The Purpose Driven Life Purpose Two - Fellowship

1. Read 1 Timothy 3:14-15. In the Bible, the church is described as a family. What characteristics of healthy families would be true of healthy churches or groups?

1 Timothy 3
¹⁴ Although I hope to come to you soon, I am writing you these instructions so that, ¹⁵ if I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.

In this letter from Paul to his protégé Timothy, he is trying to share with Timothy some fatherly advice, warning him about false teachers and urging him to hold on to his faith in Christ. This frank discussion of worldly pitfalls is as pertinent today as it was two thousand years ago.

Without trying, we all model our values through our actions. Parents in particular demonstrate to their children what they consider important and valuable. "Like father, like son" is not just a well-worn cliché; it is a truth repeated in our homes. And experience proves that children often follow the life-styles of their parents, repeating their successes and mistakes.

So a very important characteristic of healthy families and healthy churches is strong leadership. Like Paul's leadership and model for Timothy, leaders, pastors, and elders in our church provide a model for other members. But being a model isn't easy -- the Lord expects a lot. The upside is that in all the trials and periods of question, He will give us the strength we need. All we need to do is ask for it.

2. Ecclesiastes 4:10. "If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But people who are alone when they fall are in real trouble." Can you share a time in your life when other believers came to your assistance, brought you comfort, or met a need?

Ecclesiastes 4
¹⁰ If one falls down, his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

Ecclesiastes, recall, was written by Solomon, the King of Israel as he reflects upon his life. He was a very wise man who taught many Kings and leaders about practical insight and wisdom from life lessons. But from this verse, you can see that even he needs others to hold him up.

Of course Jill and I have had times in our lives when other believers have come to our assistance. And it is a certainty that there will be many more. Part of the comfort that the Bride of Christ, the church, gives to us is the fellowship of our Christian brothers and sisters.

Lessons learned from old western movies is that you don't bring a knife to a gun fight -- hear me when I say that we are definitely in a fight; we are in a fight for what we believe and what we stand for. I choose to come to the fight well prepared, with reinforcements on the wings. So when the battle of life's plights comes to bear, it is through the fellowship of our fellow friends in Christ that we can overcome.

3. In this session you learned about five building blocks for true fellowship. Which of these is a strength of your group or church? Which one do you personally fine most challenging?

The five building blocks for true fellowship are: unselfish loving, honest sharing, practical serving, sacrificial giving, and sympathetic comforting.

At this point, I feel like our church's strength is in practical serving. The church as a whole is committed to filling the practical needs of the unchurched in the community -- bringing those into the halls of the church through outreach and child centered fellowship.

4. Read 1 Thessalonians 5:11, Hebrews 10:25. From these verses, what are some of the practical benefits of encouragement? Who has served as a source of encouragement in your life?

1 Thessalonians 5
¹¹ Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

As you near the end of a race, your legs ache, your throat burns, and your whole body cries out for you to stop. This is when friends and fans are most valuable. Their encouragement helps you push through the pain to the finish line. In the same way, Christians are to encourage one another. A word of encouragement offered at the right moment can be the difference between finishing well and collapsing along the way. Look around you. Be sensitive to others' need for encouragement, and offer supportive words or actions.

Hebrews 10
²⁵ Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

To neglect Christian meetings is to give up the encouragement and help of other Christians. We gather together to share our faith and to strengthen one another in the Lord.

My son has served as a source of encouragement in my life. It is my calling as his father to bring him up in a Christian family, just as my Father in heaven wants me to grow in His family of Christians. One of the constant dualities in a life lived in the Word is that the gifts of encouragement that you give out will always be served back to you in a multitude of ways.

In unselfish acts, our true character is revealed and that is what endears us one to another.

5. In Acts 2:42-47; 4:32-37 we see examples of the true fellowship of the early church. What principles can we learn from these verses?

Acts 2
⁴² They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. ⁴³ Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. ⁴⁴ All the believers were together and had everything in common. ⁴⁵ Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ⁴⁶ Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, ⁴⁷ praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

³⁶ Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (which means Son of Encouragement), ³⁷ sold a field he owned and brought the money and put it at the apostles' feet.

From these verses we can learn that there are blessings waiting for us from the Lord when we rise above the materialism in our culture.

You don't have to be at death's door to understand the idea that "you can't take it with you." A life spent in a quest for material things is a life spent for naught. The Lord wants us to quest for fellowship, friendship among Christians. In Acts, the new church was created through the sacrifice of its members. Similarly, if you are not sacrificing in your material gift to the church, perhaps you should consider where all that you have comes from, and how quickly it can be taken away.

6. What are some things that can prevent true fellowship from happening in your life, small groups, or church?

The things that keep us from true fellowship are remaining silent, self-importance, lack of courtesy, and gossip.

7. Read 1 Corinthians 1:10. What does it mean for believers to be of 'one mind'?"

1 Corinthians 1
¹⁰ I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought.

This basically is referring to the premise that a house divided within itself cannot stand. Being of "one mind" refers to the strength in those churches and groups where God is at the center of your life and focus. Many groups fail to see the devious nature of Satan, and how little whispers and questioning thoughts can split churches and drive off believers.

Many times focus shifts from the Lord's will to: how monetary gifts are being spent, or where leadership is focused, or gossip. Keep the faith and the focus and everything else will fall into line.

8. What is the distinction between unity and uniformity?

Unity

-The state or quality of being one; singleness.
-The state or quality of being in accord; harmony.
-The combination or arrangement of parts into a whole; unification.
-A combination or union thus formed.
-Singleness or constancy of purpose or action; continuity: "In an army you need unity of purpose" (Emmeline Pankhurst).
-An ordering of all elements in a work of art or literature so that each contributes to a unified aesthetic effect.
-The effect thus produced.
-One of the three principles of dramatic structure derived by French neoclassicists from Aristotle's Poetics, stating that a drama should have but one plot, which should take place in a single day and be confined to a single locale.
-Mathematics: The number 1.

Uniformity

-Always the same, as in character or degree; unvarying.
-Conforming to one principle, standard, or rule; consistent.
-Being the same as or consonant with another or others.
-Unvaried in texture, color, or design.

The distinction is: unity is being one, as in being one with the Lord in heart and mind. Uniformity is about consistency, which speaks to being a model for your family and your church.

9. Read James 4:6, in your opinion, why is pride spoken against so harshly?

James 4
⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."

The cure for evil desires is humility. Pride makes us self-centered and leads us to conclude that we deserve all we can see, touch, or imagine. It creates greedy appetites for far more than we need. We can be released from our self-centered desires by humbling ourselves before God, realizing that all we really need is his approval. When the Holy Spirit fills us, we see that this world's seductive attractions are only cheap substitutes for what God has to offer.

10. What explanations does John give us about our responsibility to love our fellow believers in 1 John 3:14-18?

1 John 3
¹⁴ We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. ¹⁵ Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

John echoes Jesus' teaching that whoever hates another person is a murderer at heart. Christianity is a religion of the heart; outward compliance alone is not enough. Bitterness against someone who has wronged you is an evil cancer within you and will eventually destroy you. Don't let a "bitter root" grow in you or your church.

Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The greatest act of love is giving oneself for others. How can we lay down our lives? By serving others with no thought of receiving anything in return. Sometimes it is easier to say we'll die for other than to truly live for them -- this involves putting others' desires first.