{"id":1084,"date":"2014-08-13T16:51:55","date_gmt":"2014-08-13T16:51:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/journeyonleadership.brentwoodbaptistonline.com\/?p=1084"},"modified":"2014-08-13T16:51:55","modified_gmt":"2014-08-13T16:51:55","slug":"life-together","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/leadership.brentwoodbaptist.com\/adult-discipleship\/life-together\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Together"},"content":{"rendered":"
By Eric Warren<\/address>\n

One of the greatest facets of sports, in my opinion, is the sense of community.\u00a0 Whether we\u2019re talking about a team sport or an individual competition, you are surrounded by those who are like-minded, passionate, and driven.\u00a0 Even when it\u2019s just you against the rest of the field, as in a sport like golf, you are spurred onward to deliver the best of what you\u2019ve got.\u00a0 I grew up in an athletic family where even within the ranks of my own siblings, we were driven to compete.\u00a0 When playing a team sport, you bond through adversity and success and grow together with your teammates in ways that are so unique.\u00a0 This sense of community is special.\u00a0 To have people around you that you know will drive you, they will push you forward, so that when all is said and done, you can look back on the race that you\u2019ve run and be astonished at the body of work you just put forth.
\nIs this not something that we\u2019ve all thirsted for at one time or another, if not frequently?\u00a0 In the creation narrative of Genesis, we are given an account of God hanging the stars in the sky, forming the Earth and all of the creatures that inhabit the lands, and then He made Man.\u00a0 He made the birds of the sky and He said, \u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0 He made the fish of the sea and he said, \u201cGood.\u201d\u00a0 Then He came to Man and he said, \u201cVery good.\u201d\u00a0 We go on in chapter two to read specifically about both Man and Woman created, and despite God forming Man and claiming \u201cVery good\u201d over him, God recognized a truth that resounds throughout time even to this day, and that is that this life cannot and should not be done alone; thus God gave Adam the gift of Eve.\u00a0 Man was so fortunate to be given the image of God the Father.\u00a0 One would think that He could stop there, but no, God knew that for His Glory, there should be a multiplicity among people, a multiplicity of image bearers.\u00a0 Christ amplifies this truth in Matthew\u2019s gospel in the discourse on the Church.<\/p>\n

\u201c20\u00a0<\/sup><\/strong>For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 -Matthew 18:20<\/em><\/p>\n

Christ recognizes this truth, that we are hard-wired for community, all the while affirming another truth.\u00a0 Where multiple image-bearers of His gather, He will be there also.\u00a0 How could this be in the least bit undesirable? The presence of the Savior of the world, promised to us through this thing called fellowship.\u00a0 We are not talking about a weekly meeting where a few words are spoken, some read, and everyone calls it quits until the same time next week.\u00a0 We are talking radical life change through one another under the name of Christ.\u00a0 We are talking about first responders showing up at the hospital upon hearing the news of your bringing a wonderful new addition into this world.\u00a0 We are talking about brothers and sisters who in no way are related but couldn’t be any closer even if they were.\u00a0 This is what we mean by \u201cdoing life together.\u201d
\nGroup Connect<\/strong><\/span> is drawing closer.\u00a0 We hope to attract incredible amounts of people who are thirsty for this type of family.\u00a0 Oftentimes, curiosity is piqued through videos, web posts, and other forms of promotion, but we hope that this event will ignite a fiery passion in the souls of many and reveal to them that they have an entire church body that is so willing to pour into them on an intimate level.\u00a0 We hope that this event will tie those who are unconnected to our family through LIFE Groups.\u00a0 So, once again, we implore you, as a leader, to join us in prayer, to rally beside us in hopes of achieving something truly wonderful and life changing.
\nSpecific Things to Pray For:<\/strong><\/p>\n