This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on July 3rd 2022  by Colin D'Cruz. For the audio & video please click here.  To listen to the worship please click here.

MAKING FRIENDS

 We will have a slightly different sermon this morning. We meet in small groups called GYMs. GYM Stands for God, You and Me and we meet together to fellowship, eat together, study the word etc.

My message today is on the importance of meeting in small groups. This morning when you woke up, you went and looked at yourself in the mirror at some point. Every house has a mirror, but it is so important. James 1:23 “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like” God’s word is like a mirror for each one of us. It helps us in aligning our lives with what is good and what is true.

If I were to ask you, “when does the church meet?”, most would say, Sunday. But whenever even a small number of us meet is a church meeting. So what does the word of God say about the church meeting?

In the New Testament each time church is mentioned, most of them refer to meeting in a small group/ in a home. So when we meet at homes, it is as important as meeting on a Sunday morning.

In Acts 2: 46 “And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,” so it is not just the large meeting but also the small gather that were important to the early Christians. In Acts 20:20 Paul says “how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,”. Meeting together is important when on a Sunday like this or meeting at homes.

Someone once said that the Church is like a bird with 2 wings – the large and small meeting are like the 2 wings and both are important.

All of us at some stage heard the glorious gospel being preached, you put your faith in Jesus and your life was changed! Several things happened in that moment:

    1. Luke 15:7 “Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” There was rejoicing in heaven

    2. 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” You might look the same but you are a new creation

    3. You became a part of God’s family. God became your father and other Christians have become your brothers and sisters. When you meet a fellow believer, there is an instant connection. Have you experienced that? How does that happen? It’s something in the spirit.

This is the transformation that has happened. Sadly, there are Christians who come to Jesus and then just stay on the outskirts without connection or involvement in one another's life. As Rick Warren says, we have a personal faith, but not a private faith. So seek to build connection with one another. 1 Corinthians 12:27 “Now you are the body of Christ and individually members of it.” We are not lone ranger Christians.

1.              Acts 2 there were 3000 who were added to the number. Baptism is one step, and being joined is another step. Imagine you needed an organ transplant, there is a beating heart, which is useless on its own. But when it is placed in the body, it can do all that it is supposed to do. You are a part of the body and have a role to play. On your own you are like that heart in a box. GYMs help us get connected.

2.             Secondly, they will help us grow in our spiritual life. In a small group setting, almost everyone can participate and grow. Col 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God”. So let’s do that.

3.              In Acts 15:16 It speaks about how Priscilla and Aquila took Apollos to their home and taught them the word. The bible is full of one-another(s). It is only as we meet with one another that we can grow in our Christian faith.

4.              We can express love to one another when we are a part of a GYM group. We have so many stories among us of people expressing love by supporting and helping one another so well!

5.              Another area where small groups help is to practice hospitality. One way to do that is to have a pot luck. Even as a single man/ woman, you can make something and bring it to a potluck and show hospitality that way.

6.              It is not just about loving and caring about one another, but also about reaching the lost. We’ve got to say what can we do about reaching out.

Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again),  Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service.  Word of Grace is a part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.