Community Sunday: The Heart of Jesus

This morning was our monthly Community Sunday where we have communion together as well as have time for coffee, snacks, and fellowship after musical worship. This month, Dave offered a brief reflection on compassion as the heart of Jesus and the way of the kingdom.

Please find the slide deck for this week's teaching here.

Please find the link to the compassion survey here.

Home Church Questions:

1. What stood out to you from this week's teaching?

2. Read Matthew 9:36 (preferably in multiple translations). What stands out to you from this passage?

3. How does Jesus's example of compassion challenge the way we think about discipleship?

4. In the Anabaptist tradition, faith is understood as something that is lived out, not merely believed. What are some practical ways compassion demonstrates our faith in everyday life?

5. What might compassionate community look like in our church today?

6. Who are the people in our community that Jesus might be calling us to notice and serve?

7. Compassion is often described as a witness to the gospel. Have you ever seen an act of compassion open a door for someone to experience God's love? What happened?

8. Pray with and for one another, our church community, and our world.

Instagram: @theharbournewmarket
Website: theharbournewmarket.ca
Email: david@theharbournewmarket.ca

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi everyone, Will here. Before we get into this morning's teaching, I just wanted to let you know that there's quite a bit of discussion about a compassion survey. If you are not in the theater and able to use the QR code or the hard copy versions of the survey, please find a link to it in the show notes with the home church questions and the slide deck. Thanks very much. And now for this morning's teaching.

SPEAKER_01 0:24

Okay. Well, Compassion Sunday. That's right, Alona. Way to go. So we're gonna have a survey in a few minutes, and and uh Alona and I spent some time on this. Um we've had a few conversations. Um the big picture is we want to be a community at large that is compassionate and is tangible in that uh in that area of ministry. And uh I certainly think it's something that uh you know we need to talk about as a as a community. So the purpose of the survey, which we'll go through in just a minute, is just to kind of let you know how we worked it through. And if you like it, well, blame, give credit to Alona. If you don't like it, you see say, yeah, if you don't like it, it was me. Blame me. Okay. But okay, this is based on a simple text. Matthew 9, 36, when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. And if you look at the Anabaptist tradition, um that would certainly be a core text. As followers of Jesus, compassion is at the heart of community. Okay, so just a quick review. Anabaptists believe that Jesus is the full revelation of God's character and the clearest guide of how Christians are to live. And when we look at Jesus, we've seen over the past few months that he was constantly moving towards people who were hurting and marginalized and overlooked. He was not afraid to touch lepers and welcomed children, fed the hungry, healed the sick, and yes, forgave sinners. But most importantly, he showed mercy to those in society that were rejected. So compassion was not a side ministry, it was who Jesus was. It was central to his mission. So therefore, his command to love our neighbor and even our enemies, you know, we've seen that in the Sermon of the Mount, and uh Jesus calls us to a radical way of life. And you've heard you've heard that a lot, I will concede, over the past few months. But it's um it's it's important because we really understand faith is something that must be lived out, not just believed in. Right believe is important, it's good, but I love the idea of moving this to the next step where there's some tangible acts of service. Now, compassion is also rooted in the Anabaptist tradition of a community. So although this is great, um my heart is full to see a good crowd and families, young and old. Um but we're not just a gathering of people, but we're also a family that bears one another's burdens. And so we are looking into the church in early acts, and uh here we've seen that um the early church cared for those in need, and uh, and even beyond the the uh congregations. And we see great acts of generosity, hospitality, and mutual and practical support, and we talked about that, I guess, uh last week. And I think finally the key is, and and you know, I've wrestled with this over the years because I've been in a few church traditions. Um compassion, I believe, is a witness to the gospel. And I found that people can encounter the love of Jesus not through just a sermon or an invitation, but also through acts of kindness, service, and sacrificial love. And so I think this demonstrates that God's kingdom is breaking into the world and invites others to experience that for themselves. So for us, this isn't optional. Um if it is, then some will feel uncomfortable for sure. It's a natural response to the compassion we've received through Christ, and it's an expression of discipleship. So as Jesus, we seek to embody his love in practical ways, serving with others, yeah, serving others with humility and and grace. So, and now the survey. Can we throw that up here? Now, does anyone need a hard copy of said survey that is not uh able to uh bring it up? So now we're we won't again we won't spend long as we're gonna um have our time of com communion and stuff. Um this is something you don't have to do instantly. We do have again hard copies you can take home if it's not working on your phone. Um the first question, and and again, there was a method to our madness. The first one of the first questions Alona and I talked about when we, and I guess this started back in March, us having this conversation, is do you feel that our church has the capacity to take on a new compassion initiative together? Um so and you know, you'll answer that, however. And um again, this is a this is a safe spot to share your you know to share your feelings. You you can put your name on it, you don't necessarily have to put your name on it. Um that's fine, whatever works for you. Now, the second question is would you prefer we start something completely new or simply strengthen what we're already doing? We're already doing community dinner, we're already doing um right uh the food pantry, home churches are busy doing uh you know doing various compassion activities. So let me be clear. This would be compassion directed at the total congregation, right? The whole whole church, something we would do as a harbor community in total. Should we stay focused on one main initiative to stay unified or support multiple similar efforts? You know, is there one big thing that we just feel we really need to wrap our heads around and talk about, or do we want to be nimble? Right now we're doing a few different things. We have our, you know, we we recently did as a as a community, you know, we supported financially the uh the hygiene kits, and that came together in a variety of different contexts, but the the uh the support uh financially was fantastic, was was very, very strong, which told me, hmm, this is a community that believes in compassion. And then I'm interested in hearing what are you passionate about? We've um we've had a number of things over the years that we've supported, you know. Um examples are food access, you know, refugees, that was a big thing a few years ago, mental health, you know, parenting support, connecting um with some of our local agencies to offer parenting support. And now we get into the the big the big question. Um how would you like to be involved? And I've seen this lived out over uh over the years in a variety of ways. Um those of us who come from traditions that had the missionary who came into town, we were mostly asked to uh to write checks and uh give financially, and uh that's that's great. Um we've been a little different here. We've not only asked for money, we've also asked for your time and your talent. And so, you know, as I mean, nothing works without everything kind of working in synergy. So that's why that question. If we just want to throw um you know donations at something, that's certainly an option. But um, if we want to do something that is a little more interactive and that that involves some nuts and bolts, um that's good to know as well. So we need to hear from you there. Now, three areas were identified that um, you know, when Alone and I were were talking, that we've both heard a lot about over the the past few months, and and uh certainly there's some history here as well. The first would be supporting food assistance initiatives. Um that can be in a variety of contexts. It can be the food pantry, it can be gift cards, um, lots of ways to get involved in. And uh, based on your answers here, we'll take it to the next step over the summer. I mean, how interested are you in providing health and hygiene kits? Because that's a huge area. Um, and again, not just through John Howard, but the Loft. There's wonderful community partners, Blue Geo Blue Door Shelter. I mean, I can list half a dozen where their uh support in that area practically would certainly be welcome. So is that something that interests you? And then finally, something perhaps a little closer to home, and we've talked about um we've always been, I would call, a benevolent community. And what that means is we care for each other. And we hear stories in our congregation and other situations in town where some practical support would be very, very helpful. Um is that something that resonates with you to be able to you know really lean in to the teaching in Acts chapter 2, where we do care for each other in a practical way? Okay, so that is the survey. Um your comments are welcome. This is not an exhausted list. This is our best effort to um to kind of capture the heart alone. I would I would say um we certainly haven't got it all figured out. Um the next step will be you know to to get these in in the next couple days, um, after you've RS VP to the uh 28th. Um that that would be that would be really good. Okay. Now there's also another little piece of homework for you. Um you also are going to get an email tomorrow on our tagline. Today is is the deadline for tagline submissions, and there's been some really, really great ones. So what we're going to do is get an email around tomorrow so you can you can vote. Um, and then the leadership team will will take it from there and we'll uh we'll see what uh what comes of that. I I suspect, I mean there's a there's a quite a few of them, so it's going to take some winnowing down, I I would say, but I'm excited. I I didn't know what I expected, but there's there's a lot. So and they're and they're quite good. So again, I'm so grateful for your participation, your engagement on all of this stuff. And I can't stress enough, we want to be a a church that is compassionate, that is practical. And so the reason we're doing this now and not in the fall is so we can react accordingly over the summer. You know, we can uh kind of look through these surveys and then come up with some next steps and report back to you. The thought was if we started this in September with everybody's schedules, it might be Christmas before we come up with a plan. So I want to be ready to hit the road in the fall with whatever God is calling us to do. And I'm excited to see. So thank you for your attention to that. Um, I do have copies, or George probably has them now. Um, if you want a hard copy of this, take one. If you want me to email you an attachment, that's fine. I will do whatever it takes to get this into your into your hands, so it will be very easy for you to complete. So, Val, why don't you come down and transition us into our communion time, please? And let's just have a word of prayer as Val prepares. Well, thank you, Lord, for yeah, just a tent of hearts this morning. Thank you for your call to compassion. And um I'm excited to see what that looks like. So may we may we think about this prayerfully, um practically. Um hopefully um yeah, you'll just give us a clear direction, knowing that uh we're a small but uh strong community when it comes to serving you. So bless us as we work this through. And Lord, just bless our communion time this morning. In Jesus' name. Amen.