Bowling Alone?

Probably one of the best things about the past WIN Canada 2015 conference -- it gives us a deeper sense of what community is all about!  We are part of a bigger family of God and not confined within the boundaries of WCCC.

If there is one sport that has a very good sense of community, that’s bowling.  Friends play bowling together.  Companies play bowling together.  Churches play bowling together.  Families play bowling together.  You rarely see somebody playing bowling alone unless he’s a professional bowler practicing for a tournament.  Studies say that bowling is one of the best community sports and it brings people together.

I got our title for today from a book of the same title Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community by Robert Putnam, a Harvard researcher.   This book studies the American culture’s sense of community since the 1950s.   The author observes that membership in community groups has steadily declined over the years – among these groups are labor unions, PTAs, professional groups, political groups, Rotary,  and of course, churches!     He said that each generation is becoming less and less involved in the community… people are becoming more individualistic for a variety of reasons.  I would agree with this study even without reading this book – all I need to do is compare my childhood with the generation of younger children today and I can see the difference.

INTRODUCTION

If you read the account of creation in Genesis 1, for each day of creation, God said “it was good” from verses 3 to 24.    He created light, water, sky, dry ground, plants, animals, day and night, fish, etc.  On verse 26, he created mankind and he said something different, He said… “it was VERY good!” Everything that God created was good… except for man.  For man, it was very good!  Just in this verse alone you’ll know that man is special.

However, in 2:18 – God said something is NOT good!   He said “it is not good for the man to be alone.  I will make a helpmate suitable for him.”    Adam, all by himself, was not good. It’s not good for him to be alone.    God designed man to have the kind of relationship of love and intimacy that existed between the Trinity.    So God created Eve and it completes man.

However, in Genesis 3 we read that sin enters into the picture and as a result, Adam and Eve separated themselves from God and even from one another.  Their relationships have never been the same and it’s one of the terrible effects of sin.   

Sin comes between people -- it separates them! Anxiety, bitterness, frustration, unforgiveness, greed, lack of trust, self centeredness, etc --- all of these contaminate the relationships that we all have.  

  

In the case of the church, people are not just “Bowling Alone” but we are Worshipping Alone.   

To a certain extent we can relate to this. Christians in our time today are also scattered in some ways.  We may be physically worshipping together on a regular Sunday but our minds and our hearts are far from being united.  The first point that Peter made was in verse 7 when he said:

Now to you who believe, this Stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

Paul confirmed this when he said to the Corinthians “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” 

I believe God can overlook a lot of things here in WCCC.  He can give us some allowance when we start the service a bit late sometimes.  He can cut us some slack of our sound system is not perfect.  He can understand when our “pot bless” is not every week.  He won’t judge us if our collection is a bit low.  But ONE THING that God may never tolerate is when we are DISUNITED and don’t have a sense of community.

In verses 7-8, Peter talked about how Christ is the capstone, the foundation of the house of God. The world did not receive him   He said: And, “A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for

And then in verse 9, he started with the word BUT --- it’s a contradiction to the earlier statement.  He said this is not true for believers. He said “But you are a chosen people.” Christians should be different from the world.  

The good news is that Peter is reminding us about who we are and there is a family that God has called us into.

Peter reminds us of our true identity in Christ and by understanding and knowing who we truly are would help us to persevere and be united.  Our participation in communion or breaking of the bread is an important manifestation of community.  Communion is community.  There is Latin maxim in politics and sociology which was attributed to King Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great.   

It is an effective principle in war and true enough, we know that Philip II and Alexander were two of the best conquerors of their time.  I believe the enemy uses this strategy as well.  The Apostle Peter wrote in this same letter, in Chapter 5, that our enemy, the devil, prowls like a roaring lion waiting for somebody he can devour.   The enemy’s scheme is to divide the Christians so they become an easy prey.  The enemy hits the very core of Christian faith, and that is relationship.   He knows that if he is able to destroy relationships, the church will not survive.  He divides families, he divides church leaders, he divides pastors, he divides couples, he casts doubts between people… because he knows, and he uses the principle of “divide and conquer.”

Who are those people who are likely to get devoured by the enemy?  Those people who are not in the community.  Those people who are alone.  Those people who do not want to join the flock.  I always use the SHEEP analogy in Isaiah 53.   The Bible says “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

A sheep who likes to wander away is prone to getting devoured by the lion.  This is the reason why the shepherd has his STAFF - that long stick with a curve in the end.  When the sheep wanders away, the shepherd uses his staff to pull the sheep in his neck and bring him back to the direction where the flock is going.  Jesus is our Shepherd.  A lot of times we try to wander away, we try to do it our way, we pretend we know the right direction and then He pulls us back… sometimes, He grabs our neck.  Have you ever wondered why sometimes, your neck hurts?  Maybe Jesus is pulling you back on track.

  

I like the way Peter paints our identity as the people of God. All these terms come from the Old Testament:

CHOSEN PEOPLE. Peter uses a terminology commonly used in reference to Israel in Deuteronomy 7:6 said about Israel: “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.  The church is now God’s chosen people. We are chosen not because we are better than others or because of what we do.  It’s purely because of His grace.

ROYAL PRIESTHOOD.  This term combines two of the most powerful office in the Old Testament – the king which represents royalty and the priests which normally came from the tribe of Levi. The priests are the only persons who can approach God and present those sacrifices.   The king on the other hand was special   because he was anointed with oil by the priest. This means he was equipped and empowered by God to perform his duties.

Under New Covenant, there is no longer a priest who must come from a particular tribe.   In the New Covenant, Christ, our high priest we are His royal priests because  we have been united with Him.    

In the olden days, kings fight battles.  Christians are sought to also fight their daily battles.   For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Ephesians 6:12-13

Priests on the other hand are tasked to pray for Israel, they are to study and teach God’s Words – are we not commanded by the Lord to pray and to study God’s word and share these words to others?  We are a royal priesthood!

HOLY NATION.  This again was terminology used of Israel. In Exodus 19:6, they were called a holy nation. They were set apart by God for good works, to serve him and worship him. In the same way, Christians are chosen and set apart for good works. This separates us from the world.

Look at what Paul said about believers: “For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10).

CONCLUSION

Studies tell us that slowly we are becoming a culture of observers and not participants.   We watch other people play for us like watching sporting events and concerts and even movies. We don’t participate.      

If we are not “a people” what are we? Monkeys?  Well, it simply means we are nothing if we are not people of God.  We are not a people if Christ is not in our hearts and we are not relating well to others. 

One of my favorite sessions in the WIN Conference was the one by Pastor Rene Nepomuceno.  His session on Relationship when he mentioned about the Fruit of the Spirit captured my attention seriously.

According to him, the fruit of the Spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22-23 must be taken in the right context, and that is in the context of relationships.  While it is true that the Holy Spirit indwells each believer and as a result of that indwelling and infilling, the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit:  love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  If you read the NLT version, it says there the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in OUR lives and while this fruit is a personal trait, it can only be proven in the context of community and relationships.  How can you say you have LOVE if there is nobody to show that love to?  Who can confirm that you have joy and peace?  How can you practice patience if there is nobody around you who is annoying?  How can you show kindness and goodness if you are not with someone?  Showing kindness only to yourself is not kindness at all.  Same thing with faithfulness, gentleness and self control.

We prove that we really do have a relationship with God when we love each other.    God bless you!

   

Prayer

Wherever you are, whatever you situation you may be -- you need the love of Jesus in your life.
Please say this prayer sincerely from your heart:  

Father God, I confess all my sins to you today.  Please forgive me.  Today, I open my heart to your Son Jesus Christ.  I accept Him in my life as my Savior and as my Lord.  May the Holy Spirit come to my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be.  In Jesus Name, I pray.  Amen.

The above article is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at WCCC Richmond during its service on  Sunday, July 12, 2015.

I apologize if there are grammatical and spelling errors.

I also apologize if I have missed acknowledging or making proper references to my sources, if any.  as it is purely unintentional.

If you are looking for a church in British Columbia, Canada please visit our website at:

 www.wordchristiancommunity.com