How to Fellowship w/Scott McConnell

That's the third time I've been called lovely

today believe it or not Okay, it's the first

Good morning It's great to see you today. We've

got we've got somebody at every table and even

a few people at every table So that's fantastic

good to see a crowd I didn't realize that Barb

was going to be praying today, so it wasn't in

the notes, but got to give Barb a shout out.

Because if there wasn't a Barb, I don't know

if there'd be a Scott and Tashiana. Tashiana

was roommates with Barb in college. And I knew

Barb, though I don't think real well. But Barb

knew that Tashiana and I liked each other, and

she also knew that we needed some help. We had

never dated before, so we were pretty shy, and

I think our idea of getting to know someone better

was inviting them to a Bible study or a prayer

meeting. We didn't really know how to go past

that, so she invited me to their apartment, but

there was something a little barb about it. We

watched The Ten Commandments with Charles Hesterton.

It is her favorite movie. Yeah, that guy, is

that his name? All right, I went to Charles Hesterton.

But yeah, that guy, that guy, it's old. It's

really long. But we watched it for a while, and

that's one way to get started. So she definitely

helped us out and filled in some of the gaps

in conversation because we weren't really sure

what to do when a boy and a girl liked each other.

So thank you, Barb. So for Valentine's Day, I

used to take Tatiana to Wendy's because that

was the nice fast food restaurant. And I asked

her out in Denny's because it was a sit -down

restaurant. There was root to grow And still

is In today's about fellowship, so I mean it

all ties together Fellowship, we're going to

do a what, why, and how, which is appropriate.

And after we do what, why, and how, we get to

eat. We get to fellowship together. So it's a

good Sunday. Hopefully I don't ruin it. And we

get through. First of all, fellowship, what is

it? The definition that we're going to use today,

and it's not the only definition that could be

given, but I think it's a solid one. is coming

together in the same place for a similar purpose.

So fellowship is a little bit older word. It's

one that Christians still use sometimes, but

coming together in a similar place for a similar

purpose. And a lot of times our interests can

guide what we get together to fellowship for.

Got together with my friend Tim on Friday, which

means we got together for lunch. And we talked

about family and we talked about faith and we

talked about other interests that we share. And

so it was a time of fellowship and it was a good

time. When I was growing up, we had special Sundays

where we had potlucks and we would gather together

in a big room with tables and chairs. And there

was a kitchenette off to the side. And can anybody

guess what we called that big area? It was the

fellowship hall. So that area where we got together

and we ate food and spent time together, we called

the fellowship hall because that's what we did

there. We fellowshiped. We covered the what?

The why and who aren't going to be quite so fast.

But here we go. Why? Now. Fellowship is a good

thing to do. It doesn't have to be a faith thing

to do. But why we fellowship in the church is

important. It's a little bit more than just a

group of people that want to get together and

be nice to each other. It's a little bit more

than people just who have a common interest,

such as the Bible or even positive things like

that, making a difference in the community. It

goes deeper. And Paul was writing about that.

Paul was someone in the Bible who at first persecuted

Christians. He was a Pharisee. He felt that the

Christians were leading people astray. And so

the best way that he knew how to deal with people

who were leading others astray was to imprison

them and kill them. He took it seriously because

he took his faith really seriously. And he felt

like that's what the right thing to do was. Jesus

met him on the road through a vision on his way

to persecute Christians. And after he met Jesus,

he became a Christian himself. And he traveled

preaching about Jesus. He preached in different

cities and spread the news. He was as passionate

about preaching about Jesus as he had been about

fighting against Jesus before he met him on the

road in that vision. Drink break. One of the

places. That he preached was in a city called

Philippi. He loved the Philippians with a special

love because they were nice people. They brought

him a lot of happiness. They brought him a lot

of joy. They didn't fight as much as some of

the other churches. They didn't have as many

controversies. And so when he wrote to them,

it was a little bit more of a happy letter. But

he was still very concerned as a good father

is. And he considered himself their spiritual

father. He wanted to make sure that they stuck

together because he knew that fellowship was

the key to them staying united and them continuing

on the path. So I'd love for you to go to Philippians

chapter two. And we're going to read verses one

through four. There's Bibles on the table. There's

Bibles and apps. You may have brought your own

Bible with you today. And I'm going to go ahead

and read that now. Philippians says in chapter

two, verses one through four. 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, then make my joy complete by

being like -minded, having the same love, being

one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out

of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather,

in humility, value others above yourselves, not

looking for your own interests, but each of you

to the interests of the others. Now, the first

part in there, Paul gives us a why, and then

he gives us more of a how. And this gets to the

why we fellowship. Most of us are nice people,

and that's a good reason to get together. Most

of us have faith. Many of us have faith, and

that's a good reason to get together. But Paul

really zeroes in on encouragement from being

united with Christ and a common sharing in the

spirit. The thing that makes fellowship in the

church special is that for many of us, we've

experienced. Christ in a special way. We share

something in common to know what it is to have

been forgiven for the mistakes that we've made.

We share in common that we know together what

it is to learn to forgive others. We are a forgiving

community. We share what it is to know the Holy

Spirit leading us in our lives, leading us in

how we interact with our family and how we interact

with our relationships and how we interact with

others in church. We understand that there's

something that binds us together in a special

way that we don't find other places that we go.

Now, Tim and I talked about baseball. I only

watch baseball in October. Some of you probably

know it's the playoffs. And we had a fun conversation

about baseball. But if that was the limit of

that conversation, it would be just a nice conversation,

a nice lunch. But we also shared about our faith,

what God was doing in our lives, how he was changing

us. And that brought us to a place that was deeper.

That gave us a bond in that conversation that

I'm not able to have with someone who isn't also

experiencing that. And so that is the why of

our fellowship. What makes it unique. Another

part of what makes it unique is Paul is talking

here is. that we do nothing out of selfish ambition

or vain conceit. Rather, in humility, we value

others above yourselves. We're able to value

others above ourselves in a special way. Humility

is valued as a whole. But when you understand

that someone gave their life so that you can

know them better. When you understand that someone

gave up their status, what they had and what

Jesus had as the son of God. To give you something

better, you're able to love one another in a

deeper way. You're able to give up selfishness

in a deeper way. And I want to give us an opportunity

here to do something. I'm talking about something

specific, but we're not all in the same place.

And that's one thing that I love about the house.

I know that there are people here who've not

made a step in their faith yet where they've

said, hey, my faith is in Jesus. I have a trusting

relationship with him. I know him in a special

way. And I experience the Holy Spirit in a way

that he can only be experienced when we know

him through Jesus. And so I want to take a moment

and I want to say a prayer. Again, not in my

notes, but if I'm inviting you to have fellowship

in a special way. I should invite you to also

have that relationship. And so let's go ahead

and pray right now. Father, I pray that as people

see the uniqueness of this community, the uniqueness

of who we are, that they would recognize that

it's more than nice people. It's something that

you do in us. It's your Holy Spirit at work.

And I pray right now for anyone who's still making

that decision of what that looks like for them.

And as we talk about sharing something in common.

That has to do with you. I want to invite anyone.

Who desires right now to just pray where you

are. And invite Christ to be. A part of your

life more than a part. For him to become the

person that you are focused on. For him to be

the person that you trust. And that loves you.

Deeper than any other love you've known. And

as we accept that, as we believe that. We can

sense God's spirit working in us in a special

way. That we're connected with him in a special

way. And that that connects us with other Christians

in a special way. And God, I pray for anyone

here that wants to take that step in their faith.

That you would help them to do that now. And

it's in Jesus name I pray. Amen. Pastor Greg's

right here in front. Pastor Jane, can you wave

hi? I didn't know I'd get to see you today. It's

good to see you. If you're still thinking more

about making that decision or you've made that

decision, I really encourage you. There's lots

of other people you can talk to. But those are

two really special people who know a lot about

that. And that you can trust to have that conversation.

All right, we talked about what it is. We talked

about some of the why of why we do it. Now I'd

like to talk about the how. And if our fellowship

is talking with each other and eating together,

which is what it'll be today, then we should

talk a little bit about how to talk to each other.

It may seem like an obvious thing, but it's getting

harder and harder for us to do. Have you noticed

that? I went to the store not long ago, and it

was a perfect trip to the store. And I'll tell

you why it was in my mind. I went in, and I didn't

see a greeter. I didn't have to say hi to anybody.

I went straight to the aisles I wanted. I found

exactly what I wanted. I didn't have to ask anybody

any questions. And no one asked me, what are

you looking for? I didn't make eye contact with

anyone, so I didn't have to say hi or how are

you today. I went to the self -serve kiosk. I

went through. Again, for me, I'm always happy.

Sometimes I drop things or need to ask for help.

I didn't have to ask for help. And so I went

through the self -service kiosk and I got straight

out to my car and I left. And it felt like a

perfect trip to the store because. I went in

the store, I got things, and I didn't have to

speak to anyone. Will anyone else admit that

that's a good trip to the store for you? Yes.

Now, well, that may be not as many people as

I thought. I guess I'm a little weirder than

I thought. That's okay. It's easier for us than

it's ever been before to not talk to people and

do things that we need to do. When you go into

Taco Bell now, there's the person at the counter,

but you can tell that rather than talking to

them, what would they rather you do? Turn around

and what? Order on the kiosk, right? So even

now when you go to eat, you order on the kiosk.

You can get DoorDash now. You can have any kind

of food that you can possibly imagine delivered

to your house, and they just leave it outside

the door, take it a picture, and send it to you.

I always have in my notes, do not knock. Now,

granted, part of that is because my dog will

bark if they do knock. But part of it is, too,

is I just want to open my door, pick it up, and

go back inside. It's easier to do than it's ever

been. And during the pandemic, we learned how

to live without conversation even more than we

had before. I used to get out of my house every

single day. That was my goal. I went days without

leaving my house. And I kind of went insane,

but not totally. And so I learned that I could

be in my house for long periods of time and not

have to talk to anybody and I'd survive. Except

for the people that lived in my house. But the

thing about that was it got us even further out

of the habit of talking to people. And then we

have the online influence now too. I can interact

with people of any type of interest you can imagine.

And I don't have to see anybody. And in some

ways, it's even more convenient because I can

have a conversation or read about things that

interest just me. And I don't ever have to say,

good morning. How are you? How's your family?

Sometimes I love to do those things, but I admit

sometimes I don't want to. And it can impact

the rest of our lives, even when we're face -to

-face when it comes to talking to each other.

And when we do end up in a room, we always, and

this is just human, we tend to go to the people

that we know, that we're most comfortable with.

But part of what makes our community unique,

both as the house, I think we do a great job

of doing this, We regularly see new faces, and

I think that's part of that. What churches are

supposed to do in general is connect with people

other than just the people that we know. But

there's almost always room to grow in that. How

many people can confidently say, I know everyone

in here's name? Yeah. I figured we'd get one

hand. I believe you. Dawn. Yeah. Yes. You've

been in the front row and had like six lame jokes.

You're loving it, aren't you? He is living his

best life. You do not need a microphone to keep

him rolling. You had one job, Andy, make him

behave. But it's good for us to continue to work

on that. And so I have an acronym for you, NP3.

And it's one that, it's actually an amalgamation

of three other sermons I preached, or parts of

them. But N, name. Asking someone's name that

you don't know. And while we do the fellowship,

I really encourage you to do that today. Even

if you've seen them at this church 10 times and

still don't know their name and feel really bad

about it. Guilty. Even if it's someone you've

talked to 10 times at this church and you really

feel like you should know their name and you

still don't. Guilty. I encourage you to do that.

It's okay. Lots of us feel that way, except Greg.

Because he's better at learning names. Do you

think a lot of that comes naturally, or is it

just like practice really hard? This is the only

place that works. Okay. For some reason, my brain

reserves y 'all to remember, and then I'll see

people out other places that I should remember

their names, and I don't. Yeah. That's a good

pastor. For real. That's a good pastor. And I'm

quick to ask, when I see Pastor Greg, I'm quick

to ask him, what's their name over there? I should

know it. So he's very reliable for that. Ask

someone their name. Again, we're having food

out there today. It's a great opportunity to

do it. The only person in here who can't learn

someone's name is Pastor Greg. So everyone else,

and feel free to test him. I would love that.

was at the door today, and I meant to text him

for it to be a name tag Sunday, and I forgot.

I'm the guy who asks everybody to wear name tags

usually once a month, but I've been off my game

lately. So some of us have them, but would it

be possible to set those out, Pastor Greg? He's

on it. So that you can get a name tag. If you

would, that'd be super nice. It makes it a little

bit easier for us. Then you can just look and

say the name's person and not feel as awkward

even though you're learning or remembering their

name. Hey there, Andy. Good to see you today.

P stands for Pokemon. What were some of the interests

that people had? Bowling. Yes, love it. Movies.

Writing. Very good. This side? Biology? You like

that? Or someone else did? Who likes that? I

was listening to a podcast on biology on my way

here today. So, yeah, if I can find that person.

So the reason I say Pokemon is... A while ago

in a sermon, I used an example where I think

Jesus would know about Pokemon because Jesus

loved kids. Jesus connected with them. And that's

a great way for us to connect with the people

around us is to learn what interests them and

to learn about it. So if you see a kid running

around with a transformer, is Archie here today?

Does he have a transformer? Okay, he took his

transformer back. All right, there we go. Connor

brought his. Ask somebody what their transformer's

name is. You will get way more information than

you ever imagined. These kids are smart. Ask

about writing. Ask someone what they like to

write. And that goes to three questions. I always

like to say the first time you ask a person a

question, you might get a one -word answer. If

you ask them another question. You might get

a few more words. If you ask them a third question,

they're going to realize that you really are

interested and you'll get a little bit more out

of them. What did you do this past week? I didn't

really do anything. Did you spend time outside

since it was nice? Yeah, I spent some time outside

gardening. What do you like to garden? Okay,

now we're getting somewhere, right? Three questions.

So name, learn their name, learn what their interest

is. Even if it's Pokemon and that's not really

your thing. And ask them three questions. It

could be about that or it could be about something

else. So NP three. All right. I will say one

closing prayer. I think Pastor Greg's supposed

to close us and I think he's still doing name

tags. Would you be willing to do communion, Pastor

Jen? If you want to go ahead and come up. Pastor

Greg, I asked Pastor Jen to help with communion

since I wasn't exactly sure when you'd be back.

I could hear you out there. Awesome. All right,

let's go ahead and say a prayer and then we'll

let them tag team. Heavenly Father, thank you

for today. Thank you for helping us to see what

fellowship looks like. In your community. Help

us not to take for granted. What that looks like.

Help us to remember that it's more. Than just

getting together and enjoying each other. As

important as that is. Help us to listen to your

spirit. As you guide us. And how we speak to

one another. And the things that we talk about.

Help us to be willing to put others above ourselves,

which means sometimes something as simple as

asking names and questions and interests to connect

and show love with one another, even when it's

not something that comes naturally to us. In

Jesus' name, amen.