Vineyard Church of Knox County
Fellowship: 10 Reasons the Christian Life is a Connected Life
Sermon Audio from Sunday, July 20, 2003 — We've been expanding on the Greatest Commandment as found in Matthew 22:37-39. Jesus taught, "Love the Lord your God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength. And the second is like it, Love your neighbor as yourself. All of the law and the prophets hang on these commandments." So, with one breath, Jesus summed up the entire Christian experience. Love God and love others.
We noticed last time that there is a vertical component to this verse (love God) and a horizontal component (love others) that together compose the cross of the Christian experience. The goal of this church is for each person to develop into a balanced Christian whose lifestyle naturally consists of both a healthy vertical relationship with God and healthy horizontal relationships with others. Today we will be considering one aspect of the horizontal relationship we have with other people, what we call fellowship. When I say the word "fellowship" some of you will think of a certain fellowship hall that you've eaten potluck dinners in. Or you remember a pastor encouraging church-goers to fellowship with one another over coffee and cookies after the morning service. Though I commend churches for making fellowship a priority by naming an entire room for it, and for making time for it after services, I would argue that many churches today do not, despite their sincerity, practice true, biblical fellowship. And though fellowship nights in the fellowship hall or coffee and cookies after a service are both are attractive and good, I suggest that those things alone do not allow people to experience true, biblical fellowship that God offers to the People of God.
