FELLOWSHIP
FELLOWSHIP
at the Heart of
Fellowship
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.
-Acts 4:32
Imagine a closeness
described as
One Heart and Soul
What attitudes bring this kind of unity?
What attitudes bring this kind of unity?
Selflessness
“no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own”
What attitudes bring this kind of unity?
Awareness
“they had everything in common”
What brings about this kind of
FELLOWSHIP?
And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all.
-Acts 4:33
What brings about this kind of
FELLOWSHIP?
THE CERTAINTY OF
RESURRECTION
What brings about this kind of
FELLOWSHIP?
THE MUTUAL RECOGNITION
OF GOD’S GRACE
How can diverse people dwell
together in this kind of close
FELLOWSHIP?
1 CORINTHIANS 12
For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. 13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
-1 Corinthians 12:12-13
How can diverse people dwell
together in this kind of close
FELLOWSHIP?
JESUS BROKE DOWN THE BARRIERS OF DIVISION
WE WERE MADE TO FIND OUR COMMONALITY
IN CHRIST ALONE
THIS DIVERSITY IS
BEST ILLUSTRATED
AS A BODY
-1 Corinthians 12:14-20
The body-like response described here is not something to work toward.
IT IS AN
EXPECTATION!
1 Corinthians 12:21-26
EXPECTATION
EVERYONE IS VALUED
NO ONE IS DISMISSED
NO ONE IS MORE IMPORTANT
NO DIVISIONS AMONG US
SAME CARE FOR EVERYONE
SORROW TOGETHER
CELEBRATE TOGETHER
AT
FELLOWSHIP
WE DO THIS BEST AT EACH OTHER’S TABLES, FINDING VALUE IN EACH OTHER
HESITATIONS? FEARS?
FEAR OF JUDGMENT/CLEANLINESS
HESITATIONS? FEARS?
FEAR OF JUDGMENT/CLEANLINESS
PRESSURE TO ENTERTAIN/”HOST”
HESITATIONS? FEARS?
FEAR OF JUDGMENT/CLEANLINESS
PRESSURE TO ENTERTAIN/”HOST”
PREPARING THE “PERFECT” MEAL
HESITATIONS? FEARS?
FEAR OF JUDGMENT/CLEANLINESS
PRESSURE TO ENTERTAIN/”HOST”
PREPARING THE “PERFECT” MEAL
FEAR OF POTENTIAL AWKWARDNESS
at the Heart of
Fellowship
Relax and Smile
Listen and Encourage
Reflect on God’s Goodness
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
-1 John 4:7-12