“But this? This is progress.  We’ve gone from a communal rite to a private spin cycle.  We’re on a total blitzkrieg to isolation.  Listen to me! The day is coming, and it won’t be long, when we won’t have to leave our living rooms.  No more schools, no more stores, no more tabernacles, no more cineplexes. You’re gonna snuggle up to your fiberoptics, Baby, and bliss out.”  – Northern Exposure circa 1993

We are so connected that we can do all of life alone.

“This is the great irony of social media: the more you immerse yourself in it, the more lonely and depressed you become.” – Jonathan Haidt

“Research proves that teens who spend more time on social media are more likely to suffer from depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders, but teens who spend time in groups of young people, such as playing sports or being involved in religious communities can significantly improve mental well-being” — Anxious Generation pg. 121

3 Forms of Community in the Bible

1. Community in worship.

Acts 2:42, 46
All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. 46 They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity.

2. Community in service.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. 11 Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? 12 A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

3. Community with Jesus.

John 14:19-20
“Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am IN my Father, and you IN me, and I IN you”