Momentum: How To Ignite Your FaithSample

LONE RANGER CHRISTIANS NEED NOT APPLY A few years ago, we moved to a new town and a new church. My son had just finished high school but hadn’t started college. One night he decided to check out our college service. I decided to drop by and see if my son was there. I stood back by the soundboard scanning the room—and then I spotted him. He was sitting all by himself. My heart sank. I wanted to stand up and shout, “Will somebody please reach out to my kid?” Living the Christian life in isolation is not an option. In fact, it’s not an overstatement to say that you can’t live the Christian life by yourself. There is no such thing as Lone Ranger Christianity. The Bible urges us to be meaningfully connected to other believers. In fact, our lives are defined by relationships. Generally speaking, life’s most exhilarating, heart-pounding highs and life’s most gut-wrenching, painful lows come from relationships. To do relationships well takes a lot of devotion and skill. In Romans 12:9–13, the apostle Paul provides some very practical instructions on what it looks like to live in authentic community: "Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality." Chip Ingram says about this passage: “Authentic community occurs when the real you (v.9) meets real needs (v. 10) for the right reason (v. 11) in the right way (vv. 12-13).” The word translated “sincere” in verse 9 literally means ‘without a mask’. True community involves being open, honest, and appropriately vulnerable. Being “real” is a nonnegotiable for authentic community. What an incredible testimony to authentic community. The Bible characters we’ll look at this week are also extraordinary testimonies to real community. The love and friendship between David and Jonathan present a real-life picture of the community Paul talks about in Romans 12. WHAT ABOUT YOU? Are you personally experiencing the kind of community Paul describes in Romans 12? Don’t wait for it to come to you . . . take the initiative. Today’s Takeaway Being “real” is essential for “real community” to take place.