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Week 5 -
October 8th thru October 14th
Serving Together - Membership/Fellowship
Devotional 5.1
Putting
Service Pieces Together
The
strength of our service is determined by how well we do it together. In I
Cor. 3:9 Paul writes, “We are labourers together with God” and
again in Col. 1:17 he states “by Him all things hold
together”. The “40 Days of Service” program has as its main focus
challenging our Sunday School classes and our church membership to project
ourselves in work, manifesting a compassionate, corporative committal and
consistent spirit.
A
serving church is a lot like a picture puzzle in that both are made up of
many parts, none of which are exactly alike, but when interlocked together,
capture the Maker’s design or picture. If only one piece is missing, the
work is not complete.
Our task is to present to God a church “fitly framed” together growing into
a holy temple in the Lord.
***
Serving
Together - Membership/Fellowship
Devotional
5.2
Love One Another
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his
friends.” John 15:12-13 (RSV)
When I
was a new Christian, I was in awe of the thought that one should make things
right with one’s fellowman before partaking of the Lord’s Supper. As I
matured in Christ, I came to realize that this commandment should serve as a
guidepost at all times. When family members fall out with each other and
stop speaking, it is a tragedy. Because we, as members of a church, are
brothers and sisters in Christ, it is also a tragedy when we allow
differences to sour our relationship with each other.
As
teachers in a small community, my husband and I found that we were frequent
targets for criticism for one thing or another. These incidents could have
been used as an excuse to fail in church attendance or its activities. I
thank God that my husband was a very patient and forgiving man who did not
let these incidents cause an unforgiving attitude. We managed to stay
friends with people-even those who were judgmental toward us.
Questions:
What
are some situations that endanger a spirit of unity among believers?
What
should we do when we feel “wronged”?
Prayer
Challenge:
Dear
God, help us all in our tendency to take offence at slights and help us to
display a right spirit with one another. Amen
***
Serving
Together - Membership/Fellowship
Devotional
5.3
What Hinders Our Working Together?
“Through patience a ruler can be persuaded, and a gentle tongue can break a
bone.” Proverbs 25:15
As a
mother of four children, I am happiest when I see them loving each other and
caring for one another. My heart soars and all seems well with the world
when they exchange tender feelings and work together to accomplish a goal.
Indeed this is God’s desire for his children, to “be of one mind and live in
peace…” (2 Corinthians 13:11). What prohibits us from serving
together? What hinders our fellowship and prevents us from being effective
in our church and community? As with my children, often it is a lack of
patience with one another and an unwillingness to stop and think before
speaking.
As
God’s children, may we seek to bring him joy as we practice patience with
one another. May we edify the body of Christ with carefully chosen words.
Pray
that God will be honored today with our words and acts of patience towards
one another.
***
Serving
Together - Membership/Fellowship
Devotional
5.4
What
Constitutes Biblical Fellowship With God and Others?
Is a
covered dish, coffee and doughnuts, a social church activity true
fellowship?
Let’s
see what the bible says.
1.
God desires to have fellowship with us. (Genesis 3:1-24) Key
verse 3:8
Sin separated us from God, but He still seeks fellowship with us through His
Son who gives unconditional love. So have courage to share all you do and
think with Him, and don’t try and hide it, it can’t be done. Honesty will
strengthen your relationship with God.
2.
Fellowship builds strong personal relationships. (Philippians 1:1-11)
Key verse 1:7
Like
Paul, you can build strong relationships with other Christians by sharing,
caring, sorrowing, rejoicing and praying with them.
3.
Genuine fellowship fosters the love of Christ. (Hebrews 10:1-39)
Key verse 10:25
Do
you feel a deep love for fellow Christian, friends and strangers alike? Let
Christ’s love motivate you to love other Christians, and to express that
love in your actions toward them.
4.
Fellowship is a gift from Christ. (Hebrews 10:22-25)
We
have a great privilege with our new life in Christ; We have personal access
to God through Christ without an elaborate system to draw near. We also can
grow in faith, overcome doubts and deepen our relationship with God. We may
enjoy encouragement from one another, and worship together.
5.
Others benefit from fellowship with us.
To
neglect Christian meetings is to give up the encouragement and help of other
Christians. Difficulties should never be excuses for missing church
services. Rather as difficulties arise, we should make an even greater
effort to be faithful in attendance.
Dear God, when I come together in fellowship with other believers in this
church, give me the mind and Heart.
***
Serving
Together - Membership/Fellowship
Devotional
5.5
Serving Together In Unity
Devotional
Passage: Eph. 4: 1-16
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Him
who is the Head, that is, Christ. From Him the whole body, joined and held
together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love,
as each part does its work.” (NIV v. 15-16)
The
healthy human body is a beautiful picture of unity. Every organ and part of
the body works and performs the tasks it was created to do.
I
recently have experienced the effects of arthritis and how debilitating
faulty and painful joints can be to the rest of my body. The effects
diminish and cut short my accomplishments. On days when joint pain is mild
or non-existent I can accomplish my tasks with ease. But, on days when pain
is abundant and other muscles and body parts have to compensate for some
parts not working so well, it is a struggle to perform simple tasks.
So it
is with Christ’s church. If all members of the church body are working
together in unity, using and developing the spiritual gifts that have been
given to them, much can be accomplished for God’ s kingdom. However, when
even a few members hide their talents and don’t function in their needed
roles, the whole church can become ineffective. At the very least the
church is weakened because working members become overloaded. A healthy
growing church has a unified membership with each person doing his or her
share.
1. Have
you identified your God-given spiritual gifts or talents?
2. Are
you being sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leadership in discovering where
your gifts can be used in the church to contribute to growing a healthy body
of believers? |
