Loving Fellowship

LOVING FELLOWSHIP

“And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” - Acts 2:46

Do you love your church? If many members were honest, they only tolerate the church. Church services are just another obligation that fills a week. It is truly sad that few actually love their church. Yet Jesus loves the church. He gave His life for the church.

One reason that few love the church is because they feel detached from her. Technically, they may be members, but they don't have a strong interest in the church. They give the least amount of their time, talents and treasures for the sake of the church.

If we viewed church as we should, we would recognize the church as a family gathering. Each week, God's people gather for fellowship and ministry. The internet is a pitiful place for social interaction. Since the outbreak of Covid-19, many have resorted to “on-line church.” While this was necessary during the early days of the outbreak, I believe it is time for believers to get back to personal attendance.

Loving fellowship is one of the pillars of the church. Believers need this fellowship. You are not an exception.

Let's learn from the first century church. In Acts 2:46, the Bible says, “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart.” The early church experienced loving fellowship. So should we.

Here are a few things we should do together with a local family of believers.

EXPERIENCE LIFE

First, we should experience life together. That's what a family does. The local church is your spiritual family. Sadly, many arrive just in time for the service to begin and leave just as quickly as possible. Relationships are never developed. Few know each other on a first-name basis. That is not how church is meant to be. As a spiritual family, we are meant to know each other as brothers and sisters and interact with each other on a regular basis.

Furthermore, we experience growth together at church. Church is a place where we employ our talents to serve the Lord and others. It's at church that we give financially to help each other. We support each other in prayer. We give and receive encouragement.

As followers of Jesus, we should experience life together.

EXPRESS LOVE

As a family, we should love one another. In his first epistle, John wrote, “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” It is one thing to “like” someone, it is another thing to actually love them.

Love should be declared and demonstrated. We declare our love through our words. We demonstrate our love through our actions. The local church is a place where God's family assemble and express love one toward another.

EXPERIENCE THE LORD

As a family, we gather to meet with our Lord and experience His love. There are experiences in life that are too wonderful to be enjoyed alone. You want to share these moments with others. When we encounter God through worship and the ministry of His Word, our lives are impacted. Worship is an activity that needs to be enjoyed personally and publicly. It is true that a believer needs to worship privately, but he needs to also express his worship of God along with other believers.

One of the pillars of a healthy church is the loving fellowship of believers. Without this pillar, the church can become unhealthy and anemic.

We need each other. It doesn't matter how gifted a quarterback may be, he doesn't play the game alone. He needs to be surrounded with a good team before he can flourish.

The same thing is true for us.