12/08/2026
“The question is not whether you have something to give, but whether the living water God has placed within you is flowing towards someone else, because springs stay healthy by flowing.” - Andre Tan
This week, Ps. Andre continued our series, The Model Church, by answering the question: Why should I invest in building relationships within the church?
Through 1 Thessalonians 2:1–19, we find three marks of a Christ-centred community: deep affection, mutual responsibility and great joy.
One of the greatest evidences of Christ at work is a community that has deep affection for one another, who love one another in ways that cannot be explained naturally. As we walk with Jesus, our loves are transformed and shaped around what He loves. To love Him is to love His church and His people.
With that love comes the mutual responsibility to care for and challenge one another to grow in Christ. Love cannot remain indifferent when we see someone we love being ruined. It is through correction rooted in affection that we can become more like Christ.
And when you see someone you love become who they were created to be in Christ, there is a great and unique joy that belongs to those who invested themselves in the spiritual growth of another person.
Because we belong to Christ, our lives have become fountains through which the life of God is meant to flow into the lives of others. Building relationships within the church and discipleship are thus not a ministry for a gifted few, but the normal overflow of every believer’s new identity.
Listen to the full sermon, now available on our YouTube and Spotify podcast pages.