The Church and Loneliness (James 2:1-13)
Gary McManus, 08/05/2018Part of the Life With Jesus is Better series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
August 5, 2018
James 2:1-13
DCC returns to the topic of loneliness.
Statistics tell us of the bigger picture.
http://fortune.com/2018/05/01
/americans-lonely-cigna-study/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news
/politics/2018/05/01/loneliness-poor-health
-reported-far-more-among-young-people
-than-even-those-over-72/559961002/
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/
2018/05/01/606588504/americans-are-a-lonely
-lot-and-young-people-bear-the-heaviest-burden
This was the subject of the message about a month ago. We return to the topic of loneliness for a couple of reasons:
1. First of all, the problem of loneliness just won’t go away and it isn’t likely to go away any time soon—we will get into that.
2.Secondly, we human beings in America are TERRIBLE at solving the problem of loneliness.
--we are bad at solving the problem and we are getting WORSE at solving the problem.
Loneliness is a chronic ache, affecting daily life.
Also: A 2012 University of California, San Francisco.
Nearly 30% of households in the U.S. are comprised
of one person.
John Horvat reported 6/18/18. . .
God saw the problem early on (Genesis 2:18)..
In America, we tried family life and associations.
What family?
Which associations now?
Ever since the First Century,
since the first churches were founded,
the church was supposed to have that same
kind of equality.
See Galatians 3:28 (see the whole chapter),
Romans 3:22
But the churches failed in that mission.
See Paul’s letters.
See Bowling Alone published in 2000.
Praise God we still have the Bible.
The word of God remains to remind us of
our failure and Jesus prayer for unity
(See John 17).
We still have a mandate for fellowship:
1 Corinthians 1:9, Ephesians 2:4-5, James 2 (where
he condemns divisions).
Fellowship= compassion= suffering with
Galatians 6:2, Romans 14:7-10
Loneliness, DCC?
DCC, you have the answer. . .Jesus Christ the Lord.
(See also 2 Corinthians 13:14, 1 John 1:3)
Amen
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