CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

July 30, 2006

 

www.geocities.com/adon77373/cypresswoodbulletin.htm

 

25424 Aldine-Westfield, Spring, Tx.  77373

 

CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR:

Our congregation                                                                 Our military, nation and leaders

 

Various relatives, friends, and co-workers                       Leon in the Army

 

James is returning to civilian life from the Army             Mel and Susan are traveling this weekend

this week.

 

 

EVENTS:

July 31 - Summer Youth Series at Southeast - ACU and Acappella

 

 

THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE KING

 

“We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.  And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.  We write this to make our joy complete” (1 John 1:3-4).

 

As you know, I really liked J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, both the books and the movies.  In the first part we are introduced to the fellowship of the ring, the nine who would go on a perilous journey.  What we see is an amazing bond between this fellowship through thick and thin.  Just one example is in the late scenes where Frodo and Sam have destroyed the ring and are surrounded by molten lava, together, thinking of home and songs and the days in the Shire.  If you read the appendix at the end of the third book as to what happened to each of the fellowship, one can see that it remained strong.  Two of the hobbits, Merry and Pippen, remain with the King and are buried together at death.  The Elf and the Dwarf sail off together into eternity.  And Gandalf, Frodo and his uncle do the same.  It is Sam (who I most admire) who became mayor of his town, had a bunch of children, but in the end, he too sailed off into eternity.  This is a great story of fellowship (1).

 

Tolkien grasped the idea of fellowship that we haven’t.  Fellowship includes but is more than worship or meals together.  The Greek words are koinoneo, koinonia, koinonikos, and koinonos and are used thirty-eight times in the New Testament.  The English words used are fellowship, sharing, participation, partnership, contribution, and side by side.  The idea is a community that is bound together, especially in Christ.  While our focus is in or on Christ, there is the horizontal idea of being bound together with one another as John expressed in 1 John.  So what is fellowship?

 

Fellowship is our worship together and individually.  Together, it is the community or congregation coming to praise God and encourage one another.  Both of these are involved in fellowship.  We are sharing together in the common bond between Jesus, ourselves and our Father in heaven.  So we bring Him praise and together, encourage each other to walk in the light (1 John 1:7).  Some say that our assemblies are exclusively for worship, hence our buildings are designed with that idea in mind.  That has led us to emphasize forms.  Unfortunately that leaves out one important aspect of fellowship, sharing among each other. 

 

Just consider the Lord’s Supper.  After spending sometime discussing the fellowship or communion of the congregation, Paul addressed a situation concerning the Lord’s Supper (see 1 Corinthians 10 and 11:17-34).  If one looks from the perspective of forms, then it appears that eating a meal in connection with the Lord’s Supper is the problem.  It is suggested that what Paul is saying is that they should eat at home and then come and partake in the Supper together.  “Worship” has somehow been violated because of the “sharing” of a common meal together.  But if we look at it from the perspective of attitude and fellowship, then a different problem arises.  It wasn’t the common meal that was the problem but the attitude involved.  Some were ignoring the poor and not waiting for the community to come together to “share” in what was known as “the love feast.”  The problem was the selfishness of some in the Corinthian church, a group that was divided in a number of ways (over preachers, going to court against each other, eating meat sacrificed to idols to name a few).  The intent of the Lord’s Supper was to express our common bond; that’s why we sometimes call it communion.  In my view, this seems to be more in the line of what fellowship means (2).

 

Secondly, we need to understand that God has always intended a redemptive fellowship with His people.  The ideal is seen in the Garden before the fall (see Genesis 2-3).  The point is that God walked in the Garden in fellowship with Adam and Eve.  Beyond that, we see the same as God leads His people in the Wilderness, providing for and protecting them (see Exodus).  Though holy, God would walk among them as the gracious and compassionate God.  It is seen in God entering the Temple in the days of Solomon, again showing the idea of fellowship.

 

Fellowship goes beyond just our assembly.  We often have fellowship meals together.  This too is a time of sharing.  We can sit and talk with one another, share stories and ideas, joys and jokes, and just relax in our bond.  But there is more to fellowship than that.  When we see the texts that have “one another” attached to them, we find the extent of fellowship.  It would include prayer, encouragement, admonishment, honoring, serving, singing, and a number of other things.  It is not just done in a group but among individuals.  We open up to each other concerning our struggles and concerns.  We seek spiritual guidance and accountability in living our lives in Christ.  As Paul says, we rejoice with one another and we weep with one another.  Rejoicing is easy and we all enjoy that but lamenting is more difficult, involving the emotions, and not always knowing what to say, if anything.  Being silent in the company of the sufferer is yet another form of fellowship, of sharing.  That is the fellowship of the King. 

 

Being open with each other, as difficult as that is, is important.  I think people are afraid of being honest with others for fear of what might be thought or said.  Open and honest concerns and struggles can be seen as a matter of weakness.  Preachers in particular have difficulty in this area for their livelihood is at stake, and we certainly cannot have “troubled” preachers in the pulpit.  A similar idea might be expressed by elders as well.  Until we can be honest with each other, fellowship will be limited.  Our invitations have been limited to those who need to be baptized or to repent.  To express joy or to admit to struggles and peer pressure that leads to sin is not something everyone wants to hear; let the elders handle it quietly.  It is when a David can openly confess adultery or a Samson who has committed sexual immorality, that is when fellowship will reach its potential of sharing and communion.  You might have seen the mini-series, The Band of Brothers.  It is the story of a company of men from the 101^st Airborne Division as they fought through  Europe from D-Day, June 6, 1944 until the end of the war in May 1945.  They shared in something many of us have never shared in and understand the struggles involved.  They are a fellowship because of the common bond they have with each other.  That is where we need to be as God’s people.  I might not understand all that is involved but I can stand along side of you and share.

 

As I said earlier, our buildings and forms are not always conducive to fellowship, emphasizing the forms.  I don’t know what way or form would be best.  In my mind, looking at the back of someone’s head just isn’t the best way to encourage someone.  It would be better, I think, if we were in a circle or seated at tables, but even then, there are draw backs.  We should see our assemblies as a time of worship and encouragement.  We can do this through give and take.  While it is important to have a word from God in the form of teaching (a need for a preacher), to be lectured might not be the best or only way this could be accomplished.  What about questions and comments from brothers and sisters who have something to share.  Granted, this could become disorderly, and some just love to hear themselves talk.  But does that mean we should not do it?  I think we need to reconsider the idea of our assembly being a fellowship between God and us and each other.

 

With all that, we are a group who have much in common with each other in Christ.  We are not perfect nor have we arrived at the idea of full fellowship and its complete understanding.  We should be working toward that goal.  We can do this by working toward being more open.  While not everyone can handle the immediate shock of some things confessed, we certainly can teach how merciful God has been to those with similar experiences in scripture.  Prayer is another way of drawing closer in fellowship, not general prayers (though they are important), but specific prayers for an individual.  Singing also enhances fellowship.  Words have meanings and many songs draw us closer to God and each other.  Some of the stories behind the songs that caused them to be written are means of encouragement.  Events caused by familiar songs also encourage us (3).  As I write this, I’m listening to Ray Stevens.  Some of his songs are funny such as The Mississippi Squirrel Revival and The Streak.  Then there is the song, Let’s Roll, written in 2002 with the obvious connection to 9/11.  Turn Your Radio On is a religious song expressing the need to listen to God. Music draws us to God and one another like few things can.  I think of the scripture songs.  The Steadfast Love of the Lord is an upbeat song but its Biblical context is of Jeremiah’s lament over the fall of Jerusalem and everything he knew (Lamentations 3:22-24).  Create In Me comes from a personal lament and repentance on the part of David because of his sins surround Bathsheba (Psalm 51).  Songs can move us and I’m often moved to tears by hundreds of teens singing some really thought provoking songs.  This too is fellowship.

 

We are the fellowship of the King (4).  It is a subject that needs to be explored more and will provide great blessings for all of us.  God’s ultimate intent is to redeem us and return us to the Garden fellowship as seen at the beginning, something we all can look forward to because of being in Christ.

 

                                                                                                                                George B. Mearns

 

(1) If you have not read or seen The Lord of the Rings, let me encourage you to do so.  There are so many wonderful ideas found in this series.

(2) Exodus 24 has over seventy men on God’s mountain eating with God, another expression of fellowship.

(3) The singing of Silent Night on December 24^th, 1914 led to a cease fire for a few days in war torn France or John Newton, the slave ship captain who left that to become a preacher and wrote Amazing Grace. 

(4) This might be a good name for a congregation.