February 14, 2024

We have been looking forward to this season of special services where we focus on the death, burial and resurrection of Christ. We are right to remember this as Christ commands us to. We are right to celebrate this as Christ secured our salvation from sin’s penalty and is setting us free from sin’s power and points to the day when we will be free from sin’s presence. One of the major benefits of the gospel is that Christ came for a people, not just for one or two of us. That means that there is room for more. The heart of God always has room for more to love.

Living generously means that we look for ways to make room for others in our lives. The elders thought that it would be a great idea if we made this an area of some intentional focus. We are blessed with a church family that enjoys one another. This is evident from the amount of meaningful time that we spend with each other after services, in our homes, eating together, camping together, etc. But along with that, we can get comfortable with a small circle of people and forget to intentionally look for others to connect with. After all, since the heart of God always has room for more, we should look for ways to display that.

So, we came up with an idea. Let’s designate about 4 Sundays a year that we simply call Fellowship Sundays. Our first Fellowship Sunday is Palm Sunday, March 24. The goal is simple. Look for ways to connect with people that you do not already know. Here are some ideas:

-   Come earlier than normal, sit in a different place in your Adult Bible Fellowship Class and intentionally engage people you do not know as well.

-   Sit in a different place in the Worship Center for the Morning Service and look for people you do not know to talk with.

-   Plan ahead and invite someone(s) to eat with you after the service that morning.

Now, for some of you, that may be a pretty big step. So, for those of you who have gotten into the habit of not assembling with the family because you can “catch it on-line” you need to simply address that in your life and come. Others may need to start talking to those you already sit around but have never really engaged with. Others of you may want to step it up a bit more and serve as a greeter (seriously one of the most encouraging ministries in the church). But if most of our family connected with others that we don’t generally talk with on that Sunday, it would be a really sweet day.

If we drag the fellowship net across the gathering that day we will certainly connect with people that we do not know well, but we will also meet people who are very new. So often, God uses gospel people to display the gospel message. The fruit of gospel fellowship is sweet and attracts many to the gospel itself.

Ok, does this make sense? Of course, you do not have to wait until March 24 to start doing this, but at least an intentional effort that day to enlarge your heart for others. Plan ahead to eat with others. Intentionally invite others into your life. Valentines Day is a hard day for many who are reminded of what has been lost. Life can be a lonely place where we feel unknown. But every believer is known perfectly by God. May the Lord use us to be a taste of that one another. Every member matters.

Grace and peace,

Bob

Sunday’s Text: Luke 3:23-38