We are not a perfect place Not by any stretch of the imagination And I cant promise you that we wont ever let you down If you stick around long enough, we probably will After all, we are sinners just like you are. Its growing in an association with people who are moving in the same pathway you are and sharing with each other in your times of victory or need or your times of trial or triumph. It involves sacrificial service and ministry to one another and compassionate meeting of needs. We need the fellowship of other believers in our lives! I certainly understand if you have been hurt or burned out by a church, but please hear me out. Thats not really what the Scriptures have in view when were told that early Christians devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship. You pray for one another, you love one another, you help one another when there is material need, you weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. All of this is necessary for spiritual well-being and a fruitful life in the will of God. But you know, sometimes busyness is a smokescreen for another reason that people avoid fellowship, I dont know if I WANT people to know me, I dont know if Im as good a Christian as some of these other people. Pastor of Children's Ministries - Faith Church, B.F.A. Whats important is regularly gathering with other Christian believers to worship God and to let the fire of His Holy Spirit work through us and change both us and the world beyond. Friendship is important. From the moment we arrived at their home I felt the tension between Michael and me dissipate. Continue to look until youve found a solid church you can call home. Three levels of conversation that we need to be aware of, And let me encourage you to take your relationships here in the church as deep as you possibly can. Sometimes thats because we bring secular ways of relating with others into our Christian relationships. Fellowship is a relationship between individuals, which involves active participation in a common interest and, thereby, each other. Without it, our life would no doubt be very lonely and oppressive. There is also strength in being with believers outside the church. And that requires commitment. Unfortunately, it gradually became a formal, institutionalized part of the churchs liturgy, lost its true meaning, and eventually faded from the church altogether. When you run across believers who stretch you more than you feel you can handle, dont turn away from God. I was reduced to tears and he to silence. Our staff is certainly giving with the goal that you would receive. Im talking about expelling the pain from deep within and living in love, peace, and joy. One evening, years after we were married, Michael and I had a heated argument as we were getting ready to go to a friends house for dinner. And it has always required commitment. Downloadhttps://s3.amazonaws.com/faith-web-assets/general/resources/audio/2018-07-29-AUDIO-Fellowship-With-One-Another-Trey-Garner.mp3?mtime=20180729154952&focal=none, Hebrews 10:25 - encouraging one another, Ephesians 5 - ministering to one another, 1 Thessalonians 5:15 - retaliate against one another, A kiss was a common form of greeting in the ancient near East. Lee and I go walking in the mornings together. Im talking about doing Gods will. Meet someone for lunch and talk about what the Lord has done in your life. Proverbs 27:17 says, As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens a friend. And 1 Corinthians 14:26, says, When you meet together, each one has a psalm, a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Recently, my family got to take a boat trip to watch thousands of birds called purple martins gather together off a nearby lake. Church family? Our closest relationships Our life-giving relationships Should be with people who know and love Jesus Christ. If your spouse is not a Christian, dont let his or her negative response to Jesus keep you from receiving the Lords restoration for you. The dictionary definition is companionship, a friendly association, mutual sharing, a group of people with the same interests. In the biblical sense, its even more than that. But you say, Pastor Trey, I feel like its going a lot better with me and the Lord that it is with me and other Christians.. You may feel you dont have anything to share, but if you have the Lord, Hes all you need. Its hard to receive Gods love and life from a church you detest. First and most basic of all, it is very important that you find a church home and spend time with that body of believers in Church. Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically. Some churches make an outgoing display of love, yet others who are more reserved may be just as genuine. This kind of thing happened so many times that when Pastor Jack exhorted us to be in fellowship with other believers and waved his hand across the congregation as if to get his sheep moving, I understood the need for it. It involves sacrificial service and ministry to one another and compassionate meeting of needs. He wants us to join with others in His name. Certainly for friendshipbut also for our common MISSION that WE should go to Gentiles and THEY to the circumcised (ESV), Paul and Barnabas would be deployed to share the gospel to the Gentiles while Peter, James, and John would focus their outreach on the Jews But their fellowship with one another would mean greater effectiveness for all of them, Listen It doesnt matter if you came to Faith in 1964 in 2004 or four months ago, If youre newer around here, you are not on the outside You are not a day late We welcome you into our fellowship, And one of the reasons why we would do that is because we believe that God has a purpose for you here, Paul and Barnabas were going to be deployed into ministry, God has brought you to this church for a reason to join with us in fellowship And to join with us in the mission that He has given us So that God can be glorified as others are won to Jesus Christ and equipped to be more faithful disciples, Fellowship involves partnership in ministry, In Philippians chapter 1 The Paul writes, Philippians 1:3-5 I thank my God in all my remembrance of youin view of your participationor fellowshipits the same word in the gospel from the first day until now.. So the next time youre having a bad morning or feeling shy or sleepy, dont let that stop you from doing what God tells us is best for you, for others, and for Him: prioritize gathering with other Christians. It doesnt even have to be on Sunday morning. The greater glory goes to Jesus Christ when we pursue and persevere in relationship in spite of any challenges we might face or any shortcomings that we see in one another because its not about you and its not about me. There are literally hundreds of individuals involved in Adult Bible Fellowships Faith Groups mens and womens Bible studies who want to engage you in meaningful, mutually- caring relationships, And you say, Well, we tried a small group We tried an ABF but it didnt go that well, Maybe you met that weird guy who rushes into spiritual conversations too quickly We are trying to help him, Try another ABF Try another small group And give some people an opportunity, I dont know of people anywhere in the world that are more loving or more caring than the people here at Faith, In fact, I want to invite you to do something right now, In the pocket of the seatback in front of you You will see our connection cards, There are a couple of things that you can do with those If you are new to our church I hope you will fill that out We want to use those to help you get connected to meaningful relationships around here, If you have not yet taken our Introduction to Faith class which is the class we encourage everyone to take as youre trying to figure out whether Faith is the right church for you Its the class that we ask everyone to take is considering membership in our church, And while youve got me on that topic There are some of you who have been through Introduction to Faith But you havent yet taken the step of officially joining our church, I dont know what the reason maybe Maybe you got burned in another church So youre trying to be extra careful, Listen I said it earlier You cant allow fear to keep you from fellowship Fellowship is too important, Maybe youre like If I become a member Then theyre going to expect me to serve Then theyre going to expect me to give Then Im going to be like accountable to others And I dont like being accountable, If thats what youre thinking I need to let you in on a secret God already holds you accountable for those things, But when you officially join a church What you are essentially saying is I know God holds me accountable And I need the help of other brothers and sisters in Christ to DO the things for which I am accountable, Becoming an official member of a church like ours is one of the tools that God uses to help you faithfully carry out the Christian responsibilities for which you will one day give an account, I dont know what your reason may be But if you havent yet taken Introduction to Faith weve got another class starting in August, Or if you HAVE taken Intro but you havent yet taken the step of officially joining our church, We want to encourage you to pull out that connection card Fill it out And place a check in the box that indicates that youre ready to take that next step And drop that off at the welcome desk, If you are not part of an ABF or a small group You can use that connection card to tell us that you are ready to get involved in one And we will seek to connect you to a group where you can begin growing in your fellowship with others, And you say, I dont really want to fill out a card Couldnt I just talk to somebody?, Absolutely One of the reasons why our service pastor teams exist is to help people take that next step Any of our service pastors would be happy to talk with you about that, 1 John chapter 1, verse six is such a good picture of this Where it says. So, fellowship centers on our common relationship with Christ. The kiss itself was to be an outward expression of the affection the mutual love and care that ought to exist among those who belong to the family of God, So what were really talking about When were told to greet one another with a holy kiss is Fellowship with One Another. Talk about strength! Ask yourself if you generally feel love and acceptance there. Trey oversees our Childrens Ministries, which serves infants, toddlers, and K-5th grade students. That it was to be a holy kiss eliminates any suggestion of impurity. It typically was a cheek-to-cheek embrace between members of the same sex. I think they know how important fellowship is, though perhaps they have their own reasons. 2 Corinthians 6:14 - Do not be bound together with unbelievers for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Yes, we can talk about the surface things Surely we can talk about personal things But regularly try to get it to the spiritual level. And you dont need to be afraid to make yourself known. As we begin this morning, I want to invite you to turn in your Bibles to a couple of different passages, Im going to test you a little bit this morning To see how well you can do two things at the same time, The first passage I want to ask you look at is Romans chapter 16, Thats found on page 129 of the back section of the Bible under the seat in front of you, The second passage is Acts chapter 2 Thats also found in the back section of your Bible On page 93, Our churchs theme this year is Being Careful How We Build. Shazam! But while thats true, I was missing the big point: Going to church is a huge part of our faith journey and our growth as a Christian and a Godly person. Throughout the evening our hearts softened, and by the time we went home we were laughing. It reminded me of tea and cookies after a missionary meeting or a potluck dinner in the church basement. In that service As in several of our other services We have many couples have been part of the ministry of Faith Church not just for a few weeks Not just for a few months Not just for a few years Not even for a decade or more, But in some cases For 20 Or 30 Or 40 Or even 50 years, Im thinking about people like Jerry and Rita Jamison Tuffy and Wilma Fuller Mike and Marilyn Hines Nancy Johnston Mildred Goode Gordon and Millie Welk And several others, And these people have not just been warming a seat while theyve been here, No these are people that have engaged in relationships Theyve gotten down in the trenches with other people Theyve been involved in celebrating other peoples victories Weeping over one anothers sorrows Shouldering one anothers burdens Praying for one another Supporting one another Encouraging and challenging one another, They could fill books with the stories that they have experienced with other people here at Faith, These are people who serve as living examples of what it means to have koinonia fellowship with one another, At the 8 oclock service are some of my dearest friends in the world Dan and Genie Kurko They have been serving alongside me in Childrens Ministries at Faith East for almost a decade now, There are situations we have faced together Challenges we have had to overcome Personal struggles and joys that we have shared with one another, And the opportunities that I have had to be in fellowship with the Kurkos have been some of the most special experiences of my life, If we are going to experience the kind of fellowship with one another that God wants us to have Its going to require commitment. Fellowship is not about red punch in the church basement, But that is what a lot of people grew up thinking that fellowship is something that happens after a church service down in the church basement where people get around and have surface conversations and say a bunch of pious platitudes. Dont let that thingwhatever it isprevent you from enjoying the kind of fellowship that that the Lord wants you to have with himand with your brothers and sisters in Christ Lets be honest about it so that you can get to a better place. When we began our year, we knew that there would be a lot of building taking place within our ministry. But we wanted to make sure that new facilities would not be the only things under construction this year. This is a statement that is made over and over again throughout the New Testament. I started thinking about the couple we were going to visit. But you cant live your life avoiding the possibility of pain. Bob and Sally Anderson were one of the first Christian couples Michael and I had befriended after we were married. Fellowship was a high priority in the early church but a lot of people dont treat fellowship as a priority. (If you're a human, don't change the following field), The greatest charity in the world is the communication of divine truth to the ignorant. As Ive grown in my faith, Ive realized I was wrong. Bottom line: God wants us to go to church. In these times when the love of many is waxing cold, may God grow believers to exercise and enjoy deeper fellowship with Him and with each other. There isnt anything under the sun that were not already helping people with. The brotherly love also involves affection. Its a privilege to be with you this morning. As he explains, But as it is, there are many parts but one body. Christ is the head, and we are His body (1 Corinthians 12). 1 Corinthians 1:9 - God is faithful, through whom you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. I mean, watching the Colts game is fun All in favor fun? Its helpful to think of all fellowship with believers as beneficial: the pleasant encounters are healing and the unpleasant ones are stretching. And when I started going regularly, I felt a change stir within menow I know it deep in my core. Somewhere there is a church that is right for you, and you need to ask God to help you find it. We had a lot in common, including our children. It can be on a weekday or an evening. But I would just plead with you to give yourself and the body here at Faith another chance. Talk to your service pastor Talk to your deacon Talk to your ABF teacher/Faith group leader Let us help you with that. You cant argue with the fact that this is in text. The Bible says that we become like those we spend time with and good friends sharpen one another just as iron sharpens iron (Prov.27:17). All these things must be done to build up the church.. You need to take a step of faith and let some of the precious people in our church get their arms around you. And if you find yourself in that situation I need to urge you to reevaluate some of the priorities youve set for yourself. The word Fellowship is translated from the Greek word koinonia, In the New Testament, koinonia is sometimes translated as participation, Sometimes it is translated partnership or sharing, Sometimes it is translated as communion, If you want a longer definition, here you go. One people will be able to pray more specifically for you. It was as if the goodness of the Lord in the Anderson family had rubbed off on us and we were strengthened by it. Instead, encourage each other, especially as you see the day drawing near.. And who are we to think that we can get along without the same kind of connectedness? Do you cultivate spiritual friendships? Would you pray for me?, Listen to this and see if you can tell the difference, Hey, would you pray for my family right now? I know that nothing hurts worse than a wound inflicted by a brother or sister in the Lord. To say it again simply Fellowship is our common life together. It helps His kingdom, and it helps us as people, too. Now, SHOULD we have friendships with unbelievers?. I thought. Good morning. Its something God wants us to do. Make a phone call to another believer and ask for prayer. And Christian fellowship is very important to the Lord. Church is a place to receive at the outset But quickly it needs to become a place to give. So we need to be merciful to those who stretch us and forgive quickly. And I dont know of a better place to bring those kinds of things into the light. 2022, HarperCollins Christian Publishing. They are a lot of fun. If you are in a church where youre miserable, get out. But combine Gods power with our willingness, then add in a few other people? Let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another. Theyre like You know, Id like to spend some time fellowshipping and connecting and belonging but I got a lot going on in my life. So, I guess todays sermon is going to be really short Weve read the Scriptures weve been given our marching orders So, heres what we need to do, Say Hello, neighbor Come on, say Hello, No No No No Pull back Keep your lips to yourself Put em away, Were not actually going to start doing that. ~ Devotionals Daily. There are so many Christians who do not know what theyre missing because they have structured their lives in such a way that their schedules do not allow them to participate in that which IS NOT OPTIONAL. And I love it. Their daughter, Kristen, and our son, Christopher, were born about the same time and had become good friends. Back then, I didnt know thator maybe I just didnt want to know. One of the surest barometers of the quality of your Christian life is the quality of the Christian relationships within it. It is a sign of mutual fellowship among persons of mixed social background, nationality, race, and gender who are joined together as a new family in Christ (2 Corinthians, The New American Commentary, 1999). Certain visitations of Gods power happen only in the midst of such gatherings of believers. You may unsubscribe from these email communications at any time. So, what are we supposed to do with this? Jesus tells us in Matthew 18:19-20, If two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, then my Father who is in heaven will do it for you. This is not pretend church. Ive since discovered its much more than just coffee hour. This is where you get real with one another, I am so thankful to have some people in my life with whom that I can have these kinds of conversations, One of those people is my friend, Lee Morrisonmany of you would know him. Fellowship is a relationship between individuals, which involves This is key Active participation in a common interest Its what we have in common And as a result of our participation in a common interest, we have a residual interest in each other. The Bible frequently encourages and directs believers to fellowship. Here are three of my favorite reasons why we should make sure to enjoy fellowship with other Christian believers: 1. Leave any church that tries to control your every breath. Now, let me say this if you are here at Faith and you have not yet given your life to Christ we want you know that we are so glad you are here. You can communicate your needs, but you cant dictate how others should relate to you. Go as often as you can. I dont want to minimize the hurt you feel in any way. If our first goal in any relationship is our own fulfillment, we will ultimately be let down or disappointed. Today we are going to discuss 7 Important Things the Bible Teaches About Fellowship. The Bible says we should not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14), but this doesnt mean you have to avoid them.

Fellowship with other Christians makes us stronger. Going to church really is important. Pastor Trey Garner joined our staff in 2001. 5526 State Road 26 EastLafayette, IN 47905. Besides, we are probably stretching others ourselves. Coronavirus might have brought some obstacles, but whether its online or in sanitized pews wearing masks, gatherand blossom in the Lord. When you make friends with people who follow the Lord, there is a strong bond of love that makes other relationships seem shallow. Dont stop meeting together with other believers, which some people have gotten into the habit of doing. 1 John 1:7. They encourage us and model Godly behavior. They gather every evening around sunset in a huge mass in the summertime months where I live, soaring and swooping as they eat and engage with each other. The word fellowship sounded strange and churchy when I first heard it. You can find a good church wherever a body of believers meet with a pastoral leader who is also submitted to other pastoral leadership. Read Trey Garner's Journey to Faith for the full account of how the Lord led Pastor Garner to Faith Church. And this fellowship between believers is so important that several New Testament books conclude with the reminder that Christians are to engage in it. Remember, He is still perfect and good even if some of His children arent. Once you accept Jesus, you have eternal life whether you ever go to church or not, but Im talking about living in the fullness of all God has for you. God designed people to be in perfect, beautiful relationship with Him. Lets talk about 4 reasons for avoiding fellowship, And you say Which passage of Scripture you pulling these from, pastor?.