#Jesus Comes to My Neighborhood (And So Must I)

There is a concerning trend…

Actually, a lot of concerning trends within America and Christianity right now…

It almost becomes which one do you talk about

But since Covid there has been a doing away with community, if you are a Christian, you might call it fellowship as in very few churches have Wednesday night services anymore and across the country we are seeing a general decline in attendance, if you are teen you might call it hanging out, but I am sure that word is already not cool.

and I am not trendy as we speak.

We went from meeting together to Zoom meetings (and I have to admit sometimes it really convenient), we went watching a show to binge watching a series (cause it was safe and our government told us to stay at home), we went to texting instead of talking, snapping instead of relating, and now the Metaverse where virtual is the new thing. 

There are even now virtual churches in the Meta Verse, and I don’t mean those who watching us online, but where you can inside of the Metaverse, pick an avatar of your choosing, be greeted and welcomed by other avatars, find a seat in a virtual auditorium, hear the band, perhaps worship, listen to a message, give your life to the Lord, pick up some cool virtual merch which is a cool word for merchandise and well…Welcome to the New Church. 

And you go back home….just wait you are already home!!

And now you binge watch tv, texting instead of talking, snapping instead of relating…

And maybe you take a walk on Google Earth, or visit a virtual mall, or concert…

You might have to eat real food from the fridge, though Japan is working on that…

And we have never interacted with HUMANITY!! 

Flesh and Blood.  Image Bearers of the King.

And here come our series #JESUS

Now a hashtag is used on social media websites and applications, especially twitter, to identify digital content on a specific topic.  For example, if you put #hurricanneida you would begin to see everyone that has ever posted about #hurricanneida and you would be linked to a community of people that related with your post.  It also would typically give you more views. 

And as we have started this new (#hashtag) series I wonder what Jesus would emphasize in his ministry.  And so today #Jesus Comes to My Neighborhood and So Must I

John 1:1-18

Now the book of John is inherently different than the others, remember back in the day on Sesame Street and “One of these things is not like the Other” it’s the book of John. 

Matthew Mark, and Luke are called the Synoptic Gospel which means the same (in this case mostly the same) but not John.  John writes from the position of closest friend to Jesus, Moreover, the author writes as “the disciple whom Jesus loves not out of egotism (he never identifies himself by name) but to emphasize that the contents of the Gospel merit belief since they come from the man in whom Jesus confided.  John emphasizes Jesus’ Judean ministry, omits the parables and—for the most part—the kingdom, and substitutes long discourses and the theme of eternal life. That’s why by John chapter 3:16 we see “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believed in Him would not perish but have eternal life.”

He writes so you would believe. 

And what would cause us to believe?

He starts it with Jesus in our neighborhood!!

John 1:1-18

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (He throws this back to Genesis 1:1 which says “In the beginning God created the Heavens and the earth”) ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. ⁴ In him was life,^[a] and the life was the light of men. ⁵ The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. (This is not John who wrote the book but rather John the Baptizer) ⁷ He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. ⁸ He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.

⁹ The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. ¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. (this sentence WOW #Jesus was in the world, the creator of the world came to the world that He created, not to a palace, or a virtual metaverse, or a position) ¹¹ He came to his own,^[b] and his own people^[c] did not receive him. ¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, ¹³ who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son^[d] from the Father, full of grace and truth. ¹⁵ (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) ¹⁶ For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.^[e] 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. ¹⁸ No one has ever seen God; the only God,^[f] who is at the Father's side,^[g] he has made him known.

• Go to the Neighborhood

#Jesus came to the neighborhood my friend, John is running themes of Genesis again…

Genesis 1vs 26 it says Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness.  And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

In chapter 3:8 “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day…but by Vs 24 “He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to the tree of life.”

And all of the Old Testament tells of a God who wants to return to the relationship..

The message version of John says this

The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood John 1:14

God desires relationship, relationship restored,

so Jesus packs his bags from Heaven and shows up in our neighborhood!

The Creator lives with the Creation.  It’s unbelievable really.  This is Jesus.

What about you?  Are you showing up in the neighborhood, being Jesus?

You know what neighborhoodness will do to you…

It will cause you to pray again…

It will cause you have compassion again…

It will cause you be more like Jesus!!

Can we say that in some cases Covid has become our excuse.  It has become our pattern.

A couple of months I feel like the Lord has been impressing on me the need to reach our neighbors.  We have the neighborhood Facebook page and sometimes it just hateful, so I decided to start a ladies Bible Study on Thursday Nights.  So posted, flyer 100 houses, 5 ladies showed up, but you know what else it has done, when I am invested into a place, its awakened me to be neighborly.  Invest into your neighborhood, your job, your school, your workplace.

But our neighborhoods are our concern.  The community of people God has placed around.

Loving people where you live might sound simple, but we know it can actually be very challenging. We want to build relationships, not damage them, as we seek to reflect Jesus to our neighbors.

• Ask God to create opportunities for you to talk with your neighbors.
• Prayer walk you neighborhood.
• Pray as a family specifically for others in the neighborhood.
• Ask God to equip you with His Grace and Truth.

• Do it with With Grace and TruthGrace and Truth come though Jesus!!