Purpose Driven Life Day 18-21 p2

Home Group Meeting – 10/19/2005

Opening
Introduction and partner picking for newcomers

Brief Review of last week
Last week we covered the first half of the 3rd week – You were formed for God’s family, days 15-17 and a half of day 18:
To be a member of God’s family is the greatest privilege of a Christian.
Love will last forever – that is why learning to love is important.
The church is God’s family on earth – that is the place we belong.
Experiencing life together - fellowship

3rd week (2): You were formed for God’s Family
Day 18 – Experiencing Life Together
“How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity” Psalms 133:1
“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
Q1. What is your understanding about Fellowship?
Q2. What would make it easier for you to be able to share your needs, hurts, fears, and hopes with others?

Fellowship is coming together in the name of Jesus Christ. It is deeper than our casual coffee time after service on Sunday. It involves having a relationship with our fellow members as if they were our brothers and sisters because in actual fact, we are brothers and sisters in God’s family. Various examples of fellowship were discussed, including the mutual acknowledgement that the Azabu Juban Home Group is a good example of fellowship.

In order to build a stronger fellowship group that enables us to share our needs, hurts, fears and hopes we need to all make a commitment to each other. That is, we need to invest time and effort into our brothers’ and sisters’ welfare. Also, we need to do more things together as a group as this cultivates trust.

Also, it was noted that when it comes to fellowship, smaller is better. Once the group gets larger than 10 people, it could start to become less intimate. Once a group becomes less intimate, it makes it harder for members to share needs, hurts and fears (particularly for the more quiet ones).

When we come together in fellowship, Jesus promised us that he is with us in our midst, “where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them”. Matthew 18:20.

Day 19 – Cultivating Community
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. Ephesians 4:15-16
Q1. What are the characteristics needed to cultivate community (fellowship)?
Q2. Do I have a heart-to-heart relationship with my PDL/spiritual partner?

The Bible teaches us to “speak the truth in love”. That is, speaking the truth is the principle and doing it in love is the guideline. We should always be truthful to our fellow brothers and sisters, however sometimes the truth hurts and what we say can often hurt their feelings or cause resentment. By speaking in love we can avoid these negative consequences.

PDL lists 9 characteristics that give specific guidance about fellowship. (Notice that simply having love for each other covers all these 9 things):
Authenticity – share our true feelings;
Mutuality – encourage each other;
Sympathy – support each other
Mercy – forgive each other;
Honesty – speak the truth in love;
Humility – admit our weaknesses;
Courtesy – respect our differences;
Confidentiality – not gossip; and
Frequency – make the group a priority.

Day 20 – Restoring Broken Fellowship
“Do everything possible on your part to live in peace with everybody” Romans 12:18
“First take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.” Matthew 7:5
Q1. Who do I need to restore a broken relationship with today?

Restoring broken relationships are always difficult to do. But the important point here is that the hardest and most important step is that first step in actually taking the initiative. After that, it could take a long time, but with the Lord’s help and by taking it one step at a time, relationships can be restored.

Day 21 – Protecting Your Church
“Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls. And he will stand, for the Lord is able to make him stand” Romans 14:4
“Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification” Romans 14:19
Q1. What are the things we should preserve? What are the disputable matters?
Q2. Are there any matters endangering the unity of our church?

In many stages of Christianity, persecution from external sources such as the Roman government at the time of the early church 2,000 years ago wasn’t effective in destroying the church. In fact, it only helped to make it stronger and grow. Eventually Christianity went on to be spread all over Europe and eventually the rest of the world.

In comparison, often it is internal sources that cause division in the church. That is, the members of the church itself. It is often a difference of opinions as to what is the right or wrong form of believing that destroys the church from the inside.

We must note that the early church (even with the original 12 apostles) was deeply divided and almost split up, because of these differences of opinion. Some wanted the new gentile believers to be circumcised because it was necessary for salvation, whereas others said it wasn’t necessary because salvation comes through faith alone. We note that a council meeting was held in Jerusalem to which Paul attended where this issue was debated. Although we know from his other Letters in the New Testament that he strongly opposed circumcision, we note that at the Jerusalem meeting, Paul did not speak out. This action is something we can learn from when dealing with division within the church.

The Bible teaches us that we should act in love and not in judgment on each other. In Romans chapter 14, Paul gives us the example of food: “if one man’s faith allows him to eat everything, but another man, whose faith is weak, eats only vegetables. The man who eats everything must not look down on him who does not, and the man who does not eat everything must not condemn the man who does, for God has accepted him. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant?” (Romans 14:2-4), and “if your brother is distressed because of what you eat, you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your eating destroy your brother for whom Christ died. … Let us make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.” Romans 14:16-19

Therefore we should be wary that satan works to destroy the church from the inside, rather than the outside, and so we be prepared to act appropriately when it happens.

Finally, in light of the above, note that we have several different Christian denominations such as Protestant, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist churches and so forth. The important point is the these denominations share the same core orthodox truths of the Bible such as that Jesus Christ was the Messiah and the Son of God, that he died for our sins and rose from the dead three days later. When a section starts believing in something that deviates from these core truths then they are cannot be considered to be truly Christian. Examples of these churches include, the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints (Mormons) and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Therefore, where the issue goes against the core truth of the Bible, then it is a cult and unacceptable. However, where the issue preserves the core truth of the Bible but is really more concerned with formalities, then we should strive to ensure that the differences of opinions on this issue should not cause division in the church.

Sharing time
From this week’s reading, do you have a passage from the book or from the bible that you want to share?

A passage to read – Acts 15:1-21
A passage to memorize – Matthew 7:5

Prayer time