Community Tattoo

Below is the message I presented tonight at Rockin-4-Christ. I am so thankful I had the opportunity to sharemy thoughts on this topic. I can't even begin to explain how mush the Holy Spirit moved this weekend to prepare me to bring this message. Some people have asked me to share so here it is...

When it came to trying to decide what I wanted to say tonight-- it was no easy task. I had to honestly ask myself what you guys would really need to hear tonight. Then I realized, I didn't need to ask myself-- I needed to ask God. I knew it wasn't up to me, but it's hard for me to relinquish control. I actually had a completely different idea written out as of 2:00 in the afternoon yesterday. I had almost everything written out but I knew it wasn't right, I just had this feeling... so I decided to hope in my Jeep and take a drive to the Outlet mall. On the way there I was thinking about how I was going to finish this message, and why I felt so uneasy about what I wanted to say. Then a song came on the radio... a song by Jason Aldean. Now, I've heard this song 1,000 times... but this time something really hit me. The chorus to "Tattoos on this Town" goes like this--

"It sure left it's mark on us, we sure left our mark on it.
Let the World know we were here, with everything we did,
laid a lot of memories down, like tattoos on this town."

Now, I realize some of you may not be country music fans-- but hang with me for a second. Think about those lyrics. Think about the impact they have on community. Let me break down what God taught me during that drive yesterday.

I had planned to talk all about relationship tonight, and I still think relationship is a very important topic. Especially when it comes to a personal relationship with Christ. However, those lyrics reminded me of a bigger picture idea. One about Community. About our community (or communities)... about the impact that you can have on this place. Community is such an important thing when it comes to our relationship with Christ and with others. Webster's dictionary defines community as: a social, religious, occupational, or other group sharing common characteristics or interests and perceived or perceiving itself as distinct in some respect from the larger society within which it exists.

Based on that definition, we are in community with each other, in a lot of different ways. Right now, we are meeting in community as a religious group... and a social group for that matter, and some of us may have classmates or coworkers here, which makes it an occupational group as well. On a larger scale we are a part of the community of Bartholomew County, AND an even bigger scale the community of Christians. The Bible has a lot to say about community, in fact, one of my favorite verses about community was part of a sermon I heard a few weeks ago... "All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord's Supper), and to prayer." Acts 2:42. That is truly what it means to be in community with others-- fellowship, faith and food. Now this verse comes right after Peter stands up and speaks to a crowd about their lack of belief in Christ. This crowd was gathered for the feast of Pentecost, and they were coming together as a social community. Peter cared so much about his community that he couldn't stand to see them miss out on the love of Christ, so he shared it with them. Right there on the spot 3,000 people were baptized and joined God's community. Now-- some of you may not realize where I'm going with this... but here it is. Peter was one man-- those of us sitting here total ____. He brought 3,000 people to Christ in a matter of minutes, because he spoke up, because he cared about his community. Look around you, and get an idea for how many people  you think are here tonight. I would guess ____. Multiply how many people are here, by 3,000... that's ____ people that could be saved just by us caring about our community. And telling people about the love of Christ is so much easier now than it was then... we have facebook/twitter/instagram/email/chat rooms/text messaging/skype. I'm not telling each of you, that you have to bring 3,000 people to Christ. Please don't misconstrue what I'm saying. I'm just saying that with all the technological advances we have, we should have the ability to see more of our community sharing in the love of Christ. We as believers, have a chance to make a difference in our community. A huge part of being a Christian is about other people... Philippians 2:4 says "Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too."  We are also called in John 13:34-35 "So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.". God is all about community, the community of believers, and the community that is Bartholomew county. One of my all time favorite verses, and one that God has used countless times in my life to answer my prayers is Matthew 28:19 which says "Go then and make disciples of all nations. Baptizing them in the name of the father, the son, and the holy spirit".You know what God has been teaching me about that verse the last few months, it's something I read in a book written by the Pastor of the Blended Church. We are all called to "Go and make disciples of all nations" but that doesn't necessarily mean we have to leave our nation. Because we live in the United States, the nations have been brought to our doorstep. There are a ton of opportunities to make disciples right here in Bartholomew County. Think of the impact you could have on your homes, schools, work places, athletic teams, clubs, even churches if you allowed the Holy Spirit to grab hold of your heart and use you the way God wants too. 

Which brings me back to those lyrics from before:

"It sure left it's mark on us, we sure left our mark on it
Let the world know we were here, with everything we did
Laid a lot of memories down, like tattoos on this town"

Bartholomew county is going to leave it's mark on you.. Trust me. I am going to be 24 in about two weeks, and I am who I am today, because of the community I was raised in. Let's leave our mark on Bartholomew county as well, let's allow the whole World to know we, as believers, as individuals, as students/parents/teachers/fathers/mothers/brothers/sisters/children make an impact on this World. Let's tattoo this town with the Cross. Let's make it an extension of the Kingdom, by adding to the number of people we are going to spend eternity with. Now-- Some of you are sitting there thinking, is this guy off his rocker? How are we supposed to impact the World? We are from Indiana, the only thing we know is basketball and corn... well, you're wrong. And I'll tell you some of the ways God can use you to change the Kingdom. Reach out to kids at school that get bullied, sit with the new kid at lunch. If you have jobs, start showing grace to those you work with, ask them in a polite way if you can help them with anything. When someone sneezes say "God Bless You". When someone is upset, comfort them. When someone is facing a hard time, pray for them and offer to pray with them. Carry your bible to school. Pray before you eat your lunch. Start a club like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, or even ask some friends to come over and play xbox or listen to music, and be in community with each other. When you are surrounded by a strong community, God can take hold of that community and use you to reach the lost and broken. Spend some time in relationship with others, and with God. Pray on a daily basis. Don't just pray for an A on the next test, or that the girl you sit by will notice you. Pray to be broken by the Holy Spirit, and after that pray for restoration in the Holy Spirit. Some of the greatest moments of my life have come when God has completely and radically wrecked my life, and then put me back together in a way that is more like His image. God created us in His image, and he wants us to strive to be like him. Ephesians 5:1 says "Be imitators of God". Let's start loving our community in a radical way, in a way that's going to leave a mark. Let's tattoo our community in love.

Grace and Peace