Biblical Community and Small Groups

God wants His people to be deeply connected in community. Community is “common unity.”  Our common unity is in Jesus.  We desperately need each other in our journey with God. 

God modeled community for us in the Trinity.  God had a nation (Israel) and the 12 Tribes.  Jesus ministered to the masses and had His 12, and within the 12 He had 3 that He spent even extra time with.  Do you have 3 in your life that you could share almost anything with?  I do, and I sure need those men.

I do not know where I would be today without the small group interaction I have had over the years.  I had a group of 5 men that I met with for 18 years while pastoring in Wisconsin.  Those are to this day my closest friends.

Prov. 27:17 says “as iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another.”  Do you have others in your life that truly sharpen you? 

Find a small group to join!  Start a small group!  Be as Hebr. 10:24 says “stir one another to love and good deeds.”

Most active Christ-followers today will miss Sunday church at least once every month, any twice a month.  This makes being in a small group even more important, because when they miss Sunday worship, they miss out on fellowship.  But a midweek small group can be the “spiritual staple” they don’t miss.  I believe a biblically functioning small group is even more important than Sunday worship.

Larry Crabb says, “Life-change most often occurs when truth is shared in the context of a relationship.”  Sundays give us truth, but often the close relational piece is missing.

For more about the biblical basis for small groups, the benefits of a small group, how the early church met “from house to house”, common barriers to getting into a small group, and the ingredients in true biblical community, go to my 2 sermons on small groups at http://www.livinghopeathens.org/category/sermons/