This is wonderfully written by Jeff Renken What is the Spirit of e-Groups? Let me ask a question … if you were the only person on this planet, could love exist? I’m not sure it could because love is two-sided: one person has to do the loving and another person has to receive the love. In 1 John 4:8, the Bible verse ends with the phrase, “and God is love”. This verse gives us some insight into God’s character and nature. He is a loving God. It is no accident that our world is populated with lots of people – people that God can love and people that can love each other. Once people were brought into the world, it was possible for love to exist – perhaps a better way of saying it is love could “flourish” and it could “be practiced”. In another part of the Bible, it tells us that we were made in the image of God. And if God is a loving God, shouldn’t we reflect his love too? How many of you have been to a nationally televised ballgame and witnessed one of life’s magical moments? You may have noticed a TV camera panning the audience. Then the camera stopped and zoomed in on a brave young man, down on one knee with a ring in hand – about to propose to a lucky young lady who had no clue what was about to happen. The expression on her face was priceless! If moments like that don’t tug at your heart-strings, nothing ever will. The day that you accepted Jesus as your Savior was the day that Jesus proposed to you. Just as the young man at the football stadium carefully planned his proposal, you can be sure that Jesus worked behind the scenes to make sure his proposal to you was special. Whether it was special circumstances or an amazing turn of events with people showing up at just the right time, odds are you’ll never forget that special day. When you accepted him as your Lord and Savior, you became part of his Church – and when you became part of his Church, you became part of His Bride. And we all know that Jesus places great value on his Bride. Where ever there is a proposal, there are also wedding vows that help define a relationship. All that have accepted the Lord are bound by the same vows: 1) You will love the Lord with all of your heart, mind and soul. 2) You will love your neighbor as yourself. Did you notice the 2nd part of the vows … that you will love your neighbor as yourself? This drives home the point of how important relationships with other people are to God. This is what Pastor is referring to when he talks about the importance of “community”. When we go to heaven, what can we bring with us? Can we bring our cars, our homes and our bank accounts? No – the only thing that we can bring to Heaven is the very thing that God treasures … our relationships with people. Those four reasons make a pretty powerful Biblical case for loving the people around you: • God placed people in the world so that love can flourish and be practiced. • Since we are made in the image of a God whose essence is love, shouldn’t we portray that characteristic too? • When we have accepted Jesus as our Lord, part of our vows includes loving our neighbors as ourselves. • The only thing we can bring to Heaven are the relationships we have with people on the Earth. So what does this have to do with e-Groups? If we cannot make friendships and learn to demonstrate our love to others, then we are missing the spirit and the overall concept of what was intended for e-Groups. Here’s a challenge to each of you in the OLC family. During the next month, walk up to someone you don’t know at the church, introduce yourself, ask them a couple of questions and see if it leads to a new friendship. Do this each month over the course of the next year and you’ll be amazed how many smiles you’ll attract when you walk into church. Feeling shy? No problem. Here are some hints to begin a conversation: Hi, I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you yet. My name is _____, what’s yours? Then ask a couple questions from the following list and listen to their answers. • How long have you been coming to OLC? • What was it about OLC that attracted you? • How did Jesus propose to you? • What do you do for a living? • Do you have any favorite hobbies? • If money were no object, where would you go on a vacation? • How has the Holy Spirit directed your life? • How did you meet your husband/wife? • Are you a student? • Any favorite sports? If you give a person a chance to talk, you’ll be amazed at their journey and how God has worked in their life. Studies have shown friendships have a great chance of forming when you share common views, experiences, life styles, etc. If you make the effort to discover common things that you share with others, you’ll be blessed with lots of friends. Once you begin taking an interest in their lives, take a minute to pat yourself on the back – you’ve now learned what the spirit of e-Groups is all about!
Posted on: Sat, 01 Feb 2014 03:26:37 +0000