Fellowship: The Power of Friendship

Fellowship

1 John 1:3

Fellowship with other believers
Fellowship with (or communion with) God the Father and his Son Jesus

Two English words for fellowship
1. from Latin communio (sharing in common).
2. in Greek is κοινωνία, which is often translated as "fellowship"

The basic meaning of the term communion is an especially close relationship of Christians, as individuals or as a Church, with God and with other Christians

1 John 3:1-2

Extravagant or reckless love (prodigal)
“... that we should be called ‘children of God.’

In relationship with God through what Jesus has done

1 John 4:7-21

[v. 7] Love comes from God
[v. 8] Do not love you do not know God
[v. 12] When we love it demonstrates the life of Jesus emanating from our life

1 John 5:1-2
Love the Father – love his children [fellow believers]
Demonstrate that love by loving God and carrying out his commands

Last week GY talked about parable of the prodigal son
Both sons we guilty of being disconnected from the father
One son lived recklessly – the other was jealous
The parable was really aimed at the religious son – not the sinner sin
We are meant to be in relationship with others
When we aren’t we are being disobedient
When we demand our share of the inheritance we are guilty
When we demand that God pay attention to us because of our religious sacrifice we are guilty

Religion = I obey therefore I am accepted
Christian = I am accepted by what Christ has done therefore I obey

We obey God when we show love

What is the purpose of the story: Owen and Mzee?

Love is easy when we love the same kind
But can we love people who are not like us?

Jesus spoke to “sinners” and “religious people”
These two people are incompatible

The father invites both to his extravagant feast
(prodigal story) only the lost son joins the feast
The older son refuses out spiritual pride

Mzee was not a hippo – nor was Owen a tortoise
But out of a deep seeded need for relationship they overcame their differences to form a strong indelible bond

As believers we need to fight the urge to become insular and ward by only relating to our own kind – other believers
We need to be outward focused – developing a concern for those who are disconnected from the Father

How do we do that?
By demonstrating the extravagant and reckless love that the Father has shown us