Prioritize fellowship

Thought  

Today, we will consider the primitive church’s devotion to ‘Fellowship’. The word fellowship in Greek is koinónia, which refers to an intimate bond that unites people (in this case believers) by joint participation in community. In other words, the early Christians prioritized connection with each other through genuine and authentic relationships.

These 5 verses list amazing things that, if we saw today, would leave us awestruck. Miraculous signs, wonders, and healings were happening; the needy and poor were fed and clothed, and possessions became blessings for others. What do all these things have in common? They all occurred because the believers “devoted themselves to fellowship.”

Just as the early church knew a building was a welcome instrument, but not a requirement, for them to be a community of believers who obeyed Jesus’ teachings and demonstrated God’s saving love to others, so can we take a similar attitude. For the foreseeable future, we ought not to meet physically, but like the disciples, we can absolutely devote ourselves to fellowship and be “all the while praising God.”

Be encouraged that as all those miraculous things happened, Jesus continued to “add to their fellowship.” Your invitation to an online church could be the reason that your friend finally engages with a Sunday service. Your prioritizing of your group Zoom catch-up might demonstrate to your flatmate that believers do really care about one another. Who knows what impact our fellowship could have? 

Action  

God hasn’t stopped working because we’re not meeting in a building as a church, or because we’re not sitting in an open-plan office, teaching in the classroom or walking the store floor.

Tonight at 7:00 as we all pray together, pray also for the unity of our church and your group, if you are a part of one. Pray to be “together with one mind and purpose” (Philippians 2:2) in the big picture (church) and the little picture (group). Ask God how you can prioritize fellowship in a new this week.

Take some time to call someone in your life that you haven’t spoken to for a while. Encourage them!