Sermon 3, The Communal Nature of Corporate Worship

Sermon 3, Preached Sunday August 22, 2010
FUMC Wortham

The Communal Nature of Worship
Acts 2:42-47

We have been looking at Worship... We have seen that worship isn't something that is simply an event we attend on Sunday; it is something that is connected with our life. Worship comes out of our mission and ministry in the world around us and thus results in us gathering together on Sunday Morning to corporately worship God. Last week we looked at the Sacramental Nature of our Corporate Worship. Next week we will see the Incarnational Nature of our Corporate Worship and the the fact that our Worship should point to a future hope in Christ. But, that future hope isn't something that is “pie in the sky by and by” No, it is something that starts right here, where we are in this community. Therefore, we are looking at the Communal Nature of our Corporate Worship today.

So, what is “Community”? According to Wikipedia, a community is a group of interacting species sharing an environment. From a more sociological standpoint, a "community" has been defined as a group of interacting people living in a common location.
Thus Wortham is a Community, Kirvin is a Community, even parts of towns are communities... I grew up in Lone Star,TX – a town of only 2500 people but with in the city limits we had editions – I lived in the Edgemont Edition – it was a community in and of itself. And, of course, our church is a community.
If we were to really go deep in to the linguistics of the word, "community" is derived from the Old French communité which is derived from the Latin communitas (cum, "with/together" + munus, "gift")... In other words, we are a gift to one another when we come together.

Now that we have the science behind the word I can branch out and share with you what I think the word sounds like it should mean – and from a Biblical standpoint I think it is a better definition. It seems to me that it is made up two parts too, Comm – like in communication, and unity – like in sticking together, being united. So, let's talk about that first part.

Comm.. as in communication. As a community we have to communicate with one another. When we stop communicating something else starts happening. The same thing goes on in relationships of all kinds: friendships, marriages, politics, business, you name it. Tell me if this doesn't sound like something you have experienced...
You have a bad day at work and a co-worker says something to you that you take as offensive. You haven't spoken much over the past few days and you think back to when you borrowed that coworkers book and hadn't yet returned it. “Well”, you think, “all he had to do was ask me to return the book, he didn't have to be so snotty about it.” and you go on. The Co-worker, who had forgotten he even loaned you the book, is having a bad day too – The boss had been on both of your cases and you didn't know it – He didn't realize he snapped at you but he did notice your response and that you treated him differently at the recent birthday social in the break room. “Well,” he thinks, “what's got her all upset?”
Still you two don't communicate and each of you begins to notice little things the other one did and then it starts – what we call in the the counseling field as “Stinking Thinking” That's a technical term for letting your mind run wild and stink up the relationship – thinking you know what the other one thinks when they say something and blowing it out of proportion.
Before you know it, You think he is after your job and he thinks you have it in for him and are in cahoots with the boss trying to get him fired. Each of you “triangulate” that is you get people on your side. Now it's not only a problem with two people in the office, suddenly it is affecting more. The others get so stressed about your “stinking thinking” that they go home and tell their spouses about it. One of the spouses works out at the YMCA with the Boss in the mornings and asks the Boss about it. Now the Boss is involved... Well, the Boss has been upset because profits have been declining for the last 6 weeks and now he thinks it's because of the conflict in the office. He sets up a meeting with the employees and now, someone is going to get fired.

Whew. Sounds like the script for a evening sit-com, or maybe a crime drama... but you get my point. All this could have been alleviated if only the original two had communicated and worked it out. Neither one of them meant to hurt the other one but then “stinking thinking” got in the way of everything.

Even more important than that, when we fail to communicate within the community of faith, we affect our own worship as well as the worship of others. We affect our relationship with God and others. I could name a dozen or more people right now that have changed their attendance at church or church involvement because of conflict that hasn't been resolved. Some of the situations go back as far as 6 or 7 years. Their change in attendance has affected others and if it isn't resolved it could affect others for generations to come. Don't get me wrong, we are not a bad church. This happens in all churches and even all social groups – But that makes it neither right nor acceptable.

Communication is the first step in building unity within any community. Especially the community of faith.

So, let's look at that word, Unity. The root is unite, to come together for a common purpose. We as the Body of Christ unite under the banner of Christ. We come together to worship God. We gather to care for others as Christ taught us.
Dan Kimball, Author and pastor, says that we are to be “a gathering where the holy God who created the universe and everything in it will be worshiped. We are creating a time for the saints to gather and encourage one another, a gathering where unbelievers joining us will know without a doubt that God is among us.” (Emerging Worship, Dan Kimball, p. xvi)
Communication and Unity – now I know linguistically that is not the make up of the word community, but it sure works when you place it next to the Bible. In the passage we just read we see the disciples – those that followed Jesus, communicating with one another, gathering to worship in unity, and caring for one another. We see in this early formation of the church a model of what we are to be, what we should be, who we should be. The question is, “is that who we are?” Or is that who we say we are until you get to know us? Or is that who we want to be but haven't quite made it yet?
I know we aren't there yet – no place is. But my hope is that as we continue to become more and more like Christ we will become more and more like the image of the Church Christ has showed us. My prayer is that each day we are becoming more and more of a community than less of a community. To wrap this up I want to let you hear from a young man, a pastor, a graduate of Duke Divinity School, a leader of what is called an intentional Community of Faith called the Rutba House outside of Durham, N.C. Hear his words about his community and think about ours.
[Video – workofthepeople.com, v00752, “Christian Community”- Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove]
{Read Acts 2:46-47} and close with prayer.