Growth through Community

Pastor Meyer’s Sermon

Sunday, September 2, 2007

[Video] “The biggest growth for me is probably purely from a bible study perspective. It’s gotten me into a consistent bible study to the point that when we’re not meeting, like over the summer we didn’t meet very often, I really missed it. And so my personal growth is that my relationship was strengthened, my personal relationship was strengthened and just pure knowledge of the bible itself. That’s probably been my personal biggest growth.”

“I agree with you on that. That’s been an important part of our life since that happened even being part of a group. Also, just the different perspectives. ‘Hey, I read this. What do you think about this? What’s your interpretation of what we’re supposed to do with this?’ And that’s an intimacy you can only get with being in a group like this over a period of time.”

“I am looking forward to just growing in the knowledge of God’s word. I am part of the Wednesday morning bible study also and you get different perspectives from each other member and it really helps you grow versus just sitting down and reading the bible, which I have done, but I get more out of the word when I’m discussing it with other people.”

“I think through our studies that we’ve done it’s just knowing more about God’s word and depth that’s definitely been a growth but it’s also just knowing what you go through other people are going through or have been through so as we look back, a lot has changed over the last 4½ years. Each of us has changed a lot but I suppose it’s really just focusing on God’s word and just focusing on being able to interact with people about that in a very personal way.”

Watching this Community Group and hearing the words they used, those words really resonate with me and I know they resonate with my wife, Lynn. You see, it was a little over two years ago that we moved from St. Louis here to the Des Moines area. We left a place where we had family close by, where we had friends and we moved here to the Des Moines area where we had some acquaintances that we knew for a couple of weeks but not close friends and our family was a 6 to 12-hour drive away. And when we got here, we had no idea what to expect. We didn’t know where anything was. And we certainly felt like we had been uprooted and transplanted here in the Des Moines area.

It was much like this Bonsai tree that I keep in my office. At one time, this Bonsai tree was in a nursery somewhere and in that nursery it was cared for and it was given the nutrients that it needed, everything it needed to help it grow. And when it grew to a certain point, it too was uprooted and transplanted. But the one thing about a Bonsai tree is when you transplant it, you can’t just leave it isolated. You can’t just leave it alone because if you do, it will die.

And it was the same for Lynn and me. We knew that being here in Des Moines, we couldn’t be left isolated. We couldn’t just focus on each other as a family. No, because we knew that we too would die. Now what do you mean by dying? Well, I’m talking about Lynn’s and my relationship would have been affected by the stress of the isolation. Our relationship with our kids would have been affected. My relationship with the people here in this congregation, with you guys, and also my work here would have been affected. It was much like when you transplanted a Bonsai tree, if you were just to leave it out on a table somewhere or just leave it on the ground, sure, it would live for a little while but with no support for the roots or no way to keep the moisture and the nutrients it needs close to the roots, it too would soon die.

And so if you want this Bonsai tree to grow and to become a healthy tree, the first thing you need to do is to put soil in it, good soil. Because you see, the soil helps to support the tree. It helps the tree to be in a position, in the best possible position to receive the nutrients it needs. And it was the same for Lynn and me. We realized that we too needed that support, that soil, if you will, in our lives to be able to have that support so we too could be in the best possible position to receive the nutrients that we needed, that support in our lives.

Now when you are putting in soil, you don’t want to use peat moss because peat moss will give it some support but after a time, the tree will just fall over. No, it needs a good quality soil to give it support. Now some of you may be thinking, “I haven’t been transplanted. I’ve been here all my life here in the Des Moines area and I have a circle of friends and I have support in my life.” Or maybe you’re thinking, “You know, I’ve been transplanted here but it’s been 5, 10, 15, 20 years ago and I have that support.”

Well, this gives you an opportunity to run a little diagnostic in your own life, to look at the support you have in your life. Is that support you have like the peat moss where it gives you a little bit of support but when something happens in your life, they’re the first to flee? Or are they the good soil? Is it the good support you need during that time you have a challenge in your life?

Now the soil is not enough for this tree. If I just put the tree in good soil and walked away, that wouldn’t be enough. It would die. It needs a little more than that. It needs water and sunlight. You need to be able to make sure the dirt has enough water in it and to be able to place the tree in a certain area where there would be enough light for it to grow. And it’s the same for us. We too need sunlight and water. Now you may be wondering, “What are you talking about? Water and sunlight?” But Jesus tells us that very same thing. In John 4, He is in Samaria and He is tired and thirsty and He is sitting by a well and this Samaritan woman comes to the well and the Samaritan woman is there next to Him and Jesus says, “Can you give me a drink?” And the Samaritan woman is like, “Who are you to ask me for a drink?” And this is what Jesus says, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asked you for a drink, you would ask Him and He would have given you living water.” Jesus’ words are the living water that we need in our daily lives. And so it’s not enough just to have the soil, the good support in our lives but that soil too needs to be drenched with the living water, that supportive system you have around you will be drenched with the living water with scripture, with God’s word to help you to grow. And it provides the sunlight, too. That’s what the Psalmist says in Psalm 56, “For you have delivered me from death and my feet from stumbling that I may walk before God in the light of life.”

We need to have that supportive soil but in that soil we need the water. In our support group, we need that water, that living water, God’s word. We also need it to provide sunlight for us. But it just doesn’t stop there. Sure, if you were to take this Bonsai tree and make sure it had good soil in it, make sure it had water and it had sunlight, it would grow. But there’s one more thing we need to do with the Bonsai tree. We need to be able to trim it. Certain areas where the branches are not doing too well, to be able to prune those off. In areas where there is growth, to be able to pick the little buds so the growth can be formed.

And it’s the same for us. We have that support group, that good soil, if you will. We have the water and the sunlight within that soil that we are sharing together God’s word and studying that together and we are bound to grow but that growth too needs to be trimmed and that’s what is called accountability. You know through God’s word that you want to be the best spouse you possibly can. That group can help you with that. You know you want to be the best father or mother for your children as you possibly can. The group can help you with that. Maybe you think, “I need to spend a little more time in the water during the day, to be able to just read a few verses during the day.” You have a group of people to help you, to ask you, “So how are you doing with that reading?” And you can say, “Oh, you know, this week has been really busy and I haven’t been able to get to it. I just haven’t been able to find the time.” And you have this group here that can be supportive, to be able to help you to maybe find the time. Maybe even to walk with you to read with you during the week. All of this to help you grow. And the trimming here is not just to trim just to make it look good. No, the trimming is to help the tree become the healthiest tree that it possibly can be and that’s what accountability does. We have growth in our lives. We know what we need to do but it also helps us become the healthiest Christians we can be.

Now when you think about a Bonsai tree, you think, “Man, that’s a lot of work. Not only do you have to water it and make sure it has the right soil in it and make sure it’s in the right place for sunlight and then you have to trim it. Man, that seems like a lot of work to make sure this tree can grow.” And it’s the same for us. We might be thinking, “Man, to make sure we have this support group and make sure we’re in the water, it takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of work for us to become healthy Christians.” But you know, for me the hardest part with this Bonsai tree was taking the first step. I brought it home. I put it on the table and I knew all these different things I needed to do and I didn’t know what the first step should be. And so I took that first step and I watered it. And then I went on to continue to help it grow.

And it’s the same for you. Maybe you’re thinking, “Man, all of this stuff I need to do, community groups and being in the word and all this. It seems like that’s so much to do, so much to ask of me. Yes, I want to be a healthy Christian but that seems like a lot of work.” All you need to do is take that first step. And I provided that first step for you in the pews. If you look in the pews, you’ll see this card here. It’s a long green card and on this card, I invite you to pass it down to your neighbors in your pews and on this card, you’ll see at the top two boxes and the first box is, “Yes, I want to get connected into a community group.” If you’re not part of a community group, go ahead and sign that if you’d like to be connected and go ahead and check that off and then fill in the information. If you are part of a community group already, I praise you. I celebrate with you. And this message you hear I pray will not encourage you but also to help you understand what is your role within the community group and how can the community group help you. But I also want you to fill out the information and put on the back the members of those who are in your community group. That way I know who you are connected with.

And now what I want you to do is when you’re done filling this out, you can either give it to one of the ushers or you can just leave it in your pew and we’ll pick it up after the service. But I’m going to give you permission now. You’ve probably never heard this from a pastor before. I’m going to give you permission not to listen to the rest of my sermon because I want you to be able to concentrate on filling that card out, to give you the opportunity to take that first step. And what I’m going to do is I’m going to tell you the four guarantees I have for you if you join a community group.

The first guarantee is you will grow in the knowledge of the bible because, you see, here on Sunday morning or on Saturday night, it’s one-way communication. You guys sit still while I instill. And that’s great if you want to learn about the knowledge and sometimes you can learn a little bit about how to apply the scriptures in your daily life but the best way to learn how to apply scripture is to be able to interact, to be able to ask questions, to be able to apply and share insights and that is what happens in a community group.

The second guarantee that I have for you is that you will grow to feel like you are part of God’s family here at Gloria Dei. People who I’ve talked to who have been part of a community group say the most important benefit of being part of that group is the relationships they developed. And there is no reason why in this world a Christian, you and I, should ever be lonely. The bible says we are a family and that we belong to each other. In fact, over 50 times in the New Testament the phrase “one another” is used, to love one another, to serve one another, to care for one another, to pray for one another, to help one another, to encourage one another, to greet one another. And how do you do that? It can all be done in a community group. I guarantee you will feel like you are a part of God’s family.

And I guarantee you will grow in your prayer life, too, because prayer will become more meaningful to you because in a community group of 6-12 people, you can learn how to pray. You can learn it’s okay to share your requests. You can learn that it’s okay for you to share your needs, that it’s okay for you to hear about other people’s cares and needs and to be able to bring them before God and you will see in that community group you will be drawn together in prayer.

And I also guarantee that you’ll be able to handle stress. Why? Because you have that support, that good soil, if you will. Everybody needs that support when we’re in a crisis or in a challenge or when we’re in a change or when somebody loses a job or a family member is sick. You can call up the people in your group and you can say, “I need help. I need prayer. I need support. I’m going through a tough time.” And that group will come to you and help you with the practical means of giving you a hot meal or whatever it may be, things like that. I guarantee you will be able to handle stress better.

My friends, community groups are not a gimmick. It’s not some kind of program. It’s not some kind of nice accessory to have in your life. No, we believe here at Gloria Dei that it is a pattern, it’s God’s pattern for the church and for your Christian life. You see, the bible says that you are a member of God’s very own family and you belong to God’s household with every other Christian. You become a Christian when God gives you that faith to believe in Jesus as your Savior, as you become a part of a church by committing to other believers. That’s what it means to be a part of the body of Christ. That’s what it’s all about. It’s commitment to other Christians. Because, my friends, as you leave here today, I have a prayer for you. My prayer comes from that first reading that we heard today. My prayer comes from Paul’s words in Colossians. My prayer is that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way, bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience and joyfully giving thanks to the Father.

My friends, we have been created for community and that community gives us the support we need in our lives, the support so we can grow together through community. That, my friends, that is life in community. Amen.

Copyright 2007 Gloria Dei Lutheran Church