Koinonia

"And they continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers."
Acts 2:42

Acts 2:42 gives us an interesting glimpse into early church life. Here we find four things emphasized.

They continued steadfastly in:

The apostles' doctrine (teaching, receiving and doing)
Fellowship
Breaking of bread (eating together)
Prayers

What we really have here is a picture of community at work. People who were together a lot! Acts 2:46 indicates they were together daily. It is easy to compartmentalize our lives: church, work, home life, friends, etc and all too often that's where things stay and we miss much that God has for us.

One of the greatest joys of the Christian life for me is relationships. We eat together a lot at our church. Some of the eating is done at church while some is done in other places. This last Thursday we were part of group that got together at Cracker Barrel. Those times are precious. It is in those times that we really get to know one another. It is our involvement in each others lives that really begins to bring meaning and purpose to what we do at church.

We've never been called to walk this journey alone. God calls us sheep. Part of the reason for that is that we have a need for community. We have a need for other people. We need one another in the body of Christ.

In Philippians 1:3-5 Paul wrote, "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you,always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now." Fellowship is the Greek word koinonia and it means so much more than just getting together for the occasional church supper. It's the same word we get communion from. It is a word that really points to the enmeshment of our lives together in the body of Christ. Paul had a special bond with the church at Philippi.

And maybe that's the point. We need people in our lives who we can share our hurts and struggles, as well as our joys and victories, with. We need friends who will laugh with us and cry with us and give us real help when we need it.

Ultimately, so much of life comes down to relationships. Relationships seed the opportunity to bless when we have the ability to do so and receive when we need help.

God loves you so much! Ask the Lord to get you hooked into folks who live the love of God!