Drawing Closer to God

Altar of the Ordinary

Fellowship as Worship

 

Being the sociologist that I am, I have made an observation of a curious cultural phenomenon.  I made this observation in the games people are playing.  You would think that with video games, such as Xbox, DS, Nintendo WII and the like, being as popular as they are, that would mark the death of board games.  Who is going to play Monopoly, when you can play Gears of War 3?  It is a multi-billion dollar industry.  But the sociological observation is that board games have never been more popular.  New games are being released constantly.  Boardgamegeek.com, I’m sure you all go there frequently, lists the top 7000 board games.  Did you ever image there were over 7000 board games?

 

Sociologically, here is why  I believe board games are so popular.  Besides being fun, people want to be connected… across a table, face to face, eyeball to eyeball, with real, live people.  So much of our life in the 21^st century is isolated.  Many of us work in cubicles.  Most of us are not living near our biological families.  A lot of us don’t interact with the next door neighbors.  We watch TV.  We share on Facebook.  We talk on the phone; date on the internet; Skype with the kids.  We spend large portions of our time without face to face, people to people, reach out and touch, contact.  As a sociologist I believe there is a backlash such that there are a whole variety of activities, like board games, which are becoming popular just so people can connect together with non-pixel-people.  I believe our culture values connectedness.

 

I bring this up for two reasons.  One, this is an opportunity for us to reach out to our neighbors and connect with them.  This is an opportunity to share Jesus with people.  Theoretically, you could listen to my sermons on the internet, read some good religious books, sing along with your favorite Christian band, and to all the praying you could want… all in the comfort of your living room.  But people don’t really want that.  We want to connect.  The church is all about us being together.  The Greek word for church is ekklesia– those who are called out.  This sociological phenomenon of connectedness is perfect for church.  

 

But, the second reason I mention connectedness is… we find another place where we can worship at the Altar of the Ordinary.  In the last several sermons we have been talking about ordinary people.

-We first see ordinary people as not ordinary at all, but made in the image of God; each with their own special stories.

-Next, we serve these ordinary people by being kind.

-The last two weeks we have been blessing ordinary people.  There are some more handouts of the blessings.  How is that going?

-This morning I want us to think about connectedness with ordinary people as worship at the Altar of the Ordinary. 

 

When we spend time connecting to each other, we worship.  God designed us to be connected.  We celebrate the image of God in us when we connect to each other. 

 

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The New Testament has a word for this connectedness… koinwni,a koinonia. This is a fascinating word.  The essential meaning of the koinonia embraces concepts conveyed in the English words like community, communion, participation, sharing and even intimacy.  Koinonia is a derivative of koinos, the word for common.  It begins in what we have in common.  The noun appears 19 times in the Greek New Testament.  It is fascinating how it is translated.

 

The first time is the famous Acts 2:42 verse

 

Acts 2:41-44  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.  They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.

 

At the very beginning of the church we find koinonia.  You can feel the commonness in this verse; having things in common. 

 

Romans 15:26  For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

 

There is a sharing of together to contribute money to the poor.

 

1 Corinthians 10:16-17 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ?  And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?  Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

 

In the communion there is connectedness; koinonia.

 

2 Corinthians 6:14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers.  For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common?  Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

 

Fellowship based in common doing right.  1 John says the same thing. 

 

1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

 

2 Corinthians 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

 

Philippians 3:10-11 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

 

What an amazing word.  Our fellowship begins with our connection with God.  Through the death and the resurrection of Jesus, we are made pure.  So that we can be connected with God.  It is the grace of Jesus and the love of God that brings us together in fellowship with… each other in the Spirit!  Our primary fellowship is with God.  Through connection with God  we have fellowship with each other.  It is… God's friends are my friends.  Because of the vertical koinonia with God, I have horizontal koinonia with you.

 

Our culture values connectedness.  We have koinonia. That sounds like a win/win.

 

I want to elaborate on some of the meanings of koinonia and explore how we worship in connectedness.  Watch how it gets deeper as we connect. 

 

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 Koinonia begins with eating together.

 

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread…

 

There is koinonia in eating together.  There is something mystical about sharing a meal.  When I sit across the table from you and pass the pot roast, we connect.  This has always been and still is.  Breaking bread is fellowship; connectedness; koinonia.

 

I am proud to report we do this one well.  Every time we come together… we eat. 

-Sunday donuts are koinonia.  Those few moments of sharing are vital.

-Wednesday night meals… together eating… posolee is connection.  The old guys I eat with each Wednesday I am connected to.  If you want to connect come and eat.  It is worship at the Altar of the Ordinary. 

-In 3 weeks we are hosting a Thanksgiving meal with the Christian Church, Cavalry Chapel and Nazarene church.  Symbolically and in reality we are creating koinonia.

-On a personal level if you want to connect to another; have a coffee, share a hamburger; eat a pizza.  Hey, take me to the Hill Diner. 

 

Worshipping at the Altar of the Ordinary begins with eating tougher.

 

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Koinonia deepens in learning each other’s stories.

 

Fellowship gets deeper as we, not only eat together, but we learn each other’s stories.  We have said, “Everyone has a story.”  Koinonia deepens when we talk about more than the weather and the Cowboys.  As we share who we are and where we came from and what we are doing and where we are going, the connectedness deepens.  We connect to the degree we share who we are with others.

 

One of the things we learned last year at the Table was our stories teach sanctification.  Our values, the things we think are important, the core of who we are, is shared in the stories we tell.  You remember a story because it made a difference to you.  When you share that story it can make a difference to me.  Move the conversations you have with others to a deeper level by telling stories. 

 

We worship when we reveal who we are to others.

 

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Koinonia continues to deepen in play.  This is my favorite part of the sermon.   I enjoy eating with you and listening to you stories – I do – but if you want to speak my language… let’s play.

 

There is something magical that happens when people play together.  God wired into most of us a desire to play, in some way.  There is connectedness.  Athletes always talk about there is no “I” in team.  There is something which deepens in us when we join together in all kinds of play.

 

I guess it doesn’t matter much what you do when you play; games, music, hobbies, sports, theater, events, movies, picnics, croquet.  Isn’t there a sense of joy when you black ball someone out of the park while playing croquet.  There may be an infinite variety of ways to play because humans are always looking for more ways to play.  When a group of people are playing together there is a bond created that I am going to call… Koinonia.

 

If you enjoy anything, share it with someone else and worship at the Altar of the Ordinary.

 

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Koinonia deepens in serving together

 

Romans 15:26  For Macedonia and Achaia were pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.

 

Deeper still is making a contribution with each other. God also wired within us a desire to make a difference.  We all want to make the world a better place, in some way.  By joining together in common purpose to help others we develop Koinonia.  Two sets of hands working together, to build something, for another in need, is powerful.  It is worship.

 

That is what the church is about.  When we work together to accomplish some good deed, there is a deepening sense of connectedness.  Whether it is making prayer quilts, or working in the yard, or painting the preacher’s house, which is in desperate need… or going on a mission trip to Bonga-Bonga… all that is amazingly… koinonia.

 

Working together is worship at the altar.

 

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Koinonia gets even deeper in knowing where to place our blessings.

 

One more place where we can worship at the Altar of the Ordinary brings us back to last week’s blessings idea.  We deepen in fellowship when know where to place our blessings.  This requires some honesty.  It requires some vulnerability.  It requires confession.

 

James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

 

At this level of fellowship we can place our blessings where they need to be.  When we are one in Christ, our blessings for each other are powerful and effective.  “What can I pray for you?  Where can I bless you?” becomes words of those who are in Koinonia.

 

This whole idea of sharing our spiritual journeys; this walking together in fellowship; this…

 

 

1 John 1:7 …walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

 

It is in fellowship with the Son as we walk together in the light which provides the purification.  All this is connected together. 

 

The picture of people walking together as a blessing to each other is koinonia.

 

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Let me end these sociological thoughts with some practical suggestions about doing Koinonia.
1. Learn everyone’s name.  You should know all of our names.  Right now there are 125 of us.  Can you name everyone in the room this morning?  To know someone’s name is the start to koinonia.  Put out some effort even if it is embarrassing to learn names.
2. Learn everyone’s story.  Eat together and ask the questions.  You should be able to, at least, roughly, know everyone’s story in our fellowship.

3. Learn what others enjoy.  Find the ones who enjoy playing what you enjoying playing or in service and enjoy it together.  Maybe even go to some things you don’t enjoy for the others sake. 

4. Listen in order to bless.  You don’t have to fix anyone’s problems - but you can bless. Place your blessings carefully.

 

There is a wonderful verse in Hebrews 13 which calls koinonia worship.

 

Hebrews 13:15-16 Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise-- the fruit of lips that confess his name.  And do not forget to do good and to share (koinonia) with others, for with such sacrifices (Made on the Altar of the Ordinary) God is pleased.

 

Tim Stidham

Oct 23, 2011

Los Alamos Church of Christ