Text: Galatians 2:9 The New Testament describes fellowship as something to be valued, built, and maintained. The “right hand of fellowship” was a symbol of acceptance and approval. But we cannot accept and approve of everyone. There are limits to fellowship. We will discuss them in this lesson. Defining Fellowship Greek word (koinonia) – association, […]
October 28, 2024
Taking Meals Together
Text: Acts 2:46-47 The New Testament repeatedly emphasizes the togetherness of brethren in the early church. Shortly after the church was established, the first Christians were meeting and eating together. Many churches today host “fellowship meals” – meals hosted by a congregation and conducted as part of the church’s work. But was Luke describing a church-sponsored meal? […]
February 19, 2024
The Spirit as a Pledge
Text: 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 In this passage, Paul talked about God giving the Holy Spirit to us “as a pledge.” We might wonder what this means. What is a pledge? Why did God do this? How is the Spirit given? It is helpful to understand what Paul meant here. This was said to provide us […]
February 5, 2024
The Problem with Ecumenism
Text: Ephesians 4:3-6 In a recent lesson, we talked about what would destroy a congregation. One of the things we discussed was a lack of unity. When a congregation is divided, it cannot stand. Yet it is possible to “overcorrect” on the problem of division and go beyond God’s will for our unity. That is […]
September 11, 2023
What Will Destroy a Congregation
Text: 2 Corinthians 12:20-21 When Paul wrote the first letter to the Corinthians, there were many problems he needed to address. When he wrote the second letter, they had definitely made some improvements. However, there were still issues that threatened the health of the church. Toward the end of the second letter, he described some […]
June 19, 2023
Letter to the Church in Thyatira
Text: Revelation 2:18-29 This is the fourth in a series of lessons on the seven churches of Asia addressed in Revelation 2-3. Through John, Jesus sent a letter to each church, which He also shared with the others and with us as well. The letters described challenges they were facing, what they were doing well, […]
May 15, 2023
Members One of Another
Text: Romans 12:3-5 Paul told the saints in Rome they were “members one of another” as part of the same body. Therefore, they were to act in a certain way toward one another. The same is true for us today. As members of the church – and of a local congregation in particular – we […]
