“You Need Others…”
Simple Truths Series Lesson 2
Sermon Notes
April 6, 2025
I. Created For Community…
A. God is not all you need! (Genesis 2:18)
B. God has always existed in
1. For us to experience the full potential that God placed in us as image bearers, we need
C. Jesus’ mission was bigger than the salvation of individuals. It also involved the creation of a new
1. “Followship” demands
2. The third step in our Discipleship Process involves regular participation in a small
D. The simple truth is that real community can be quite a challenge, but the blessings of real community are so worth it!
E. Discussion Questions for Life Groups & Families: Consider the following questions as you reflect on our need for community: a) What is your reaction to this statement: “God is not all you need?” b) What are some possible reasons why we all need others and we all need community? c) There are a number of people today that say they are “spiritual,” but they don’t have any involvement in a local church. Why do you think that is? d) Think about one or more times in your life when you experienced real community. Describe what that “real community” looked like to you and how it impacted your life?
II. The Challenges Of Real Community…
A. Real community requires involvement with
The prerequisite for membership in a local church is the admission that we have messed up and we need some grace!
The temptation is to view messy people as
You don’t build real community just on compatibility; you build it on commonality! And what we all have in common is a desperate need for grace! (Romans 15:7)
Discussion Questions for Life Groups & Families: If people are inherently messy, what kinds of “messes” are particularly challenging for you to deal with and why? Over the past few years, how have you grown in your ability to relate to messy people and situations? To what do you attribute that growth?
B. Real community requires real
1. Connection without
2. The Bible never talks about “falling” in love. It always talks about
3. Discussion Questions for Life Groups & Families: When you hear the word “commitment,” what do you think of? What happens when people try to build connections or intimacy without commitment? We often talk about commitment in the context of marriage, but how does “commitment” apply to friendship relationships and to a person’s relationship to their church family?
C. Real community requires us to love like
1. In Genesis 15, God is making a
2. Typically, both parties involved in the covenant would walk through carcasses of the animals, but in this case, only
3. In order to experience real community, we have to learn to
4. Discussion Questions for Life Groups & Families: Reflecting on your understanding of Scripture and your experiences, how would you describe the way that God loves? How is the way you love similar and different from the way God loves? What might you need to do differently to love more like God loves?