Practical Discipleship: Fellowship
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Session 3: Fellowship
Session 3: Fellowship
Christians are meant to be in covenantal community with other Christians.
Koinonia - Fellowship, Community, Partnership
Covenantal - We are to make a sacred commitment based on the sacrifice of Jesus.
Community -
COMMunity
commUNITY
Common Unity - Interacting together and undivided.
I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
32 Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. 33 And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. 34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. 36 Thus Joseph, who was also called by the apostles Barnabas (which means son of encouragement), a Levite, a native of Cyprus,
Five Important Aspects of Christian Fellowship
With each of these, I will show you what they are and how scriptures supports this. Then I will show you what these look like practically.
1. Unity in the message of Jesus
Acts 2:42
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
They are in agreement with the message of Jesus
They put themselves in a place to continue to grow in the message of Jesus
What would this look like?
Church attendance
Bible Studies
Small Groups
Personal Bible Studies
On on one study of Scripture
2. Praying together
Acts 2:42
42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.
Luke describes this time of prayer as an intimate family like event.
What would this look like?
Sharing prayer needs with each other
Designating time during meetings to pray corporately
Small group prayer
3. Partnership in gospel mission and communal support for each other
Evidence of Partnership in Communal Support
Acts 4:34-35
34 There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold 35 and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.
Evidence of Partnership in Gospel Mission
Philippians 1:3-5
3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.
Paul was speaking of their financial gifts to propel his missionary efforts.
What would this look like?
Contributing sacrificially to the Church benevolence fund
Committing to financially support a missionary both individually and corporately
4. Living life together with physical presence
Acts 2:46
46 And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
This is more than just Sunday church attendance.
Notice I said “more than”
This implies that Sunday church attendance is lower than bare minimum
They regularly had interactions with one-another “day by day”
They essentially were like a family
What would this look like?
At bare minimum, participating in an in-person local church worship service.
Being a regular participator in a Church Life Group
Sharing meals with other Christians in and outside of regular meeting times
Youth Group
5. Praising God together!
Acts 2:47
47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
This means the people in the church intentionally decided, each and every one of them, that they would personally praise God.
Praising God means that you understand and acknowledge privately and publicly how great God is.
Sometimes, it means people have to pause and think about what they believe about God.
Interestingly, Luke records multiplication and new conversions in close proximity to the church praising God together.
What would this look like?
Participating in singing praise songs privately and publicly
Contemplating what we are singing
Not concerned with how we look
Publicly and privately speaking the worthiness of God
In prayer
In an encouragement to other believers
In an evangelistic encounter with others
When people walk in to praise gatherings they become utterly convinced that Jesus is our delight and that we truly believe that God hears us.
The Holy Spirit leads people to see what it is they were created for and what it is they are missing.
Conversions happen when God’s people truly praise Him.
Application
What next steps can you take to incorporate these Christian Fellowship responsibilities?
If you are not a part of a local church - change that this week!
If you’ve gotten into the habit of virtual church during covid, break the habit.
If you are not a part of a community group - change that this week!
If you are not comfortable praying with other Christians - take a small step and pray one sentence with other Christians this week!
If you attend a church that doesn’t believe the real gospel of Jesus Christ - leave that church.
Homework Ideas:
Identify someone from WSM who you can ask to get coffee or a meal with.
Invite a couple of people from WSM to your house to share a meal and get to know them.
As always, continue attending a physical church and participate in the life of the church.