fundamentally, we struggle with relationships.
But we must make our best efforts.
Escorted up the Mountain
In the fall of the year, Linda, a young woman, was traveling alone up the rutted and rugged highway from Alberta, Canada to the Yukon.
Linda didn’t know you don’t travel to Whitehorse alone in a rundown Honda Civic, so she set off where only four-wheel drives normally venture.
The first evening she found a room in the mountains near a summit and asked for a 5 A.M. wakeup call so she could get an early start.
She couldn’t understand why the clerk looked surprised at that request, but as she awoke to early- morning fog shrouding the mountain tops, she understood.
Not wanting to look foolish, she got up and went to breakfast. Two truckers invited Linda to join them, and since the place was so small, she felt obliged.
“Where are you headed?” one of the truckers asked.
‘Whitehorse’
“In that little Civic? No way! This pass is dangerous in weather like this.”
“Well, I’m determined to try,” was Linda’s gutsy, if not very informed, response.
“Then I guess we’re just going to have to hug you,” the trucker suggested.
Linda drew back. “There’s no way I’m going to let you touch me!”
“Not like THAT!” the truckers chuckled. “We’ll put one truck in front of you and one in the rear. In that way, we’ll get you through the mountains.”
All that foggy morning Linda followed the two red dots in front of her and had the reassurance of a big escort behind as they made their way safely through the mountains.
Caught in the fog in our dangerous passage through life, we need to be “hugged.” With fellow Christians who know the way and can lead safely ahead of us, and with others behind, gently encouraging us along, we, too, can pass safely.
Some of you are trying to drive your little Honda Civic through the fog of the Yukon Pass of your Life, thinking you are fine on your own. But God wants to SURROUND YOU with Vast Relationships, Resources, and Care.
You need to take a step to GROUP UP.
Will you join a Community Group for our study of GREAT?
Let’s grab our GREAT Cards.
I want to ask you to look at the top three boxes.
- BOX 1 – If you already attend a community group, would you check that off and list the name of that group?
I’ll come back to this group here in a bit.
- BOX 2- For you who are saying, “I will join a community group for GREAT”, we have groups who meet immediately after/before this service. I want to ask our CG leaders to come to the front…I want to you to see them.
I’ll ask them to be here after the service as well so that if you have questions about the group, you can ask them.
- BOX 3 — Maybe you want to start a group…We can give you the tools for this group…please let us know, and we will follow up with you…
PLEASE WRITE LEGIBLY, or SCAN THE QR CODE ON THE SCREEN and fill out the DIGITAL CARD.
If you are watching online, scan the QR code on the screen and fill out the digital card in order to participate in GREAT. One of our team members will reach out to you about creating some digital groups.
Devotion to Fellowship:
It is a persistent, obstinate, steadfast commitment to one another, while making room for someone new.
This last phrase – Making room for someone new is crucial to the fitness of our church.
It seems weird, doesn’t it, to be talking about outreach when speaking of fellowship?
- Well, I think it depends on whether you want your church to be fit or fat.
- Fat Fellowship is inward focused. It doesn’t make room for others, is pleased with the size it is, and is deeply committed to one another.
- Fat Fellowship gets sedentary. It stops moving, stops trying and it gets settled in its ways. It stays on the couch and doesn’t get in the game!
· Fit Fellowship takes the harder path. It seeks to do whatever it takes to expand its influence.
· Fit Fellowship grabs a group of people and gives them a clear purpose of being committed to both one another and to those who don’t yet know.
· A Fit Fellowship calls people to launch out into new areas and get out of their comfort zones to reach others.
Look at how Acts 2 described fit fellowship in regard to those who aren’t yet a part of the Church.
Acts 2:47
praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Who was adding to their number?
The Lord.
- God brings the increase.
- God puts together his body.
- God grows His church.
And a Fit Fellowship agrees with what God wants to do – grow His Church numerically., because these are people with souls that Jesus died for!
And a fit Fellowship is doing the hard work of reaching out, opening its doors and its homes to include those who aren’t yet a part.
A Fat Fellowship is as content as it can be with the Status Quo.
And what is so alarming is that what a fat fellowship has is so good and sweet and tasty that it doesn’t realize how quickly it turns inward to itself and how it gets isolated from everything else.
Friends, when this happens, a death sentence awaits.
Life Saving Station
On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur, there was once a little life-saving station.
- The building was primitive, and there was just one boat, but the members of the life-saving station were committed and kept a constant watch over the sea.
When a ship went down, they unselfishly went out day or night to save the lost. Because so many lives were saved by that station, it became famous. Consequently, many people wanted to be associated with the station to give their time, talent, and money to support its important work. New boats were bought, new crews were recruited, a formal training session was offered. As the membership in the life-saving station grew, some of the members became unhappy that the building was so primitive and that the equipment was so outdated. They wanted a better place to welcome the survivors pulled from the sea. So they replaced the emergency cots with beds and put better furniture in the enlarged and newly decorated building.
Now the life-saving station became a popular gathering place for its members. They met regularly and when they did, it was apparent how they loved one another. They greeted each other, hugged each other, and shared with one another the events that had been going on in their lives. But fewer members were now interested in going to sea on life-saving missions; so they hired lifeboat crews to do this for them. About this time, a large ship was wrecked off of the coast, and the hired crews brought into the life-saving station boatloads of cold, wet, dirty, sick, and half-drowned people. Some of them had black skin, and some had yellow skin. Some could speak English well, and some could hardly speak it at all. Some were first-class cabin passengers of the ship, and some were the deck hands. The beautiful meeting place became a place of chaos. The plush carpets got dirty. Some of the exquisite furniture got scratched. So the property committee immediately had a shower built outside the house where the victims of shipwreck could be cleaned up before coming inside.
At the next meeting there was rift in the membership. Most of the members wanted to stop the club’s life-saving activities, for they were unpleasant and a hindrance to the normal fellowship of the members. Other members insisted that life-saving was their primary purpose and pointed out that they were still called a life-saving station. But they were finally voted down and told that if they wanted to save the lives of all those various kinds of people who would be shipwrecked, they could begin their own life-saving station down the coast. And do you know what? That is what they did.
As the years passed, the new station experienced the same changes that had occurred in the old. It evolved into a place to meet regularly for fellowship, for committee meetings, and for special training sessions about their mission, but few went out to the drowning people. The drowning people were no longer welcomed in that new life-saving station. So another life-saving station was founded further down the coast. History continued to repeat itself. And if you visit that seacoast today, you will find a number of adequate meeting places with ample parking and plush carpeting. Shipwrecks are frequent in those waters, but most of the people drown.
We must always be committed to having a fellowship that is:
- making room for others,
- attending to others,
- mindful of others who aren’t yet to a place of life, safety, and security in Christ.
We need to be a fellowship of believers who are actively seeking those who are drowning, who need leadership, who are looking to grow.
So, let me ask you…If you have been in a group for quite some time, I want to challenge you to PAIR UP with one or two others. Use your group time to prepare for pairing up with another…someone at your office…someone on your street…at your dorm…on your team.
Who might you disciple? What’s their name?
BOX 4 – I will pair up with 1 or more for the next 6 weeks.