Why We Have Home Groups - Mission
Why We Have Home Groups
We are in an exciting season as a church. This started last Spring, when the elders saw that we had a big weakness as a church: we are weak when it comes to helping people come to know and trust and worship Jesus. We are strong in community; strong in love, strong in the Word, but we are weak in evangelism and mission. So -- after lots of prayer and talk and discussion with the home group leaders -- we believe Jesus led us to take a radical step.
We asked all the home groups to give us their leaders for the summer, so we could come together and ask Jesus to change our hearts so we could learn how to have our lives centered around advancing the Gospel. And while we still have a lot of growing to do -- I am thrilled at what the Lord has done in our hearts.
And now as we move into the Fall, we are praying that the Lord will take what He’s done in our hearts this Summer, and have it spread throughout each of our home groups this Fall. And this morning I want to talk about how we are going to pursue that.
Let’s turn to Mark 1. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we’ll bring one to you. Mark 1 is on page 836 in the Bibles we are passing out. This is the story of Jesus calling Simon and Andrew to follow Him. Look at what happens vv.16-17 --
16 Passing alongside the
17 And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
Here Jesus calls Simon and Andrew to become fishers of men. Now you might think this is because they are apostles. You might think that it was only the apostles who were called to be fishers of men. But that would be a mistake.
Because this is not where Jesus calls Simon and Andrew to be apostles. That happens two chapters later. This is where Jesus calls Simon and Andrew to be everyday, ordinary disciples. Which means that it’s not just apostles who are called to be fishers of men. Every disciple is called to be a fisher of men. You are called to be a fisher of men.
So what does that mean? What does it mean to be a fisher of men? The reason Jesus uses this language is because Simon and Andrew were fishers of fish – and he wanted them to see the parallels. To be a fisher of fish means you devote your life to fishing for fish. You center your life around catching fish. You wake up at the best time for catching fish, you get the best kind of boat for catching fish, you take your boat to the best place for catching fish, you throw your net in the best way to catch fish. Simon and Andrew had centered their lives on catching fish.
But now Jesus is calling Simon and Andrew to center their lives on catching men -- to center their lives on helping people come to know Jesus. And that’s Jesus’ call to each of us. Not that we quit our day jobs. But that our day jobs, and our family life, and our marriages, and our finances, and everything in our lives is centered on helping people come to know Jesus.
And when you stop and think about it – that just makes sense, because there’s nothing more loving than to help someone come to know Jesus. Why? Well, think of what happens when someone comes to know Jesus:
They experience God’s power changing their hearts so they repent and trust Jesus.
They move from being guilty before God to being completely forgiven by God.
They move from being under God’s wrath to being immersed into God’s love.
They move from the oppression of Satan’s brutal power to the freedom of God’s loving care.
They move from being separated from God, to being adopted by God -- having God as their Father who loves them, guides them, provides for them, strengthens them, comforts them.
They move from having an empty heart to having a heart that’s filled with God’s love and goodness and presence.
They move from being lonely and isolated to being part of a community of believers who love each other with Jesus’ love.
They move from the certainty of eternal punishment in hell to the certainty of eternal joy in the presence of Jesus in the new heavens and new earth forever.
There’s nothing more loving than helping someone come to know Jesus. And Jesus calls you to center your life on this. That’s what it means to be a fisher of men.
So let that sink in. Jesus is standing before you this morning – calling you to be a fisher of men. He’s calling you to center your life on helping people come to know Jesus.
So what would that mean?
It would mean having an ongoing, life-giving relationship with Jesus Christ. Because unless we are experiencing Jesus in the Word and prayer and faith, we won’t have any good news to talk about.
It would mean having compassion for lost people. Not ignoring them, not judging them, but loving them. Caring about them. Because unless we love them, we won’t take the risk of sharing Jesus with them.
It would mean being devoted to prayer – for the power of the Holy Spirit upon us, and for the saving power of the Spirit upon our neighbors and work-associates and friends. Because God has promised to respond to prayer by saving people.
It would mean being expectant that every day God will bring people across our paths whose hearts are ready; that in every conversation God will open doors for the Gospel to be shared.
It would mean being bold in sharing the Gospel. We need boldness, because there’s always the risk that people won’t appreciate us sharing about Jesus.
It would mean being part of a team of fishers of men. We need the encouragement of others, we need the wisdom of others, and Jesus promised that as lost people see our love for each other, they will see the truth of Jesus.
So Jesus calls all of us to be fishers of men – to center our lives around helping people come to know Jesus – people in our neighborhoods and workplaces and friends we have.
But at this point some of you are wondering – how is that possible? “How is it possible for someone like me to become a fisher of men.” You might be thinking about how shy you are, or how you get tongue-tied in talking about spiritual things, or about how little of the Bible you know, or about how many questions you wouldn’t be able to answer. So how it is possible for you to become a fisher of men?
Well, how were Simon and Andrew going to become fishers of men? Read v.17 again –
And Jesus said to them, "Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men."
Notice in v.17 who does what. What do Simon and Andrew do? Follow Jesus. They are commanded to follow Jesus – which means to trust Jesus, depend on Jesus, and align your life with Jesus’ purposes and commands. Simon and Andrew were to follow Jesus. That’s what they do.
And what does Jesus do? “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” Jesus promises that He will make them become fishers of men. He promises that if they will follow Him, then He – Jesus – will change them. At that point they were not fishers of men. And by their own power they could not become fishers of men. But if they would follow Jesus, then Jesus promises that He will make them become fishers of men.
Now don’t misunderstand. It’s not that you sit around, and while you are sitting around Jesus somehow changes you. Jesus changes you as you follow Him. Just like the disciples, we need to follow Jesus – which means we go where Jesus leads us to go, speak when Jesus leads us to speak, pray as Jesus teaches us to pray, love as Jesus commands us to love.
But the point is that as we do that – as we step out and follow Jesus – He promises something amazing: He will make us into fishers of men.
And that’s what we home group leaders have experienced this summer. We joined together and said – let’s commit to following Jesus, and watch how He makes us become fishers of men. And Jesus has started a powerful work. He’s changing us. We are all more fishers of men now than we were before this summer.
So what I want to do now is have some of our summer home group leaders’ home group people share how they experienced Jesus changing them this summer.
Michelle Ramazzina
Yvonne Park
Matt Cabot- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
So that’s what we experienced this summer. We formed up a home group with the goal of having Jesus change us so we became fishers of men. And while we still have a lot of growing to do – Jesus has definitely changed us this summer.
And this Fall, we are launching new home groups, with leaders who’ve experienced being changed this summer, and we are asking Jesus to do the same thing in each of our home groups that we experienced this summer.
So how will this happen in our Fall home groups? Keep in mind that all of Jesus’ disciples were different, with different personalities and gifts and approaches. So while they all became fishers of men, this doesn’t mean they all used the exact same approach. Jesus has a way for you to become a fisher of men that fits your personality and temperament and background. Not that it will always feel comfortable. But it will fit you.
So how will this happen in our home groups?
First of all, our home groups strengthen trust in Jesus. It all starts here. A home group is a community of brothers and sisters who bear each other’s burdens, and help each other take their burdens to God. So the first priority of each home group is to strengthen each other in trusting Jesus.
Second, our home groups will pray for each other’s empowering and for each other’s neighborhoods, friends, work-associates. Each home group will have a time when they gather specifically to pray and intercede for the advance of the Gospel.
This summer our home group met Thursday nights for our regular gathering, and then on Saturday mornings to pray. And there were lots of Saturday mornings when we thought – it would be nice to just stay home. But I know that what we experienced this summer is linked to spending that hour each week praying. Think of what will happen as you join a group of people who are regularly praying for you and your mission!
Third, our home groups will surround you with others who are advancing the Gospel. Something happens when you are part of a group of people who are committed to centering their lives around the Gospel. This Summer there were times when I was getting lazy or distracted – and it was so helpful to hear Matt’s excitement and hear what was happening at Michelle’s work and in the Parks’ neighborhood.
When you are surrounded by others whose lives are committed to advancing the Gospel, it helps you be committed to advancing the Gospel.
Fourth, our home groups will offer training in how to share the good news. How do you share the Gospel with someone? How do you share your testimony? How can we move conversations to spiritual things? All those are crucial questions, and we’ll do training in our home groups to help you grow in these areas.
And fifth, our home groups will offer missional activities so you can take baby steps. Each week your home group leader is going to have some missional activity that some in the group will pursue. This could mean mowing the lawn of a neighbor who’s sick, putting on a dinner for friends at work, hosting a game night for people in your neighborhood, playing bocce ball and meeting new people at the park. The possibilities are endless. Jesus has a plan for you and your home group, and He will make that clear as you come together and seek him together.
Questions?
One things about Jesus – he was always clear about the cost. And I want to be clear about the cost. This will involve more time.
But brothers and sisters, think of what will happen at the end of your life when you stand before Jesus. At that moment you will be so glad that you centered your life on advancing the Gospel. You will be so glad you devoted time to prayer. You will be so glad you pushed out of your comfort zone. You will be so glad you were bold in talking about Jesus.
We are at a crucial crossroads in the life of our church. Jesus has started a powerful work. If we join together, and give ourselves to this, He will continue this work. We will see people coming to know Jesus on a regular basis. We will see people in our neighborhoods coming to know the forgiveness and love of God. We will see people in our workplaces being set free from Satan’s power. We will see ourselves becoming fishers of men. We will see Jesus being glorified.
So let’s join together, and give ourselves to this. For our joy, for the salvation of people around us, and for the glory of King Jesus – who is worth it all.