God's Goals: Community - Matthew 18:12-20

Sin cuts. It divides us - people from God and people from people. One of God's Goals for us is to work to undo the damage that sin does. We have to look at how sin divides us and what we can do to pull people back together instead of pulling each other apart.

• Individual Importance - v12-14
  
• Everyone is the ONE
  
• Start Small, Stay Simple - v15-17
  
• Limit the Audience
• Divine Design - v18
  
• "your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" - 6:10
• Stronger Together - v19-20
  

Handling the Truth: Truth Stands For Real - John 8:32

We all have secrets, things that we are afraid to tell anyone for fear of what it would do to the relationship. So, we hide these things inside, we push them down and try to cover them up. But, in truth these secrets act like a wedge between us and other people. The more we push them down, the further we push people away. If these secrets are sins, they drive the same kind of wedge between us and God. We long to feel close to God and to live real, authentic lives, but in order to do so we have to face the truth for real.

• Inside
• True to Ourselves
  "You are the man!" - 2 Samuel 12
  
• True to God
  He will forgive us - 1 John 1:9
  
• Outside
• True to Others
  Confess your sins to EACH OTHER - James 5:16
  
• True to Life
  ...and the truth will set you free. - John 8:32