Lst wk. On our way home, I was thinking about some of the things we were talking about in our bible study on Sunday night and about how much we pick on each other and were laughing about things

we can have such a great time together, that throughout the week you guys bring a smile to my face especially when I’m havin a tough day, I think about some of the goofy comments that are made and it brightens my day

but isn’t that what church is really suppose to be about? A place where we gather together and it brightens our day?

Not only our day, but our entire week?

Have you ever stopped to think that the church life is suppose to be a reflection of what our life will be like in heaven?

Now most of you have probly been in some churches that if that was suppose to be a reflection of life in heaven, count me out!

In some churches, theres more peace in Iraq than there is in that church

when they sing the Star Bangled Banner, there really is rockets glaring

but it was never in Gods design that the church should refect a battlefield instead of heaven

matt 6: 9-10

when we pray this prayer, what we are saying is, it is our desire that our congregation will reflect Gods power and his glory on this earth right now

it really is Gods desire that his perfect will be accomplished on this earth ,

but in order for that to happen, we have to be willing to live in harmony with each and every other believer, especially the people we worship with

harmony doesn’t mean that we become cookie cutter sameness,

it means we are united with one purpose to be like Christ, having the same mind of serving our Lord and that we enjoy fellowshipping with each other

our church is to bear witness to our lost world of what the kingdom of God looks like

we are to be a community of witnesses,

a holy nation

a royal priesthood

and people who have been called out of darkness and into the wonderful light of Jesus Christ

now the queston is: is that what the world sees when they look at todays church?

When they look at us, do they see heaven?

Ro. 14: 17

Paul said that the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

look at what Jesus said

Jn. 13:34-35

if we are righteous and have peace and joy, our love for the Lord and for each other will be so evident that the world will know that we are disciples of Christ

this love comes from God himself and is available to those who have received him as Savior

and its only through this love that unloving humans can love other unloving humans

this love is the supernatural love that enables the church to have communion = fellowship to exist

without Gods supernatural love, the church is no different than the world

but when we express our love to each other, we then demonstrate that our lives are different

a church family is to be so committed to each other that in I Jn 3:16 says tht we should be willing to lay down our lives for each other

so let me ask you a question: is your life connected to your church family in this way?

Are you committed to your brothers & sisters in Christ that you would lay down your life for them?

This is true fellowship in Greek its koinonia which conveys something much deeper than eating and drinking at a church dinner

it literally means “communion” or to have a deeper and richer participation of people together in Gods grace

koinonia also means individuals who willingly share common things, who submit to each other, who support and bear each others burdens

Paul said in Gal. 6:2 said we are to build each other up

if our church isn’t like that, what are we doing to make it so?

What can we do as individuals to be an active part of koinonia in our church?

• poet John Donne wrote than no man is an island

and thats true, we as believers will thrive when we practice and participate in communion with other believers

if you testify that you are a child of God, that really doesn’t mean much

but if you start living your testimony instead of just talking about it, is when we really see our lives change & people around you will see that change

Ro. 14: 17-18

when we live our testimony, we not only serve and are approved by God but also by our brothers and sisters in Christ

vs;19

it says when we follow these things we edify each other = to build up

on Sunday night we have been studying the book of Acts which tells us about the beginning of the church

and the reason why it was so strong and blessed of God is because they practiced true koinonia

have you ever stopped and thought about the perfect communion between God, his Son and the Holy Spirit?

and God said that same perfect communion can exist in our church today

this is why we practice the Lord supper, it is really a celebration of koinonia

this holy ceremony was never suppose to be taken lightly or traditionally

its a symbol of – new covenant made between God and man

and when we celebrate it we are suppose to discover new ways as individuals to offer ourselves sacramentally for Gods service

there is so much more for us as a church than to just fill a chair on Sunday morning, its discovering what true communion really is

in 2007 when I walked out of Faith Bible in Evart, I felt as though and past year was a huge waste of time

I thought I just spent a year with people who were still strangers

I had gone through the motions as a pastor, I gave messages that were truthful, but didn’t move one heart

people gathered together each week and yet there was no fellowship, they just filled a chair

I remember telling Sal, why be in a church, if no one cares, if theres no fellowship, if everyone just goes through the motions on Sunday morning

I wanted more, and I still do

I don’t care about the size of a church, I care about the size of its heart

I don’t see any reason why todays church can’t experience koinonia as it did during the time of the apostles, do you?

But its something that we have to want, we have to want what God says is available to us