Slideshow image

So you are a believer: You have your Bible, you have your testimony of being born again, and you are sure that you have all that you need. Yet, you have neglected the gathering together of the saints.

Your Christian walk, if done faithfully, is not a solitary walk. I have seen many try. It usually ends in a walk along an errant path.

"Union with Christ is profoundly personal. And yet union with Christ is not merely personal."

God created us communally. In other words, we were made to live in community with each other. That is true of a healthy society, and it is ever more so with the body of Christ - his bride, the church. 

In this article by Brad Wetherell, he explores three ways that we are meant to live in Christian fellowship with one another. You can read the full article by clicking --> here <--

(1) We are united by story. We all serve the same God who is revealed in the same book. It is only out of pride that we believe that our story is so unique that we cannot share it in community with other believers. God requires humility, and humility comes through listening to his Word, praying his Word, and doing those both as an individual discipline and as a corporate body. In that shared experience, we see how our story is beneficial to others, and we learn patience and understanding as we hear others who are walking out their faith. 

United by the same God, led by the same Word, striving for a common purpose.  

(2) We are united in purpose. Jesus gave the Great Commission to a gathering of believers. This was not a message he pulled one person aside to have. We are united in completing the commandments of God, in the local curch, in the place we live, and to the uttermost ends of the earth. Practically speaking, everyone knows that we can accomplish more as a team than as an individual. Biblically speaking, teamwork is a command of God.

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. (Eph 4:1-3 ESV)

United by the same God, led by the same Word, striving for a common purpose, headed toward the same destination.

(3) United forever. It is only the shortsighted who look forward to eternity with God, yet want nothing to do with other followers of Christ while here on this planet. It is disingenuous to think that you can have sweet communion with the Lord and his church in the sweet by-and-by, but forsake the gathering of the saints here in this short life. If anything, these days are the practice grounds for what eternal life with the Savior will be like - and it will not just be you and him hanging out alone forever. There will be a sea of fellow saints that will join you. 

If you have found yourself out of fellowship, I invite you to join us at Sojourn Church this Sunday at 10:15. Let's gather together to hear God's Word, to sing his praises, and to enjoy him in community!