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One of my prized possessions as a small boy growing up, was a meccano set. I would spend hours on my own, after school on the lounge floor, building all manner of projects, trucks, cars , aeroplanes, cranes – anything that moved, anything with pulleys or anything which a mechanical wind-up clock-work motor could propel.  By many estimates I was probably a bit of an introvert as a child.  As I got older I followed in my fathers footsteps and took an interest in electronics and in particular amateur radio.  At the age of 15 I gained my Amateur Operators Certificates, and enjoyed talking to other hams around the world. It seemed to be easier for me to do that, as a young teenager, than it was to mix socially. But I remember one evening when it suddenly dawned upon me that being on my own with my hobby, was not the most fulfilling thing in life. There was that inner need for more social interaction. And I guess that was God nudging me with the obvious.  God never intended that I would find fulfillment as a person, just having a conversation with some other radio ham half-way around the world.

So he gave us that strong inner compulsion to reach out to meet and mix with others. It is very clear that God doesn’t want us or intend us to be alone!  And he never intended us to live isolated, independent lives absorbed in our own little world.  God intended us to Be Together – to be INTER-dependent as His church.  God intended us to Be Together.

So today we look at the first of God’s five purposes for us Together – and the First Purpose that God intends for us as a Church is that  We Reach Out together!.  Those of you who have joined up with a small Group  - and there is something like 150 in small groups around the parish - will be reading more about Reaching Out Together, in this weeks Devotional readings in your book Better Together.    

Now, what I mean by  – “Reaching Out Together” -  is, our reaching out and sharing with friends, family, work acquaintances, etc. with the Good News of Jesus Christ.  And the Good News is that God has come among us, that God is at work in the world, and that God can be at work in your life and mine if we invite Him to.  If you have come here today looking for God – then you’ve come to the right place!  Come to Him today in an attitude of surrender;  offer him all of yourself, and ask Him to begin a work within you. That invitation is all that is needed to begin a new direction in your life today!

So when we, as a Small Group, or as a Church,  Reach out Together, we are simply finding ways of sharing that good news with others!

Now, in answer to the question of WHY should we reach out to others, my reply is simply this! -  that this is a  life-transforming message, and everyone should have the opportunity to hear it! Many of you have heard that message and you wouldn’t go back to where you were before you came to know Jesus Christ! You know the benefits and the difference of knowing Jesus, and walking with him day by day. Don’t you think others should have that opportunity also? That’s why we want to share the good news with others. Its not something we should want to keep to ourselves!

So HOW do we go about Reaching out Together?  Well there is an acrostic using the word PARTNER which will be helpful – but Im going to fill it in in a different order than you might expect.  Im going to fill it in in the order which appeals to me.

1. E. for EXPECT.  If we’re going to Reach out Together, then it only makes sense that we do so because we EXPECT God to be at work through us as we reach out.  You have Jesus Christ within you; you have the Holy Spirit at work through you; you have God the Father pouring out His love upon you – so expect God to act through you and the others in your small group. Expect people to respond! Its as simple as that. The bible says “According to your faith it will be done unto you.”  One of the greatest preachers of the 19^th century was a preacher by the name of Charles Spurgeon. .He was pastor of the largest church in the world at that time, in London. .He would often speak to congregations –indoor and outdoor – of up to 10,000 people and many people came to know Christ through his life and preaching. One day a young man came up to him and said “Mr.Spurgeon, I don’t understand it. Whenever you talk to people about Jesus Christ, they always tend to open up their lives and accept Christ; but whenever I talk to people about the Lord, they don’t seem interested! Nobody comes to Christ! What’s wrong!”   Spurgeon replied “Well, young man, you don’t expect people to come to Jesus Christ every time you talk about him ,do you?   He replied -  “Well, of course not.”  “Well, that’s your problem” – said Spurgeon – “  that’s your problem!”  You see, the results are often determined by our expectations and our faith. So EXPECT people to respond. I expect people today to be responding to this message! That’s an act of faith!  But if I didn’t expect anyone to respond them I wouldn’t bother to preach!

2. P for PRAY TOGETHER. The first thing the early disciples did after the day of  Pentecost was to pray together. “They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, the breaking of bread, and the prayers.” (Acts 2;42.) It would be interesting to know what they prayed about. My guess is that they prayed together that others in Jerusalem would receive the Good News that Jesus was  and is alive!   Let me ask you – what is the focus of your prayers, generally?  The focus of our prayers is usually an indication of our priority of concern. Probably for most of us, it is our family, the sick, the needs of our society. That’s great! But what about those who don’t know Jesus Christ. If you had two children and one was sick and the other was lost, - I know you would pray for both – but which would  you be most concerned about? – I would think it would be the one who was LOST!  So shouldn’t we PRAY together for those in our family, among our friends, in our community who dont yet know what it means to be at home and at peace with God, - the Lost.  Pray together for those whom you want to Reach Out to with the good news of God’s love.

3.  4.& 5.  NURTURE FRIENDSHIPS and REACH OUT in LOVE and APPEAL to common interests. These are the simple, practical steps you can take when you Reach Out Together. Nurturing your friendships and appealing to common interests is a natural and a Biblical way of bringing others to Jesus. That’s what Levi – Matthew the Tax collector did when he met Jesus – he put on a party and invited his mates to come and meet Jesus.

So invite your friends around to your home, invite them to a small group dinner, to a BarBQ – enjoy their company  – and let what has happened to you through Jesus Christ rub off on them. Be open to wherever God may lead the conversation. But don’t do this on your own – its much more fun when you have a few friends together – your Home Group - have a Levi party! . But you have to do that in love, and with the intention that God’s love will be at work through you. 

5. REPRESENT CHRIST  with your LIFE.   When St.Paul wrote to the church in Philippi- he said “Live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel” (Phil 1:27)  In his letter to the Church at Ephesus (Eph 5:15f) he said “be careful how you live”. The only gospel many people will read will be our lives. How we live, as friends of Jesus will either attract people to Jesus or turn them off. Jesus said it very simply – “Love one-another, as I have loved you.” Love is the key to Reaching out Together. 

And finally 6. Know and TELL your story.  Each one of us has a unique story to tell of who we are, where we have come from – what our life was like – how we came to hear and know of Jesus Christ – and best of all – what it means to know Him today. That story is different from anyone elses. We need to know that story so we can tell the basics of  it in 1minute.  I’ll give you an example.

“My story is that I was brought up in a Christian and church-going family who worshipped God. I  became involved in all the church activities.  But there came a point in my life as a young man when I realized that church involvement wasn’t enough, that I longed for a closer walk with God, a deeper relationship with God personally, and not just a church life.  It was at a mission that the message of Jesus dying on the Cross for me, made a real impact.  I decided to accept that through  his death, he had dealt with all that was or could be wrong in my life; That through His death, I was forgiven and He wanted to be at work in my life. That moment was a turning point in my life, and it involved a conscious and deliberate decision to receive and to follow Christ.  While I acknowledge and give thanks that God had been at work in my life ever since I was a young child, that moment was another specific and important step forward in my walk with Jesus. And he has never let me down.” 

 Now that is the bare-bones of my story, and it took about 45 seconds – so it can be done!  But you have to know what YOUR story is!  And it is different from mine. And  it is important that we each have our own story to tell as we Reach Out Together, because there will be some who will be challenged by mine, and relate to what I say – but there will be others for whom that wont mean anything at all , - but they WILL  be touched by Your story! So we need each other!    What I suggest is that in the supportive environment of your small group you could each write out and tell your story to each other. Encourage one another! Perhaps each week one in your group could share your story.  You will all be encouraged by that. 

So when we PARTNER together – pray together,  appeal to common interests;  reach out in love; tell your own story; nurture friendships; expect God to act , and Represent Christ with your life – when we do these Together , then we will be more effective as a Community of Faith, as a church reaching out into the community. Just imagine if each group in our church had the privilege of helping just ONE  person to step across the line of faith. At the end of 40 days there would be 20-25 more people headed in the right direction than there are right now, and YOU could be part of that.

Lets pray:  Father, you have given us a mission in the world to share your good news and your love with others.Thank you that we don’t have to do that alone.  Thank you that as we share , you are going to give us your words and your love for others, and that you will give us a heart to change your world.

Amen.