2. The Whole Point is Fellowship 1 John 4:19 – “We love because he first loved us.” John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” John 17:3 – “This is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

3. The Whole Point is Fellowship Definition of “Fellowship” (from Strong’s Concordance): Greek: koinonia Partnership, participation, sharing BEING WITH

4. The Whole Point is Fellowship Exodus 25:8 – “Let them construct a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell among them.” Ephesians 2:19-22 – “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God’s household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the corner stone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.”

5. The Whole Point is Fellowship 1 John 4:15 – “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 – “Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.”

6. Sin Breaks Fellowship Definition of “sin” (from Pocket Dictionary of Theological Terms): (1) Fallen humanity’s state of separation and alienation from God. (2) a person’s purposeful disobedience to God’s will as evidenced in concrete thought or act.

7. Sin Breaks Fellowship Ezekiel 18:4 – “Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine. The soul who sins will die.” Romans 6:23 – “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of god is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

8. Sin Breaks Fellowship Leviticus 20:26 – “Thus you are to be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy; and I have set you apart from the peoples to be mine.” Matthew 5:48 – “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect.” James 2:10 – “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all.”

9. Distraction Breaks Fellowship

10. 1 Corinthians 7:35 – “This I say for your own benefit; not to put a restraint upon you, but to promote what is appropriate and to secure undistracted devotion to the Lord.”

11. Distraction Breaks Fellowship Luke 10:38-42 – “Now as they were traveling along, he entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to his word. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me.’ But the Lord answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

12. Distraction Breaks Fellowship Get up an hour earlier Turn off the cell phone Leave the house Fast from media (internet, TV, movies, music) Try something new Get alone Repent Ask God for help

13. Consistency Builds Fellowship Niagara Falls moves 1 foot further upriver each and every year. Without man-made controls, it would be 10 feet each year. What force is so powerful that it can move a waterfall? ConsistentPersistent John 15:4-5 – “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”

14. Creativity Builds Fellowship I like routine, but… prayer is not a formula to follow but a friendship to form; not a ritual to reenact but a relationship to reveal.

15. Creativity Builds Fellowship Genesis 1:3 – “Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.” Revelation 21:1 – “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.” God is Creative!

16. Creativity Builds Fellowship John 7:38 – “He who believes in me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” 1 Corinthians 14:26 – “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.”

17. The Challenge Spend an hour of undistracted time with God every day. Commit to being in regular attendance at the prayer meetings. Share the stories, poems, music, prayers that God gives you.