Gathering Summary | Living as a Family

In the second week of our ABIDE Series, we focused on the Fruit that is produced when we Abide in Christ.  Jesus says in John 15 when we ABIDE in Him, we will bear much fruit.  Now many times, we mix up religious fruit with abiding fruit.  We said in our first week of Abide that we can be doing all the religious things (reading our bibles, saying prayers, going on trips) and not be truly Abiding.  The same is true with our fruit.  We can think that we are bearing fruit because we go to church or sit in bible studies, but we have to be careful that this is the fruit Jesus is talking about in Matthew 7:16-20.  Jesus says a good tree will produce good fruit.  But how do we know if we are producing good fruit? Paul tells in Galatians 5:22-24 what the Fruit of the Spirit looks like:  
 Love – Joy – Peace – Patience – Kindness – Goodness – Faithfulness – Gentleness – Self-control

Jesus says that his followers are transformed from the inside out.  Therefore, if we are bearing fruit those seeds are planted and it begins to grow in us.  We begin to see this fruit in our lives. The more we abide in Christ we see that Christ is all of these things, and we become more and more like Jesus.  But we don’t grow fruit in isolation, which leads us to our second discipleship target: LIVING AS A FAMILY.
 
There are many people who don’t trust the church because it has operated as an institution or corporation, not as a family in which it was always intended to be.  The trinity operates as a family: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  The nation of Israel started as a family.  Jesus calls his church (us) his Bride.  We are to refer to each other as brothers and sisters.  1 Timothy 3:14–15 calls us to be the household of God.  Which leads us to the environments we see as ways to create fertile soil for Fruit of the Spirit help live as a family.  
 
THE GATHERING | Hebrews 10:24-25
We would say that one of the environments of living as a family is in the Gathering.  For many this is where they are introduced to our Capstone Family.  We would say this is a great place to come, as we say, hear, see and experience the Gospel.  Hopefully you see the fruits of the Spirit lived out in front of you.  Here, we serve one another, greet one another, show hospitality to one another.  It is here that we worship together through song, prayer, scripture and simply being together.  It is where we experience the Holy Spirit together.  It is where we learn and grow together.  
 
COMMUNITY GROUPS | Acts 2:46
Luke tells us in Acts 2 that the early church worship together both in the temple and in homes.   There were larger environments of worship and celebration, and there were smaller groups that gathered around a table for meals and in circles for prayer.   Community Groups would be that next level of living as a family.  These are smaller groups of 4-6 couples meeting together to fellowship and do life together.  Coming together for meals and prayer.  Studying scripture together and asking hard questions. It is the idea that you are doing life with a group of people who are seeing that fruit put on display.

HUDDLES | James 5:6 / Proverbs 27:17
Huddle would be a group of guys or ladies 3-5 who are spending time together in intentional discipleship and accountability.  They are sharing struggles.  They are sharing their desires as Christ followers and being held accountable.  They are confessing.  They are intervening.  Huddles normally come from a community group and there are other huddles that have been created through existing relationships.  
 
BIG IDEA: When the church lives as a family, we are able to see the fruit of abiding lived out in real time.
 
Next: Sharing the Gospel