Fellowship

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.

1 John 1:3 (NIV)

When I talk to people about why they don't go to church, they often tell me something like, "Church is just a place. I don't need other people to believe in God." Usually this comes from people who were disillusioned by people in their church. somehow they were hurt, and they feel that their experience proves why churches are a bad thing. And they feel that they don't need anyone else, and so avoid churches altogether.

Our verse today talks about fellowship. We go to church for fellowship among other things. It's there that we can worship with others every week. It's there that we can be encouraged. It's there that we can have fellowship with God. That fellowship is worth a lot. In these days of online relationships - and I don't just mean dating - it is easy to feel there are other ways to get the needs of fellowship and companionship met without going to church.

The fact is that's not true. If you find a place in your local church you will find that you look forward to being there with the people and the fellowship. It isn't the same intensity as a youth event, but it is spiritually fulfilling in its own way. God gives us others to lean on and to support, like the lap sit game where everyone gets in a circle and sits on the lap of the person behind them. You are supported and support.

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