Welcome

Welcome to Fellowship: The Doctrine of Life Together, the fifth and final course in the Pathmark series.

In Scripture you saw what God has spoken. In Missions you saw what He has sent His church to do. In Discipleship you saw what He is making of His people. In Worship you saw what those people do when they stand before Him. In Fellowship you will see what God gives them when they stand together.

God does not save us as isolated individuals. He saves us as a people.

This is one of the most challenging claims of the Christian faith. We are accustomed to thinking of salvation as a transaction between ourselves and God. We sing songs about a personal relationship with Jesus. We speak of my faith, my journey, my walk with God. All of that has truth in it. But the Bible teaches something larger and more beautiful. When God saves you, He saves you into a community. You are joined to Christ, and in Christ you are joined to His body, the church.

The shape of this course is the circle.

A circle is a perfect shape. No beginning. No end. All parts equidistant from the center. At the center of the circle of fellowship is Christ Himself, gathered in the midst of His people. Around the circumference is the love that binds the community. The practices of fellowship are segments around that circle. Each one a way the body of Christ holds itself together.

By the end of this course you will be able to explain what biblical fellowship is, name the practices that mark a healthy church community, distinguish a covenanted local church from a loose association of believers, and identify one specific way you will pursue deeper fellowship at Mayflower in the next thirty days.

Plan for about fifty minutes. You can stop and come back. Your progress will be saved. Before you start, open your Bible to 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 and Acts 2:42-47. Read both slowly.

Begin with prayer. Ask the Spirit who knit the church together to break down the walls in your own heart that keep you from loving His people.