I am dating myself a bit, but I was a big fan of the TV show Cheers. The show was about a group of people who had developed a web of meaningful relationships at a Boston bar, and over the years, characters were developed in a way that revealed they deeply cared for and about each other. The show’s opening song was catchy, and revealed something all of us need: a place where everybody knows your name and are glad you came.

We live in such a fragmented culture, it is difficult to find a place where you can both be a mess and loved anyway. But, this should be the exact nature of the sort of community you find in the church. When God saves a person, He makes them a part of His people. The church is not a building, hierarchy or institution—it has always been a redeemed people. The Gospel forms a people, so the local church is made up of people who are diverse, yet Christ arranges them into His body and dwells within them. This community is marked by humility, love, and unity and becoming more like Jesus. And it is marked by deep, meaningful relationships that puts the beauty of the Gospel on display.

This morning we will talk about community, explain how our church is structured for this to happen, and invite you to pursue a place where everybody knows your name.