PARTICIPATION GROUPS, PART 2: FELLOWSHIP

Mark 3:13-19; Hebrews 10:23-25; Galatians 6:1-2
David Bruce Linn, Pastor-Teacher
3 October, 2004
All Rights Reserved

In The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien characters are always finding themselves connected with people not of their own choosing. Two hobbits, Frodo and Sam, set off on an impossible journey to save the world from the evil ruler Sauron. They discover that they are not alone, but are being followed by a creature who began as a normal person but who disintegrated into a smelly, grasping, loathsome creature named Gollum. At one point Frodo and Sam are caught by a soldier who demands to know if this foul creature is a member of their party. Frodo pretends that Gollum is not with them until the soldier is about to shoot him. Frodo cries out: "Stop! This creature is bound to me, and I to him." It is as if some unexplained supernatural power had connected the three together on their crucial mission. This is the first principle of Christian fellowship, namely,

1. FELLOWSHIP MEANS BEING TOGETHER IN CHRIST -- Mark 3:13-19

a. Not just together, but together because of Christ. He brings us together for his purposes.

b. The Lord's Supper reveals the supernatural nature of how we are bound together until he returns.

c. The group of twelve disciples reveals that fellowship is focused in smaller groups where we can be known.

2. FELLOWSHIP MEANS SHARING OUR LIVES IN JESUS -- [Hebrews 10:23-25]

a. Greek word for fellowship, koinonia, means "sharing."

b. What do we do in the togetherness of our fellowship?

-- Hold fast the confession of our hope (10:23)

-- Stimulate one another to love and good deeds (10:24)

-- Build each other up in view of the return of Christ (10:25)

c. We lose those things when we forsake the assembling of ourselves, or meet only to "sit and soak."

3. FELLOWSHIP MEANS BEARING LIFE BURDENS TOGETHER IN JESUS -- Galatians 6:1-2

a. Fellowship moves on the law of Christ which is the law of love: nobody left behind, no matter how gnarly

the problems, whether sin, addiction, emotional brokenness, psychological dysfunction, illness, or injury.

b. It is in the small participation groups where relationships can be strong enough to handle the tough stuff.

c. The early church immediately began to provide for the genuinely needy among them, including food, shelter, clothing, and just plain love. There is no evidence they forced help on the wayward and unbelieving.

d. In the film, A Beautiful Mind, Professor Nash's wife is forced to a decision point. Will she protect herself and her baby from a man who sees people who are not there? Will she accept the dangers of his psychosis? And the granddaddy question of them all: Will she choose to bear his burden out of love, or just let him be taken away to the asylum? The answer is history because this is a true story. She said yes!

e. The most difficult question of true fellowship is whether we will bear the burdens of our brothers and sisters in Christ. If we will not, we may gather and enjoy one another's company, but it is not true fellowship.

f. I know a woman who technically retired as a nurse but gives nursing care to all her friends, provides taxi service for those who cannot drive, and is a perpetual encourager. I know a man who has encourages weak and wavering Christians long after others became weary and dropped out. He has given rides, advice, loans, Biblical correction--you name it! Getting together, sharing our connection in Christ, and bearing one another's burdens is what makes true fellowship. It's what makes a small group a participation group instead of a sit and soak group.