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Core Value: Connect

Ashland GracePoint

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Introduction:

Retreat/Thank You
Converge – thanks for the prayers Connie’s message

Our mission is to be the braches stretching around the world, being rooted to the source – the vine – which is Christ. Being able to grow and thrive is contingent upon one thing – connection. We must be connected to the vine, we must be connected to Christ. And to be the image bearers of Christ then we must be connected to others.

We understand our mission statement to be… We understand our vision statement to be… We understand our core values to be…

Maps App analogy.
Core Values: The core values is like God putting a phone in our hands with a map app installed, putting in the starting and ending locations and hitting, get directions, and then we actually get in the car and go. We live it out.

So how is God using you to live out His mission and vision? How are you loving God, loving people, and serving the world?

Movement 1:

Story: Olive and River (lack of family and relational support) “All the lonely people, where do they all come from? All the lonely people, where do they all belong?” — The Beatles Psychology Today…

Roy Baumeister and Mark Leary (1995) argue that the need to belong is a fundamental human need to form and maintain at least a minimum amount of lasting, positive, and significant interpersonal relationships.

Baumeister and Leary claim that human beings are “naturally driven toward establishing and sustaining belongingness.” The need to belong goes beyond the need for superficial social ties or physically intimate interactions; it is a need for meaningful, profound bonding. A sense of belongingness is crucial to our well-being.

Baumeister and Leary argue that the lack of belongingness causes various undesirable effects, including a decrease in the levels of health, happiness, and adjustment. They further assert that people who lack belongingness suffer higher levels of mental and physical illness and are more prone to a broad range of behavioral problems, ranging from traffic accidents to criminality to suicide.

The Why: why is connect a core value?

We are created to connect.
We are made for relationships. We are made to connect

Genesis 2:18 Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.”

God didn’t create just one human, but two. This isn’t just about marriage. Marriage is one significant way to connect. But the larger principle is true for everyone. We need other people in our lives.

Life is better when you connect.

Because we were created for connection, it makes sense that life works better in relationships. We know this intuitively, but the Bible makes it clear.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

Work is more successful when shared. Life is safer when you have someone to pick you up and to defend you. Life is more enjoyable. But when we’re alone, you’re at risk.

It brings joy to God when we connect.

God shows special care for people who are alone in the world, particularly widows and orphans. Widows and orphans are easily exploited because they are powerless. They are powerless because they are alone. God calls his people to defend their rights.

God instituted the Church, the body of believers, who need each other to function as one.

Ephesians 2:20-21 Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord.

John 15:9-13
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.

The world is transformed through our connection.

Acts 2:46-47 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity—all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

History shows how the church together continued to change the world. When Jesus departed, he left 120 followers. There were thousands by the end of the century, and more than 1.25 million by the end of the next century. As Christianity spread, slavery and infanticide eventually ended in the Roman Empire. Christians have been united to impact the world ever since, and still are today.

Movement 2:

The How

Connection with God

- Individual relationship with God (prayer, reading scripture, retreat)
- Point Groups and other discipleship opportunities
- Being a part of the body of believers, the church.
  - Hebrews 10:24-25New Living Translation (NLT)
    24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.
  - Acts 2:42New Living Translation (NLT)
    42 All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper[a]), and to prayer.

Connection with People

- - - Point Groups and other discipleship opportunities
    - Being a part of the body of believers, the church.
    - “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35 ESV)
    - Connection with the community
    - Intentionally engaged with those in our community
    - 1 Peter 4:10 (NIV)
      10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
    - “So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” Galatians 6:10
    - Romans 12:1-2
      1-2 So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.

Conclusion:

Story: Talking with my mom – Kirkwood, Iowa, MNU

Many times, we have a broken relationship with God or broken relationships with others. The first step to connection is for healing to take place in your relationship with God and your relationships with other people.

Simply take the first step.

Benediction:

Colossians 3:12-15
12 Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.13 Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.

Core Value: Connect

Ashland GracePoint

published 7y ago

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