We are better together in community. Our churches are to be shining examples of community. What does it look like for people who are there for you in your time of need?

Scripture: Romans 16: 1-16

We’ve got more needs than we can count. All of us are struggling with something. If someone gave you truth serum and asked you to share your soul, a flood of concerns, fears, and troubles would spill from your lips. Our neighbors, friends and family would do the same.

Sometimes God doesn't send a helicopter over to drop the answers in our front yard. Instead, He sends a real-life person to say, "Is there anything that I can do for you?" Sometimes He sends us to ask that question for somebody else. Other times He says, "I want you to help this person, and it's gonna take some work."

Do you know any desperate people, even in the body of Christ, who need someone to walk with them? Perhaps, they are in the most desperate time of their life and need help. Have you checked on them? The body of Christ is to be a helping community. Only God can meet needs, but sometimes He sends us to be a part of His helping team. We are to remind people that God Himself has not taken His eyes off those in need. God sees His people.

God's given you something that you can do to be a part of this helping community. We've heard so many sermons our heads are about to explode. We have so much knowledge, but it's time to be the church. It's time to put what we know into action and be the dynamic, spirit-filled, tender-hearted, servant-hearted people that get out of our way. We don't just think about what we need. We think about what somebody else might need.

In Romans 16, Paul finishes the book with a long list of names. You've probably skipped over this section before because you see this long list and think it's not only dull, but it probably doesn't mean anything. It's about as exciting as reading your grocery list or a class roll call. But this section is much more exciting than that.

This chapter is what's known as a commendatory letter. These were popular in the ancient world, and Paul used this opportunity to acknowledge, appreciate, and affirm people who were special to him. This letter is an excellent example of what love does; It affirms and appreciates people. 

The early church worked very hard for the kingdom of God. The modern church has built a religion, a church that's based on our needs. The early church took time to help and appreciate one another. That's pretty simple, isn't it? God asked us to lay our lives down for Him. We've been so heavy in the church that we rarely do any earthly good. We're living with our heads in the clouds.

Real love meets a real risen Christ. Real love wants to make a difference on this earth. It should not to be our goal to only go to heaven. We should want to make a difference right here for the glory of God. Regardless if anybody else knows it or not.

None of us can know everyone, but we can take time to know someone. It's not just the preacher's job to say hello. Get out of your chair on Sunday morning and introduce yourself to someone new. Get out from behind your desk and say hello to another employee you may not know well. Be kind to the cashier at the grocery store and ask them honestly how their day is going. 

It's incredible what kinds of relationships can be forged if we take time to speak to people and get to know them. That's how the church will not only survive, but it's how it will grow as people introduce one another to the love of Christ. 

Paul knew many Christians worldwide, and I don't know how he did it, but he kept track of them. He was careful to remember the names and details of people that he met. There's nothing like being known by name, and there's nothing like being known in detail.

Who helped you? 

Alcoholism was a struggle in my family. It affected members of my family tree I never knew. One of my favorite authors says to be human is to be addicted. What's your addiction? Is it work? What about money? Could it be worry? What about pleasing everybody?

Folks, we get addicted in so many ways. I like to call addiction squatters. Some things squat in our lives that shouldn't be there. The only way we can evict those squatters is to get closer to Christ. That greater affection has the explosive power of sending out secondary affections that don't belong in our lives.

Think about a time where you were somewhere you shouldn't have been. Think about what saved you in that situation? Who came to your aid? Who shared their story so that you could respond? 

We don't like to share our stuff in church. There are many people not in a church who desperately want to be. Many people don't feel welcome in the house of the Lord because they're not sure if they shared all their dirty secrets how they'd be perceived. They realize how much they're struggling, but they wonder if there'd be anybody there that would wrap their arms around them. Sometimes the body of Christ is God to love people where they are before they understand that they have a God that will love them.

We're not only a helping community; we are, by definition, a caring community. No matter how sound the church's doctrine, no matter how beautiful its liturgy, no matter how strong its preaching, no matter how loud its claims, if it isn't a society of universal caring, it ultimately loses.

Through the pandemic people realized that they might think they’ve got everything needed to live alone, but people are seeing now more than ever that they need one another. That's a Godly understanding when you realize you need the church and the church needs me.

Community is not about me; it's about we. 

It's okay not to be okay in community. I think that's what Paul meant when he said help us bear the burdens of one another. We know Jesus took all of our burdens to the cross. That's a finished work, but first, His sacrifice has to be worked into the real life of people as they struggle with things that are ripping them apart.

Do you want to be a lover of God? Do you want to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Do you believe that we can be lovers of people as well? 

When that love of Christ is in us, it changes our hearts. We don't look down our long noses at people, but we look to them, as Christ told us, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Who's On Your List? 

Folks, I don't know about you, but I'm part of a forever family. A church is more like a family than anything else. The church should be a foretaste of the glory divine. If our churches are not like a family, it's not the church. We're a community like no other. We are a forever family.

When thinking about the church, I hope you don't think of just a building, address, or location. As remarkable as our churches can be, it's the people that make up the church: warm flesh and blood people who have real names and have been a part of our story of faith.

Romans 16 shows Paul made a list of people who helped him, so who is on your list? I call it a Life List. I'm writing my list of people who've made an impact in my life. This is a group of people that if it weren't for them, you would have never made it. So I want to encourage you to identify these people and send them a commendatory letter. Let them know they've been seen and are known in detail. 

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About Christ Church Memphis
Christ Church Memphis is church in East Memphis, Tennessee. For more than 65 years, Christ Church has served the Memphis community. Every weekend, there are multiple worship opportunities including traditional, contemporary and blended services.