Show Notes
This sermon was recorded on Sep 13, 2026.
Visit our church website to see the archives including the slides from this lesson.
Find us on Facebook.
Find us on Instagram.
View Full Transcript
Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Speaker A: Hey, thanks so much for listening to this message. My name is Jason and I'm one of the ministers here at the Madison Church of Christ. It's our hope and prayer that the teaching from God's Word you hear today will bless your life and draw you closer to Him. If you're ever in the Madison, Alabama area, we'd love for you to worship with us on Sundays at 8:30 or 10:30am if you have any other questions about the Bible or want to know more about the Madison Church, find [email protected] Be sure to also check out our Bible study podcast, Madison Church of Christ Bible Studies. Thanks again for stopping by.
[00:00:37] Speaker B: Glad to see everybody here this morning, especially if you're visiting with us. Man, we are so excited to have our friends and family with us today. And you know, I couldn't help but as I was thinking about today and maybe some new faces walking into the auditorium this morning, I couldn't help but just ask the question, what's it like for that first time guest as they walk into the building and how are they welcomed and you know, how do they get to where they're going and all those kinds of things. And I'm trying to imagine what it's like every time I go into a place that's new.
One of the things that I begin to recognize is as I'm walking in is, okay, what's the dress code like as you walk in and you're looking around and you're seeing the people around you?
We all, whether we like to admit it or not, we're a little judgy. Like, we walk in and we got our own standards. We think what everybody should wear is one of those things. And so we walk in, we kind of give ourselves a little survey of the situation. We walk in, we go, okay, genes are acceptable. And then you kind of look a little bit further and go, oh, well, that seems a little disrespectful or whatever and you keep going a little bit further. And you know, all of us are, we have kind of in our own mind what that standard is. And by the way, There are like 1400 different standards of what that is.
But we find ourselves walking into a place, looking, wanting to look a part and be the part and all those kinds of things. But let me turn and shift our focus a little bit to our seat. You know, if you're walking in and trying to find a seat for your family, that's really nice and you may go and you find that place. But now let me turn our Attention to our members. If you get to your seat and you see someone sitting there, they are laughing. I don't know why you're laughing.
It's not your seat. As far as I know. There is no deed to that seat. There is no placard that has your. At least I don't think so. Some of you people, maybe not real sure, but let's say someone comes into your seat and you walk up to your seat, and it's been your seat for eight years, and everybody should know that. And, you know, like, if you're not there, then people will go, where were they today? That kind of thing. And you walk over and you see that person. You are really struck with a deeply spiritual dilemma, are you not? I mean, do I possibly go sit somewhere else, or do I just give them the stank eye for a little bit until they realize what church crime they've committed? Right.
We laugh at these things, but in reality, you know, this is some of the challenges that we face here. I mean, everybody walks in and they want a place to belong, and they want a place to fit in. And we look around and we see this. But it made me stop and think for just a moment. What if it were Jesus who were walking in here this morning?
And, you know, he didn't look the way we look. He didn't say the things that we said. He didn't, you know, look and dress the same way that we did. He walks in and he doesn't know our tradition or our rules or how we behave ourselves. He doesn't know when we stand up, when we sit down. None of those things.
He doesn't capture all those things. And maybe he walks in, and maybe he walks in late. Of course, he probably wouldn't. He would never make him a stand like that. But maybe he walks in. Maybe he comes and he sees our water bottles and he sees our coffee mugs and he says, what is that? Or maybe he says, can I have a sip? I don't know. But let's just imagine for a moment as Jesus comes in, that we acknowledge that there's a difference.
And as we see him, how do we treat him?
How do we welcome Him?
How do we make certain that he belongs?
You know, the reality is, whether we like to admit it or not, we've all got kind of our little preferences, do we not?
We want, you know, to dress the way we want to. We want other people to look like us, to act like us. We want to be in a room full of people that enjoy our sense of Humor. We want to be in a smaller group of people who get me and understand who I am.
And the thing that I think maybe most of us find the most discomfort with is someone who makes us feel a little uncomfortable because of their differences.
So maybe if Jesus walked in the room, we would have to confront this question, are we more committed to protecting our comfort or making room for someone else?
That's not to chastise us. It's just to kind of laugh at us a little bit. And for me, to really be honest with everyone here in the audience is we're all a work in progress, are we not? And we come into this room, and I look at this church building, and I see just all the different backgrounds and all the different experiences that you've had. I mean, there are some in here who have.
Were brought up in the church and were in homes of faith all their lives. There are some people who are new to faith and they're experiencing it for the first time, and they're coming together in this worship assembly, and we see the different experiences that we've had, right?
But as we consider those things and as we contemplate who we are and what the world is needing, it really causes us to maybe take a look inside and.
And find this place that we want everyone to fit in.
And honestly, as I think about Jesus, how he spent so much time with people who were not necessarily connected together or people who were, you know, maybe the religious people of their time had kind of pushed away. You know, I think maybe, in fact, that's what the church is supposed to look like. Maybe there's some differences that we're supposed to see when we come in here. Not a room full of people who look alike, who dress alike, who say all the same things and share the same exact opinions, but a room of people that are different from different life experiences all together. It's only Jesus could put it together.
And it seems to me, as I really think about it, Jesus didn't say to all of us, make everyone fit in, necessarily.
It seems to me, the more I read about Jesus, what he's really saying is make room.
And that's a little bit different, right? Doesn't mean that everybody fits into our little box. It just means that everyone is welcome.
And if I may say, when people walk in, it's one thing to say, welcome, come find your seat. It's another thing to get out of your seat, walk over, find that person that you don't know, get to know them, take them to your seat, and say, hey, Sit with my family. Let me introduce you to some people. That's a different kind of environment. And I know we have a lot of that going on here at Madison, but it's one of those things that I want to bring us back to how significant it is. We're talking about these three big questions. And Andrea spent two weeks talking to us about our identity in Christ.
You know, we're not defined by the mistakes we've made in our life or those events that we think define us. No, we're. We're a child of God. We were purchased by the blood of Christ. We were redeemed, we were pardoned. We were brought into this family.
And so these three big questions deal with identity. And then today we're going to talk about belonging, and next week about belonging. And then we'll get into our purpose together, working together.
These are questions that everybody's asking, not just teenagers. But if we're really honest, it's what we're looking for as well. So who am I? Andrew's answered that for the last couple of weeks.
And today we're gonna ask, where do I fit in?
So when we talk about belonging, it's interesting that this comes up so often. And I think part of it is we have a real dilemma in our world today.
And it's a spiritual dilemma.
The dilemma is simply this. We have people who are struggling with loneliness. Now. That seems so bizarre to us because when you look around, there are so many different ways to connect. I remember when. When Cindy and I were in college, I mean, we would have to do these, like, collect calls or like, we had a phone card that we would get on. And, you know, we were limited to, like, two minutes. It was like, hey, how you doing? Love you.
[00:08:26] Speaker A: Bye.
[00:08:27] Speaker B: You know, it was like that kind of, like, fast. Cause we couldn't afford anything more. We didn't have ways to connect. We couldn't call each other, FaceTime each other, and all those kinds of things. We weren't watching each other on social media. And all the different things that we see today that draw us to connection with people.
But when you think about it, while we have all of those things today, the struggle is loneliness.
And you may say, well, that sounds pretty rough, but maybe it's not that bad for people to take some time to be alone. I'm not talking about being alone. I'm talking about that feeling of I don't have a place.
Listen to what this quote I found says.
Loneliness is no small thing.
It has the same impact as smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
It's a better predictor of early death than obesity. So, yes, loneliness can kill you. This is all from research and from study. And so loneliness is one of those things that we, as the body of Christ, have got to get real with and ask ourselves. Are we being the people that God has called us to be? So the three questions that are asked to help us understand exactly what belonging is. How do I. Where do I fit in? And all three. These three statements have to be put in place for us to all feel like we are in a place of belonging. And the first one is this. I fit where I feel safe to be me.
And that sounds great, right? The idea that I can just be myself and those kinds of things. And I hear sometimes people will be around someone and they have a different perspective on life, and maybe they participate in different kinds of things, and they'll look over at them and go, girl, you do you. That's not what we're talking about, okay? What we're talking about is who you are. All your quirkiness, all your personality. Things like who you are inside, the different things that make you who you are to the core. I'm not talking about sinful behaviors. I'm just talking about who you are in general.
We all want a place to feel where we can be that person. And think about it.
If you spend all of your time, like, being a chameleon and rolling into an environment and saying, okay, in this environment, I am this. And these people in this environment hate these things, so I have to disappear those parts of me and push forward these things that'll cause me to be accepted in this group. But then you have to do that not for this group, but also for this other group. And so you're kind of going around, and everywhere you go, you're not really. You're losing a little bit of who you are in the midst of a. All this, but not only that, but if your acceptance is dependent on other people liking the very thing that they want to like and that this is a very specialized group, then just imagine what happens if you're this way in one place, this way in another, and the hypocrisy is starting to hit you. Not only do you feel that hypocrisy, but you also may be experiencing the guilt of being sinful and dishonest.
And so not only do you wear the guilt and the burden and the anxiety of all those things, but. But you find yourself in the middle of it going, I'm not really sure who I am. And who would ever want anything to do with me.
And I think we find people like this all the time. This is a question we have to answer.
But also I fit where we share together. You know, every relationship that I've ever had that was successful, and I mean in the sense of friendship, brotherhood, those kinds of things.
It came because we were transparent with each other, that we were able to talk about things and open up and truly share our life. The things that are going on, the frustrations I have, the hurts that I have, and we share those things. But there's a secondary part of it. Not only do we share and we become open and vulnerable, but it's the next part of this which is really important, which means that I share my encouragement, I share my love and my support and my resources if need be.
Everybody needs a place where they have people around them that fit that bill, that are willing to share with them, reveal who they are, but also share their heart with them and what they can do to be a blessing to them. But then the third question is this, or the third statement is this. I fit where I feel like I am needed.
As I was thinking about this, one of the things that jumped out to me is what happens this time of year. Every year, our graduates, you know, they finish high school, they go through their summer with our youth group, and then they move off to their places. Their new phase of life in adulthood, whether it be a job or whether it be school or some other training that they go through, military or what have you, and they leave our youth group. And I remember as a youth minister, you know, Jason Helton and I, kind of working in tandem would call it like, this is the slump right after the summer, you know, it's the post summer slump. You get to the point where those kids that were once there so often, and they held a very significant place of influence, or maybe they were a leader among the group or what have you, or maybe just their presence was so unbelievable to have there. And then all of a sudden you look up and those kids have moved on.
And I can remember just feeling their absence, right? And it's not just because they were leaders.
It's because we love them and we needed their influence, we needed their place, we needed their smile, we needed their hugs, we needed their encouragement, all those kinds of things.
And I think everyone needs to find a place where you're needed.
I think about what Wesley is doing with our involvement. Man, what a time and a place for us to redo this whole thing with all the new people that have come in and give opportunity to all of the people who are here to serve in some capacity. I'm not asking anybody to sign up for 15 things, but to. To give yourself fully to something, to roll up your sleeves and be a part of a ministry. Don't neglect that opportunity to be a part of this, because your significance and your work here will bind you closer to the ministry here at Madison and will draw us even closer to you as well. I encourage all of you to do that today, before that deadline expires.
But I think the bottom line of all this, if you just gel it all down, is true belonging happens when these things are met.
People know, understand, and accept me for who I really am.
That's really important, isn't it, That I can just be who I am, and the people around me accept that, understand it, and love me as a result of it.
Think about this passage in 1st Corinthians 12 that kind of brings this to a head with regard to the church. It says, but as it is, God arranged the members of the body, and he's talking about the church, right? And different. Different people as representatives of those members. He says, each one of them as he chose.
If all were a single member, well, where would the body be? And that's kind of a crazy question. But the bottom line is, if we were all just, you know, a hand, then where was the rest of the body? You know, that one piece is sort of a ridiculous statement here, right? But he goes on to say, as it is, there are many parts, yet one body. So all of these things that we see that make up our human body, there are all these different specialized things that take place and that happen, that cause us to all function together, but all of it together is super important. So he says, hey, the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you.
Nor again, the head to the feet, I have no need of you.
On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. He's saying, hey, there's little parts of your body that you may think, I don't have to deal with those things. I had my gallbladder removed years ago. You know what I wanted to know?
Why did God put that there? If I can lose that, right? I mean, if you can just take that out, why did God put it there to begin with? And I got my answer and all that stuff. And if you want that detail, I can give it to you later. But anyway, the point I'm making is when that gallbladder was having problems, I had an issue, I understood it, I got it right. Well, listen to what he goes on to say. God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it. Like the things that we maybe don't think need to be the special billing that get the kudos, get the acknowledgments and those kinds of things.
He says that there be no division in the body, but that the members have the same care for one another.
Again, he's using the body to say even the body itself has to care for the body. Right? Each individual member.
So he says, if one member suffers, we all suffer. And if one member rejoices, we all rejoice.
About four weeks ago, I was playing disc golf. That's my new fun thing that I'm doing.
And I'd love to tell you that I'm great. I'm not, but I have a great time doing it. And in golf they have what they call a tee box, right where you put the tee down and you hit the golf ball. In disc golf, it's a tee pad. I don't know why they call that. It seems way less masculine to me. But for whatever reason, that's what they call it. I got on the tee pad and it was a little bit wet that night. It rained a little bit. And so I'm getting into my stride and my little X step and woo. I start to throw and when I do, my foot slips off the edge of that wet concrete pad and there's a puddle of mud right beneath it, but it's like thick, like goo, like falling, you know, that kind of mud. And so I did, and trust me, I'm sure this was the most athletic thing you've ever seen. But tubby man here, you know, falls off, rolls over, and I land on my arm a weird way. And I did what I thought was the right thing. Tuck and roll, you know, and so I did that and everybody's like, oh, you okay, man? You know, that kind of thing.
It was awful.
And they were like, are you okay? And I'm like, yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine, fine. And then they asked me, well, are you ready to throw your next throw? And then I did, and it was like, like I couldn't even do anything with this. Turns out I heard something deep inside my elbow. I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's a tendon, I don't know if it's a crack bone. I don't have any idea what it Is. But for three weeks, it was, like, hard to just straighten my arm out. What am I saying is, I don't have any idea what's in that little inner part of my elbow.
Okay, Somebody can explain it to me. But whatever that is has caused such a ruckus that it's been frustrating for about three or four weeks.
[00:18:31] Speaker A: Right?
[00:18:31] Speaker B: That unpresentable part, that insignificant part.
Every part of my body responds to that pain. When I throw a disc or when I do anything me like, whoa. Everything in my body responds to it. What am I saying is that's the kind of closeness that God is calling us to be as his church. That we belong to each other so deeply that when someone rejoices, man, we're all excited for them. When someone is sorrowing and going through a tough time, hey, we're there, too, because we are so close and so connected to one another that we feel each other's pain. We feel the joy, and we experience that together.
Well, isn't it interesting that Jesus takes our diverse pieces, all these small things, and he forms them into a perfect picture of community.
Isn't that great for us to think that we belong together in such a way?
And you may say to yourself, oh, hey, I'm kind of an outsider. I'm not necessarily one that gets in the middle of it. Well, you know, we always say that Jesus has a way to relate to all of us. And when I think about it, Jesus was kind of an outsider, too. When you think about, you know, right after he was born, he was whisked away over into Egypt to protect his life. Do you remember this? And he was taken. He was there as a migrant. He was a person who was taken out. He was a refugee of sorts and taken over there until Herod died so he could come back over into his homeland.
But also, when you think about what we read in Scripture this morning, In John, chapter one, verse 11, it talks about how the light came into the world and the world did not comprehend it.
The world didn't get the fact that he was who he was.
But later it talks about how his family, even as they were listening to him talk in the synagogues and all those kinds of things, they just couldn't believe that he was the one that was promised. It's like, isn't this Joseph the carpenter's son? Isn't this. You know, and all of his family kind of rejected the idea that he could be something. He was dismissed, kind of pushed away. Bible tells us he was homeless at a time he's Asking people to follow him. And he says, hey, the birds of the air have nests, or the foxes have holes, the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head. He said, this is kind of a tough existence if you think he had it all together during those times. I want you to just understand that Jesus can totally relate to us as outsiders.
But not only that, Isaiah chapter 53 prophesied about it. And then we see it in Hebrews chapter 13. It talks about he was so rejected that he was cast outside the city to be crucified on that cross. Do you understand what I'm saying? When I think about this and I think about what Jesus, when his life experience had some moments of being an outcast, the number of people that he brought in would create this even more reason for people to not like him. Remember when he gathered with sinners and we'd eat with people, that people would say, hey, you can't do that. Like, understand Jesus was getting further and further away from the establishment and the acceptance of his people.
He understands what, not feeling like you fit in. Isn't that amazing that he took on all that awkwardness for us?
He took on all those things that make life a little bit more challenging when we don't quite fit in.
And yet it's that kind of person that could connect people's lives who probably would have otherwise been disconnected. And he pulled them together. Here's just a quick picture of just a few things that we know just about his disciples and the followers that were close to him. First one is Matthew. He was a tax collector. Well, if you know anything about this, he was paid by the Romans.
And then there were other people that were called zealots and they were kind of like, I mean, I hate to say terrorists, but sort of like the idea was they hated the fact that Rome was occupying their area and they would do anything they could to put them away. And including tax collectors who were robbing them blind. In their mind. Imagine how God could take those two kinds of peoples and Jesus can bring them together and create a family. But also think about Peter and John, just uneducated Galilean fishermen. They were barbaric in some ways, and yet they are paired up with people like Joanna, who was one of the early followers of Christ and who was a well to do social person who had financial resources and helped fund ministry. Think about the kind of people that are being pulled together. I think about Peter later getting that vision where he was to go over and to introduce the Gospel to the Gentiles, Jews and Gentiles didn't mix around. But he was sent to take that message to them and say, everybody is welcome into this. You understand what I'm saying? Jesus, welcome, was making room. He had a knack for turning room fulls of strangers and turning them into family.
Listen what it says in Ephesians 2.
He came and preached peace to you who were far off and those who were near.
And through him, we both have access to the Spirit. Isn't that amazing that he took people in all these different circles and circumstances and places, and he found a way to bring them together?
Jesus made room here in Luke chapter 14.
I want to read you a text here.
Jesus had been invited to a banquet.
And he says this in verse 12 of Luke 14.
He said to the man who invited him, when you give a dinner or a banquet, do not just invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your rich neighbors, lest they also turn around and invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, what does he say?
Invite the poor, the crippled, the lame and the blind, and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you. What's he saying?
Jesus was not saying, hey, let's have everybody. That they'll kind of work together in tandem. No, no, no, no. Like, if you're going to be.
If you're going to bring people in, then bring these kinds of people in. He goes on to say in verse 23, he says, Go out into the highways and hedges and compel people to come in that my house may be filled again. Do you see what he's saying?
He's saying, no one is better than anyone else.
You all fit here. You all belong here. That's a beautiful thing for us to hear, that every one of us fit in here together.
But Jesus didn't just talk about it. Here's examples of how he put this into practice. You can think about the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and all of these people Jesus reached out to, brought in, went out of his way to help them feel the significance of who they were. You understand? What I'm saying is in all of this, what we have to recognize is though we have differences, we have all these things that separate us, divide us. Our life experience and all those kinds of things. Things is, the beauty is we belong together through Christ.
And Jesus made room for everyone who would receive him and believe in Him. That's what's said in John 1:12, says everyone who would receive him and believe in him.
It Took me in my mind to the story of Nicodemus in John, chapter three. Do you remember when Jesus was doing all kinds of miraculous things and that notoriety was spreading and people were catching on what was going on, that it really infuriated some of the religious leaders? And one of those guys by the name was Nicodemus.
And Nicodemus couldn't separate the fact that Jesus was doing these things. It was proofs of God's power in him, at the same time disagreeing that something different was not what God wanted. And so he had this problem. And so he asked to meet with Jesus not publicly for everybody to see, but. But in private so he could do this kind of quietly behind the scenes. And so he meets with Jesus. And Jesus says, you must be born again to inherit the kingdom.
And Nicodemus is only seeing it from a physical standpoint. Well, that's kind of a silly thing to suggest that a man could go back into his mother's womb and come back out and be born again. He says, hey, listen, aren't you a religious person? And you don't understand these things. How is it that you don't get that you must be born again of water and of spirit to enter the kingdom of heaven?
And so what I think about when I hear this idea of receiving and believing is we don't know exactly what happened with Nicodemus at that time, because that night he leaves him after Jesus talked to him and said, hey, you know, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life. He says this to Nicodemus, and then we don't hear of him again until Jesus death on the cross.
And there's two men that are mentioned as a part of those who were wealthy and had access to tombs. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus.
It seems that Nicodemus had received him and believed in him.
Jesus made room for everybody in all of these different walks. Think about it.
This is just a brief list.
Those tax collectors, demoniacs, lepers, adulterers, Jews and Gentiles, male and female, slave and free. We could go on and on.
Jesus took all of those people and made them family.
How do I know that? Well, this passage tells us, for in Christ Jesus, you are all sons of God by faith.
And what you know, a lot of times people will stop there and say, see, we're all children of God just by believing, but finish the rest of this concept. What does it say?
For as Many of you as were baptized into Christ, have put on Christ. You have clothed yourself with him and in that relationship as an heir of God, as a child of God.
There's neither Jew nor Greek, slave or free, male or female, but you're all one in Christ Jesus. Now, we know that's not talking about different genders. What he's saying is, as an heir of God, the promise that was given to Abraham, that is filtered through what Christ did for us, that all of us have access to this through our receiving and believing.
And part of that process is putting him on in baptism.
That makes us his child and pulls us all together. So Jesus made room. The question for all of us is really, are we, Are we making room for people? Do we have that in our mindset? That we're open to people who are different than us? That we can talk to people who don't share the same personality as us? That we can grow in our relationship and care for each other in the same way that we should care for each other? For everyone who thinks like we do, but also those people who don't necessarily see things exactly the way we do.
The question really is not that, but is, will we make room?
Let's go back to that question about our seat. When we come in and you've got your seat and someone's sitting there and it's kind of frustrating, what do I do in this situation? Do I move on? Do I just stare at them? Which of those things do I do?
But what if you thought about that seat? Okay, what if you thought about that seat not just as your place, but maybe you think of it as a opportunity, a place where someone else might find their belonging as well.
That's a powerful thought, isn't it? To think that just that kind gesture of getting to know someone, that bringing them in, making them feel welcome, and making them feel supported and accepted in here would have an opportunity for them to grow in their faith and come to Christ and live for him forever.
See, the bottom line is Jesus made us all to belong.
So what do we do? I'm going to back up one slide here.
We have a place of belonging, and it happens when we do these things.
One, we find comfort in being ourselves. That's really good, right? Because that makes us be honest with ourselves and who we are, makes us be honest about the failings that we have, the shortcomings that we have, but also the reality that I can lay all that at Jesus feet for forgiveness.
But we also have to be ready in sharing life together again. Not just who we are and how much we love other people, but our support, our encouragement, our resources. Whatever it may take to be with somebody.
And then finally to be in a place where you know you are needed.
Well, Jesus defines it for us. He says it's the church, and he made room for all of us this morning. There may be some who say I need that. I need connection. I need a sense of belonging. I'm lonely. Maybe you're struggling with all of those kinds of things.
Maybe you're just a person who says, I've been knowing for a long time that I need to give my heart to Christ, that I need to surrender myself. I need to be baptized so my sins can be washed away and forgiven.
If that describes you, then I want you to really think about this next song we're gonna sing is called We're Part of a Family that's Been born Again. We're part of a family whose love knows no end. Listen, because we don't do it perfectly doesn't mean that Jesus didn't design it perfectly.
It is up to us to make that difference in each other's lives and the lives of all the people that we come in contact with. If in any way you need prayer and support this morning, please come while we stand, sing.
