“Jesus Calls Us To Small Groups”

Listen to the sermon.

If you weren’t with us last Sunday we had an unusual call to worship.  The fire alarm got tripped just before worship began.

The message on the alarm box read “pulled station 1” and seeing no fire near station 1 we turned off the alarm.  By that time you all had appropriately gone outside.  The fire department arrived, we are very grateful for their responsiveness, but shared that we are not allowed to turn off an alarm, they need it on so they can figure out what is wrong with it and that they would need to turn it on again right then to work on it.  We all came back in to begin worship and the alarm came on and stayed on for the first half of the service.  We were sorry about the sound for folks in pews.   One of you mentioned this is what the locusts probably sounded like in Egypt.

Our choir still sounded great.  I don’t know how you could get pitch with the alarm on.  Then after the scripture was read, the alarm stopped.     The power of God’s word.  

I started to preach and it was really odd.  Very difficult to speak because after a half hour my ears were used to that sound of the alarm.

One of you reminded me of the story of Niagara Falls in 1911 when one winter night it was so cold the falls froze.  People were so used to the sound of the water that when the falls froze in the middle of the night all the sleeping people woke up in the town because they were so used to the sound of the water.

I found it hard to speak without the sound of the alarm, as I had gotten used to it.

It was all frustrating but a good reminder that we are not in control in life, there is so much that we would like to but can’t control.     And so we turn to God and to each other for help.  Only the Holy Spirit could make lemon-aid out of the situation of trying to worship with an alarm going on.  But it worked.

Some good did come out of it.  One of you commented to me how it allowed you to get to know your neighbors in some new ways.  We noticed the groups of people who came together last week to sit with those whose ears were sensitive and really hurt by the sound.  We had musicians, children and teachers who went the extra mile to help make last Sunday work despite it all.  Members coming in to help us look for children still in the building.  Ushers who helped those who cannot move quickly outside safely.  And all of you who brought grace to a difficult situation.  Thank you.  It is a testimony to how at Bradley Hills we can not only believe in God, but in each other.  Let us pray.

Loving spirit, strengthen us with your power and wisdom so that the meaning of your word and the value of your connecting spirit is open to us this day.  Amen.

Michael Jordan shared, “Talent wins games, but teamwork….wins championships.” 

Henry Ford suggested, “Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.” 

Ken Blanchard stated, “None of us is as smart as all of us.” Jesus famously said “Where two or three are gathered in my name I am there.”

This Lent we invite you to join a six week small group experience starting February 22.  Next week, February 15, we’ll prayerfully consider committing to a small group as an act of worship.  It’s going to be fun. 

Meaningful too.  For small groups are an important part of how the church has functioned over time.

There are many scriptures that describe the activities of Jesus’ disciples.  Matthew is perhaps the most descriptive about their personal qualities.  John tells of the tests Jesus put some of the disciples through.  Mark explains how Jesus called his disciples into a small group.  Luke tells us how when Jesus went preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God, his twelve disciples were with Him. 

When we think about how Jesus modeled his ministry, remember that Jesus brought the kingdom of God.    

The coming of Jesus and the calling of the twelve disciples helps humanity see and understand God.[i]  He wanted to make God’s kingdom visible on “earth as it is in Heaven.”

The way Jesus chose to structure his ministry also helps us see the kingdom of God is in a way we can understand.  Jesus called twelve disciples to learn from him.  Similar to the twelve tries of Israel, the twelve became Jesus’ family.

The word disciple means learner.  Jesus called people to drop their nets or whatever they were doing and follow him. 

Jesus did not only call people to himself.  He called them to each other.

If we affirm Jesus was fully divine, we affirm he could have chosen to focus his ministry in one on one discussions.   Or he could have sought to call huge numbers to himself in a series of “feeding of the 5000” type lectures.   While he did some of both, neither was the primary way in which Jesus organized his ministry.

Instead he called 12 disciples to him, plus a few more from time to time, to learn from him.   Now this was not a sophisticated group.  They were lower middle class, common folk.  And many didn’t know each other well before meeting with Jesus. 

The disciples also didn’t always agree with each other or with Jesus.  But they stayed in community with him.

There were crowds often present around Jesus.  Referred to as the multitude.  It’s interesting to note that Jesus was ultimately put to death because Pilate asked the crowd what they wanted to do with Jesus and they shouted “crucify him.”

Jesus did not only call people to himself, he called them to each other.

Jesus repeatedly went to people he wanted in his group, from fishermen to relatives to tax collectors and said to them “Follow me.”

Then Jesus taught them.  Gene Wilkes wrote, “He [Jesus] taught how kingdom people live. Jesus taught His disciples about humility, greatness, and being first in line.  He was always looking beyond the obvious words and actions to the thoughts, motivations and benefits behind them. Jesus didn’t merely give His followers information; He led them into seeing life in a different way.”

The disciples shared their stories with each other.  That is how we get to know someone well. 

Jesus cared for his disciples in the storms of life.  He fed them, healed them, when they were in the boat rocked by storms, he calmed their fears and the storm too.  We will pay attention to each other in our groups also.  Some of our current small groups have lasted because of the attention paid to the human needs of the members.  Jesus not only called his disciples to himself, he called them to each other.  Jesus promised that his teaching, ideas and Holy Spirit would go with them when they did their work.

In Matthew 18 for example Jesus says, “Where two or three are gathered in my name I am there.”  The famous Emmaus Road story where two gather and journey in Jesus’ name and suddenly he is present, is a spiritual example of this.

The twelve disciples were given a task beyond simply learning.  They became apostles who were sent out into the world to teach others about Jesus.  When apostles were sent out they were not sent out alone.  They went in groups.   Apostle means one who is sent out.  We hear the instructions from Jesus in Mark 6 where Jesus instructs them to go out into the world in groups.  When Jesus famously says, “Follow me and I will make you fishers of people,” Jesus is suggesting that people come to him, journey with him and then go out into the world to help hurting people.  Jesus sent his group of twelve out into the world to share his good news with the world.   If we take our small group journey seriously we will be changed and able to share a blessing with the world.    

Gareth Icenogle, who I mentioned last week and whose work in this area has influenced my own thinking writes, “The practice of small groups..provided a strong identity and base from which the (new) ecclesia, the church, could do ministry and venture into mission.”[ii]

The early church grew up as a series of small groups.  Much like for the Israelites who worshipped God in small groups before the temple or synagogues were built, the early church, the ecclesia, for centuries did not gather in centralized locations but in small groups in homes.  It wasn’t until Constantine made Christianity the religion of the empire that there became centralized locations.  The church at first was not the building, but the people.

Jesus did not just call disciples to himself, but to each other. 

Acts 2 tells of how the early church groups held things in common, had gladness and simplicity of heart and modeled Jesus’ kingdom as best they could in the small groups that were the early church.

They shared disciplines of teaching, community, food and prayer.[iii]  I imagine some or all may be present in our small groups.

Jesus worked at first most closely with these Peter, James and John who helped lead the twelve disciples, who then led a group of 120 followers who gathered in the upper room at Pentecost, perhaps in ten groups of twelve, who then began to lead the whole, growing church.[iv] 

The gift of the Holy Spirt at Pentecost helped spread the news of Jesus and the spirit of the kingdom among a series of small groups which became the early church.

The development of ecclesia, the church, was the development of networks of small house groups gathered throughout Jerusalem.  These networks of small groups soon spread into greater Judea, Samaria and the rest of the world. [v]

As the apostle Paul conducted his missionary journeys he did so not alone but in small groups.  With Timothy and Silas and Barnabas and others when he went to spread the gospel.

When Robin Williams died last year there was renewed attention to the film Dead Poet’s Society.  In the movie a group of high school boys receive a vision of life from an English teacher and form a clandestine small group community to read poetry and dream together.  Icenogle points out that even when their charismatic teacher, played by Williams, is forced to leave, the group continues in a powerful small group experience of learning and support.[vi]    Jesus calls disciples together into a small group and then sends them out on their own, the Holy Spirit is present, in a manner that was reaffirmed over and over in the early church and since. [vii]

It is in some similarly sized groups that much of our community is organized.  Our Elders and Deacons have 12 adults and a youth member for example.

During the upcoming Lenten period we are asking you to consider joining a small group of 8-12 people to meet for six weeks. 

So we will share our stories too of what life is for us and how God has moved in our lives.

Some of you are already in small groups here, whether a Bible study, a Lay Ministry, men’s fellowship or open nesters, young adults or many that have grown this past year.

If you are already we hope each group will focus on their spiritual component this Lent.  If you have been coming to Bradley Hills for a while and are not in a small group, this is a new way to get involved in the church.

If you are new to our community and would like to find way to get connected more deeply, being in a small group can be a helpful experience. 

Bradley Hills itself in a way was founded as a small group, a century ago as a steadfast prayer group.  And from that grew our church where a series of small groups abound.

Small group experiences have been very meaningful to the development of my ministry.  Many summers in the 90’s I was part of a series of what we called growth groups, small groups, in which we would discuss share life journeys and read scripture.  They were outdoors in summer and had an idyllic feel and planted important seeds.

As a result when I was an aid on Capitol Hill the seed grew as I started a weekly Bible study on Wednesdays at noon that for three years grew and grew.  It was part a study but mostly became an important sharing and growth time.

Some wonderful friendships came out of that.  Folks who would be there for me at important times.  Who came here when I was installed.  Helped support and connect with our friends club.  It was the confidence of teaching that study that helped give me confidence in part to go to seminary.

I ran into one friend from that small group this past December at a Christmas party at the American Council of Life Insurers downtown of all things.   Hadn’t seen this person in years.  And she shared how important that study was to her at an important transitional point in her life.  I shared how her inspiration of the spirit from that small group was what connected me to my first church job in Washington and put me on the path that brought me here.  I would not have noticed that at the time, but that small group planted important seeds for my faith and career journey.

Now we have an opportunity for small groups to grow more broadly as two or more of us gather in Christ’s name.   As the spirit shares the ministry of Jesus with us as microcosms of the ecclesisa, as people called together by Jesus, the on-going ministry of Jesus will continue through us in our groups.   We will grow as people and as friends in the process.   For Jesus calls us to himself and to each other.  

Let us pray     Loving God, may your spirit of connectionalism be our gift this season and always.  Amen.