POINT TO PONDER:I need others in my life .
REFLECT: How did today's reading impact you?
Yesterday, we discussed Fellowship as being as committed to each other as we are to God. Today, it is defined further as experiencing life together. This includes unselfish loving, honest sharing, practical serving, sacrificial giving, sympathetic comforting, and all the other one another commands found in the New Testament. When it comes to fellowship.... size matters! Smaller is better.
Small groups are at the heart of our purpose of fellowship at CBF, because this environment is where real community can take place. But... it requires decisive effort on my part. 
       "Share each other's troubles and problems, and in this way
   obey the law of Christ" (Galatians 6:2 - New Living Translation)
  1. In real fellowship, people experience authenticity.

    2. In most churches, people where masks, keep their guard up, and act as if everything is rosy. There is shallow conversation, pretending and superficial politeness. That is NOT the experience in small groups. Real fellowship involves genuine, heart-to-heart, sometimes gut-level, sharing. It happens when people determine to be honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives. They share their hurts, reveal their feelings, confess their failures, disclose their doubts, admit their fears, acknowledge`their weaknesses, and ask for help and prayer.
  2. In real fellowship, people experience mutuality.

    3. It is the art of giving and receiving... of depending on each other. All of us are more consistent in our faith when others are walking with us to encourage us. Think about this: I am not responsible for everyone in the Body of Christ, but I am responsible to them.
  3. In real fellowship, people experience sympathy.

    4. It is in times of deep crisis, grief, and doubt that we need each other the most. WHen circumstances crush us to the point that our faith falters, that's when we need believing friends the most. We need a small group of friends to have faith in God for us and to pull us through. When I've survived rough times, and looking back, a small group was there providing air cover. How about you?
  4. In real fellowship, people experience mercy.

    5. We all need mercy, because we all stumble and fall, and require help to get back on track. 
       "You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive
   the person who offends you.  Remember, the Lord forgave you,
   so you must forgive others" (Colossians 3:13 - New Living Translation)
I've seen small groups be a real haven, where what we planned to discuss was pushed aside, and instead real friends dealt head-on with real problems. Those small groups were living life together, and I will never forget them!
PRAYER:
"Gracious Father, thank You for the true fellowship that I can share with others. I recognize that it requires a choice on my part, to be authentic, to invest the time to develop these friendships. Please help me to start today. Amen
FOR MY CONSIDERATION:
    How can my small group live life together? What one step can I take today to connect with another believer at a more genuine, heart-to-heart level?
This week's Memory verse: 
 	"... so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member 
	belongs to all the others."	  Romans 12:15 (NIV)
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