Sarah Cunningham, who blogs at www.sarahcunningham.org , has recently written some very wonderful posts about community and fellowship and during a recent event, two images captured my and my camera’s eye that to me illustrated community and fellowship. I will simply let them speak for themselves.
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October 15, 2000
Luke 22:19-20, Acts 2:1-4, 41-42
Some of the most humorous and enlightening moments in our lives center around eating and drinking.
Take for instance the interaction between a pastor and young boy in a certain congregation. It seems this particular congregation loved good fellowship and always served coffee after the sermon. One Sunday the pastor asks a little boy if he knew why they served the coffee. “I think,” said the boy, “it’s to get the people awake before they drive home.”
Or the one about Joe who had been away from his family for two weeks and was lonely. As he sat down in a little cafe to eat, the waitress asked, “What would you like?” Joe responded, “I want some lasagna and a few kinds words.”
The waitress soon returned with his order, set it in front of him and turned to leave when Joe said, “Say, what about my kind words?” She leaned down to his ear and whispered, “Don’t eat the lasagna.”
Eating is not just an important event for health reasons but also for social reasons, and especially this morning, for spiritual reasons.
We have spent five of the past six weeks looking at keys to helping us see and hear God more clearly and therefore develop a more solid relationship with Him.
Our final two keys have an important link with what occurs at the two tables I want us to read about this morning. They are the keys of evangelism and justice.
The first table setting is recording in Luke 22. This chapter contains the story of the Last Supper. We pick up the story at verse 14 and read to verse 23.
(READ THE PASSAGE)
The second table’s story is told at the end of Acts 2 verses 41-42 where we read these words, “Those who believed what Peter said were baptized and added to the church – about three thousand in all. They joined with the other believers and devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, sharing in the Lord’s Supper and in prayer.”
The climates of these two table settings are different. One is filled with anxiety, stress, anger, and uncertainty. The other is filled with joy, life, laughter, and celebration.
Why the difference? It’s what occurred between the two meals that made the difference.
According the Biblical record, approximately 13 weeks took place between these two meals. And the event or events, which took place between, made, literally, all the difference in the world.
Today, we remember and we celebrate the reality of second chances in our lives. Jesus’ death, resurrection, and return to heaven made possible the second supper, the second meal.
When Pentecost occurred, God’s plan of salvation began to spread out. People heard, in their own language, about God’s forgiveness, about who Jesus was, and why He did what He did. . . . And they believed and accepted the message and were changed! They had new life! They were at the start of something new and wonderful! Life would never be the same again and they were able to share their experience with one another be celebrating communion together.
Communion is both an individual and group experience. We consume the elements
Individually but do so together. The Biblical record suggests that communion is a corporate celebration that is done in the company of one another.
The keys of unity and loyalty that we looked at two weeks ago are two of the final four that deal with the outward, the corporate, the visible ways of seeing and hearing God more clearly.
Communion is an outward expression of commitment to God. It is designed to help us remember why we are here – to jointly share in the experience of remembering Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection and what it means for us – a new way to live.
I would like for us to visualize a table down the center aisle of our sanctuary. It is a long, but simple table. There is food on the table and there are seats on either side of the table. It goes as far as we see. Some of the seats are filled and some are empty. There are people who are coming toward the table and those who are standing around it.
The table represents the Kingdom of God, which includes the church. The filled seats represent those who have made the decision to join His kingdom by follow God through the forgiveness of sins and acceptance of that forgiveness. The unfilled seats represent those who have yet to do that.
Evangelism is about helping people find their place at the table. We can bring them to the table and invite them to sit down. But we cannot make them sit down and join the fellowship at the table. That is the work of the Holy Spirit and the choice of the individual.
But, those who are sitting at the table and those who are standing around or coming to the table also have something else in common – needs. Financial, educational, relational, material, emotional, as well as spiritual – and God is expecting the church to meet them.
God is expecting us to meet them. I don’t mean all of them. We cannot do that and once we learn to accept that, we can be free to meet the ones we can meet. The ones that God wants us to meet.
Justice is about meeting those needs in Jesus’ name. One of the things that made Jesus so angry with the religious people of His day is that they were long on talk, short on action. Justice is about putting our faith, our talk, out on the streets and making a difference in practical ways.
In Matthew 4:13-16 Jesus said, “You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it useful again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless. You are the light of the world-like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
This passage is about justice about living justly in an unjust world. Nothing is harder to do than that.
I close this series out by reviewing both the 7 questions I have already asked you and the final two this morning as well as a suggestion for a way to pray about these 9 areas:
1. How much do you want God in your life? Pray for a new desire for God’s presence.
2. How much do you want God’s forgiveness? Pray for a deeper work of repentance.
3. How much do you want to understand the Bible? Pray for a fresh and deep desire for God’s word
4. How much do you want to know God’s will? Pray for a desire to be more consistent and honest in prayer
5. What habits are keeping you from peace with God? Pray for a true change in your conduct that inhibits your relationship with and influence for Jesus Christ
6. How are you contributing positively to the church? Pray for an increased faithfulness to the church
7. How are you helping your church be a team? Pray that you will be an encourager and practitioner of unity in your church
8. Who is God asking you to help come to Him? Pray for a new desire for those who don’t know the Lord
9. Who and how is God asking you to help those in need? Pray for ways to help people who are in need.
Several years ago a group of salesmen went to a regional sales meeting in Chicago. They assured their wives that they would be home in plenty of time for supper on Friday night.
One thing led to another and the meeting ran overtime. The men had to race to the airport, tickets in hand. As they barged through the terminal, one man inadvertently kicked over a table supporting a basket of apples. Without stopping they all reached the plane in time and boarded with a sigh of relief. All but one.
He paused, got in touch with his feelings, and experienced a twinge of compassion for the girl whose apple stand had been overturned. He waved good-bye to his companions and returned to the terminal. He was glad he did. The ten-year-old girl was blind.
The salesman gathered up the apples and noticed that several were battered and bruised. He reached into his wallet and said to the girl, “Here, please take this ten dollars for the damage we did. I hope it didn’t spoil your day.”
As the salesman started to walk away, the bewildered girl called out to him, “Are you Jesus?”
He stopped in mid-stride . . . and he wondered.
That is justice in action. The man acted justly and the little girl made the connection to Jesus. But, I just wonder if the gentlemen didn’t but have the other eight keys in place as well. I wonder if he didn’t sleep better that night because he acted out of a character that seem to give evidence of walking closely with God.
We have sat at the Lord’s Table this morning. Will it make a difference in our lives this afternoon?
John 13:34,35
(Earlier in the service, I asked the congregation to be ready to respond to the following question when prompted by me during the sermon. (Overhead) If you were looking for a friend and you placed a classified ad either in the paper or on the Internet for one, what would it say?)
“A pastor saw Robert Schuller’s TV program “Hour of Power.” One of the things that impressed him the most during the program was watching everyone turning around to shake hands with and greet other worshippers seated near them. The pastor felt that his church was a bit stuffy and could use a bit of friendliness. So, at Sunday morning worship he announced that next week they would initiate this custom of greeting one another.
At the close of this same worship service one man turned around to the lady behind him and said a cheerful, “Good morning!” She looked back at him with shock at his boldness and said, “I beg your pardon! That friendliness business doesn’t start until next Sunday!”
As we continue to study things that are important to the Christian faith and life, we stop today at something that this humorous story hints at in a rather direct way. What is it?
Someone has called it the glue that holds the church together.
What is fellowship?
It is one of the five purposes that we have embraced in our new by-laws.
What is fellowship?
It is one of the ways we express love and respect for one another.
What is fellowship?
What is fellowship? (Overhead) Here are some suggestions from Dave Durey.
Fellowship means: 1. Truly loving one another. 2. Based on relationships – giving, sharing, and receiving. 3. Requires us to live in unity and harmony. 4. Assists us in mutual edification and spiritual growth.
Now, what does all that mean?
Our text for today, John 13:34 and 35, is Jesus’ speaking to the disciples about the centrality of love as evidence of His presence in their lives and, as He does so, He makes it clear that it is not an option, but a requirement, a command. How is this love nurtured and established? Through fellowship! Through an intentional process and choice that each of us must make to come together and care for one another and others.
The word “fellowship” is translated from the Greek word “koinonia” which means, “sharing in common.” (Overhead) Two questions come to mind that we need to ask and answer if we are to understand and practice this sharing in common which brings us back to our fellowship definition: (Overhead)
1.What are we to share in common?
2. How are we to share in common?
(Seek response)
We are to share in our relationship to Christ and we are to share in love and respect in an active way. That is the basis for our Christian fellowship. But, there is more to it than simply sharing.
It requires us to develop relationships with one another. It means that we take the time to intentionally get to know and understand one another as we give, share, and receive. But, what are some barriers to giving, sharing, and receiving? (Seek response)
These are barriers to fellowship. Fellowship is central to the continuing growth and development of our church, of any church, for that matter and when it is hindered, a church begins to flounder.
Now there is a third question on this overhead that we need to ask and answer. Who are we to share with?
Let’s look at verse 35 of our text, “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” We first of all share it with one another as proof that we are followers of God.
Last week I said that it is often easier to talk the talk than to walk the walk. Here is one area where that’s the case. There is a lot of talk in the church about love and fellowship but when it comes right down to it, it is harder to practice it, for the reasons just mention, right? But, there’s more to it than that.
Our love for one another is said to be proof to the world of our commitment to Christ. We then are also to share this with others outside our own fellowship. Why? Well for one, a very practical reason.
Those who have studied churches over the years and what makes some grow and thrive and others decline and even die have said that one of the common reasons for decline and death is called “koinonitis.” What is it?
It is what happens when the fellowship of the church stays exclusively within the current church body and is not extended to those outside the church body or those who seek to enter the church body. The focus becomes “us” and others are shut off from entering.
Now, for the most part, this is done unintentionally. Although in some cases, it is done on purpose. Conflict, trauma, preoccupation with the “business of the church,” in other words, committees and such, can create the conditions for koinonitis. But, koinonitis can be fatal to a church if there is not something intentionally done to expand the fellowship of the church. And Jesus makes it clear that the witness of fellowship is designed to bring people into the kingdom not keep them out.
So how do we fight against koinonitis? We keep working at creating more points of fellowship and keeping them open in different ways. Ways that I will share shortly.
Last Sunday night at the beginning of the Super Bowl, both teams were introduced. If you watched, the Rams were individually introduced. The Patriots were not. They were introduced as a team. They played like one to, didn’t they?!
They were making a point about who they were. They were the New England Patriots. My point is this: While the Patriots were a collection of individuals each with a different position to play and differing levels of skill and involvement, what was more important was who they were as a team.
Which brings us to the third point of our (Overhead) working definition of fellowship: unity and harmony. As I look out on this congregation, I see unity and harmony. There is unity in that we are, and we should be, working together with the same purpose: helping people find God and the life He has for them.
But, I also see harmony. When I think of harmony, I think of Barbershop quartet music. I think of some of the popular groups – N’ Sync, Backstreet Boys, and others. I think of some of the great gospel groups like the Gaither’s. Harmony deepens and enriches music.
The same holds true for us with regard to fellowship. While we are all working toward the same goal, which is unity, we do so in different ways and different directions, which is harmony. Sound Biblical fellowship, the kind that Jesus speaks of in our main text and this particular segment of John’s gospel, builds on and use both unity and harmony.
Just look at the remaining disciples on the day of Pentecost as stated in Acts 2. They were not all alike. They were different. Each would have his own calling and direction given to them by God through His Holy Spirit. But, their message and mission was the same – the Great Commandment to love and the Great Commission to make disciples. Those two commissions were their source of unity.
But, the fellowship they experienced with Jesus and with one another had an even greater purpose, mutual edification and spiritual growth. The three years they spent with Jesus they also spent with one another. Jesus would eventually leave, the Holy Spirit coming to take His place as He indicates in John 14, but they would still have one another and the time they spent together those three years were part of Christ’s plan to help them grow and mature as His followers.
Fellowship is not just about having fun and good times. Fellowship’s ultimate goal is to help us become more responsible followers of God.
This requires mutual edification. What’s that? Mutual means “common or joint.” Edification means “instruction and improvement.” Mutual edification means “joint improvement” for the purpose of spiritual growth and maturity.
That was Jesus’ goal for the disciples during and after His time with them. The Holy Spirit came to start the next, and final, chapter of that working as He empowered them to live and serve God like never before by filling them as part of God’s “joint improvement” plan, with His Holy Spirit.
Remember your ad for a friend? (Overhead) I would like two volunteers to quickly share their ad. We need friends. We need fellowship. We need to belong. And we do so as we make the intentional choice to fellowship with others in three key ways: (Overhead) 1. Worship celebration. 2. Small groups/class And 3. One-to-one
All three ways are necessary in order to develop a balanced and healthy life of fellowship personally and corporately.
I conclude with this speculative story. There is much speculation concerning what heaven and hell will be like. One contrast of heaven and hell tells of a man who had a dream that he was allowed to see both places. He was first taken to hell.
He was taken to a large room in the middle of which there was a large pot of stew. The stew smelled delicious. But all around this point there were people who were starving and in desperation.
They all held spoons in their hands that had unusually long handles that reached all the way to the pot, but because the spoon handles were longer than their arms, they were unable to return the spoons filled with stew to their mouths. Their suffering was terrible and continuous.
Then the man was taken to heaven. Heaven was identical to hell; the rooms were identical, the pot of stew in the middle of the room was the same, and the spoons were the same. But, the people in this room were well-fed and joyous.
The man was perplexed when first walked into the room. But as he watched the people in this room, he learned the difference. The people had spoons that would not allow them to feed themselves, so they fed each other.
Fellowship is feeding each other as we allow God to feed us. It is a “joint feeding.” It is helping one another experience the joy of not being alone through the good and the bad. It is the relief of helping someone find both their home and their life in Christ and in the church. It is helping people experience a taste of heaven in the midst of what sometimes seems like hell.
Fellowship is the bond that holds the church together and when the bond weakens the results can be tragic. How are our bonds of fellowship at this point in time? What do we need to do to strengthen our bonds of fellowship? Let us resolve to improve our fellowship as we need and must do. Amen.
Colossians 3:1-16
Main point – The function of fellowship is to be a better member of God’s family.
This morning we continue toward the conclusion of our series on God’s vision for us, “A fully following and faithfully functioning church.” We spent the month of January looking at the lives of 10 Biblical characters and how they illustrate what it means to fully follow God. And we have spent the past 6 weeks studying the five primary functions or purposes of the church. We will conclude this series in two weeks with the opportunity to respond to this vision.
Someone recently told me in a half-jesting and half-serious way that I have too many sports illustrations. I thought, “Well I’ll try to broaden the illustrations so that it won’t be that way.” Then, I looked at the working title of today’s sermon, which has become the bulletin title, and thought, “Well maybe next week!”
I asked this past week in another e-mail sermon survey, “Name the first sports team that comes to your mind.” This is what you said: (They are listed alphabetically and be nice as you hear the teams called off!)
Chicago Bears
Chicago Bulls
Chicago Cubs
Denver Broncos
Florida Gators
Green Bay Packers
Indiana Pacers (2)
Indianapolis Colts
Kentucky Wildcats
Miami Dolphins
Purdue Boilermakers(2)
At first glance, today’s title might seem a bit shallow. A lot of people seem to “play” at and with life and not really take it seriously in appropriate ways. Now, there is a place for “play” in our lives, but can we “play for” God?
When I looked up the word play in a dictionary I came across a couple of interesting definitions: 1.”An effort to arouse liking.” 2.”To behave in a specified way.”
Let’s think about this for a moment. When we play a game or sport, we are expected to behave in a specified way. A baseball player is expected to play like a baseball player not a football player or a soccer player. The same holds true for musician in a band or an orchestra. And they are also to play with passion in order to arouse support for their team and their sports or work.
I also spent sometime looking up the word “for.” To be “for” something is to be in support of it. So, could we not combine these two word definitions and translate the sermon title something to the effect of “Making an effort to live for God in a specified and enthusiastic way?”
Last week we looked at the second of five important functions of the church – outreach. Outreach is an important function of the church. A church that does not continuously reach out to the unchurched will begin to decline and eventually die.
On the other hand, a church that exclusively focuses on outreach to the exclusion of the other functions – service, discipleship, fellowship, and worship – creates congregations that can lack the necessary spiritual nutrients required to have both fully following and faithfully functioning members as well as a fully following and faithfully functioning congregation. In other words, there is more to our faith that just being saved. I believe that it is Glenn Wagner, pastor of Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina who says, “We’ve got to do more than get the people into the kingdom. We’ve got to the kingdom into people.”[1]
Now before we examine Colossians 3, we need to understand what fellowship is. I asked this past week for a response to the question, “What is the purpose of church fellowship?” This is what some of us said:
to get to know and learn from one another
to come together for one purpose
to build up each other in Christ
to be team players
to fulfill our place in God, family, church
to hang out with fellow Christians
to have fun in a Christian environment
to develop and strengthen the bonds of Christian friendship
to pray and be accountable to one another
to get to know everyone
to encourage one another through fun times
to nurture and encourage one another
Thanks for sharing and let’s keep these thoughts in mind. And let me also suggest that the purpose of fellowship is to help people live for God.
Fellowship is a critical element in the kingdom of God. It is an important spiritual nutrient.
One definition of fellowship is the “condition of friendly relationships existing among persons.” Rick Warren says, “You were formed for God’s family.”[2]
Now, we all know that life with others is not 100% wonderful. There are stress and strains. But, it is God’s purpose that as His people, the church, we live well and live well together in Him. But just exactly how do we do that? Paul gives us some very important suggestion in our text for this morning, Colossians 3:1 – 16.
Good fellowship, the kind that helps us not just be converts to Christ but disciples of Christ involves, among other things, three important aspects of our lives: character, commitment, and conduct. Paul addresses all three in this segment of scripture.
When someone asks you for a character reference what are he or she asking for? They are asking for a reference on who you are. Are you trustworthy? Are you honest? Are you truthful? In other words, will this person be a good employee?
If someone asked for a character reference about us, as a congregation, what would be said? I suggest that our text for this morning gives us a good idea of what should be said about us because individually and congregationally our character does matter and as fellowship helps us live for God it also affects our character.
Simply put, fellowship can enable our character to move from self-centered to God-centered. Fellowship enables this to happen as we gather together to think about the things of God. Paul makes it clear in the opening verses of Colossians 3 that our thinking must change from being preoccupied with only earthly matters to thinking about heavenly things, the things of God.
Notice that Paul does not say forget your earthly situation. He says, at least in the translation that I use, “Do not think only about things down here on earth.” In other words, to quote an old saying, “don’t be so heavenly minded that you’re no earthly good.”
To think the thoughts of God, to have the mind of Christ, is to think, as God would have us think about our lives and how we are to live. Fellowship helps us in this area because our confession of faith and our commitment to Christ makes us a part of the church. And in becoming a part of the church, our personal faith and life in God grows as we formally and informally gather together for the purpose of fellowship.
Now can we live without fellowship? For a time. But living without the kind of fellowship of which Paul speaks in our passage will cause our faith and walk to suffer and even collapse. Think about a plant trying to survive with out water or air. It can’t.
The thing about fellowship is that it sometimes forces us to deal our self-centeredness. I can recall in a small group meeting that took place during a very difficult time in my life asking out loud as I shared my frustration and pain, “Is this all there is?” I needed to do that because I needed to be honest about myself and asking that question actually strengthened the bond of fellowship that I had with that group and helped me move forward.
In a passage that also speaks to the issue and function of fellowship, Romans 14, Paul says in verses 7 and 8, “For we are not our own masters when we live and when we die. While we live, we live to please the Lord. And when we die, we go to be with the Lord. So in life and in death, we belong to the Lord.”
As the church came to life in the early chapters of Acts, fellowship was a key function of her strengthening and growing life and ministry. As Acts 2:46 says, “They worshipped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity.”
Fellowship takes place in various ways and this verse highlights some of those ways – as they gathered for worship, as they gathered in homes to partake of the Lord’s Supper, and as they ate together. Fellowship also takes place one-on-one as well. In each case, fellowship takes place to help us live for God.
Fellowship also helps us deal with our commitments as we move from self-serving to God-serving and our conduct as we move from being self-focused to God-focused. Notice the changes in verses 5 to 11 that Paul says must take place because as our commitment is focused more and more on Christ, our commitments to a certain life-style must change.
He first speaks of the things that must go: Sexual sin, impurity, lust, greed, idolatry, slander, dirty language, rage, and lying. A commitment to these things indicates a self-serving life.
They are also conduct issues. They are habits and actions that impair our relationship with the Lord. How can we get rid of these habits and commitments and live for God? One critical way is by fellowship.
In his book, The Church You’ve Always Wanted, Glenn Wagner tells the story of a married couple whose marriage was on the rocks. “This couple had tried all kinds of remedies; in and out of counseling, meetings for men, seminars for women, marriage conferences for couples. But nothing seemed to work. The proverbial straw had broken the camel’s back. Despite everything, the marriage had come to an end.
But then. . . the miracle.
The body of Christ began to embrace this hurting man and woman, although in a different way than before. The talk and prayers and presence not longer focused on managing sin and controlling behavior but a divine relationship fully able to transform sick hearts. For months this lovingly potent atmosphere perfumed the air around Calvary, filling the lungs of a broken man and woman with new strength and hope.”
When I read that passage I saw the fellowship of the church at is best. Now, fellowship cannot always be focused on crisis experiences. But, the kind of fellowship, the kind that honors God and of which Paul speaks in this passage, is often seen in moments like this.
Paul does not continue to dwell on the negative in Colossians 3. He moves to the positive. He makes clear what kind of fellowship, what kind of relationship, helps a church to deepen and develop into a church that honors God. We read of these things in verses 12 through 17:
Clothe yourself with mercy, kindness, gentleness, and patience
Make allowance for one another’s faults
Forgive the person who offends you
Wear love
Let God’s peace rule in your heart
Live in peace and be thankful
Let the word of God live in you
Use God’s words to teach and counsel
Sing! Worship!
Do everything as God’s representative
Fellowship is the glue that cements a fully functioning church together. Without it a church will be unstable and in moments of conflict and stress, fall apart. But, when those things that have just been mentioned characterize our fellowship, and we allow the Spirit to really have His way, times of conflict and stress will only strengthen the bonds of love.
Rick Warren has written some of the most elegant and meaningful things on fellowship and as we move toward the end of worship this morning, I share them with you:
He speaks of community, of a sense of belonging, when he speaks of fellowship. One of the challenges to community he notes are those he calls EGR people – Extra Grace Required people. People who challenge us and some time frustrate us and try our patience. Listen to what he says about them.
“God put these people in our midst for both their benefit and ours. They are an opportunity for growth and a test for fellowship: Will we love them as brothers and sisters and treat them with dignity?”
One of the things that community requires is honesty. And sometimes honesty creates conflict. But, Warren says, “The tunnel of conflict is the passage way of intimacy in any relationship.” God wants us to be real and honest with each other. Such realness and honesty takes time to fully develop. But, it is important in the fellowship ministry of the church.
When conflict and disappointment and unforeseen circumstances occur in a church, and they do, sometimes the first casualty is spiritual intimacy. People take sides. Feelings get hurt. Pain is real. Trust is shattered. Love is diminished.
And when, and if, the time comes for healing and restoration, sometimes the last thing to return is community, fellowship. Two choices are critical in that restoration. A willingness to forgive and second, a willingness to rebuild community.
Here are some things to think about related to fellowship. How do you rate yourself?[3]
I am deepening my understanding of and friendship with God in community with others.
I am growing in my ability both to share and to show my love for others
I am willing to share my real needs for prayer and support from others
I am resolving my conflict constructively and am willing to forgive others
What is it that makes you feel a part of a group? What is it that makes us want to do something with someone or others that we probably would not do alone? Let me suggest four things – authenticity, mutuality, sympathy, and mercy.[4]
Being around real and honest people gives us a boost. We experience enough fakery and deception to last lifetime. I believe that when a church is authentic and real, it becomes credible. How credible, how authentic, how real is our fellowship?
When we share a common goal, a common bond, there is a give and take that challenges us and helps us grow and accomplish things that we could have not done by ourselves. Helping solve a problem or finish a project or, as we heard earlier, helping a marriage to turn around, gives us a boost. We look back and say, “Wow! Thanks God for your grace and mercy at work!” It is called mutuality.
Does our fellowship include mutuality? Are we cooperating and building bonds of love and respect? Are we living out Colossians 3: 12 – 15?
When my father passed away in 1991, two members of the church that we served in Kalamazoo drove all the way to Ohio for the funeral. I will never forget that. They were not ministers. They were layperson! They took off from work to do that. Sympathy was well expressed that day.
When we are down due to grief or the pain in life, is sympathy well expressed through our fellowship? Do we mourn with those who mourn? Grief, I would remind us is not just done during the death of a person. Grief comes when there is a loss of any kind. Do we grieve well with one another and with others outside of our fellowship?
When kids in our town play tee-ball, everybody hits and runs the bases. When one side has hit they go to the outfield. Why? There is mercy at work. In several of the softball leagues that I have played in, there has been a mercy rule that kicks in after a certain number of innings have been played and a certain run differential has been achieved. Mercy is at work.
How well do we show mercy in our fellowship? Or is there evidence that memories, and the grudges that are a part of those memories, are long? The church is a place of grace. Grace and mercy go hand-in-hand.
Now, it does not mean that we look the other way when there is sin present that needs to be dealt with. Accountability is an important part of fellowship. But when accountability is taken too far, mercy takes a hit.
Is our fellowship a place of grace? Are we embracing both accountability and forgiveness? Are we caring and loving in spite of our flaws and quirks as Colossians 3:13 indicates? How well are we showing mercy?
I am glad for the fellowship of the church. God has used it to sustain me through thick and thin. God has used it to hold me in moments of grief. And He has used it to hold me accountable for the stewardship of my life.
But, I also believe that our fellowship function calls us to more than Sunday morning worship and a few moments of “meet and greet.” It calls to care and love and respect and lift up one another. It calls us to get together in groups and pairs for prayer and study and support. It calls us to reach out to all ages and stages of life. It calls us to help one another as we live for God throughout the week.
Fellowship is part of how we do business here. Our fellowship ministry team is currently combined with our outreach team. And there is an important connection between the two. But, I hope and pray that we will have two separate ministry team this coming year.
Our current fellowship ministries are:
Men’s group
Women’s ministry
Fellowship Events
Care Giving
_______, ________, ________, ________, and _________ make up this team. Our goals for this team include developing an active men’s, women’s, and senior adult ministry. Maybe God is calling you to be a part of this ministry.
I conclude this morning with a chart that signifies something important about fellowship. It is a four-year comparison of our average worship attendance from September through February.
The first bar represents 1999-2000 when we average 43. The next year is 2000-2001 when the average bumped up to 59. The third bar is 2001-2002 when the average rose to 65 and the final bar is this year 2002-3003 when the average rose to 73. The average annual rate for the period is 20+%!
What role has fellowship played in this increase? What role has authenticity, mutuality, sympathy, mercy played? I think that it has played a major role.
Praise God! We have turned around! And now it is time to move forward and together write a new chapter in the history of this congregation.
But, for us to do so, our fellowship must be strong. It must continue to grow. it must continue to develop more deeply and more consistently. It must be unblocked by confession and humility, which Rick Warren reminds us, is “not thinking less of yourself but thinking of yourself less.” It must be allowed to flow freely as we let go of grudges and past slight and hurts as we choose to forgive one another.
We can have the greatest evangelism ministry around. We can have the best worship services in which we truly meet with God. We can serve the needy like nobody else.
But when we look back at our life and involvement in the church what is it that we will remember? It is the quality of relationships, the quality of community, and the quality of fellowship, or the lack of, that we will remember.
What is God saying to you, to me, to us in this area? Fellowship is too important to ignore. Let us not forsake our gathering together. Amen.
[2] From 40 Days of Purpose Small Group Curriculum, page 54.
[3]Taken from the 40 Days of Purpose small group curriculum, published by Saddleback Church. Page 54
[4] From the book Purpose-Driven Life by Rick Warren.
