We
now know that, meeting together in small groups, usually in people’s homes, as
well as in church, was the original Bible design for us to experience and grow
in God. We also see the need for, and desire of God for us to live out our lives
together, with this oneness that was the everyday experience of Jesus as a man
on the earth.
So, having understood this, why would you
personally want to be part a couch group here in the Ulster Temple? The bible
shows 4 blessings that being part of true community offers:-
Strength – For the Storms of Life.
The bible teaches us that “in this world you will
have trouble” (John 16, 33) We all face times of trouble in our lives but in
Ecclesiastics 4 v 9-10 we find a solution, through living in the type of
community Jesus prayed for us. “Two are better than one… if one falls down, his
friend can help him up”
Each of us, you and I, can help one another carry
a load to heavy to bear alone. There are many personal stories of those in this
church who have experienced how the body of Christ can and does extend real
personal hands to those in need around us.
Acceptance – Being yourself and still belonging.
Look
around you today. Many people experience more pain, than love and acceptance
within family life. Many people are over worked, and with the additional
increase in financial stress, simply trying to survive from day to day within
our own circumstances is such a challenge. This situation is true for our
neighbours too. The effects of all this leaves many people with the feeling of
some degree of isolation. We all long for true friendship the church is the only
institution which has been given this mandate “My command is this: - Love each
other as I have loved you. Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down
his life for his friends” (John 15 v 12-13). The church is designed to be a
place where there is a promise of finding healthy, functional, accepting
relationships.
.
Wisdom – Help to make good choices.
Proverbs 15 v 22 explains “plans fail for lack of
counsel.” The bible teaches that we benefit from having input from those around,
us with greater experience. Perhaps it’s your job situation, a dating issue, or
parenting problems, there will be those within your couch group, who have been
placed there by God, with just the wisdom and support you need for help with
your current difficulty. Even just to know others care enough to listen and want
to help, gives us the confidence to face even the hardest of decisions in life.
Accountability – Holding on while we grow
Most of us really do want to become more like
Christ, but most of us also need others to help us to do that. How many of us
have read or heard something and know that we need to make some changes in that
area. James 1 v 23-25 (NLT) describes what often happens when we try to do this
alone. “For if you just listen and don’t obey, it is like looking at your face
in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. You see yourself, walk
away, and forget what you look like. But if you keep looking steadily into Gods
perfect law – the law that sets you free – and if you do what it says and don’t
forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.”
If you receive something from God and, within your
couch group, share it with your trusted brothers and sisters, you will find that
those friends can act as your mirrors They will hold you accountable to keep
looking at what God has shown you, even when you’d rather look away!
This
‘sharpening’ as the bible calls it (Proverbs 27 v 17) is a rare and often
unappreciated gift. It only happens in an atmosphere of trust, when we allow
ourselves to get close to each other and open up, but it is Gods design for a
pure life – like Christ’s.
“But if we walk in the light, as He is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son,
purifies us from all sin” (1 John 1 v 7).
All these blessings are yours available through
our network of couch groups. As your group matures, people find the kind of
friends who stick “closer than a brother” (Proverbs 18 v 24). You’ll find
strength, acceptance, wisdom and the accountability needed to produce spiritual
growth. Such relationships become incredibly attractive to everyone they touch!
Like any good thing we discover, we will want to
share it with others. As you experience what God is doing in and through
you and others, you will want to extend this invitation to others too!
Each day we leave in our wake, lives we have
touched, either for good or bad. Our lives leave something behind – a
legacy! No-one takes any material things with them when they leave this
world, but one day, when you reach heaven, because you extended a hand to others
they will join you.
You can make a difference through your couch group both now
and for eternity.
So jump in, join this adventure.
Allow God to impact
your life, and the lives of others, beyond your wildest dreams! |
These
are a unique part of life in the Ulster Temple.
In making us, God delighted in his design. He said
“Let us make man in Our image”, God is relational and he made us
to be so too. Just as we see oneness in a triune God, - Father, Son and Spirit.