Speaker 1: 0:00

Okay, I picture a church where, after the service is over, people are hanging and talking in the lobby having a good time. I picture a church where small groups are full of diversity and full of laughter and joy and prayer and people connecting about real life issues together. I see a church where people pray for each other and experience the presence of God and authentic in real ways. I see a church where people gather together to serve the community but then they also gather together to just watch football and families meet up to go to the park. I imagine and I picture and I see a church in Midlothian Virginia where it feels like home. That's the church that I see and that's the church that I know that this community is growing to become. Now I want you to do something real fast. If you can identify two people in the crowd, just wave at them. Just two people you didn't come with. Just wave at two people Introverts again. Don't worry, I'm not going to make you get to know anybody. Okay, just wave at them. Okay, here you go. You got two people that you see, here you go.

Speaker 1: 1:16

There was a recent study in Harvard that said one out of every three people believe this. They believe that they believe something. I gotta find it. They believe that you have needs in your life and no one to meet them. You have hurts to share and no one to listen to them. You have love to give and no one to receive it. Man, one in three people so if you waved at two people, yourself included, one in three are missing something very significant in your life a core group of intimate relationships to spiritually support you and nurture you towards the things of God. Here you go. More than one in three of you know something is missing relationally. Something is missing deep inside of you. Something is missing and God never intended it to be that way. God never intended it to be that way. Here you go. Let me ask you this question have you ever noticed how you can be in a crowded room full of people yet still feel alone? Can be in a crowded room full of people yet still feel alone? Have you ever noticed how your schedule can be really, really full but you feel kind of empty? Have you ever noticed that you can have lots and lots and lots of conversation yet have very little authentic connection with people? It's a problem in our world today.

Speaker 1: 2:42

There's an article by a mental health expert that says increasingly enough and interestingly enough, more people in our culture today are actually seeking independence. Seeking independence. They don't want to be needed by anyone else and they don't want anyone to need them. And then we can see that nowadays, as people kind of what Scroll down on their phone, safely keeping up with people at a distance on social media without any real intimate interaction. Or you'll see people they'll go to school, or they'll go to the gym what with their AirPods in their ears, with a hoodie over their head, basically saying I know I'm in a public place, but don't talk to me, I'm here by myself. Or we'll bank online, we'll shop online, seeking a life where we're not needed or a life that we don't have to be known and I would say this that many people were intentionally pursuing a life that destroys our mental health and robs us of real joy and lasting commitment. We're pursuing a life that is contrary to what God wanted us to have, and then God never intended to be this way.

Speaker 1: 3:59

Let's go back to the beginning, like the beginning of the beginning Genesis 1, 1 beginning. Let's go back to the beginning and check this out. In the beginning, god created the heavens and the earth. It continues. It says he said let there be light. Light was good. Created day and night, land and water. It was good. Stars, plants, fish, birds it was good. Then God said something wasn't good. God said something wasn't good After creating man without no one to celebrate, cry with or share life with, god said that wasn't good.

Speaker 1: 4:29

Check this out, genesis 2.18, he says. Then the Lord said it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him. Then the Lord made a woman from the rib and he brought her to the man At last. The man said I like that response. He's like at last I can look at something else other than this porcupine. That thing was cute, but not as cute as that. You know, at last, god, you did something I like. I like this, I like it. At last, you did it good.

Speaker 1: 5:03

Now I want to show you something, though Before all that, before God created Adam, before God created Eve, I want to go back to chapter 1 and check out what God says. Check this out. We can misread this or we can read over it, but check this out. This is very important. Genesis 1, 26. Then God said let us what? Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness. God didn't say let me make mankind in my image. God said let us make man in our image. He used a plural pronoun more than once. Now it's really hard to get our minds wrapped around this, but God himself is never alone. God himself is never alone. God himself is never alone.

Speaker 1: 5:45

God, the being God, is actually a perfect community. God is God and God is three distinct personalities in one. That is known as the mystery of the Trinity. It's the mystery of the Trinity. He is one being, yet he is Father, son and Holy Spirit, or Holy Ghost, depending on what your upbringing was. He's three distinct personalities united as one God. God is a community. And why did this community the Father, the Son, the Spirit, why did this community need to create us? Was he lonely? Did he need a hobby on Tuesday nights? Why did God make us? Did God make us because he had nothing better to do? Or was God a God of community? And from this overflow, love of community. He made us. He made us. He is a community. He is love. Love isn't just something that he does. Love is God's very nature. It's his very nature. See, we can choose to love somebody. We can love people and love tacos at the same time, but God's very nature is love. That's who he is. He's a community of love and that's why when someone asks Jesus, they're like Jesus.

Speaker 1: 7:04

What's most important, what's the most important thing we can do? What is the most important command of all? Jesus said it very simply. He said everything else. The most important thing you can do is what? To love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And to what? Love the person you're sitting right next to. To love others as yourself. To love other people.

Speaker 1: 7:37

Community, the early church, the New Testament believers. After Jesus gave his life and God raised him from the dead, a few of them gathered to hear the word and 3,000 were saved. And they understood this. They embraced this community. That was essential. That was an essential part of their spiritual journey. They loved one another.

Speaker 1: 7:53

In fact, acts 2 shows us something incredibly powerful. It shows us how often they met. Acts 2 says this every day. Every day, that's a lot. I don't know if I want to see you guys every day. I'm joking, I do Really. I do Every day. Every day, they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God. I want you to check this part out Praising God and enjoying the favor of God. No, that's not what the text says Enjoying the favor of all the people. Like, I don't know about you guys, but sometimes I'm with certain people and they drive me nuts. There's some people that man, if I wasn't a Christian I would uppercut them Even being a Christian, I want to. But they said there was this community, that they enjoyed each other. There was favor. Every day, these crazy Jesus followers met together, and it wasn't just as much as physical proximity, it was emotional unity. Why do they meet together so often? I'll tell you why. I'll tell you why. I'm glad you asked. I'll tell you why they met together Because they needed each other.

Speaker 1: 9:15

They knew they needed each other Back then. Back then, they needed each other, not like today. Like back then, they needed each other. Today, though, we're good right Today, I mean, but back then it was more difficult. Back then there was spiritual warfare and spiritual battles happening. Not like today. Right Today, everything's all fine and dandy. Like back then, there was, like this prince of darkness coming against the people of God. Not like today. That doesn't happen. I mean, back then they got persecuted for their faith. Oh, we don't get persecuted for our faith, do we? No, of course not. Back then people were getting sick and they needed prayer. Not like today. No one gets sick now yeah, no, they don't. But back then people were hurting and needing each other. We don't need each other today. We got our thank you God for Steve Jobs because you gave us the iPhone. We don't even need people no more.

Speaker 1: 10:10

You know they didn't want to go alone without having somebody who loved them, united together to share God's Word, to lift one another up, to strengthen each other, to be the body of Christ in a world that needed Jesus. No one back then said oh man, it's Tuesday night, do I gotta go to small group? They didn't say that. They said it's Tuesday, I'm ready for group tonight. They went with glad and sincere hearts and I want to show you the fundamental difference between first century Jesus followers and Jesus followers today. The fundamental difference between the early church and the people today is this the first century Jesus followers desperately needed each other and they knew it. And believers today desperately need each other, but they've forgotten it. But we've forgotten it. They couldn't be spiritually strong and victorious and close to God and overcome the temptation of evil and have the strength to be the light of the world without the family of God cheering them on, without them leading them. And they knew it. And the truth is, friends, it's exactly the same today. We can't do it by ourselves, we need people in our corners, and so many Christians have forgotten.

Speaker 1: 11:24

Here you go, two years ago. I shared this story before, but two years ago I deleted all my social media accounts. I deleted all of them. I didn't take a break. I didn't pause all the different things they asked me to do. I deleted them. I got rid of them. At the beginning of this year I tried to actually go back into social media, more so than I was trying to like use it for church purposes and stuff like that. But I tried to get back into it and it just drove me crazy and I deleted it again. But here you go. During this time honestly, it's approved my joy, my mental health, and I can talk about that. I could preach a whole message on that, but I could talk about that another time. But here's the biggest highlight.

Speaker 1: 11:59

When I got rid of social media, I discovered how crappy of a friend I am. Let me explain. Let me explain, okay, people I seriously love people. I've known for years, people that I've done life with. For years I knew nothing about their lives because I didn't have social media to keep me updated. I didn't know anything about what they were doing. And one person tried to tell me.

Speaker 1: 12:27

They tried to say that's why you need social media, jacob, that's why you need it, my precious. I said well, shemigel, get behind me. You know. They say that's why you need it. 15 minutes a day on TikTok. I was like whoa, you don't even spend 15 minutes a day with Jesus, you know. But anyways, I said no, I don't need it. And I said the reason why I know I don't need it. I said because I was a crappy friend, because our relational economy says you can have relationships with people. Without personal touch or voice, you can have relationships. Oh, you got all those. You got 872 friends. Wow, that's awesome.

Speaker 1: 13:11

And that's not the way God intended to be. There's a reason why. There's a reason why you always caught Jesus eating and drinking with people who were far from God. And not only was he hanging with people and eating and drinking with them. He was eating and drinking at their house. He said you cooking some steak. I'm in Jesus, found a way to a hot meal all the time.

Speaker 1: 13:33

But the reason why? Because in that culture, to eat and drink with someone was to say you're my friend, was to say you're my friend, and somehow we bought into the lie that friendship is a notification from a person to follow me. While they look at pictures I post of delicious food, I'm eating without them and I don't think God wanted it that way. And that's why I tell you I have a vision for a church that when the service is over, you stay in the lobby and you talk because there's friendship happening. That's why I say I see a church that has small groups and the talks and it's diverse with age and race and backgrounds, and when the tears stop, you keep hugging and praying. And that's why and that's what I want you to and what I want you to understand is this this is never going to happen by accident. It's never going to happen by accident. It's never. You're just never going to stumble upon a life-giving community. You're never just going to. It's never goinggiving community. You're never going to wake up one day and say how did I get so many close friends, like? I didn't even meet two, I didn't even try. I didn't even try to keep them in my life, I tried to keep them out of my life. How did I get so many awesome friends? I got so many people that love me like crazy and I love it doesn't just happen that way.

Speaker 1: 14:56

In our church family, we call these intentional relationships small groups. We call them small groups, and I'm going to propose to you that probably one in three or more of you actually need a community like this, need this, and when I talk about going to small groups, I got to say something. I got to say something Because the older I get, the more introverted I become. Sometimes, the thought of going to a small group sounds like living hell. It's like whoa, I'm going to open up to people I don't know. I'm like what are we going to talk about? Whose house are we going to?

Speaker 1: 15:33

You know, one of my favorite things and one of my least favorite things about church is small groups. It's small groups, if I could be honest, and here's the reason why, though it's not just because I want to sit on the couch and watch Jordan Love every week. No, I love my family routine. That's why I love playing with my kids. I love eating dessert, me and my daughter and my oldest son. We got this new routine now. We've been watching Star Wars movies together. I love hanging with them before bed and doing that, and small groups what they cut into that time. Small groups cut into that time. But here you go.

Speaker 1: 16:09

When I go this is the funny part when I go, when I go to my men's group and I hang out with some and I talk about life and what I'm doing is this I got responsibilities in my life. My number one responsibility is my relationship with God. No one can have a relationship with God for you but you. You got to connect with God. So my responsibility I got to make sure I'm connected with God. And the second part of my responsibility is I got to make sure I'm healthy. I got to make sure I'm good. I got to make sure I'm healthy mentally, emotionally, spiritually. I got to make sure I'm taking care of myself, because if I don't take care of myself, it's hard for me to take care of my wife and my kids in my church, and so a part of me taking care of myself is exiting my family convenience and going to a small group to connect with other like-minded men who are Jesus followers or who are searching, and I connect with them and I can share with them and I can talk with them. And then, after I'm done talking and praying with them and going over God's Word together, I get back home and guess what I am well-equipped to be the dad, the husband and the man of God God has called me to be.

Speaker 1: 17:17

And that, my friends, happens in small groups. It happens in groups, and the lie the enemy wants to tell you is you're too busy for another commitment. Then drop the other commitments. Your kid don't need to be in five sports. Drop the other commitments and prioritize your responsibilities in a way that you can connect with God, connect with others so that you can be a light to this world. Come on, and small groups are a place to do that. Community is a place to do that. Did you know? Did you know?

Speaker 1: 17:52

Recent surveys by Barnard Group, which is a Christian survey group, says people are not looking for mega churches anymore. They're not looking for the big, the big event to go to, or the big bounce house thing or whatever. Those things are cool, nothing wrong with that. But what people are looking for is authentic community of Jesus followers. And let it be said of LVC that we're everyday people, everyday people, working moms and working dads, working single people, people going out in the world trying their best, students all around, all diverse. We're everyday people who are just learning how to become everyday followers of Jesus and we're coming together with this mission, not about building a grand, grand, grand thing, but about building disciples who are passionate for the things of God, who are passionate for hurting people, who see a person who's in need and we just don't say, man, that sucks for them, but we go out of our way and meet them and talk with them. Let it be said of LVC that we're courageous in kindness. Let it be said that we're helping everyday people learn how to become Jesus followers.

Speaker 1: 19:00

Now here's the thing about small groups, though Let me go back to this one time. Here's the thing about small groups. There's gonna be weird people there. It happens. If you've ever been a part of a family, you know there's weird people in your family, and if you think there's no weird people in your family, it's you. You're the weird one. It's okay. We love you. But you got to understand that, being a part of a family, it can be a little messy at times, it can be a little inconvenient and it can be hard, but it is always necessary and it's always important and it's always God-honoring in your life. So I'm just going to push a little bit. Can I just push a little bit? I'm going to push a little bit.

Speaker 1: 19:44

Our small groups are committed to help everyday people become like Jesus by creating environments where you can connect, protect and grow. And I'm going to be bold make it a priority to be a part of a group. This semester. Our group starts September 22nd, because the best way to become like Jesus is through connection of the body of Christ, because we need one another. We need one another.

Speaker 1: 20:08

If you look at the New Testament, there's 59 different verses, 59 different one another verses in the New Testament, and we're going to go and do an expository of all of them right now. I'm just joking. We're going to do five of them. We'll do five of them, but I want you to look at these. I want you to look at these five because you can't do them when you're just scrolling on your phone. You can't do them when you're sitting on the couch alone by yourself. We're called to do this. Check this out First. We're called to serve one another. Serve one another. Galatians 5.13.

Speaker 1: 20:50

Jesus said he came to serve and not be served. I call this one my foot rub rule. If you've been at LVC for a while, you know what this rule is. If you're new with us, this is what the foot rub rule is. My wife loves a good foot rub. I hate feet, but I love my wife more than I hate feet, and so I serve her by giving her a foot rub at the end of the day most days, without expecting anything in return.

Speaker 1: 21:12

Now, I'm not saying go out and start rubbing people's feet. I don't need you on the nightly news saying Pastor Jacob from local vineyard told me to touch his big toe. No, that's not what I'm saying. Don't do that, but think of ways how you can serve someone without getting anything in return. Jesus actually said it like this Just have treasures in heaven. Think about treasures in heaven more than treasures. If you're just doing stuff to get treasures now, well here's your reward now, but store up treasures in heaven actually. So how can we serve one another without expecting anything in return Buying a coffee for a co-worker babysitting a single parent so they can have the night off, or even a couple who's maybe new to the area that doesn't have friends or family Say, hey, I'm going to go have a date night. Calling your parents more regularly, come on. Or friends more regularly, calling people, not just waiting for social media to tell you how someone's doing. Another one is this Show hospitality to one another.

Speaker 1: 22:15

When was the last time you had someone in your house who wasn't there to fix your broken light? Now have someone at your house. When was the last time you had someone who was far from God in your home over for dinner? When was the last time you intentionally gathered people together, just maybe to pray together to encourage each other? I was scrolling through my pictures the other day. I was looking for a picture and I found this picture when I was a student ministry pastor down in Virginia Beach. And there is this awesome time when we had when, aaron and I, we were young adult pastors and we invited 40 young adults into our house, our little condo down in Virginia Beach, and we did a prayer night. We did a prayer night down in Virginia Beach and it was amazing 40 young people together, praying, worshiping God, and it was a beautiful thing. And this is what I want to say when was the last time you did this? When was the last time you just said, hey, I'm going to have people over to pray and worship and honor God, because you need each other.

Speaker 1: 23:08

Third one is this Be kind to one another. Ephesians 4 says this. In a world that is filled with hate, that will cancel you real fast. I think we all can be kind to one another. Kindness will make you stick out. Kindness will make you stick out, so we need to do that. Next one is we got to encourage one another. 1 Thessalonians says this if it's your mission to encourage people like this, here you go.

Speaker 1: 23:31

I'd rather be annoyingly encouraging than negative. Like I'd rather, when I walk into a room, people say, oh my gosh, here comes Jacob. He about to say something nice about me. Watch out, protect your shoes. He's going to compliment them. Yeah, I'd rather be annoyingly encouraging than this.

Speaker 1: 23:49

I used to have a boss that when I would pull up into the drive, into the parking lot of the building, if his car wasn't there, I was like, oh, today's gonna be a good day at work. But if his car was there, I thought to myself, man, what negative thing is he gonna find today? You know you don't want to be that person Anyone who's a manager or a boss don't be that way to your employees. Be a life-giving. I'm gonna say something. Maybe I'm speaking to someone directly. They need to hear this. Your best opportunity to be Jesus at work is to lead like Jesus at work. Love your people. Love your people. Well, here you go, here you go.

Speaker 1: 24:26

The next one is this Carry one another's burdens. Carry one another's burdens. This one, well, heck man, this is what church is all about. Man, if we're not doing this, then we're just a social club, and I don't got time for that. I don't got time just to be a social club. I don't got time just to be the YMCA. But this is what we're about, because the truth is this I need you and you need me, and we need each other because life is complicated. Life is complicated and we were never meant to do it alone.

Speaker 1: 25:03

Now can I let you in on a preacher secret, preacher secret. This is the part of this service where I get all like passionate and I start rallying into troops. You know I start saying stuff. Like you know, and if we do these one another's, if we love our community, if we do this, we can help the elderly in our community, we can impact, foster care and make sure no kid is left alone, we can carry the burdens of people who are less fortunate and give them a leg up in this world, and then we can get a church building and buy a church building and have services and outreaches for people in our city to come. If we do this, the whole city will come to Jesus, jesus, jesus, jesus and get us all hyped, get us all emotionally moved. There's nothing wrong with getting moved that way at times, nothing like a good Ray Lewis motivational speak to get you going. But instead I just want to talk to you. I want to talk to you because many of you know come on, can I speak to hearts for a second? Many of you know, in your daily life there's something more, there's something calling you saying there's more than just my suburban life, there's more than just my daily routine. There's more than this anxiety that I can't get over. There's more than this depression that keeps me in my bed way too long. There's more than this fear that keeps me in my bed way too long. There's more than this fear that I have of the future. There's more than that trauma that I cannot let go. There is more to my life. You know that there's more.

Speaker 1: 26:57

And there's a story in the Bible about a man named Zacchaeus. And Zacchaeus, he was a wee little man, but scripture tells us, but he was a chief tax collector, meaning he was top dog, meaning he was notorious thug, meaning that he had power and wealth and control. Yet, even though he had all those things, scripture tells us Jesus was walking through, heading towards Jericho, heading towards Jericho, and when he was walking through, thousands of people were around Jesus, thousands of people were touching Jesus, thousands of people were wanting to be near Jesus and Zacchaeus, even though by the world's standards he had wealth, power, he had control, he had everything by the world's standards, he made it, he had it. He's living the dream he knew inside of him there was something more to my life than this, there was something calling out to him. And so Zacchaeus does something crazy.

Speaker 1: 28:02

Zacchaeus, this man of prestige, this man of wealth, does something crazy. He knows Jesus is walking by and he sees a fig tree and he says I'm a short man so I can't see over the crowds. And so Zacchaeus runs to a tree, climbs the tree to get a better look at Jesus. And I just want to say something to us, lvc Are you positioning your life to see Jesus a little bit better? Are you going to position your life to see Jesus a little bit better? Because when you position your life to see Jesus, jesus is walking.

Speaker 1: 28:36

Jesus is heading towards Jerusalem, jesus is heading towards the cross on his journey, but Jesus stops and he sees a man in the tree. He sees a person in the tree, and Jesus stops everything. And I want you to know that when you seek Jesus, when you go after Jesus, when you pursue Jesus, when you get desperate for Jesus, when you get desperate for the things of God, when you get desperate for his touch, when you get desperate for Jesus, when you get desperate for the things of God, when you get desperate for his touch, when you get desperate for his affirmation, when you get desperate for who he has called you to be, jesus stops everything and notices you. Oh, come on, I'm preaching too good right now. And I want to ask you this, friends Jesus stops, he sees Zacchaeus in a tree.

Speaker 1: 29:24

And guess what Jesus does? He says Zacchaeus, he calls him by name, come down from there. And what does he say? Here's a three-step pamphlet on how to receive Christ. No, hey, here's a good group for you to work with that drinking problem here. Oh, here's a good sermon to watch online. You can watch it on your couch, in the comfort of your couch. No, no, no. He says, hey, I'm going to have dinner with you tonight, actually. And Judas is like Jesus. We got plans. And he's like Judas, stop it, you're starting too early, stop it. He said no, no, no, I'm having dinner because I got to carry this man's burdens, lvc.

Speaker 1: 30:23

I pray that we never are so busy that we miss the people in the trees. We're never so consumed with our own stuff that we miss the people in the trees, the people who are searching and seeking, because we are the church, we're the church, we are the church, we're the church, we're the church. You can't consume church because you are the church. So if you're trying to be a church consumer, you will always be a little bit empty and you will always be extremely entitled, and neither of those will help you see freedom in your life, but when you recognize I am the church, I am the church, then then, man, you can make a difference with people who are making a difference by doing something that makes a difference. By doing something that makes a difference. And so, lvc, let's be about our Father's business, let's be about the things of God. Let us open our hearts to reach people.

Speaker 1: 31:41

You may have noticed, maybe you got, maybe you're here today because you got this mailer, this nice little piece of thing. You want to know the whole purpose of this, even though it costs my daughter's college fund to send it out. You want to know the purpose of that. Is that? I believe this crazy idea that God is actually calling his people back to him, that he is interested in everyday people learning how to become Jesus followers and man. I think he wants to use this church to make it happen.

Speaker 1: 32:20

So, father Jesus, holy Spirit, we thank you for your love, we thank you for your goodness, we thank you for your favor and we say help us have a heart like yours, jesus. You came to seek and save what was lost. And maybe you're in here today and you say, jacob, I feel lost, I feel confused, I feel misguided and I want you to know the love of Jesus was displayed for you on that cross and his love was displayed for you when he rose again, meaning you can get back up again in life. So we say more of you, jesus, and less of us. We say more of you and less of our worries and fears. We say we take you on, lord, we go after you.

Speaker 1: 33:33

If you're in here today, you don't know this Jesus I'm talking about. Maybe you have. You grew up in church, but around some part of your life you kind of walked away. Whatever happened made you kind of walk away. If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus for the first time in your life or to recommit back to Jesus, I just want to lead you in a simple prayer. I'm not going to call you out, have you come up front? Nothing like that, just right where you are. If you want to make a decision to trust Jesus with your life, you can say this prayer with me. You can say it out loud or you can say it in your heart, but just say these words Say Jesus, forgive me for my sins, make me new. Today I choose to follow you. Today I put my trust in you. Today I'm a Jesus follower In Jesus' name, amen, amen. Let's give God some praise in here today.