Introduction

Acts 2:42-47.

2:42. 

They were devoted to

-         The Word, Fellowship, Communion/ focus on Jesus and what He did, Prayer

Koinonia:  A close community of people. 

1 fellowship, association, community, communion, joint participation, intercourse. 1a the share which one has in anything, participation.

1b intercourse, fellowship, intimacy.

1c a gift jointly contributed, a collection, a contribution, as exhibiting an embodiment and proof of fellowship.[1]

Koinonia is when lives are intertwined and dependant upon each other

1 Corinthians 12:14, 26-28.  ¹⁴Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. ²⁵so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.²⁶If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.  ²⁷Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

Paul shares with the church in Thessalonica: 

1 Thessalonians 2:8.

"We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."

What’s that got to do with small groups?

Acts 2:46a. they continued to meet together in the temple courts

-         They worshipped together

2:46b. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts

-         They fellowshipped together

They were not a group of church people that kept their distance from each other.

Koinonia happens in smaller, more intimate settings.

Koinonia happens when we connect on a personal level with other Christians. 

Small groups are a great tool for this to happen!

Paul, in sending a letter to the churches in Rome sends his greetings to a church that is meeting in someone’s home!

Romans 16:3-5a

Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus.  They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.  Greet also the church that meets at their house.

Remember that the church is not this building. 

The church is the people. 

If we, as the people, are going to be the church, we need to be involved in each other’s lives!

The number of people that attend church on a Sunday Morning cannot always stay small, but the church will still function as it was meant to function when we make the effort to be involved in each other’s lives. 

People like small churches because they are not a number.  They are able to connect and grow in a smaller setting.

Remember that Jesus wants us to grow.  If people are coming to Jesus, we are growing.  If we are not growing, people are not coming to Jesus.

Ephesians 2:19-22.

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.  In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.  And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The Christian life is not meant to be lived alone.

We must connect/ koinonia with each other.

This cannot happen in large group setting. 

If you want to experience the Christian life the way it was meant to be, you must connect with each other!

What happens when we connect with each other?  (This sermon is not so much a promotion for small groups as it is an encouragement for you to connect with each other.)

1. Nobody stands alone

You will sin.  You will fall down.

James 3:2. 

We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12. 

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: if one falls down, his friend can help him up.  But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!  Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.  But how can one keep warm alone?  Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves.  A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

When we stumble, we pick each other up.

We fall and need help getting back on our feet and headed in the right direction. 

If we walk hand in hand with other Christians, we will be less likely to stumble….

Unless all those you are walking with are already stumbling…

…if those you walk with are already stumbling, don’t let them fall, go get some help from other stable people

3. We help each other with our earthly needs

1 John 3:17.  If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?

Acts 2: They had everything in common

-         be available, be obedient.  You can’t help everyone but you can help who God tells you to help

4. We are there for each other

2 Corinthians 1:3-5.   ³Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. ⁵For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows

-         people in this church need you to help them through whatever they are going through

-         this cannot happen at a distance

-         dealing with intimate problems can get messy

Proverbs 27:10c.         …better a neighbor nearby than a brother far away.

-         I love my brother and he would do anything for me, but the church can be there for me in ways he never can

5. We encourage each other

Hebrews 10:25.  Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

-         life stinks

-         we need to be around each other and encourage each other that we’ll make it through it

-         if you come to church and try discourage people, you need to leave

6. We work together to share Jesus with others

Acts 2:47.  praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

It is a necessary ingredient for churches to have if the Lord is going to bring people to them to be saved. 

What Father in their right mind would send his children to a group of people who can’t function as a family?

There is something powerful about connecting with people in an intimate way.