Key Bible Passage(s):
Tier 1
A service of Divine worship is a gathering. But once the gathering is over, we don’t go back to an isolated existence. In this sense, Christianity is not individualistic. Discipleship is intrinsically corporate and social. It is about our life together, part of which is our worshipping together. Spiritual formation takes place in the context of the fellowship of the Church, not just the worship of the Church.
Tier 2
Our encouraging and supporting of each other in our growth as Christians takes place in a network of relationships that we call fellowship. This is not a relationship for its own sake, nor can it be reduced to mere socialisng, or any shared interst outside of Christ. Fellowship is relationship with a specific agenda. It is focussed on helping each other to grow in Christ.
Tier 3
How far does such Fellowship go? Are there limits to the extent to which we help other Christians grow in their faith? How much a priority should this take in my life? Just how commited are we to the Church, the people I worship alongside Lord’s Day by Lord’s Day? The old adage that ‘blood is thicker than water’ turns out to not be true if the water we’re talking about is the water of baptism. This is my family, these are my people.
If there is among us a man that is poor and needy, and we have not an abundance of necessities, we fast for two or three days, that we may supply the needy with their necessary food.
Aristedes
Imagine your Church has just preached a series on Christians, Money and Possessions.
What do you think would be the main points of teaching in such a series?
What does Fellowship look like in a series like that?
How should our relationships work in helping us to grow more in tune with Jesus’ teaching about money and His example in dealing with money?
What kind of things should we be talking about in HGs to help us grow in this area of discipleship?
What would it look like to ‘spur one another on toward love and good deeds’?
Do you want this from your Church?
towards the end of the session:
What are the obstacles to sharing life in this way?
How can we overcome them? Do we want to?
What benefits could we anticipate if we grew towards this?
Would it restrict our lives? How would this affect our outreach?
Homework:
