Fellowship with Others
๐ช๐๐ฅ๐ ๐จ๐ฃ
โข Tell us about one thing that easily irritates you.ย
โข What would make you say that a person is selfish? What actions or attitudes do you think would catch your attention?
โข Do you consider yourself to be competitive? Recall an instance explaining this.ย
๐ช๐ข๐ฅ๐ย
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ค๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐๐ข๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ถ๐ฎ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ด๐ฆ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ด๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ข๐ต ๐ธ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฆ ๐บ๐ฐ๐ถ ๐ฅ๐ช๐ด๐ค๐ถ๐ด๐ด๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ?โ ๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด๐ต. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, โ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ.โ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ต:๐ฏ๐ฏ-๐ฏ๐ฑ
Have you ever wondered what being called by Jesus would have been like while He walked the earth? While it would have been exciting, it wouldnโt have been easy. In addition to the opposition He faced, there was also internal turmoil among the disciples, who had to learn to follow Jesus together. Much like the relationships in our church today, we have to find a way to get along. After all, God has designed us for relationship with our fellow believersโto love and forgive one another, and to serve Jesus together. In this lesson, we will see how our relationships with one another should be based on Jesusโ conversation with His twelve disciples.ย
๐ญ. ๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป.
๐๐ถ๐ต ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฌ๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ต ๐ด๐ช๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต, ๐ง๐ฐ๐ณ ๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ข๐บ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐บ ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ข๐ณ๐จ๐ถ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ช๐ต๐ฉ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ข๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ต ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ธ๐ข๐ด ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐จ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ด๐ต.ย ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ต:๐ฏ๐ฐ
In ancient Roman culture, the greatest person was determined by a direct, in-your-face confrontation. With this, could you really blame the disciples for wanting to become great and somehow compete with one another? This is part of our sinful human nature. So, Jesus addressed it directly and asked them what they had been discussing. Jesus has that uncanny knack of addressing exactly what needs to be corrected in our lives. In the kingdom of God, our relationships are designed for love, not competition or selfish agenda. We are called to share life with one another with a common goal in mindโto engage the lost and make disciples. What are the dangers of thinking of relationships between believers as a competition? How can we work together to advance Godโs kingdom instead?
๐ฎ. ๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ถ๐ป๐๐๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ต ๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ค๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ธ๐ฆ๐ญ๐ท๐ฆ. ๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, โ๐๐ง ๐ข๐ฏ๐บ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ธ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ง๐ช๐ณ๐ด๐ต, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ด๐ต ๐ฃ๐ฆ ๐ญ๐ข๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ณ๐ท๐ข๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ.โ ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ต:๐ฏ๐ฑ
Jesus gave His disciples a key leadership principle they (and we) are to never outgrow: Serve. If we think we are better than others, we might expect to be served or we might refuse to serve others. But Jesus said those who would be firstโthose who leadโmust be last and serve all. How does this go against our defaults as a society? How do you think the disciples reacted to this? How did they learn to take it to heart?ย ย
๐ฏ. ๐ข๐๐ฟ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป๐๐ต๐ถ๐ฝ ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ผ๐๐น๐ฑ ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ป ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐, ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฐ๐๐น๐๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐บ๐ผ๐ป๐ฎ๐น๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐.
๐๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฌ ๐ข ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ช๐ฅ๐ด๐ต ๐ฐ๐ง ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ต๐ข๐ฌ๐ช๐ฏ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฉ๐ช๐ด ๐ข๐ณ๐ฎ๐ด, ๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ข๐ช๐ฅ ๐ต๐ฐ ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ฎ, โ๐๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ ๐ช๐ฏ ๐ฎ๐บ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ณ ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฎ๐ฆ, ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ๐ด ๐ฏ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ ๐ฃ๐ถ๐ต ๐ฉ๐ช๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฉ๐ฐ ๐ด๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐ฎ๐ฆ.โย ๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ต:๐ฏ๐ฒ-๐ฏ๐ณ
What usually unites people together are the commonalities in culture. However, left to ourselves, most of us may not have much in common without Christ and would probably not get along. But now that we are brothers and sisters in Christ, we are to live in a way that honors God alone, in spite of our differences. Jesus was adjusting how His disciples were thinking. He taught them that our relationship with one another should be founded on our relationship with Him. When we realize that receiving our brothers and sisters means receiving Christ and the Father, it will change the way we relate with one another. What does Matthew 25:35โ40 say about how we treat fellow believers?
๐๐ฃ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐ก
โข Do you sometimes consider your relationships and ministry as a competition? In what way do you think Jesus is adjusting your mindset and approach today?
โข Whatโs one thing you can do to grow in fellowship with one another? How can you serve one another beginning this week?
โข What do you think it means to โ๐ณ๐ฆ๐ค๐ฆ๐ช๐ท๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ด๐ถ๐ค๐ฉ ๐ค๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅโ in Jesusโ name? How can you receive those who need to know Christ today?ย
๐ฃ๐ฅ๐๐ฌ๐๐ฅ
โข Thank God for drawing you into His family and saving you. Thank Him for the relationships He has blessed you with.ย
โข Declare your trust and faith in Christ as โ๐ต๐ฉ๐ฆ ๐๐ฐ๐ญ๐บ ๐๐ฏ๐ฆ ๐ฐ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐ฅ.โ Pray that you would know and love Him more as each day passes.ย
โข Pray that many would be drawn to Christ because of the love of God made manifest in the world through the Church.