Sunday, February 27, 2011

Brothers and Sisters in the Lord. How Sweet It Is!

This morning, because of the weather, Mary & I decided to not ask our small band of Christ followers to risk driving...so we called a "snow day".  However, some other Christian friends of ours have a house church just down the street that meets on Sunday morning. We had a standing invitation to join them. So, we walked a few yards and enjoyed a sweet time of fellowship and prayer.  How good it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity!  

Afterward I was thinking about what happened and realized that this neighbourhood model of fellowships was exactly how the early church began...meeting in homes for worship and a meal, to listen, counsel, pray, laugh and cry together. This is organic, simple and far more responsive to the real spiritual needs and desires of the people than large and impersonal gatherings where we can hide in the crowd. 

Please don't misunderstand me...I love large worship gatherings and times when the whole community comes together to share at the Lord's table.  The liturgy, when properly engaged is an wonderful thing. There was just something winsome and pure about a small group of believers speaking about what scares them or encourages them, lifting one another up, laying hands on the sick or injured & sharing reports of times during the past few days where they had encountered the Divine. It just seemed somehow more authentic.   

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