Practical Fellowship Concerning the Group Meetings (1)
Verses:
1 John 3:16 In this we know love, that He laid down His life on our behalf, and we ought to lay down our lives on behalf of the brothers. (18) Little children, let us not love in word nor in tongue but in deed and truthfulness.
Ministry Portion:
In the old way of meeting we came together in the meeting hall to listen to a brother who was knowledgeable in the Bible. Since then we may have divided the large meeting into several group meetings. However, in these group meetings some of the new ones may ask questions that we are not able to answer. If we are not able to answer the new ones’ questions in a practical way, this indicates that we do not know how to meet in the group meetings…On the one hand, we do have the group meetings, but on the other hand, we may still be in the old way. Although we may no longer meet under one roof but in several homes, we may still not be in the new way. We may appear to be in the new way but may still be practicing the old way.
To carry out the group meetings we need to learn how to have a practical fellowship, a mutual prayer, the care for one another, and the shepherding of the young ones. The first thing that we need to care for is a practical fellowship among the attendants related to their daily life. The fellowship in the small groups should include such practical matters as the health and circumstances of the saints in the group. All the matters related to the practical life of all the persons meeting in the group should be covered in the fellowship. This kind of fellowship will spontaneously issue in prayer. According to the need, we can intercede for each other. This prayer need not be after the fellowship is over but should be mingled with the fellowship.
Then we must practically care for the saints. We should not merely pray in spiritual terms; we must also be sent by the Lord to the needy ones. If we pray that the Lord would do something, we may be sent by Him to do it. The Lord is omnipotent, but if we do not do something practically to help the brother or sister for whom we pray, our prayer may not be answered. We may pray that the Lord would meet the need of a brother who is in need of money, but the Lord may tell us that we must first meet his need from our own resources. The New Testament tells us that we need to love in practicality and not merely in word (1 John 3:16-18). We must have practical fellowship with practical prayer and practical care. Following this, some can go to visit the person for whom they have prayed. We must go to visit those who are in any suffering situation and participate in their suffering. This is to shepherd one another.
Our group meetings should be like this every time. This will attract people. (The Practice of the Group Meetings, ch. 1, sec. 2)
The church in Zamboanga 