Better Together: Enjoying Life in the Family of God

42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer… 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Acts 2:42, 46-47

20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.

Matthew 18:20

2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

Philippians 2:1-4

Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.

1 Corinthians 12:27

1. Meaningful, life-giving relationships add strength and beauty to our journey. 

From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Ephesians 4:16

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor:
10 If either of them falls down, one can help the other up.
But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–10

2. Authentic community catalyzes ongoing maturity.

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.

Proverbs 27:17

He who loves his dream of a community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter, even though his personal intentions may be ever so honest and earnest and sacrificial.

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

24And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, 25 not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Hebrews 10:24-25

3. Our togetherness welcomes God’s manifest presence.

4. Relationships resource us through the testimonies, counsel, and experiences of others. 

One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.
5 They speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty—and I will meditate on your wonderful works.

Psalm 145:4-5

Perfume and incense bring joy to the heart, and the pleasantness of a friend
springs from their heartfelt advice.

Proverbs 27:9

5. The church’s impact is exponentially greater together. 

 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:12-14