 Welcome everybody to Unfiltered with Pastor David. How are you today pastor? I'm good John. Thank you this afternoon pastor wanted to ask you about the importance of our church family or even on a grand thing on a more grand scale the importance of having a church family to the Christian and to those who are part of a fellowship now, you know, there are there are those who are incapable of having a an opportunity of attending church services for several reasons sometimes They may be incapacitated may be having to stay at home and all and so they are They're voluntarily remaining home, but they have to because of illnesses or whatever. We know that Because sometimes people get hypersensitive even over the idea that it would be good for them to be part of a church family many people have been hurt in the past and perhaps have been heard or at least perceived hurts from members of the the church that they attend you know church community that they're part of and so they They are hesitant to go sometimes like recently in the last couple of years with the COVID and and all of the things that were said and mis-said and believed and Shouldn't have been believed all of the confusion and all of that There are those who stopped coming to their fellowship because of Perhaps a fear or perhaps their own illnesses and so you have to take a lot of things into consideration Before you make statements like like I'm about to make concerning Community and fellowship. I Really believe that it's very important for someone to have a church home a place where they have friends and place where they can exercise their gifts a place where they receive instruction from from a shepherd a pastor teacher who actually rightly divides the word and There's hardly anything that I encourage people to to do more than to be faithful in their attendance of their home fellowship to exercise their gifts when given opportunity to to Bring their gifts or financial support to the ministry and all and You know to develop relationships within that that group that community of believers because Loneliness and isolation are terrible things The first thing God ever said is I've said to you we've talked about so many times John that he ever said was Not good was that the man should be alone and So there needs to be a community. There needs to be relationship. There needs to be a place where I can Have a fellowship, you know, all you need to do is pick up your your concordance You know one of those books that helps you to find different words in the Bible and You can pick up a strong's concordance for example, and you can look up the words one another because it'll list in scriptures where those words are joined together and You see so many things that pertain to the church you you pray for one another you love one another you confess your faults one to another You serve one another You you there's such a variety. I could you assemble together With one another there are so many things that are one another verses and when I I First began to examine what the church was intended to to do and to be as a young Christian and then later on as a young pastor. I was really Taken by the amount of verses that relate to family life to to the one and other aspects of of Christianity if you read conclusions and Salutations for example if you look in the book of Romans in the last chapter chapter 16 And you see all these names greet this person greet that person, you know and Names of people that are familiar to one another then you realize that that that the church was made up more of then More than of people who simply showed up Once in a while when they felt like it when the kids weren't playing soccer or when the game wasn't on They showed up because it was vital. They they showed up because they knew that without the the the fire of fellowship without the Carefulness and the love that could be shared in the hearts that could be Mended through mutual ministry They knew that that those things were important John and the church was under stress and persecution very early in its history and and That that need to be together was even more emphasized at that time more important So if there's anything that I see in the church today that stands out brightly. It's that people voluntarily Sees that attending fellowship they voluntarily Stay home and not because of any sickness or or other things just because they do and so I Really believe that in this fellowship We call it a community because that's what we have we have things in common that bring us together it's a community and I Never wanted to pastor a church that was made up of simply strangers who attended for a variety of reasons I Wanted to be used by the Lord to produce a group of people who when given opportunity and we give ample opportunity Could actually develop relationships with people that would benefit them And so the church has been called out of the world to be with Christ But to be together with other members of the body you can see that in Ephesians and Romans and various other books of the Bible where Body life first Corinthians where the body life is described from the very beginning when they they in the book of Acts chapter 2 Verses 42 through 47 they gathered together for the Apostles doctrine and prayers Breaking of bread and such and those kinds of things and it showed us that they had a regular Regular attendance a regular meeting a regular community because that's what God intended I think back in my own life in the times where I was probably the most lonely lonely us whether it was coming out of addiction or Lost a family members family loved ones That it was that our church community it really brought that family love to me And that was really important and significant in my own growth Because I found out that there's people here that are not just like me, but have gone through very similar experiences and It really fostered community and I think sometimes people have this idea that They can be that lone ranger and they don't have to come to church But they're not only missing out on the word of God and the fellowship But they're missing out in that community that the Jesus people community and that was very significant to me I know you spoke about that in your early days with Calvary Chapel that There was something different at the at the I don't know was it a Bible study you went to the chapel a chapel that they they had before they built the Had the tent or built the their their their church buildings So would you say at that moment and you know fast forward years later? You're now the senior pastor of our church But you saw that love firsthand by that community. I experienced that love, you know, there's one thing to see it It's another to be part of it Yeah, I was I was taken by that and again, you know that By this Shalom and know that you are my disciples if you love one another and I saw a visible demonstration of that It happened actually prior to me first going to the Calvary Chapel in Costa Mesa. It was first experienced after getting saved and even prior to getting saved going to a friend of mine's home Where he would have fellowship with Christians who would show up and all and I was already getting to know some of his new friends who were believers in Christ and and I saw the difference between Those whom I hung around with and those that my friend Now was hanging around with I saw the difference. It was visible. It was real. There was a warmth. There was a kindness there was an interest and All of those things that were shown to me as a person that they really didn't even know and So it really surprised me that you could have a kind of a pure friendship Without I'm gonna use you or you're gonna use me kind of thing that we actually had a pure friendship where they were more They knew it was more blessed to give them to receive and so they weren't expecting anything for me So yeah, so I experienced that prior salvation. I went into the church in the first time I I sat there on the carpet with a couple hundred other kids and and I Experienced it in an emotional even a spiritually awakening kind of way a convicting way So that after getting saved I knew that that these were people I wanted to spend the rest of my life with These were people that met more to me than then even my my physical family these were People who are closer to me than a brother and in many ways and it remains that way to this day So yeah, John, I believe that people are really missing out when they don't share their life with people watching Church services is not the same. It's been said. It's like watching a video of a Fireplace fire just sitting there, you know, you're looking at something. That's real But you're not really part of that and so when people are watching us online When they could really be with with us or their home church But they watch online because they can sit there drink their coffee talk in between and not even concentrate if they think they're Going to church under those conditions. They're not they're not experiencing Real life. They're not experiencing what a church is supposed to be which sometimes it's a bit messy But it also is a place that we learn from one another and we grow and all of that So yeah for those of those who are watching who have chosen to stay away from their church Not just our fellowship, but whatever church they may attend it would be of great importance for them to to wake up and to come in and and Return to their home They're missed by those who know them and love them and there are people waiting there to become their friends that they've never met Even yet so I would I would encourage them to do that And so you hear the invitation for from our pastor to come out and join us for our services because there's nothing as you mentioned I remember my mom would give for before we had a fireplace She would get this this cardboard box that looked like a brick chimney And then you'd plug in a light and it was the light bulb for the fire Yeah, you mentioned the fight the fake fire I thought of that but when you were worshiping together and and getting in God's word together then people are fellowshiping afterwards There is best the spirit moving and and it's very important especially in this time of the season where There can be a lot of difficult things going on And so you hear our pastor inviting us back into church and come join us We'd love to have you matter of fact We have our services tomorrow evening at 7 p.m. As Pastor David you're taking us through first John first John 3 tomorrow First John chapter 3 and and then on Sundays you're taking us through mark And it's been both studies have been very rich and even as we're in the Garden of Gethsemane on Sunday's last couple Sundays And and looking at Jesus. It's just amazing. You guys are going to come on out December 18th It's going to be in a couple of weeks. We have the containers coming out Which is a great opportunity to come out and invite your friends and family To join us in that time of worship and and then the following week We have Christmas Eve and then we have Christmas service Christmas day services at 8 30 and 10 45 So we have a lot of opportunity for our church family to come back together And join and to be with one another so pastor David Thank you so much for sharing with you with us and you guys thank you for checking out for tuning in And we look forward to seeing you in our wednesday services and our sunday morning services 8 30 and 10 45 pastor. Thank you so much. God bless you guys