Day 18
Purpose Driven Life
Experienceing life Together
Each one of you is parto of the body of Christ and you were chosen to live together in peace
Colossians 3:15
How wonderful it is now pleasant for God's people to live together in harmony
Psalm 133:1
Life is meant to be shared
God intends us to experience life together called fellowship
such as: casual conversation- socializing - food - fun -
But where?
it is experiencing life together - including unselfish loving - honest sharing - practical serving - sacricial giving - sympathetic comforting
when you fellowship some time matters you can worship in a crowd but you can not fellowship in one
once a group becomes larger than about ten people someone stopes particapating usually the quietest person and few people will dominate the group
Jesus chose 12 for maximum for everyone to participate
the body of Christ, like your own body is really a collectin of many small cells
***In real fellowship peaople experience auntenciticy
authencitic fellowship is not superficial, surface level chit chat it is genuine heart to heart some times gut level sharing
it is only as we become open about our lives that we experience real fellowship
"if we live in the light as God is in the light we can share fellowship with each other ... if we say we have no sin we are fooling ourselves
1 John 1:7-8
*** In real fellowship people experience mutuallity
mutuality is the act of giving and receiving
Bible commands mutual accountability encouragement, serving, honoring
Roman 12: 10
Bible says "make every effort to to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification"
Romans 14:19
you are not responsible for everyone in the body of Christ but you are responsible to them
God expects you to do what ever you can to help them
***In real fellowship people experience sympathy
sympathy isn ot quick advice or cometic help
sympathy is entering in and sharing the pain of others (empathy) meets two human needs : to be understood: and validations
"share each others' troubles and problems and in this way obey the law of Christ "
Galatians 6:2
***In Real fellowship people experience mercy
fellowships is a place of grace where mistakes aren't rubbed in but rubbed out
fellowship happens when mercy wins over justice
you can't fellowship without forgiveness
God says "never hold grudges"
Colossians 3:13
Person hurts you repeatedly you are to forgive immediately or intantly - but not expectly to trust them instantly or expected to continually allow them to hurt you
Day 18
Point to ponder
I need others in my life
Verst to Remember:
"share each other's trouble and problems and in this way obey the law of Christ "
Galatians 6:2
Questions to Consider:
What one step can I take today to connect with another believer at a more genuine, heart to heart level?
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Continuing.... 40 Day Challenge
Day 18 Experiencing Life Together
God intends for us to experience life together. The Bible calls this shared experience fellowship. Fellowship now usually refers to casual conversation, socializing, food, and fun. The question, Where do you fellowship? means Where do you attend church? Stay after for fellowship usually means Wait for refreshments. Real fellowship is so much more than just showing up at services. It is experiencing life together. It includes unselfish loving, honest sharing, practical serving, sacrificial giving, sympathetic comforting, and all the other one another commands found in the New Testament.
The Body of Christ, like your own body, is really a collection of many small cells. The life of the Body of Christ, like your body, is contained in the cells. For this reason, every Christian needs to be involved in a small group within their church, whether is it a home fellowship group, a Sunday school class, or a Bible study. If you think of your church as a ship, the small groups are the lifeboats attached to it. It is only as we become open about our lives that we experience real fellowship.
The Bible says, If we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves. The world thinks intimacy occurs in the dark, but God says it happens in the light. Darkness is used to hide our hurts, faults, fears, failures, and flaws. But in the light, we bring them all out into the open and admit who we really are. You were created for community.