November 7, 2010
Dear friends in Christ.
What were you doing on December 19, 2001? Were you one of the many people who were standing in long lines, waiting for their opportunity to buy a ticket to the first of the Lord of the Rings films? Were you one of the many people got a ticket for opening night and had the opportunity to sit down in a sold out theater with all the other fans you just had to see The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring on the first night? Or were you one, like me, who waited until all the excitement had begun to die down before you went to see The Fellowship of the Ring? For me, it was on the evening of December 25, 2001, when I first saw The Fellowship of the Ring. After Christmas Day Services and dinner at one of the member’s houses, Laura and I decided to make the 3 hour trip down to Rapid City (which was the closest place that the movie was playing). We made it to Rapid City just in time to purchase tickets for the last show of the evening, and though we had to wait in line for quite a while before we could go in and get our seats, we had a great time that evening.
Now, if you are not familiar with the movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, it is a story about a young hobbit, named Frodo Baggins, who through a strange twist of fate is give an ancient ring that had been lost for centuries. When it is discovered that this ring is the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, Frodo begins his harrowing quest to the land of Mordor and the Cracks of Doom in order to destroy it. However, Frodo does not go alone. He is joined by nine companions who travel with him. These nine companions form the Fellowship of the Ring, and they travel together through mountains, through snow, darkness, forests, rivers, and plains facing evil and danger at every turn. Yet together they struggle on, fighting side by side, encouraging each other, and helping each other through tight scrapes. They work together because they know just how important it is for them to destroy that One Ring and end the reign of the Dark Lord Sauron. Thus is the purpose of the Fellowship of the Ring.
Now, if you think about it, in the same way that the Fellowship of the Ring traveled together on their important quest, so also we, the Fellowship of Believers, travel together on our important quest through this life. For, if you really think about it, this is what the Lord has called us to be. He has brought us together with a common faith in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. He has washed each and every one of us in the Water of his Word in Baptism, and given us the gift of the Holy Spirit who now lives in our hearts. He has made us brothers and sisters through faith and given us the opportunity to struggle on through this life together, fighting side by side, against our enemy, the devil, with the weapons of his Word, and he has given us to each other as companions in this life; companions who are able to comfort each other and build each other up even in the face of the most difficult times. Yes, he has brought us together as the Fellowship of Believers.
In fact, turn with me to Acts 2:42-47, and we’ll see an example of how the Lord has done this. Now in Acts 2:42-47 Luke records for us the results of Peter’s preaching to the people on Pentecost Sunday. As we heard, when we read this section as our first Lesson, when the people heard all that Peter had said, and how he convicted them of their sins, explained to them Christ’s purpose, and condemned them for rejecting Jesus as their Lord and Savior, the people who had gathered there were cut to the heart. They turned to Peter in repentance, asking how they could possibly be forgiven for what they had done, and Peter turned them to Jesus. Peter told them, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” (Acts 2:38–39, NIV) And on that day, roughly 3,000 souls were added to the Fellowship of Believers in Jerusalem.
Now, as we take a look at verse 42, Luke shows us how that faith had so taken hold of the believer’s hearts that they showed themselves to be a Fellowship of Believers. Take a look at verse 42: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42–47, NIV)
How would you like to be part of a congregation like that? How would you like to find yourself as a member of a congregation that so freely shows its love and dedication to the Lord in everything that it does? How would you like to be part of a congregation that is so focused on serving the Lord and loving the Lord that they show their love for the Lord by their love and concern for their fellow brothers and sisters in the faith? How would you like to belong to a Fellowship of Believers that acts exactly like those Christians did in those days and months following Pentecost?
Well that is exactly what we have here, for we are the Fellowship of Believers who have dedicated ourselves to the Apostle’s teaching as we read and study the Word of God in Bible Study. We are the Fellowship of Believers who have dedicated ourselves to the Lord and his Word by bringing our children to Sunday School where they can learn the precious truths of salvation and be built up in their knowledge and love of Jesus Christ as their Savior. We are the Fellowship of Believers who have dedicated ourselves to the Lord by our constant presence here, where we can worship the Lord our God, where we can praise him, where we can thank him, and where we can hear him speaking to us through his Word. We are the Fellowship of Believers who have been comforted by the grace and the Love of our Lord Jesus Christ, and who comfort each other in our sorrows with the comfort we, ourselves have received from our God. We are the Fellowship of Believers who sit and listen to each other when times are difficult, who sit and cry with each other through illnesses, in hospital rooms, and especially at funerals. We are the ones who think about the struggles our friends are going through and who pray for them. We are the ones who pray for each other as members of this congregation. We are the ones who bring our prayers to the Lord for his blessing upon our church and our synod so that our efforts to proclaim our Savior might continue to go forward; and we are the ones who continue to pray for all Christians throughout the world that the Lord would strengthen them in their faith and help them through their difficulties. We are even the ones who spend time with each other inside church and outside. We enjoy each other’s company. We help and serve each other through church committees, by volunteering our time to help accomplish various projects through the year, even fellowshipping with each other through things like potlucks and supper clubs.
Does that mean that our church is perfect? Oh, my, no! We are by no means perfect because we, who make up this Fellowship of Believers, are sinners saved by grace. Each and every one of us still has some rough edges to be trimmed off. There are times when we have not been as welcoming as we could have been, and visitors, guests, and even some of our members have felt put off. There have been times when we have been frustrated because Worship has simply been too long, Pastor preached for too long, there were too many prayers, we sang too many stanzas of too many hymns, or something else caused us to be less than dedicated to the Lord on that particular day. There have been times hurting brothers and sisters have put on brave and smiling faces because they have felt that no one really cares about how they feel, or even has time to give them a word of comfort or encouragement. There have been times, especially recently, when our fellowship has allowed an issue to begin to fragment us and cause us to fight among ourselves rather than standing side by side fighting with each other. You see, because we have this great fellowship through faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior, our enemy, satan, will do everything he can to destroy our unity. For in the same way that the fellowship of the nine companions in the movie, The Fellowship of the Ring, began to fragment, so also, if we are not careful our fellowship as believers could also fragment.
So what is the solution? Simple! Take a look again at Acts 2:42, where Luke tells us exactly what the Fellowship of Believer in Jerusalem did. Luke tells us, “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42, NIV) This, too, is our purpose. Because we are the Fellowship of Believers whom the Lord has brought together so that we might befriend, strengthen, and up lift one another as we seek to grow in the forgiveness that Jesus won for us and grow together in his Word, our purpose and mission is to dedicate ourselves to the Apostles teaching that has been handed down to us in the pages of the Scripture. Our purpose is to make the most of every opportunity we have to gather together with our fellow brothers and sisters in faith so that we might be strengthened in our faith through our worship together. Our purpose is to make the most of every opportunity we are given to gather together to examine what the Lord has to say to us as we study the Bible for a mere 45 minutes before worship even begins. Our purpose is to encourage each other to join with us on a regular basis so that we might worship the Lord together as his children. Our purpose is to encourage each other to make the most of every opportunity to feast on the body and blood of our Lord so that we might grow in his grace and strength. Our purpose is to comfort each other in our sorrows with the comfort we have received from the Word of God. Our purpose is to fight for each other and defend each other from rumors and lies. Our purpose is to stand shoulder to shoulder with each other, wielding the weapons our Savior has bestowed upon us through his Word, as we continue to do battle against our enemy the devil and all the temptations that he brings against us.
This is what we are together! We are sinners saved by Grace. We are the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior. We are the Fellowship of Believers. Though we may not have a fancy ring that we are carrying toward destruction, we are nevertheless joined together through faith. We are warriors together in battle against satan and his evil angels. We are the Fellowship of Believers whom the Lord has called together as companions who befriend each other, uplift each other, and strengthen each other as we seek to grow in the forgiveness that Jesus won for us, which he has revealed for us in his Word.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
