2021 Year Of Authentic Community In The World

In 2021, we’ll dive into an initiative we’re calling, ’The Year of Authentic Community In The World.’

In the first half of the year, we’ll start with ’The One Anothers.’ Then we’ll remind ourselves of our Soma Basics from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (Our Soma Basics are essentially about being authentic community in the world!) Then we’ll survey the theological underpinnings of community by digging into Paul’s Letter to the Philippians. 

In the second half of the year, we’ll seek to build the inner capacities and emotional health necessary to relate well to one another in community. Then we’ll explore core topics related to living in harmony, peace, and love with one another as the diverse body of Christ.

6 different preaching series

    1. The One Anothers
    2. Soma Basics – Ephesians
    3. Shifting the dial from individual to community
    4. Gospel rich and healthy relationships
    5. Marriage, intimacy, singleness, sex, gender, race
    6. Community mixtape (everything that didn’t fit elsewhere)

We’re also looking forward to a potential restoration group, an Alpha Marriage Course, a Parakaleo evening and weekend for women, our annual Soma Camp, studies for Gospel Communities on many of the topics, occasional electives at our Sunday gatherings, evening lectures, and resources placed here to collaborate with the year of authentic community in the world.

The One Anothers

The word ‘one another’ is actually a single word in Greek. And it’s used a hundred times in the New Testament! And most of the time it’s used to describe how the church is to live out the truth of what Jesus has done in us.

Jan 3 – Love one another (1 John 4:7-21) – Dan
Jan 10 – Be hospitable to one another (1 Peter 4:7-11) – Toby
Jan 17 – Bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:1-10) – Ross
Jan 24 – Honour one another (Romans 12:9-21) – Stuart

May 21 – Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:9-21) – Stuart
May 28 – Have the same mind as Christ with one another (Phil 2:1-11) – Dave

These one anothers are the chief factor of believability to the world. The lack of one anothers will leave us unable to sustain a credible faith in our world. How will people know that Jesus is the truth? How will people know that Jesus is alive in us, if we can’t embody his life and teachings in our lived-out day-to-day experience with one another? See Jesus offers a lot of grace, but he endows us with a lot of responsibility. The lack of doing the one anothers well as a community will impact the credibility of the gospel. If we are not doing the one anothers well, that will impact the credibility of what Jesus came to do in the Blue Mountains.


Soma Basics

Jan 31 – God’s eternal purpose for the church (overview Ephesians)
Feb 7 – Gospel Identity: Adopted Children (Ephesians 1:1-2:10)
Feb 14 – Gospel Identity: Spirit-filled Temple (Ephesians 2:11-22)
Feb 21 – Gospel Mission: Filling us in order to fill all things (Ephesians 1:18-23)
Feb 28 – Gospel Mission: Called to be sent (Ephesians 4:1-16)
Mar 7 – Organising our church around gospel communities (Ephesians 3:1-13)
Mar 14 – Liberating Leadership (Ephesians 4:1-16, 1 Corinthians 12)

soma basics booklet

Gospel Community & DNA Resources:

Grab hard copies from Dave. Ephesians and Called Together also available on Kindle.

soma basics pdf
Kindle Hard copy
Buy
More resources here

Calendar

  • The One Anothers

Jan 3 – Love one another (1 John 4:7-21)
Jan 10 – Be hospitable to one another (1 Peter 4:7-11)
Jan 17 – Bear one another’s burdens (Galatians 6:1-10)
Jan 24 – Honour one another (Romans 12:9-21)

  • Soma Basics

Jan 31 – God’s eternal purpose for the church (overview Ephesians)
Feb 7 – Gospel Identity: Adopted Children (Ephesians 1:1-2:10)
Feb 14 – Gospel Identity: Spirit-filled Temple (Ephesians 2:11-22)
Feb 21 – Gospel Mission: Filling us in order to fill all things (Ephesians 1:18-23)
Feb 28 – Gospel Mission: Called to be sent (Ephesians 4:1-16)
Mar 7 – Organising our church around gospel communities (Ephesians 3:1-13)
Mar 14 – Liberating Leadership (Ephesians 4:1-16, 1 Corinthians 12)

  • More One Anothers

May 21 – Live in harmony with one another (Romans 12:9-21)
May 28 – Have the same mind as Christ with one another (Philippians 2:1-11)
April 2 – Good Friday
April 4 – Easter Day

  • Shifting the dial from individualism to community

April 18 – Shifting identity – 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16
April 25 – Shifting life in Christ – Colossians 3:1-17
May 2 – Shifting God – John 14:1-10
May 9 – Shifting freedom – John 17:20-26
May 16 – Shifting discipleship – Deuteronomy 6:4-9
May 23 – Shifting mission – 1 Peter 2:9-12

May 30 – Be kind and compassionate to one another – Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:12-17

  • Gospel rich and healthy community (incl. DNA training)

June 6 – Introduction
June 13 – Case Study
June 20 – God is great – so we don’t have to be in control
June 27 – God is glorious – so we don’t have to fear others
July 4 – God is gracious – so we don’t have to prove ourselves
July 11 – God is good – so we don’t have to look elsewhere
July 18 – Enjoying God – 5 for 5 pick a chapter

  • Community mixtape (everything that didn’t fit elsewhere) – Oct/Nov
  • Sex & God

July 25 – Sex and the story we are in – Genesis 2
August 1 – Sex, a vision for flourishing – 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8
August 8 – Why the Christian view of sex is good news – Monica Cook, sex therapist
August 15 – Sex and who we’re becoming – 1 Corinthians 6:12-20

  • Race

August 22 – Cultural generosity – Revelation 7:9-17

  • Parenting

August 29 – Instructing a child’s heart – Deuteronomy 6:1-9 
September 5 – Disciplining our children – Ephesians 6:1-4
September 12 – Parenting Young Children – Hebrews 12:4-11
September 19 – How Does Your Garden Grow? – Monica Cook, sex therapist

  • Community Mixtape (everything that didn’t fit elsewhere) 

September 26 – Stir up one another to love and good works – Hebrews 10:25
October 3 – Too much gravity keeps us from flying – Genesis 17-21
October 10 – The Comic Vision – Genesis 2-3, Job 38-42
October 17 – Cultivating singleness – Matthew 19:1-12, 1 Corinthians 7:29-35
October 24 – Extended Families
October 31 – Hesed – Exodus 32-34
Nov 7 – The gospel and gender identity – Rob Smith, PhD in gender identity and the scriptures 
Nov 14 – Communion – 1 Corinthians 11:17-34
Nov 21 – Peacemaking – Matthew 5:43-48
Nov 28 – Nothing without love – 1 Corinthians 13