We’re in the last week of our sermon series on the mission of the church. Just as we took the first week to look at the overarching mission – to prevail against the gates of hell – and took the next week to flesh that out (literally, as we considered the model Jesus provided in His incarnation), this week we’re going to flesh out last week’s overarching look at what it means to be mortared by love to Christ’s church both as a protection from the dangers in the world (as we go out into it) and a witness to the world of the power of Christ to create self-sacrificial people who can enjoy genuine community. How do we do progress toward this kind of love for each other? Again, we look to the model that Jesus and the early Church provide as they functioned in small groups. I know small groups can be intimidating, because you put yourself in a position to interact with people you don’t really know very well. You have to move beyond anonymity in corporate worship. You have to move beyond a strictly personal and individualistic view of your relationship with Jesus. The thing is, Jesus himself ministered and served within a small group. It was essential to His building of the Church. And so it must be for us as well.

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