Where No One Stands Alone 11/06/2005 Dr. Dane Boyles

Where No One Stands Alone  Our World Is So Impersonal 22 I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (1 Cor 9:22-23)

Where No One Stands Alone 16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. (James 5:16) NIV  The Independence Factor It is the church that has to go against culture and instill in believers a closeness that pushes self aside.

Where No One Stands Alone 20 I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. (John 17:20- 21) NIV Not pursuing different interests, or counteracting each other’s purposes, but seeking God’s way in the world.

Where No One Stands Alone The two most successful TV programs of the 1990’s: Friends and Seinfeld. Why? To share their lives with someone!  The Church’s Challenge We have a choice to make.  People are drawn to two things: –Entertainment –Close, personal relationships

Where No One Stands Alone –The Age of stimulation –Consumerism –If we treat people as consumers— religious consumers—we train them to not appreciate the way God really does fill our emptiness.  A New Testament Biblical Model The New Testament gives us a biblical basis for Life Groups.

Where No One Stands Alone 42 They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2:42) NASU  We learn three things here: –they sat at the apostles’ feet when they taught –they went to each other’s homes to eat –they prayed together in each other’s homes

Where No One Stands Alone 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. (Acts 2:44) NIV It does not mean that they all met together every time to worship in the same place, or that they lived in the same house, but that they were united in the same community, or engaged in the same thing.

Where No One Stands Alone 46 The believers met together in the Temple every day. They all had the same purpose. They broke bread in their homes, happy to share their food with happy hearts.

Where No One Stands Alone 47 They praised God, and all the people liked them. More and more people were being saved every day; the Lord was adding those people to the group of believers (Acts 2:46-47) ICB

Where No One Stands Alone 46 They worshiped together regularly at the Temple each day, met in small groups in homes for Communion, and shared their meals with great joy and thankfulness, 47 praising God. The whole city was favorable to them, and each day God added to them all who were being saved. (Acts 2:46-47) TLB

Where No One Stands Alone What did they do? They met for worship at the Temple They met in small groups in homes for fellowship They shared meals together They praised God!

Where No One Stands Alone 42 And every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ. (Acts 5:42) NAS 20 … publicly and from house to house. (Acts 20:20)

Where No One Stands Alone  Why Are Life Groups advantageous? They provide a structure for obeying 31 “one another” passages in the Bible (see Handout).  Why Join A Life Group? You get strength for life’s storms. Two are better than one – if one falls down, his friend can help him up. (Eccl 4:9-10)

Where No One Stands Alone Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2). You experience accountability, which is vital to spiritual growth. As iron sharpens iron, a friend sharpens a friend (Proverbs 27:17).  Life Groups offer a connection – between Jesus, others, and ourselves – that purifies us.

Where No One Stands Alone You receive wisdom for making important decisions.  Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisors they succeed. (Prov 15:22) You find acceptance that helps repair your wounds.  You need Life Groups to achieve lasting transformation.

Where No One Stands Alone My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends (John 15:12-13). The Church is a place where no one stands alone!