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CWC Cell Groups
In the first days of the early church, believers,"continued
steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship",
in the breaking of bread and in prayers. (Acts 2:42) A few
verses later it says that they met "daily with one accord,
and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food
with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having
favor with all the people." This was the secret to their rapid
maturity, ability to withstand persecution, and wildfire-like
spread of the Gospel to the world!!
The
Biblical definition for the word translated "Fellowship" is…
"Sharing, unity, close association, partnership, a communion,
a brotherhood." Contained in that word is unity brought about
by the Holy Spirit. An individual then shares a common intimate
bond of fellowship with others, which cements believers to
the Lord Jesus Christ and to each other.
Most people will agree that this kind of fellowship does not
usually take place on Sunday morning or at big church events.
But it will more likely grow out of small groups of people
meeting together as it was in the book of Acts. Our mission
is to provide the settings, the leadership and the opportunities
where people can meet together for fellowship. There is no
replacement for the warmth of people meeting in homes. There
the Word can be studied, concerns can be shared, needs revealed
and met, believers can be comforted by the words of another
in prayer, encouragement can be given or received, questions
can be asked, answered prayers or accomplishments can be celebrated
together, and our own Spiritual gifts can be explored and
developed. Activities that produce laughter and joy as well
as the breaking of bread, will play a major part because our
souls have need of social and recreational refreshment as
well.
It
is safe to say that in our culture at least, one CAN make
it alone. But in the Christian walk it is difficult at best
to maintain one's Spiritual focus let alone be filled with
the Fullness of God, as Paul prays for us in Eph. 3:19. That
is why God, knowing intimately how we are made, wrote about
the Church being a body. Actually, it was to be The Body of
Christ and in it are many members, all with varying gifts
working together to minister and enlarge the Kingdom of God
on the earth. (I Corinthians 12) Through that analogy the
point can be made that though the body may learn to compensate
for the loss of a foot, an eye or even both legs, it may never
again function as it was designed to. However, any one of
those lost body parts does not function well alone. Consequently,
whether we are willing to admit it or not, WE NEED EACH OTHER.
As humans in a vastly changing society where we have less
and less personal contact we still need the warmth and touch
of other human beings to know acceptance, love and be challenged
and encouraged to grow. Together we will not only maintain
our walk on the High Way but we will, indeed, grow. Corporately
the Church matures only as individuals mature and is united
in our love for Jesus Christ. This is our goal; to mature
believers and provide places where new Christians, new members,
and those that are searching can be "fitted together" with
those more established in their Christian walk. With prayer
and the Holy Spirit's direction we, like the early church,
can grow and be blessed to be a blessing to the world around
us.
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