The Power Of Fellowship Series

Introduction

Video Ill.: Community — Church Fuel

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. (Acts 2, NIV1984)

The unity that was present in the early church puts our world today to shame.

Political Opponents Finish Debate by Making Music Together

Source: Steve Hartman, “Political rivals stun voters with unexpected duet” CBS News: The Uplift (10-19-18)

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/lucy-rogers-vermont-political-rivals-stun-voters-with-unexpected-duet-zac-mayo/

https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2018/december/political-opponents-finish-debate-by-making-music-together.html

Copied from Preaching Today

At the end of their debate in 2018, two candidates for a Vermont state House seat asked the moderator for a few extra minutes—not to make last-second appeals for votes, but rather to make a little music. Lucy Rogers, the Democrat, grabbed her cello, while Zac Mayo, the Republican, picked up his guitar. They started performing "Society" by Eddie Vedder, much to the surprise of everyone in attendance. "It strikes a chord," Mayo told CBS News. "To say to the world that this is a better way."

Rogers and Mayo agreed early on while campaigning in Lamoille (La - m - oil) County that they were going to be civil and treat each other with respect throughout the race. When Rogers asked Mayo if he wanted to play a song with her, he thought it was a fantastic idea—as did the voters who attended the debate.

What an amazing display of unity.

When people from different worlds find common ground and agree, unity abounds.

Unity abounded in the early church.

It was that unity that gave the early church strength.

The early church was devoted to each other. They were devoted together. They enjoyed fellowship together.

This morning, we are continuing our study Devoted Together, where we are discovering why church is more than a building—it's a family, a support system, and a vital part of our spiritual journey.

We began by seeing how corporate worship prepares us to live lives of daily worship. Worship has an impact not only on us, but on those around us when we gather together to worship together.

Then, we saw the importance of gathering together to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, and the witness that we share when we partake each Sunday. We are proclaiming a message of hope and love when we come together to remember Jesus’ death in our place.

Next, we found that we find encouragement when we gather together. We all have a need for encouragement.

Today, the early church’s devotion to fellowship brought them together. They were a true community together. Fellowship was a vital part of that thriving Christian community.

And it is a vital part of the church today.

**I. For the early church, fellowship was a way of life.**

In Acts 2:44 and 45, we read:

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. (Acts 2, NIV1984)

**Main Point:** Fellowship is about sharing life together, not just meeting together occasionally.

One of the things that really stands out is that in the early church, in this early time, did everything together.

They met together. They worshipped together. They studied Scripture together. They shared everything together, from possessions they acquired to meals they prepared, and everything in between.

The early church was more than just something they did on Sundays. It was community. It was everything to them.

They looked out for each other.

I think today we have lost that sense of community. We go so many different directions, we live so far apart, we’re always going and going and going, and we never have that sense of being together. We have all of these advances in our time that have made it easier for us to be together yet we’re really further apart than we have ever been.

Maybe we should be more like the Amish community. In our world today, the Amish are probably the closest living example of the way the early church lived.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancaster_Amish_affiliation

Several years ago, Amanda and I took a vacation, traveling to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the home to the largest settlement of Old Order Amish. The settlement was founded in 1760 near Churchtown, and is the oldest Amish settlement that is still in existence.

It was amazing to see the communities there in Lancaster County. The homes, the farms, everything there was so clean, well kept, and simply beautiful.

### **Illustration: The Example of the Amish Community**

In Lancaster, like most Amish communities, the concept of doing everything together is a living reality. When a family in the community needs a barn, the entire community comes together to build it. It's called a "barn raising," and it's not just about constructing a building; it's about the whole community working, eating, and fellowshipping together.