FEBRUARY 21, 2012
| From Pastor Roger - Community I'm sure they live at your house, too. Those phantom residents. If you don't know them, let me introduce you:
Ahhh. You do know them. If we ran across a primitive tribe who has never had contact with Western civilization, those phantom residents would still be there. Theoretically, they should disappear as we grow up. Adults who haven't learned to accept the consequences of their actions, who still rely on Ida Know, Notme, Notmy Turn, Nobody, Whyme and the other scapegoats kids invent, find themselves in trouble. The level of trouble is directly related to how much they rely on their scapegoats. A church finds its growth stunted, sometimes twisted, when these troublesome critters invade the church community. "Community" comes from the Latin communitatem. It meant fellowship, a community of relations, shared values or ideals. The early Christian church grew by leaps and bounds. In Acts 2:42-47, Luke gives us a glimpse of what it was like: "They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Notice verse 44: "All the believers were together and had everything in common." They definitely had community. It's not much of a risk to say our phantom residents didn't find a home here. Over the next weeks, our church will be delving more deeply into strengthening our community. I pray that someone will say of our church "All the believers were together and had everything in common." | What's happening Thursday, Feb. 21: 7pm - Keepers of the Faith Quartet. THIS WEEK Tuesday, Feb. 21 NEXT WEEK |
