TEXT: Various
TITLE: The Playing Church, part 1
TOPIC: The Church of Fellowship
OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church, March 2nd, 2008
PROP.: It’s time to fully enjoy the companionship of your church family, because we were never meant to be alone!
INTRODUCTION: Good morning! At this time, I would like to dismiss our Jr. Church age kids across the street for worship appropriate for their age group. If you would
We are on a journey to become the church that Jesus desires us to be. The focus for March will be for us to become the Church of Fellowship. This month, I am focusing all of my energy, time, effort and creativity into fellowship!
Billy Johnson, the preacher at Ferris Christian Church and I get together and I told him what I was going to be preaching about fellowship and he gave me his
definition: “The intimate sharing of our lives together under the rule and reign of Christ."
I wanted to be sure to give him credit for that definition…he threatened to break my knee caps if I didn’t…so…anyway, I believe our poster for the month supports that definition! I want us to become the Church of Fellowship!
Think about our church. What grade would you give the church on fellowship? Not sure? Here’s a few questions you can ask yourself.
1. Do you know the names of at least 95% of your church family?
2. Do you interact with people from church more than just on Sundays?
3. Do you have at least 5 church friends you can call on if you needed something?
So we want to become the church of fellowship:
So we brainstormed various ideas that might help promote fellowship! We thought at first about a
--Mixed Martial Arts competition at the Fitness Center - but then we thought someone might get hurt…
--All male interpretive dance competition -
I had heard that SOME were interested in interpretive dance…(Mike
Bavery) but then we thought…uh…NO.
--free haircuts - but …that would probably not stir up unity and love…
What if I mess up someone’s hair?
I only know how to give one style of cut…BUZZ cut
And big bangs are no longer in style.…
Plus Jim Printy would make every kid look like this…on a side
note…THAT HAIR CUT IS AWESOME!
Then we thought about
--Weight lifting…but then Brig and I thought we’d just look even MORE
intimidating than we all ready do.
The one idea that we did decide on was to have our people sign up to be involved in CIRCLE 8 GROUPS.
TALK ABOUT CIRCLE 8 GROUPS: We will form groups of no more than 8 people (this can be couples and singles)…once you sign up, we will randomly assign you to be in a group. These groups will meet 4 times people in the group taking a turns hosting a meal in your home! There will be nothing SPIRITUAL involved in these groups. No Bible study. No deep thoughts. Just sharing in a simple meal and getting to know one another.
Have you ever wondered why fellowship often times includes food? It’s because when you eat you are the most relaxed and open that you can possibly be. Fellowship doesn’t ALWAYS have to include food. Fellowship doesn’t have to always have something spiritual! Fellowship is meant to be fun!
One of the greatest joys about being a youth minister was what took place within our youth group. There was a sense of fellowship like none-other. In fact, each Sunday night, the youth group PLANS a time for fellowship! Snack time and a time for conversations and games. Nothing too spiritual about that part of youth group. And I want the congregation to fully experience that God given blessing of fellowship!
T.S.: Let’s explore the truths of fellowship…
1. Fellowship is centered on FAITH (1st John 1:3-7)
There is a tight bond between people who have something in common. Motorcyclists do the motorcycle wave…soldiers have a brotherhood bond that is unbreakable…It’s that ‘sameness’ that bonds those people together. The same is true for the Christian. For the church, our ‘sameness’ is based on something eternal! The things not of this world!
(Listen to 1st John 1:3)
3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We write this to make our joy complete.
Our Faith in Christ gives us:
A. fellowship with God
--Christ our mediator:
1st Timothy 2:5
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.
--GARDEN OF EDEN
You see, there was a time when God and man had perfect fellowship. But then sin entered the world and the fellowship was broken…so Christ had to come and repair the fellowship between God and men.
And Because of what Jesus has done for us, we can be called Children of God!
Where once we were outsiders…we are now on the inside!
Our faith in Christ also gives us…
B. fellowship with one another
Our BELIEFS in things Spiritual have united us. It’s what connects us. It’s what allows us to have fellowship! There are a lot of differences between you and me. We may have nothing else in common, but our beliefs in Christ are what’s important, and we have that in common! Fellowship is a celebration of sameness! I can walk into any church and immediately have something in common with those people! Why is that? It’s just like Paul was telling Timothy in Ephesians 4...
Ephesians 4:4,5
4There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called— 5one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
We may be different, but we have the same Spirit, Love the Same God, and serve the savior!
ILLUSTRATION: bag of M&M’s. You open up a bad of M&M’s and you’ll get different colors…some even have smiley faces and eyes and talk…But you know something? They are the same on the inside! It’s what’s on the inside that makes them an M&M and not a skittle! So too, we as Christians come in different shapes, colors…but it’s what is on the inside that makes us Christians!
FELLOWSHIP IS CENTERED ON FAITH!
Truth #2:
2. Fellowship feels like FAMILY
The Early church was much like a family. They ate together, they were in one another’s homes…they valued those relationships because all they had were each other!
Acts 2:42ff
In a family…
A. Needs are met
You have protection in a family. You have shelter in a family. You have basic needs met. You know that you can always count on family. The first church knew this…they were dedicated to one another…so much so in fact that listen to what verse 45 tells us of Acts 2...
45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need.
Do you know why they sold their possessions? Because they wanted to. They loved one another so deeply, that if someone had a need, they wanted help their church family!
Also, in a family:
B. Blood is thicker than water -
You’ve heard it said that blood is thicker than water. What does that mean? That means that family…your blood relatives mean more than just the average Joe. IN THIS FAMILY…the CHURCH family, we have the Blood of Christ…and His blood is what gives us our strong bond!
--Church membership
This seems like as good a place as any to talk about Church membership.
1 Cor. 12 tell us that there are many parts…but one body! Christ is the head of this body. Christ is what brings this body together. Why should you place membership with this body? Because when you place membership here, you become connected to the body! If you are merely a faithful attendee, you are loosely associated with the body. Let me illustrate this way:
ILLUSTRATION: If my hand gets stuck someplace, I’m gonna do all I can do to retrieve my hand! The rest of my body will react in great concern! Why? Because my hand is connected to my body! It’s a part that is a member. Now, take my wedding ring. Is it a part of my body? Well, it’s loosely associated to my body. It’s usually with me wherever I go. But if my wedding ring should be lost…yeah…I’m going to be terribly upset, and I wish it wasn’t lost…but I’ll just go and replace it.
All of that to say this:
How meaningful is this church family to you? By placing membership at this church, you are declaring to your brothers and sisters that you are going to be there for them through thick and thin. And when you place membership here, it also places a greater responsibility on the rest of us to you! You are now apart of this body. If you are not a member of Burnside Christian Church (and I know there are several here), would you talk to me or one of the other elders and consider placing your membership with us? It’s a public commitment that you are going to be committed to your brothers and sisters here at Burnside Christian Church! At the end of this month, we are going to make the 30th a special invitation day for those who may be baptized but have never placed membership to come forward to make that commitment!
Also, in a family
C. love covers everything
The Bible tells us that love covers a multitude of sins. No where is that better displayed than in a family! And no where should that be BETTER displayed than in a CHURCH family. Unfortunately, there are too many church splits, arguments, and disputes.
People are going to mess up. People will irritate us. People will disappoint us. But our love for one another should be what keeps us together!
In your family, you can’t just get upset and leave when things aren’t going your way. Or when you get upset with someone. You must choose to forgive…because guess what? You’re stuck with them.
ILLUSTRATION: Psalm 68:6 “God sets the lonely in families” I want you to know that God has placed you today at Burnside Christian Church for a reason. And perhaps that reason is because you feel lonely. Well you shouldn’t feel lonely; you are surrounded by God’s people…your family!
Enjoy the fellowship…it feels like family.
Before we move on to our last point…I want to ask a question about fellowship
If Fellowship is like a family, shouldn’t we at the VERY least know one another’s names?
3. Fellowship looks like FRIENDSHIP
Being in student ministry for the past 7 years, there is one thing I can tell you, and that’s this: FRIENDS MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD.
I’ve met hundreds of students who’ve had problems and issues they’ve needed help with…and 8 times out of 10, those problems resulted in their choice of friends: Who they are choosing to hang out who they are not choosing to hang out with. Friends make all the difference in the world. And one thing those students realize in the end is that those people who will be there through thick and thin are who their true friends are. And most of the time, those friends are church friends.
-- David & Jonathan - If you don’t know the story of David and Jonathan you should read about it! What you need to know is that these two were really really close friends. And I hate the way that the felt boards portrayed David and Jonathan. They portray them as effeminate little sissy boys. These two were anything BUT girly men! You have David who killed a bear and a lion! Who slayed a giant with a sling. David was a mighty warrior!
Then you have Jonathan 1st Samuel 14. He was no slouch himself. He and his armor bearer went out LOOKING for some Philistines to fight. He climbed a mountain and then proceeded to fight! For some reason I have this picture of what happened in the Princess Bride where the man in black (wesley) climbs the mountainside to fight with Indigo Montoya..and Inigo Montoya says, “you catch your breath…and let me know when you are ready to fight”
So we have two manly men! And yet, they loved each other. They were best friends. I say this to our men here today…there’s nothing, not a THING, wrong to love your friends. To love them so much that you express it. And fellowship with them.
Friends are…
A. Loyal - Proverbs 17:17 A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for
adversity.
I think this obvious when we are seeking friendship. We want someone who will say the same things around us as when we aren’t there. We want someone who will be there through the valleys. Jonathan was loyal to David. You understand that Jonathan was KING Saul’s son…the PRINCE. Next in line to the throne. But it was ordained by God that David was to be the next King of Israel. And yet, Jonathan cared more about his friend David than about becoming king. He was loyal to David!
B. Helpful - 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!
Saul wanted to kill David. But Jonathan was helpful to David and saved his life! Helpful is an adjective that mildly describes Jonathan’s friendship! Where would David had been if it were not for Jonathan?
C. How to make friends at church:
You need to get to know people! So how do you get to know people?
--Attend Sunday School and get involved in a Sunday school class!
--Attend a small group Bible study…we have several that I am aware of.
--Attend adult Sunday night study!
--Go to a conference (women of faith…promise keepers!)
--Sit in a different section of church! J
--Take advantage of special get-togethers: Fellowship dinners, scrap and snack (once a month), knit and crochet, volley-ball, church softball, church basketball…do you get the picture? GET INVOLVED!
--You know something? I have several special friends…and you know how I have come to have those special friends? I’ve gotten to know them: playing air soft wars, playing Halo 2 at the church, stuffing my face full of Chinese food, praise team practices, elder’s meetings, volleyball, youth team meetings…I have formed special friendships with people
CONCLUSION: I want to conclude this morning’s message with a section from Bill Hybel’s book: REDISCOVERING CHURCH:
The Bible says true fellowship has the power to revolutionize lives. Masks come off, conversations get deep, hearts get vulnerable, lives are shared, accountability is invited, and tenderness flows. People really do become like brothers and sisters. They shoulder each other’s burdens - and unfortunately, that’s something that few of the people in the church ever experience.
In many churches it just doesn’t seem legal to tell anyone you were having a problem. Families that sat in the same pew for years would suddenly disappear, because the husband and wife were in turmoil over marriage problems. Instead of coming to the church for help and prayer and support, they fled the other way, because they didn’t feel the freedom to say, ‘We love Jesus, but we’re not doing very well. Our lives feel like they’re unraveling. We need some help!’
The implicit understanding was that you shouldn’t have a problem, and if you did you’d better not talk about it in the church.
I learned that lesson well. When I got old enough to stand on the church patio after services, someone would say, ‘So, Bill, how are things in high school?’
And I’d give the response that I thought was expected. ‘Fine, Ben,’ I’d say. ‘They’re just great.’
I didn’t feel I could tell him that my heart was being ripped to shreds because my girlfriend and I had broken up. Or that I was flat-lined spiritually. Or that I had and older brother who was drinking too much and driving too fast, and I was scared about where his life was heading.
I didn’t say anything, because I felt that a good Christian just didn’t admit to having those kinds of real-life difficulties. And in many churches, that’s called fellowship.
It shouldn’t be.” (Rediscovering Church, p. 159-160)
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The true motive behind fellowship is for us to feel like we can share the intimate details of our lives with one another! To seek support when we need it the most! To occasionally cry together. To laugh together. To connect. I realize that this kind of deep fellowship won’t happen over night. But perhaps these circle 8 groups might be the start of a beautiful friendship! Because we were never meant to be alone!
