LAITY SUNDAY MESSAGE 10/19/08

 

“In the Spirit of Fellowship”

Today we are remembering the many efforts of the laity of our church.  Laity serve in many ways to help our church reach out to the world and spread the good news of Jesus Christ and God’s love for us.  Laity are an important part of every worship service and in reaching out to our neighbors.  In what ways to do we as laity serve our risen Lord and our Father in heaven?  Some of the ways that come to mind might be our concert series, partnerships with community organizations like United Way and Women at the Well, outreach in mission projects by our youth and adults, UPKids, fellowship dinners, special events like our cavatelli dinner, the dog show, the safe harvest party, distributing free ice cream to the young people at the park, Bible studies, Sunday school classes, special studies, and other activities.  The lay persons of a church are the backbone that makes the mission of the church possible.  The church could not exist with only a minister or pastor.  The people working with the minister or pastor are what make the church successful.  You may serve on various work areas or committees and projects that are essential for the church to exist.  Of course a large component of any church is the fellowship between the members and visitors to the church.  We have fellowship time before and after our church services that allow us to connect with and share our lives with others.  What is your definition of fellowship?  The American Heritage Dictionary defines fellowship as: 1. The condition of sharing similar interests, ideals, or experiences, as by reason of profession, religion, or nationality.  2. The companionship of individuals in a congenial atmosphere and on equal terms.  3. A close association of friends or equals sharing similar interests.  4. Friendship; comradeship.  But part of our focus should be on fellowship as defined in the Spiritual Formation Bible as “Engaging with other disciples in the common activities of worship, study, prayer, celebration, and service, which sustain our life together and enlarge our capacity to experience more of God.”

Paul wrote letters to churches that had become believers or Christians and were engaged in activities that spread the word to others in the area.  Many times these new Christians were persecuted for practicing their new faith.  One church group that he wrote to was the Thessalonians.  Paul writes to them in a time when they are experiencing hardship and dealing with a couple of issues.  Paul starts by giving thanks for what has happened (their new faith and the fruits of their labors).  Some became Christians and have learned form the teachings of Paul and others the importance of spreading the message to others.  Even though they had been persecuted, they became examples for others in their area and in other areas who are now talking about their experiences.  They had received the word with joy and now work in faith to convert others to Christ.  Through this work of faith and labor of love and steadfast hope in Jesus Christ they have become known by many and serve as an example with the result that many are talking about them and their experiences.

We are examples to others by the many ways we reach out to the community and our neighbors. We are being a positive example of the love of God that is available to all persons.  People who have not experienced a life that involves prayer, attending worship, reading Scripture, and the love of God and Jesus Christ are experiencing some of these for the first time.  UPKids has turned into a blessing that is able to touch the lives of young people and families in our neighborhood.  Our partnership with United Way and the Women at the Well allows other people to see how we care about others and through these programs we become a good positive role model for faith in God and our Lord Jesus Christ.  Because of our concert series and other neighborhood activities people see us as caring and loving people of God.  We can see signs of strengths in the life and ministry of our congregation and in Christians in the community with whom we serve.  There are signs of steadfastness and faithfulness in Christ.  We experience the Holy Spirit at work, confirming that God’s kingdom really is active in our midst. As we live out basic Christian practices in difficult times, others notice and we become positive examples.  Are we actively taking the gospel from where we gather for worship into the surrounding areas?  The answer is yes we are by some of the programs or activities we are engaged in that touch many lives.  However we can and need to do more in this area of spreading the gospel to those in our neighborhood and those that we meet every day.

In our Scripture reading 1John 1:5-10, there is a reference about being in fellowship with one another. “If we say that we have fellowship with him while we are walking in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true; but if we walk in the light as he himself is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:6-7)  We should include in our fellowship time activities that sustain our life together and enlarge our capacity to experience more of God.  Walking in the light as he is in the light is telling us that if we want true fellowship with God and neighbor or fellow believers, we cannot walk in darkness.  To remain in the light, we must be intentional about spending time with God in prayer and in searching the Scriptures and by practicing the other means of grace, such as worship, Holy Communion, fasting, works of mercy, and holy or Christian conferencing (meeting for consultation or discussion).

The Greek word for fellowship or community is koinonia.  That koinonia existed among believers as they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship and the breaking of bread and the prayers.  All who believed were together and had all things in common and if koinonia was genuine, the believers were connected and in unity.  This type of community is best practiced in small groups where people become comfortable in sharing their lives on a deep personal level.

Hebrews 10:24-25 says “Let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.”  This gives us a responsibility to hold each other accountable for our actions and to help each other grow in our faith.  As we grow spiritually, we are then more able to become actively engaged in doing activities that allow others to see glimpses of Christ in our lives and actions.  We are helped by our interaction with others through fellowship to continue to walk in the light and by our lives to be examples that will bring others to belief in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.  We can see the importance of small groups where we can comfortably share our lives and hold each other accountable for our actions. 

Fellowship is more important than we may at first think.  When we think about fellowship in the church, we may think of the fellowship time before or after a church service or fellowship meals in “fellowship hall.”  Fellowship has a more important meaning when we realize the importance of meeting together to encourage one another and be held accountable. If we look at our United Methodist heritage, we see that there are has been an emphasis on meeting together to give account of our faithfulness.  Early Methodists met in societies, classes, or bands in order to pray together, hear a word of exhortation or encouragement, and “watch over one another with love.”  These meetings not only provided a time of fellowship, but they provided the strength needed to live lives of personal and scriptural holiness.  Do we need to be in small groups to allow us to experience more of this valuable fellowship and to strengthen our lives so we can be better examples of Christ to the world?

We have many meetings to attend in the church, but are these meetings times of true fellowship?  Do we take time to worship together, pray for one another, and encourage one another at our meetings?  If we just hold a meeting with a prayer to start and end the meeting and do not include these other aspects of fellowship in our meetings we are missing an opportunity and do not experience the unity that true fellowship can bring.  We may be missing the chance to “walk in the light” when we forget whose work we are doing and when our focus is only on the business at hand, not on how we can discern God’s will for our work and love one another.  Consider what change might occur in our church if every meeting time was an intentional time of Christian or holy conferencing.  What changes might we see in the unity of the body of Christ?

I have talked about walking in the light of God but just how do we walk in the light of God?  We walk in the light when we are faithful in our devotional practices, care for others as Christ commanded, and meet together in fellowship and mutual accountability.  Worship, study, prayer, celebration, and service help sustain our life together.  When we are walking in the light, we are the light of Christ wherever we are. When we are walking in this light, we will have fellowship with one another and thereby experience more of God. We serve God and our Lord Jesus Christ in many ways as laity in our church but by our various forms of service are we intentional in leading others to Christ?  Leading others to Christ gives them the opportunity to be in fellowship with us and go grow spiritually.  Let One in Spirit, All in Ministry; In the Spirit of Fellowship be our goal today and see where we are a year from now as our lives change and we touch the lives of others in our community and wherever we go.