1 00:00:04,720 --> 00:00:08,360 This is ERC Sundays, the messages at Emmaus Rd. 2 00:00:08,360 --> 00:00:12,280 Church in DeWitt, Iowa. ERC is a Church of people 3 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:15,320 striving to grow in Jesus and make him known to others through 4 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:19,560 our faith, words and actions. Find out more about our church 5 00:00:19,600 --> 00:00:23,400 at emmausrdonline.org. Here's this week's message well. 6 00:00:25,080 --> 00:00:29,920 Friends, there's a lot to think about on any given Sunday, but 7 00:00:29,920 --> 00:00:34,280 in particular as I think about like seniors, I'll tell you 8 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:38,680 what, there are times in our lives and there are seasons that 9 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:42,120 probably as we look back, seem ideal. 10 00:00:42,800 --> 00:00:45,760 And I, I'll be honest with our seniors in our, in our 11 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:49,000 upperclassmen, like, I don't know how your senior year 12 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,760 totally went for you, but man, I, I really look back and I say 13 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:54,840 that was an ideal time in my life. 14 00:00:55,400 --> 00:00:59,040 I know it wasn't perfect. I can understand that, but I, 15 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:01,800 it's very hard for me. It's very difficult for me to 16 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:05,040 remember anything being awfully terrible. 17 00:01:05,840 --> 00:01:08,680 In fact, I, I tend to only remember the good things about 18 00:01:08,680 --> 00:01:11,680 that time and again, whether it was when you're in high school 19 00:01:11,680 --> 00:01:15,120 or college or, I don't know, when you first got married or 20 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:17,200 you have a kid or whatever that looks like for you. 21 00:01:17,480 --> 00:01:20,480 I'm sure as you look back, you have something in your head and 22 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,000 you're like, you know what? That was a really ideal time in 23 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:25,920 my life. And so if you've had that, I'm 24 00:01:25,920 --> 00:01:31,960 glad and I hope that as you sit now in faith and with your 25 00:01:31,960 --> 00:01:35,400 family and friends and whatever that looks like for you, I hope 26 00:01:35,400 --> 00:01:41,040 that maybe even we can see some level of ideal right here in and 27 00:01:41,040 --> 00:01:44,120 amongst us as we as we praise Jesus together. 28 00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:47,720 I hope that's true for you. I feel it, I do. 29 00:01:47,720 --> 00:01:49,600 And it's not just because I work here. 30 00:01:50,320 --> 00:01:52,960 I love being in this community. It's fantastic. 31 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,320 It's I wouldn't trade it for anything. 32 00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:00,520 Now, I would tell you that I don't think anybody has maybe 33 00:02:00,520 --> 00:02:03,920 shown visually what ideal looks like better than Norman 34 00:02:03,920 --> 00:02:07,200 Rockwell. Now, as a former like multi year 35 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:11,480 art teacher in public schools, I tend to think in art often 36 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:12,920 times. And so again, when I was 37 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:16,200 thinking about like this kind of ideal thing, like man, does it 38 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,280 get better than showing that than Norman Rockwell. 39 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,640 So Norman Rockwell, if you don't know him, he was most famous for 40 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:27,920 working and doing the this Saturday Evening Post. 41 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:31,080 That magazine existed for a long time and he typically did the 42 00:02:31,080 --> 00:02:35,200 covers for those, But he didn't just do that. 43 00:02:35,880 --> 00:02:38,520 He gosh, he worked on all sorts of things. 44 00:02:38,760 --> 00:02:42,560 But I do think like he's so well encompasses like the, the sense 45 00:02:42,560 --> 00:02:45,720 of like Americana and ideal of a time frame. 46 00:02:46,080 --> 00:02:50,280 And so if, if you grew up kind of in that era, if you grew up 47 00:02:50,280 --> 00:02:55,320 with, oh, gosh, the shows like Father Knows Best and Lassie and 48 00:02:55,680 --> 00:02:57,320 gosh, what's another one I had? I had another. 49 00:02:57,520 --> 00:03:00,280 Oh yeah, Leave it to Beaver. If you know what those shows 50 00:03:00,280 --> 00:03:02,920 are, then you probably know who Norman Rockwell is. 51 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:06,160 But, and if you don't know what those shows are, go Google. 52 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,440 I'm like, I, I don't think you'll be mad at me for watching 53 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:11,440 a couple episodes. I don't, I don't think you will. 54 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:13,880 But go go check them out. They're they're fun. 55 00:03:14,560 --> 00:03:17,080 But he didn't just paint everyday life. 56 00:03:17,120 --> 00:03:21,680 He also did images of faith, and even in his images of faith, if 57 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:26,280 we look at these closely, we're like that looks ideal, and it 58 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:30,120 feels like it's from this bygone era that we can no longer 59 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:32,240 achieve. It feels like it's something 60 00:03:32,240 --> 00:03:37,840 that it's just this kind of perfect iteration of what we 61 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:40,600 think faith is supposed to look like, right? 62 00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,640 And some of us still kind of hold some of these, maybe not 63 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:46,080 these specific images, but we hold images like this in our 64 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:47,600 head. And this is what the church is 65 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:49,920 supposed to be like, right? It's supposed to be calm. 66 00:03:50,160 --> 00:03:52,760 You know, it's all these things. Well, here's the thing. 67 00:03:53,480 --> 00:03:57,480 This morning, we're going to get to the end of Acts chapter 2 and 68 00:03:57,480 --> 00:04:00,840 we're going to see the very first iteration of the Christian 69 00:04:00,840 --> 00:04:05,440 Church. And as we read that it should 70 00:04:05,440 --> 00:04:09,040 draw some some thoughts of man that seems really ideal. 71 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,200 That seems like too good be true almost. 72 00:04:12,520 --> 00:04:19,480 And so I want to make the argument today that it is ideal 73 00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:23,440 and from a human perspective and it's still achievable. 74 00:04:24,640 --> 00:04:27,440 I believe that I wouldn't be standing up here if I didn't 75 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,800 think that was true. It is ideal, but it's still 76 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:34,040 achievable. And so I, I want to look at kind 77 00:04:34,040 --> 00:04:36,760 of these, these thoughts in three different ways this 78 00:04:36,760 --> 00:04:38,880 morning. Just if you're a note taker, I 79 00:04:38,880 --> 00:04:40,680 know not all of you are, but some of you are. 80 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,400 And plus, this will just help you kind of keep up with like 81 00:04:43,680 --> 00:04:46,000 my, my thought process so we don't get lost. 82 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,560 But we're going to understand this, that God's faithful church 83 00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:51,680 is saved from a crooked generation. 84 00:04:51,880 --> 00:04:54,400 And we'll get into what that means in a minute, and we're 85 00:04:54,400 --> 00:04:56,720 going to see the marks of God's faithful church. 86 00:04:56,960 --> 00:04:59,040 And then finally, we're going to see the results of God's 87 00:04:59,040 --> 00:05:01,640 faithful church. OK, now I'm going to use that 88 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:05,120 word church a lot. And some of you here, when I say 89 00:05:05,120 --> 00:05:07,880 church, you think of a building. That's not true at all. 90 00:05:08,080 --> 00:05:10,640 The church is never a building. The church is a people. 91 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:13,560 The church is God's people wherever they are. 92 00:05:13,880 --> 00:05:17,640 And so just as you hear me say that word, I hope you understand 93 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:20,880 that I'm talking about a people group, not a building. 94 00:05:20,920 --> 00:05:25,560 So let's read from Acts chapter 2, and let's see this kind of 95 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:30,960 idealistic church in action. By the way, this is at the end 96 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:32,960 of Peter's sermon that we heard last week. 97 00:05:33,720 --> 00:05:36,400 And with them many other words, he bore witness. 98 00:05:36,560 --> 00:05:40,000 And he continued to exhort them, saying, save yourselves from 99 00:05:40,000 --> 00:05:43,480 this crooked generation. Those who received His word were 100 00:05:43,480 --> 00:05:48,400 baptized, and they were added that day about 3000 souls. 101 00:05:49,480 --> 00:05:52,080 And they devoted themselves to the apostles, teaching, to the 102 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:54,280 fellowship, and to the breaking of bread. 103 00:05:54,320 --> 00:05:58,080 And prayers and awe came upon every soul. 104 00:05:58,320 --> 00:06:02,200 And many wonders and signs were being done through the Apostles. 105 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,680 And all who believed were together, and they had all 106 00:06:05,680 --> 00:06:09,640 things in common. And they were selling their 107 00:06:09,640 --> 00:06:13,040 possessions and belongings, and distributing all the proceeds to 108 00:06:13,080 --> 00:06:16,040 any who had need. And day by day, attending the 109 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,440 temple together, and breaking bread in their homes, they 110 00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:24,400 receive their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God 111 00:06:24,640 --> 00:06:27,040 and having favor with all of the people. 112 00:06:27,400 --> 00:06:31,960 And the Lord added to their number day by day, those who 113 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:35,880 were being saved. Here ends the reading of God's 114 00:06:36,040 --> 00:06:39,760 Word. I don't normally, I don't always 115 00:06:39,760 --> 00:06:41,360 do this. And some of you are like, Oh my 116 00:06:41,360 --> 00:06:42,960 gosh, there's Greek on the screen again. 117 00:06:42,960 --> 00:06:44,760 And some of you say you do that too often. 118 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:46,880 And other people are like, no, that's kind of interesting. 119 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:49,480 I need more of that. Well, this happens to be one of 120 00:06:49,480 --> 00:06:51,080 the days where I'm going to give you a Greek lesson. 121 00:06:51,400 --> 00:06:55,480 So here's what this looks like. This word is pronounced scolios, 122 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:57,800 which means crooked. That's the word that we get 123 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,920 crooked at the beginning of that text and the the definition of 124 00:07:01,920 --> 00:07:03,960 it is being morally bent or twisted. 125 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:07,320 Now that word scolios, does that sound familiar to you When we 126 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:11,560 think of something like somebody say it very good. 127 00:07:11,560 --> 00:07:13,760 See you learned Greek. Congratulations. 128 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:16,320 Good job. I will give you an A today. 129 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:21,080 Good work. Well, one of the things that we 130 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:25,520 see in in in any given culture that gets crooked or it gets 131 00:07:25,520 --> 00:07:30,440 twisted is this this sense of selfishness. 132 00:07:31,000 --> 00:07:33,720 It's real. It's real in every generation. 133 00:07:33,720 --> 00:07:37,120 It was real in a generation that we see this ideal church where, 134 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:39,520 you know, they're selling all these things and they're giving 135 00:07:39,520 --> 00:07:42,520 everything away and just to make sure everybody was OK, they were 136 00:07:42,520 --> 00:07:46,480 doing all those things. So it sounds unselfish, but that 137 00:07:46,480 --> 00:07:48,120 absolutely existed in their culture. 138 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,200 It's always existed in every culture, and it certainly exists 139 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:55,640 today. My friends, my seniors, I'll 140 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,480 talk to you specifically, but this is still for us all. 141 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:04,160 I sometimes as I see young people going out into the wide 142 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:06,840 world, I sometimes get afraid for them. 143 00:08:08,120 --> 00:08:11,080 Here's why. Because we have an entire 144 00:08:11,080 --> 00:08:14,160 culture, an entire philosophy of me first. 145 00:08:14,760 --> 00:08:17,600 That's where we've come to in in large parts of our culture 146 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:19,400 today. It's it's a very me first kind 147 00:08:19,400 --> 00:08:23,800 of place that we live in. And I actually came across this 148 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:28,160 article on delightfulminds.com this week and 149 00:08:28,760 --> 00:08:31,120 delightfulminds.com, if you don't know, I don't recommend 150 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:34,919 it, but I'm talking about it. It what it is, is it's a website 151 00:08:34,919 --> 00:08:37,880 for like mental health and like self help and all that kind of 152 00:08:37,880 --> 00:08:41,000 good stuff, right? But coming out of one of their 153 00:08:41,000 --> 00:08:43,799 articles, this is what I saw the quote. 154 00:08:45,120 --> 00:08:48,600 Excuse me to conclude everything, We shouldn't live 155 00:08:48,600 --> 00:08:51,480 for others and we should live only for ourselves. 156 00:08:51,680 --> 00:08:55,560 It's not reasonable to spend your precious time that you will 157 00:08:55,560 --> 00:08:58,440 never get back. You shouldn't give someone an 158 00:08:58,440 --> 00:09:01,800 extra second of your life with your time, if you know what I 159 00:09:01,800 --> 00:09:04,680 mean. Make your time on earth as 160 00:09:04,680 --> 00:09:08,960 pleasurable as possible for yourself, right? 161 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:15,120 OK, this is the wisdom of the world. 162 00:09:16,040 --> 00:09:18,320 It's out there. This, I'm telling you, this is 163 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:22,960 a, excuse me, this is a mental health website. 164 00:09:23,960 --> 00:09:27,240 And this website is telling you, as a lot of our culture is 165 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:29,520 telling you, that if you want to be healthy, if you want to be 166 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:31,960 happy, if you want to have any amount of joy or pleasure in 167 00:09:31,960 --> 00:09:33,600 your life, you better live for you. 168 00:09:34,320 --> 00:09:38,160 Don't you dare give anybody any of your time or effort. 169 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:45,000 I got to tell you, friends, when I read stuff like this and it's 170 00:09:45,000 --> 00:09:48,320 so pervasive in our culture, it breaks my heart. 171 00:09:49,720 --> 00:09:51,480 I'm not being dramatic. It really does. 172 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:58,480 And I think this philosophy that we have out there, it's, it's a 173 00:09:58,480 --> 00:10:02,320 big part of the reason why statistically we know that about 174 00:10:02,320 --> 00:10:05,440 70% of our high schoolers, when they leave high school and they 175 00:10:05,440 --> 00:10:10,760 leave home, 70% of them also leave the church, 70%. 176 00:10:12,160 --> 00:10:14,920 That's a remarkably high number. Why? 177 00:10:16,280 --> 00:10:20,560 Well, part of it is we live in a me first culture and that just 178 00:10:20,560 --> 00:10:22,560 does not vibe with what the Bible says. 179 00:10:22,920 --> 00:10:26,640 Not at all. It's it's, it's, it's clearly 180 00:10:26,640 --> 00:10:29,920 opposed to it. And so here's the thing. 181 00:10:31,520 --> 00:10:35,720 I could go on and on. And quite frankly, in our Bible 182 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:39,080 study on Thursday, I, I think we spent like 35 minutes talking 183 00:10:39,080 --> 00:10:41,960 about all the ways that our generation is crooked and 184 00:10:41,960 --> 00:10:45,000 twisted and, and we could go on and on and about that stuff. 185 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:48,360 But here's the thing, number one, I know that complaining 186 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:50,640 about those things won't actually get anything done. 187 00:10:51,280 --> 00:10:58,000 It really won't. And #2 I think we were made for 188 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,360 a time such as this. We were made for this moment in 189 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:05,120 cultural history. We were. 190 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:09,720 Here's what I mean. Let's look at one more Norman 191 00:11:09,720 --> 00:11:12,480 Rockwell painting, then I'll put the art teacher away, I promise. 192 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:19,040 But here we have again, he paints these idealistic pictures 193 00:11:19,280 --> 00:11:24,480 and we have this grandmother in this child praying man. 194 00:11:24,840 --> 00:11:27,720 Look at the people. They're intrigued by that. 195 00:11:28,080 --> 00:11:31,200 There's something, there's something intriguing about 196 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:34,280 faith, isn't there? There's something that draws 197 00:11:34,280 --> 00:11:36,640 people into that because you know what? 198 00:11:36,640 --> 00:11:41,920 That you know what faith does? It puts us in a place where our 199 00:11:41,920 --> 00:11:43,840 priorities are no longer about us. 200 00:11:44,080 --> 00:11:46,560 And I don't care what the culture says about me first and 201 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:51,320 whatever, man, there's something dwelling deep inside of us that 202 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:55,080 wants to live, that wants to love well and serve. 203 00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:58,320 We're built that way. That's how God designed us. 204 00:11:58,600 --> 00:12:02,080 We find our greatest joy and our greatest fulfillment when we 205 00:12:02,080 --> 00:12:07,600 serve and when we treat others maybe better than they deserve. 206 00:12:08,760 --> 00:12:14,720 OK, so here's the thing. Let's get, let's make this a 207 00:12:14,720 --> 00:12:19,760 little bit more applicable. When we refuse to bend and twist 208 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:22,680 ourselves to the culture, we are going to look different than the 209 00:12:22,680 --> 00:12:25,120 culture. And and that might be scary for 210 00:12:25,120 --> 00:12:28,360 you because quite frankly, standing out for middle 211 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:30,240 schoolers in particular, if that's really scary. 212 00:12:30,440 --> 00:12:32,760 But even as adults, we don't always like that. 213 00:12:32,960 --> 00:12:34,880 It freaks us out. We don't really want to be 214 00:12:35,200 --> 00:12:39,360 noticed like that. But man, our faith, it does set 215 00:12:39,360 --> 00:12:42,000 us apart. If you're a Christian and you 216 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,520 believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and you believe 217 00:12:44,520 --> 00:12:47,960 that you are fully forgiven, so you no longer walk in shame, you 218 00:12:47,960 --> 00:12:53,560 no longer have to have fear of of eternal repercussions, man, 219 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:57,240 you're going to live free. And that is awfully, awfully 220 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:00,200 appealing. And when we show that freedom, 221 00:13:00,200 --> 00:13:03,320 when we show that joy beyond our circumstances, which the gospel 222 00:13:03,320 --> 00:13:06,760 provides for us, man, that is awfully attractive to the 223 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:10,520 outside world, even the outside world, quite frankly, that says 224 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:13,640 I don't really want anything to do with religion. 225 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:17,960 Well, man, I'll tell you what, in a lot of ways, I don't want 226 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:19,400 anything to do with religion either. 227 00:13:21,760 --> 00:13:24,160 I really want something to do with like, a meaningful 228 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:27,240 relationship. That's what I want and that's 229 00:13:27,240 --> 00:13:29,640 what God wants for us. He wants us in a meaningful 230 00:13:29,640 --> 00:13:32,560 relationship, not just a bunch of people following the rules 231 00:13:32,560 --> 00:13:33,880 for the sake of following the rules. 232 00:13:34,040 --> 00:13:37,240 That's not helpful. That's not helpful to any of us. 233 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:44,160 And so, man, we get to be as we live out our faith in public, as 234 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:48,840 you see fit to do that, Excuse me, we get to be the hands and 235 00:13:48,840 --> 00:13:51,520 feet of Jesus. And that's an incredible thing. 236 00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:55,440 That's an incredible thing to get to represent this, this man 237 00:13:55,440 --> 00:13:59,440 who who died for everybody who died for his enemies who said 238 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:00,960 father, forgive them. They don't know what they're 239 00:14:00,960 --> 00:14:03,520 doing. When we get to be like that man, 240 00:14:03,520 --> 00:14:06,280 we are really the church. We're really doing something 241 00:14:06,280 --> 00:14:09,440 then we're going to we're going to change culture along with us. 242 00:14:10,240 --> 00:14:13,000 And I know that sounds like a big job, but it is entirely 243 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:17,080 possible. I see it in and among us. 244 00:14:17,280 --> 00:14:19,640 I watch it all the time. Maybe you guys don't see it the 245 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:22,440 way I do because I'm always kind of watching those things, but I 246 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:26,520 see it and it's it's remarkable and it's beautiful and it 247 00:14:26,520 --> 00:14:29,600 changes lives and it brings people into faith. 248 00:14:29,920 --> 00:14:33,880 And so I want to tell you that I absolutely believe that we can 249 00:14:33,880 --> 00:14:36,120 be the church that God intended us to be. 250 00:14:36,680 --> 00:14:41,600 I really think that. Now let's get into the text 251 00:14:41,600 --> 00:14:44,760 tells us that there's four marks of what this church looks like. 252 00:14:45,040 --> 00:14:47,720 There's four marks of what God says. 253 00:14:47,720 --> 00:14:50,280 This is what I want you to be. This is how I want you to 254 00:14:50,280 --> 00:14:51,800 worship. These are the people that I'm 255 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:54,440 going to call my own. So let's look at the four marks. 256 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:58,000 They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, to the 257 00:14:58,000 --> 00:14:59,600 fellowship, to breaking bread and prayers. 258 00:14:59,880 --> 00:15:02,160 OK, four things, right? I'll go through these as quickly 259 00:15:02,160 --> 00:15:04,240 as possible. I will tell you, I think each 260 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:06,840 one of these things deserves their own Sunday, but we don't 261 00:15:06,840 --> 00:15:09,520 have time for all that. So we're going to go through 262 00:15:09,520 --> 00:15:11,760 these pretty quick. First and foremost, what we call 263 00:15:11,760 --> 00:15:14,920 the Apostolic teaching. OK, what is that? 264 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:20,520 That's God's word, that's God's true and authentic word given to 265 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:24,040 the apostles, right? Jesus hands them the keys to the 266 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:26,360 Kingdom and then he gives them the Holy Spirit. 267 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:28,600 And they go on to teach about the life of Jesus. 268 00:15:28,600 --> 00:15:31,720 And they go on to not just teach a set of moral standards that we 269 00:15:31,720 --> 00:15:35,720 have to live by, but they go on to tell the truth about what it 270 00:15:35,720 --> 00:15:38,720 looks like to live in real freedom, to really have 271 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:42,560 something deep, a deep connection to this eternal and 272 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:44,720 infinite God. And it's remarkable. 273 00:15:45,040 --> 00:15:51,320 And so if gosh, seniors, again, I keep on addressing you, but 274 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:57,400 it, it fits if you're leaving and, and, and I hope if you're 275 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:00,280 leaving, hopefully you're going to be doing what we call some 276 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:04,000 church shopping, OK, And maybe some of you are here because you 277 00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:06,160 were doing some church shopping and you landed here and that's 278 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:09,400 great. I love that for us, right? 279 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:13,280 But here's the thing, if you're doing some church shopping and 280 00:16:13,280 --> 00:16:19,040 the word of God, it is not preached and not as it sits 281 00:16:19,120 --> 00:16:22,840 without twisting it to try and fit into our narrow little 282 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:26,160 cultural moment, man, if God's word isn't present in that way, 283 00:16:26,160 --> 00:16:29,200 if it's not authentically spoken, please run. 284 00:16:29,920 --> 00:16:33,600 Please run for the hills. Because you're not in a church, 285 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:36,240 then you're in. You're in a club of people there 286 00:16:36,240 --> 00:16:39,440 to make themselves feel good. That's not helpful for you. 287 00:16:39,440 --> 00:16:47,120 And I'll tell you what, guys, we have had people leave our 288 00:16:47,120 --> 00:16:51,880 community here at ERC because we refuse to twist and bend the 289 00:16:51,880 --> 00:16:54,160 word of God to fit our cultural moment. 290 00:16:54,560 --> 00:16:58,080 And that hurts. I hate seeing people leave, I 291 00:16:58,080 --> 00:17:02,400 really do. But at the same time, we should 292 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,920 never apologize for what God's word says. 293 00:17:06,319 --> 00:17:09,000 Never. And I'll be really honest with 294 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:13,240 you, man, I don't care who you are. 295 00:17:14,599 --> 00:17:18,280 I, I mean that I don't care if it, if it's my mother or, or my, 296 00:17:18,280 --> 00:17:22,000 or my brother or my kids. We don't change God's word to 297 00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:25,560 fit our agenda. We will never do that. 298 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,840 Because the second we do that, the second we twist that at all 299 00:17:30,400 --> 00:17:33,000 to, to make sure that we're making everybody happy and 300 00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:36,760 making everybody comfortable, we've lost ourselves and we're 301 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:40,400 no longer the church. We're just a club of people, 302 00:17:41,800 --> 00:17:43,800 right? That's never do that. 303 00:17:43,960 --> 00:17:47,000 So that's the first mark of the of God's real church, God's 304 00:17:47,000 --> 00:17:51,360 faithful churches that his word is present and we don't we don't 305 00:17:51,360 --> 00:17:53,720 bend that at all. We just let it be what it is. 306 00:17:54,440 --> 00:17:58,600 Second thing is fellowship. Now some of you remember who are 307 00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:03,200 here that this place used to be called DeWitt Lutheran 308 00:18:03,320 --> 00:18:06,440 fellowship. That's what Emmaus Row Church 309 00:18:06,440 --> 00:18:08,520 used to be called back in the day. 310 00:18:09,080 --> 00:18:13,760 Right now, I'll tell you what, that word fellowship, when I 311 00:18:13,760 --> 00:18:17,680 came to this place, however many years ago, I didn't even really 312 00:18:17,920 --> 00:18:20,600 get that what that word meant. I was like, that's kind of 313 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:23,560 antiquated and weird. I don't go hang out with my 314 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:25,920 friends and be like, oh, I had a great fellowship time. 315 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:30,720 Like like who does that? I was not raised on Beaver 316 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:33,000 Cleaver, so I don't, you know, I don't speak that way. 317 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:35,080 But here's the thing. Here's what I came to learn. 318 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,120 I came to learn that the real biblical idea of fellowship, 319 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:41,360 it's more than just a basic friendship. 320 00:18:42,120 --> 00:18:44,520 It's it's what we see in the early church. 321 00:18:45,120 --> 00:18:48,360 It's where we see that people are putting themselves, are 322 00:18:48,360 --> 00:18:52,320 putting others above themselves, and they're willing to do, and 323 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:55,000 it sounds a little cliche, but they're willing to do life with 324 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,120 other people in a way that might cost them something. 325 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:03,480 And quite frankly, I'll tell you what real fellowship, which is 326 00:19:03,480 --> 00:19:06,120 what the church is supposed to do, it is going to cost you 327 00:19:06,120 --> 00:19:10,120 something sometimes it's going to cost you your time, your, 328 00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:13,880 your skills, it, it might even cost you some of your money. 329 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:19,560 Are we OK with that? I, I hope we are, because that's 330 00:19:19,560 --> 00:19:22,440 what real fellowship is. And, and so I'll say one more 331 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:27,240 thing about this. We are, we are a busy church and 332 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:29,480 that's awesome. You know, you can, you can come 333 00:19:29,480 --> 00:19:32,120 on a Sunday morning, you can bring your kids on a Wednesday, 334 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:36,600 you can attend Mezcal Mondays with the ladies, You can, you 335 00:19:36,600 --> 00:19:39,360 can attend men's nights on Thursdays, all these things. 336 00:19:39,600 --> 00:19:43,080 But we don't do these things just to stay busy or be try and 337 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:46,160 be the cool church in town. We do these things because we 338 00:19:46,160 --> 00:19:50,160 know that deep fellowship happens in real life. 339 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:55,520 It happens in real time. It happens when we expose those 340 00:19:55,520 --> 00:19:58,840 things that are are going great so we can rejoice together. 341 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:01,760 And it happens when we get to know people well enough. 342 00:20:01,760 --> 00:20:04,440 And we're and we're in a community so we can let our 343 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:06,680 guard down and we can say, you know, life is really hard right 344 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:10,280 now and I need somebody to walk with me. 345 00:20:10,560 --> 00:20:12,360 I need somebody to bear burdens with me. 346 00:20:14,160 --> 00:20:17,840 My friends, we have to have fellowship. 347 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:21,120 It's so important. So I mean God bless you if you 348 00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:25,240 come on, you know, you come once every once every while on a 349 00:20:25,240 --> 00:20:28,280 Sunday and you're like, hey, that music's good and all great 350 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:29,680 awesome. I'm glad you're here. 351 00:20:29,680 --> 00:20:34,720 I really mean that. But man, you might be missing 352 00:20:34,720 --> 00:20:39,800 out on maybe one of the most important parts of faith, which 353 00:20:39,800 --> 00:20:42,720 is this. It's us together. 354 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:46,080 I mean, why else would all of us gather in a room to hear 355 00:20:46,080 --> 00:20:51,280 somebody like me ramble on? Because we need this fellowship. 356 00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,280 We need the word of God, and we need to do that together. 357 00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:57,040 Let me say something and then I'll kind of wrap up this point. 358 00:20:59,440 --> 00:21:03,800 Faith is deeply personal, but it was never meant to be private. 359 00:21:05,760 --> 00:21:09,640 Faith is deeply personal, but it was never meant to be private. 360 00:21:10,240 --> 00:21:14,440 Do you know what I mean by that? God does not want our faith out 361 00:21:14,440 --> 00:21:16,960 on an island somewhere. We are not called to be monks 362 00:21:16,960 --> 00:21:20,120 living away from society. No, we are called to do this 363 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,160 thing called life and faith together. 364 00:21:22,440 --> 00:21:25,360 And that's what fellowship is. And Lord help us, we need it 365 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:29,040 every single day #3 the third mark of the church, breaking 366 00:21:29,040 --> 00:21:30,960 bread. This is, this is just kind of a 367 00:21:30,960 --> 00:21:34,280 way, this is how the early church may be described. 368 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:38,440 Communion, communion, right? So I mean, I don't need to spend 369 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:41,760 a lot of time on this, but this is the body and blood of Jesus 370 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,880 Christ given to us for the forgiveness of our sins. 371 00:21:45,240 --> 00:21:48,760 One of the marks of the church is that we do come together as a 372 00:21:48,760 --> 00:21:51,600 community. We confess individually and as a 373 00:21:51,600 --> 00:21:55,200 community that we've fallen short, but we also see in real 374 00:21:55,200 --> 00:21:59,040 time that God gave his body and his blood for us. 375 00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,600 So there's a unique dynamic there, which we would call law 376 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:05,680 and gospel. But what it is, is I'm so bad, 377 00:22:06,200 --> 00:22:12,000 I'm such a moral failure, and I do need me, that I needed Jesus 378 00:22:12,000 --> 00:22:14,480 to die for me. That's the law. 379 00:22:14,480 --> 00:22:18,400 And it's true. That's how badly we all fail. 380 00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:26,280 But we don't stay there because in communion we remember that 381 00:22:26,280 --> 00:22:30,240 God loved us so deeply that He was willing to die for us. 382 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:34,640 That's an amazing dynamic, and I hope you live on the second-half 383 00:22:34,640 --> 00:22:36,760 of that. I hope you live in freedom and 384 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,760 enjoy knowing that your God loves you so much. 385 00:22:39,960 --> 00:22:41,960 No matter what you've done, no matter what you're carrying 386 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:45,200 around. He loves you so much that He 387 00:22:45,200 --> 00:22:50,360 gave you His Son. Finally, the the 4th mark of 388 00:22:50,480 --> 00:22:52,960 God's real faithful Church is prayer. 389 00:22:55,960 --> 00:23:01,000 Kristen highlighted that we have a space to pray together, and 390 00:23:01,000 --> 00:23:02,360 that's important. That's vital. 391 00:23:02,640 --> 00:23:05,200 Prayers are our connection to God. 392 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:11,240 It, it, it links us in such a way that we cannot possibly even 393 00:23:11,240 --> 00:23:15,160 fully comprehend or understand, but it, it, it breaks the wall 394 00:23:15,160 --> 00:23:17,640 to heaven. That's what prayer does for us. 395 00:23:18,040 --> 00:23:21,080 And so God hears those things. He loves you. 396 00:23:21,080 --> 00:23:24,680 Please, please don't miss that. Please don't miss that. 397 00:23:24,840 --> 00:23:29,960 God's church needs to pray. There's power in prayer. 398 00:23:30,520 --> 00:23:34,040 It's amazing what it can do. I have, I have more stories than 399 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:35,680 I have than I have time to share. 400 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:39,360 But let me, let me at least give you this. 401 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:44,280 Some of you are like, yeah, sometimes I pray on my own and I 402 00:23:44,280 --> 00:23:46,440 do this thing in a couple of our Bible studies. 403 00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:48,760 And now some of you will never show up because it's going to 404 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:51,240 sound really scary, but I just open up the floor. 405 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:53,040 Anybody who wants to pray, please do that. 406 00:23:56,400 --> 00:23:58,520 You know why people won't do that? 407 00:24:00,960 --> 00:24:04,000 Give you 2 reasons. Number one, we think we have to 408 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:08,960 have all the right words when we pray, we think thou Lord die, 409 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:11,080 blah blah blah. And it's like no, please don't 410 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:13,040 do that. Don't do that. 411 00:24:14,160 --> 00:24:17,120 It's insincere. Unless you grow up in England in 412 00:24:17,120 --> 00:24:19,920 like the 1300s, please don't do that. 413 00:24:21,120 --> 00:24:23,840 Speak to God, give him your heart. 414 00:24:24,080 --> 00:24:26,800 Here's the second reason why praying out loud with people is 415 00:24:26,800 --> 00:24:29,080 really hard, because it does expose our heart. 416 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,920 That's what prayer does. Whether you close your eyes or 417 00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:36,800 whatever you do, when you pray, inevitably as you are speaking 418 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:38,800 to God, your heart will be exposed. 419 00:24:39,960 --> 00:24:41,640 And that can be a really scary thing. 420 00:24:42,160 --> 00:24:45,800 I know it can. But then again, when we have 421 00:24:45,800 --> 00:24:52,280 fellowship, it's OK to do it. It's OK to do that as we go 422 00:24:52,280 --> 00:24:53,600 through the hard things together. 423 00:24:55,560 --> 00:24:56,920 Those are the four marks of the church. 424 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:58,920 And So what are the results of that? 425 00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:00,640 Let's come to kind of our conclusion. 426 00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,840 What are the results of that? We see it. 427 00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:05,720 They received their food with glad and generous hearts. 428 00:25:05,960 --> 00:25:07,880 They were praising God. They had favor with all the 429 00:25:07,880 --> 00:25:10,480 people and the Lord added to their number day by day. 430 00:25:10,720 --> 00:25:13,760 These are the results. These are not the actions that 431 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:16,080 we have to take to be like, oh, we're good Christians. 432 00:25:16,320 --> 00:25:20,080 No, these are the results of being in and part of the church. 433 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:23,680 These are the results of faith. And it's and it's magical. 434 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,640 And I mean magical in the best way because other people see 435 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:28,600 that, like what we talked about at the beginning, other people 436 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:33,400 see that and they go, wow, what do they have that I don't? 437 00:25:34,720 --> 00:25:37,480 What is that? And that's my story a little bit 438 00:25:37,480 --> 00:25:39,960 too. When I came here, I didn't even 439 00:25:39,960 --> 00:25:41,520 want to come here. I've told you that before. 440 00:25:41,760 --> 00:25:44,040 I was dragged here by my friends and my wife. 441 00:25:44,040 --> 00:25:51,760 God bless you. But man, it was different and it 442 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:54,880 is different. I watched as Pastor Jason Lang 443 00:25:55,480 --> 00:25:59,280 invited me to his house. And not being a Christian, not 444 00:25:59,280 --> 00:26:02,480 being a person of faith, it was just like, Oh my gosh, I got to 445 00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:03,960 go to this guy's house for dinner. 446 00:26:03,960 --> 00:26:06,240 This is going to be the worst. It's going to be so boring. 447 00:26:06,520 --> 00:26:09,160 I'm sure he's going to talk my ear off about Jesus and like, 448 00:26:09,160 --> 00:26:11,760 I'm going to have to put on like I'm going to have to be well 449 00:26:11,760 --> 00:26:18,360 behaved. But he was just a regular guy 450 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,160 who handed me a beer and said, hey, you want to come Outback 451 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:25,320 and grill with me? He was just authentic. 452 00:26:26,280 --> 00:26:27,520 And that's what we're called to be. 453 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:33,320 We're just called to be people, broken people, saved by grace. 454 00:26:34,480 --> 00:26:37,760 And here's the thing, we we get to be his church. 455 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:40,800 We get to be God's church. It's not a have to. 456 00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,440 We get to be God's church. We get to be God's church 457 00:26:43,440 --> 00:26:47,840 because Jesus Christ, he gave his body and his blood as a 458 00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:51,320 sacrifice that we might be in unity with God. 459 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:54,680 We get to be his church because Jesus lost favor. 460 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,840 Think about that, Christians, sometimes in society, we gain 461 00:26:57,840 --> 00:27:01,000 favor when we're living this life the right way, when we're 462 00:27:01,120 --> 00:27:03,200 being authentic, when we're being real, when we're being 463 00:27:03,200 --> 00:27:06,880 vulnerable, when we're being generous and, and we find favor 464 00:27:06,880 --> 00:27:09,920 in society by doing that. But why? 465 00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:15,440 Jesus lost favor not only with man, but on the cross. 466 00:27:16,040 --> 00:27:18,040 Jesus Christ lost favor with God. 467 00:27:18,520 --> 00:27:20,640 God turned his back on him. Why? 468 00:27:20,880 --> 00:27:24,960 So that you and I can find favor with God, so that you and I can 469 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:30,920 be fully forgiven. So that we as a people to live 470 00:27:31,080 --> 00:27:33,960 in freedom. That's such a gift. 471 00:27:35,160 --> 00:27:36,800 So friends, let me close with this thought. 472 00:27:38,360 --> 00:27:40,360 I know seniors, you've got a big day. 473 00:27:41,560 --> 00:27:43,360 It's exciting. I'll get you on your way. 474 00:27:44,160 --> 00:27:50,120 Let me close with this thought. We see an idealistic church in 475 00:27:50,120 --> 00:27:52,880 this text and sometimes we think, man, I don't. 476 00:27:53,800 --> 00:27:56,080 That sounds like a fairy tale. I don't think we could ever be 477 00:27:56,080 --> 00:27:59,080 that. I just disagree. 478 00:27:59,880 --> 00:28:02,640 I disagree. I think we need to dream big. 479 00:28:03,560 --> 00:28:07,680 I think we need to ask God for big things because we serve and 480 00:28:07,680 --> 00:28:11,720 love a big God and he is capable and He is able and he wants to 481 00:28:11,720 --> 00:28:14,080 do it. He wants that for us. 482 00:28:14,240 --> 00:28:18,800 He wants a community life that changes our culture. 483 00:28:19,200 --> 00:28:22,320 He wants a community life that shows people what's really 484 00:28:22,320 --> 00:28:26,080 possible, what's really possible beyond selfishness, what's 485 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:29,160 really possible beyond me. First, He wants us to be His 486 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:30,760 church. He wants us to be His people. 487 00:28:30,960 --> 00:28:34,520 And Lord willing, we can do it. Gosh, you know what I don't 488 00:28:34,520 --> 00:28:36,360 want? I don't want to spend the next 489 00:28:36,360 --> 00:28:41,240 20 years working, living and talking to people who are who 490 00:28:41,240 --> 00:28:44,720 are OK with just OK. I really don't. 491 00:28:46,120 --> 00:28:49,240 And I'm not saying that's where we are today, but I'm saying I 492 00:28:49,240 --> 00:28:53,720 want to push. I want to push in an amazing way 493 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:57,240 that will change our individual lives, and Lord willing, it will 494 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:01,840 change our community. Friends, I hope you want that 495 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:04,640 too, because that's what God wants for us, and that's what He 496 00:29:04,640 --> 00:29:09,240 will do in and through us as we look and put our faith in Him. 497 00:29:09,920 --> 00:29:11,840 Amen. Let's pray. 498 00:29:13,280 --> 00:29:19,960 Our Father in heaven, it is so good to be in your presence and 499 00:29:19,960 --> 00:29:21,720 it's so good to be a part of your church. 500 00:29:22,880 --> 00:29:26,760 Lord, I the way you've built your church through sinful 501 00:29:26,760 --> 00:29:32,160 people, it's amazing to me. It's amazing that you bring all 502 00:29:32,160 --> 00:29:35,840 these strangers together with this one thing in common, the 503 00:29:35,840 --> 00:29:38,280 blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins. 504 00:29:38,520 --> 00:29:42,520 Lord, I don't want any other community but that one because 505 00:29:42,520 --> 00:29:46,880 that community changes lives and I know because you've changed my 506 00:29:46,880 --> 00:29:49,480 life through that community and through that word. 507 00:29:50,080 --> 00:29:53,320 So Father, continue to do your best work in and through US. 508 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:58,880 Lord, we pray for big things. Lord, I want to ask you to add 509 00:29:58,880 --> 00:30:04,120 to us, to multiply us as you see fit, as we share the marks of 510 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,040 your church. Help us to do that with faith. 511 00:30:07,240 --> 00:30:10,680 Help us to do that with joy. Lord, help us to do that with 512 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:14,560 open hearts that are forgiving and accepting. 513 00:30:15,800 --> 00:30:18,280 Move in and amongst us for our good. 514 00:30:18,400 --> 00:30:21,920 In your glory we pray all these things in Jesus name, Amen. 515 00:30:28,280 --> 00:30:30,560 Thanks for listening to ERC Sundays. 516 00:30:30,880 --> 00:30:34,040 To support the work God is doing an Emmaus Rd. church, visit 517 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:37,000 emmausrdonline.org/giving.