I believe that my sermon today should prabably hit everyone in some way...not as an attack but as a challenge and as a solution to some need in your life; for example a need for interaction, friendship, support, accountability or prayer.
I am also aware that what I say today may not be remembered past tonight. This illustrates the very reason why I am preaching the sermon I am.
Several years ago, a reader of the British Weekly wrote a letter to the editor as follows: “Dear sir, I notice that ministers seem to set a great deal of importance on their sermons and spend a great deal of time preparing them. I have beena ttending services for over thirty years and during that time, if I estimate correctly, I have listened to no less than three thousand sermons. Yet to my consternation I cannot remember a singel one of them. I wonder if a ministers time might be spent more profitably on something else.”
A response was written which ended the debate. “ Dear sir, I have been married for thirty years. During that time, I have eaten over 32,000 meals - mostly of my wife’s cooking. Suddenly I have discovered that I cannot remember the menu of a single meal beyond last week. And yet, I received nourishment from each of them and I have the distinct impression, I would have starved to death without them long ago.”
I am aware that the benefit of a sermon may only be for the moment, and yet I believe that it is an important part of our Christian life.
However, I believe with the noursihment which I hope you receive each Sunday, there is a need for a dietary supplement...a vitamin to help you not only survive, but grow strong and vital. I believe that there is also a need to exercise so that the calories you ingest on Sunday do not just become so much spiritual fat.
And so my challenge to you this morning is that you not be content with the sermon being your only source of spiritual growth and nutrition. I suggest that you consider other opportunities to study, share in faith , serve and grow.
My challenge to you this morning is to consider being a part of a smaller group of Christians who meet together on a regular basis to study, pray and grow together.
There is another reason for this need. A number of people spoke to me a few years ago when we were considering having two services and said that they didn’t like the schedule because Sunday morning was their only time to see other members and with two services they couldn’t see everyone in the church.
With the exception of the few sitting around you on Sunday morning, about all you see is the back of others heads anyway. Those comments demonstrated a felt need for increased fellowship opportunities with other believers. I would say to you that the best way for you to get the extra nutrition you need, the exercise to make you spiritually stong, and the reward of being in close fellowship with other christians is to be involved in some one of a number of smaller group activities in the church. In particular, I want to hightlight the new small group Bible Studies that are beginning this winter.
Why do I bleive that these are important opportunties.
He chose twelve men to be around him. While Jesus was never uncomfortable with the large crowd, he knew that the most effective way of eqipping disciples was not a large group, monological sermon. It was with the few and it was in the daily course of human life...walking along the road, fishing from the boat, sitting under a tree watching a farmer plant or a shepherd tend his sheep. These were the teachable moments; the growth points for the disciples.
It is interesting to note that most of the deeply profound truths of Jesus ministry were revealed only to the few...sometimes not even the entire band of disciples. Peter James and John werer the only ones on the mount of transfiguration, first the few women, then Peter and John, were the first ones to learn of the resurrection. On the road to Emmaus, Jesus appeared to only two of them.
In our society, it seems we place a value on something depending on its size. “Bigger is better,” we hear. One church is better becasue it is bigger. But Jesus said, wherever two or more of you are gathered in my name, there I am in your midst. The quality of a gathering of believers is not determined by largeness, but by Jesus’ presence.
For it is in that context of small groupings, that Jesus is best able to meet us intimately and give to us the renewal and encouragement that we need.
Does that mean that Jesus eschews the large group? I do not believe so. It has its place as well. But the primary purpose for corporate gatherings of God’s people is for worship and instruction. Jesus was faithful in his attendance at the synagogue for worship . But the need of his disciplesfor fellowship, support and prayer, for in-depth teaching etc was in the smaller group.
And Jesus is there in the small group today just as he is in a sanctuary on Sunday morning.
The Apostle left his young colleague Timothy in charge of the church in a major city; Ephesus. The most reasonable way for that church to be organized was in house churches. In Philemon, Paul refers to the church which meeets in Archippus’ home. He tells Timothy to entrust what he has heard to a few reliable men who can in turn teach others. (II Timothy 2:2)
Look at Acts 2:42ff. The first Christians met together for the apostles teaching, for fellowship for the breaking of bread and for prayer. They devoted thenmselves to such things. They met regularly in each others homes, They shared meals together. They shared all that they had with each other.
By necessity, they had to meet in smaller groups. There were very few places that would hold the whole body as rapidly was it was expanding in Jerusalem. And in fact, it was the fact that they met togehter in their homes that caused the church to continue to increase.
In Seoul Korea, there is a church which is the largest protestant church in the world. It officially has over 1/2 million members. The way that the church has grow to that size from very modest beginnings is that they have stressed small group parsih minsitry which they call cell groups. Each of those groups is assigend a parish leader or pastor. They meet for Bible study, prayer, fellowship and for the encouragement and mutual needs of those in the cell. It is a way of b ringing new people into the church as well.
You say but that is in Korea. That is a pentecostal church, That would never work in America among Presbyterians. In fact it does. There are many Presbyterian Churches that have very successful small gorup ministries, They may be called cells, or Koinonia groups or Agape groups but they serve the same purpose
Yesterday at Prsbytery, during lunch I sat with Tom McMillan who is one of the associates at 1st Church Roswell. He and His wife Jessica were formerly on the staff at Bay Village Presbyterian in Ohio. It is a large church of over 2,000 members. But it was not always so. The life blood of the congregation has been and continues to be its small group ministry where new members and old are enfolded into more meaningful Christian relationships through small groups.
So descriptive of the early church was the minsitry of the small group or house church, that you maty remember its benefits by using the ACRONYM ACTS.
There are 4 essential advantages to small group ministy that are summarized by that acronym.
This summer and fall we have had the opportunity to see people who were in Small Groups in our past. There is still a close bond even though it has been ten years since we have seen some and over 15 for others.
But the Small group brought about lasting , reproduciong fruit