To Fellowship means:
- Togetherness
- Companionship
- Closeness
- Association
- Mutual Support
- Sociability
- Mutual liking
- Solidarity
- Fraternization
- Social Intercourse
- GOING TO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD BRINGS GLADNESS
- Psalms 122 v 1
NKJV
“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go into the house of the Lord.”
NLT
“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
MSG
“I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”
- It is a thing of joy to go to the house of God.
- The Bible mandates us to do so with Joy and Gladness.
- BLESSINGS COME OUT OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD
- Psalms 118 v 26
NKJV
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We have blessed you from the house of the Lord.”
NLT
“Bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord.”
MSG
“Blessed are you who enter in God’s name from God’s house we bless you”
- YOU WILL ENJOY OPPORTUNITIES FOR JOY, MUTUAL COMFORT, UNITY, ENCOURAGEMENT & PEACE
- 2 Cor. 13 v 11
NKJV
“Finally, brethren, farewell. Become complete. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
NLT
“Dear brothers and sisters, I close my letter with these last words: Be joyful. Grow to maturity. Encourage each other. Live in harmony and peace. Then the God of love and peace will be with you.”
- 1 Thess. 4 v 18 (NKJV)
“Therefore comfort one another with these words.”
- 1 Thess 5 v 11 (NKJV)
“Therefore comfort each other and [c]edify one another, just as you also are doing.”
- YOU WILL ENJOY THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF HARMONY
- Romans 15 v 5
NKJV
“Now may the God of patience and comfort grant you to be like-minded toward one another, according to Christ Jesus,”
MSG
“May our dependably steady and warmly personal God develop maturity in you so that you get along with each other as well as Jesus gets along with us all.”
NirV
“Our God is a God who strengthens and encourages you. May he give you the same attitude toward one another that Christ Jesus had.”
GNB
“And may God, the source of patience and encouragement, enable you to have the same point of view among yourselves by following the example of Christ Jesus”
- FELLOWSHIP IS THE RELATIONSHIP THAT WE HAVE WITH ONE ANOTHER AS CHRISTIANS
- Acts 2 v 41 – 47 (NirV)
v.41 “Those who accepted his message were baptized. About 3,000 people joined the believers that day.”
v.42 “The believers studied what the apostles taught. They shared their lives together. They ate and prayed together.”
v.43 “Everyone was amazed at what God was doing. They were amazed when the apostles performed many wonders and signs.”
v.44 “All the believers were together. They shared everything they had”
v.45 “They sold property and other things they owned. They gave to anyone who needed something.”
v.46 “Every day they met together in the temple courtyard. They ate meals together in their homes. Their hearts were glad and sincere.”
- 47 “They praised God. They were respected by all the people. Every day the Lord added to their group those who were being saved.”
- Fellowship makes us study God’s word together.
- Fellowship makes us share our lives together.
- Fellowships makes us have Communion together.
- Fellowship makes us share things together.
- Fellowship makes us share our feelings/emotions together.
- Fellowship makes us pray together.
- Fellowship makes us support each other.
- Fellowship enhances our support system.
- Fellowship makes us praise and worship God together.
- Fellowship provides us a very strong and consistent coping mechanism.
- Fellowship makes us correct each other in love.
- Fellowship builds friendship.
- Fellowship builds Unity.
- Fellowship builds God’s kingdom.
- Fellowship makes us to love one another.
- John 13 v 35
“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
- We must all be devoted to fellowship, no technology can replace physical meeting in the Church of God.
- Fellowship makes s stronger
- Fellowship gives us the chance to learn and grow in our faith.
- GOD WANTS US TO GATHER TOGETHER TO ENJOY HIS PRESENCE
- Matthew 18 v 19 – 20
NKJV
v.19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.”
v.20 “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
NLT
v.19 “I also tell you this: If two of you agree here on earth concerning anything you ask, my Father in heaven will do it for you.”
v.20 “For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”
TLV
v.19 “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father in heaven.”
v.20 “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in their midst.”
- FELLOWSHIPPING TOGETHER PROVIDES ENCOURAGEMENT
- Hebrews 10 v 24 – 25
NLT
- “24 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”
v.25 “And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.”
MSG
v.24 “Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out”
v.25 “not avoiding worshiping together as some do but spurring each other on, especially as we see the big Day approaching.”
GNB
v.24 “Let us be concerned for one another, to help one another to show love and to do good.”
v.25 “ Let us not give up the habit of meeting together, as some are doing. Instead, let us encourage one another all the more, since you see that the Day of the Lord is coming nearer.”
- FELLOWSHIPPING TOGETHER REMINDS US WE ARE NOT ALONE
- 1 Cor. 12 v 21
NLT
“The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”
GNB
“So then, the eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” Nor can the head say to the feet, “Well, I don’t need you!”
- FELLOWSHIPPING TOGETHER HELPS US GROW
- 1 Cor. 14 v 26
NIRV
“Brothers and sisters, what should we say then? When you come together, each of you brings something. You bring a hymn or a teaching or a message from God. You bring a message in another language or explain what was said in that language. Everything must be done to build up the church.”
NLT
“Well, my brothers and sisters, let’s summarize. When you meet together, one will sing, another will teach, another will tell some special revelation God has given, one will speak in tongues, and another will interpret what is said. But everything that is done must strengthen all of you.”
GNB
“This is what I mean, my friends. When you meet for worship, one person has a hymn, another a teaching, another a revelation from God, another a message in strange tongues, and still another the explanation of what is said. Everything must be of help to the church.”
10.FELLOWSHIPPING TOGETHER MAKES US SHOW ALL OF
GOD’S GRACES TO THE WORLD
- Romans 12 v 4 – 8
NLT
v.4 “Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function”
v.5 “so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other.”
v.6 “In his grace, God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well. So if God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.”
v.7 “If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well.”
v.8 “If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
GNB
v.4 “We have many parts in the one body, and all these parts have different functions.”
v.5 “In the same way, though we are many, we are one body in union with Christ, and we are all joined to each other as different parts of one body.”
v.6 “So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God’s message, we should do it according to the faith that we have”
v.7 “if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach”
v.8 “if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.”
