In and effort to promote meaningful and biblical fellowship, the Elders have used Acts 2:42 as a templete of sorts to guide our fellowship hour at church. After the main service (9:30 am to 11:00 am) and a breif recess, we have a fellowship hour (which is only about 45 minutes). For several years this time was used exclusively to have an open discussion and interaction with the sermon, asking questions, sharing insights, seeking a more thorough application of principles. But sometimes change is good, keeping us "on our toes" and causing us to stretch spiritually as well as creatively.
So, in an effort to promote this "change" for the spiritual good of the body at Hope CBC, the Elder have assigned an aspect of Acts 2:42 to the fellowship hour each week. Here is the text itself:
Acts 2:42
"They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
So, in an effort to promote this "change" for the spiritual good of the body at Hope CBC, the Elder have assigned an aspect of Acts 2:42 to the fellowship hour each week. Here is the text itself:
Acts 2:42
"They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
There are obviouly four key elements here and for a standard four week month this is how we determined to promote each of these ideas:
On the first Sunday of the month we have appropriated the fellowship hour to the "breaking of bread" or the Lord's Table (communion). Here we have asked the men to be prepared to bring an exhortation from the Word, a Scripture reading, a prayer, or the requesting of a particular hymn that would focus the congregation on the sacrifice and blessing of our Lord's death and resurrection. We have done this a couple of time now and it is "different" for us, having a 45 minute communion service, but it has also been a blessing.
On the second Sunday of the month we devote ourselves to corporate prayer, praying for one another and for the needs of the ministry both at Hope CBC as well as abroad.
On the third Sunday of the month we enjoy a time of interactive teaching (apostles' teaching). The "teaching" is done by one of the Elders or Pastoral staff (including interns) and is not meant to be another sermon, but a time to work through a particular subject biblically. We have had two of these interactive times thus far looking in June and July at biblical fatherhood. In August and September we will be considering together evangelism and outreach.
The fourth Sunday is more "traditional" (if you can say there is anything traditional at Hope CBC) focusing our time on sermon interaction. On this Sunday, we consider the morning message (and the previous weeks' messages) seeking corporate insights as well as practical applications.
And what do we do if there are five Sundays in a month? On five Sunday months we have an extended main service, utilizing the last 20-25 minutes (11:00 am - 11:25 am) for a "hymn sing" - offering up praise to our Lord in song. This is followed by a church-wide "pot-providence" (not a pot-luck as God is in control).
The desire in all of this is to promote godly interaction and fellowship among the congregation to such an extend that it will continue beyond the walls of the church facility.
May God be glorified and Jesus Christ exalted through it all!
Soli Deo Gloria,
Pastor Ed
