GaryCombs.org

Growing Up Together

August 25, 2019 | Ephesians 4:11-16 | community groups, spiritual growth

Who do you have to depend on when trouble comes your way? Do you have a faith family to do life with? One that not only supports you, but actually builds you up and helps you to grow?

The truth is we need one another in order to grow up spiritually. In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he taught that the Lord had given the church everything needed to grow up together as the body of Christ. We too have been given everything we need to grow up together as the body of Christ.

Doing Life Together

August 18, 2019 | Acts 2:42-47 | community, community groups, fellowship

The truth is we need God and we need one another. We are created for relationship. That’s why Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love God and love your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27). We were made to love God and one another. We were made to do life together!

In the book of Acts, Luke recorded how the first century church was devoted to doing life together as the body of Christ. We can be devoted to doing life together as the body of Christ.

A Shared Focus

August 26, 2018 | Acts 2:42-47 | community groups, prayer

In the book of Acts, Luke described the “authentic community” of the first century church. He said they were marked by four “devotions.” They were: a shared faith, a shared family, a shared food, and a shared focus. We can experience this authentic community when we pursue these four devotions. Today, we’re going to focus on the 4th devotion, “A Shared Focus.”

4 Devotions of Life Changing Small Groups

August 24, 2018 | Bible study, community, community groups, fellowship, small groups

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42 ESV). We’re not a church with small groups. We’re a church of small groups. Our church started in my living room with seven people. So, we’ve considered small groups to be one of the keys to fulfilling our

A Shared Food

August 19, 2018 | Acts 2:42-47 | community, community groups, food, Lord's Supper

There’s something about shared food, a shared meal that leads to real community. The same was true of the first century church. In the book of Acts, Luke described the “authentic community” of the first century church. He said they were marked by four “devotions.” They were a shared faith, a shared family, a shared food, and a shared focus. We can experience this authentic community when we pursue these four devotions. Today, we’re going to focus on the third devotion, “A Shared Food.”

A Shared Family

August 12, 2018 | Acts 2:42-47 | community, community groups

Sin causes us to be separated from God and from each other. But when we come to Christ, He reconciles us to God and to one another and causes us to be devoted to God and one another. This is what we see in the book of Acts. Luke described the “authentic community” of the first century church. He said they were marked by four “devotions.” They were a shared faith, a shared family, a shared food, and a shared focus. We can experience this community when we pursue these four devotions. Today, we’re going to focus on the second devotion, “A Shared Family.”

A Shared Faith

August 5, 2018 | Acts 2:42-47 | community, community groups

While communities based around politics, sports, BBQ and regional accents may help us find people to associate with as friends, they fall far short of the authentic community that God has in mind for us. In the book of Acts, Luke described the “true community” of the first century church. He noted that they were marked by four “devotions.” We can experience this authentic community when we pursue these four devotions.

Connect to God’s People

September 3, 2017 | Romans 12:4-5 | community groups, three commitments

God’s provision for our connection and growth is the Spirit within and the body of Christ without. In the book of Romans the apostle Paul told the Roman Christians that even though they had followed Christ by an individual decision they must recognize that in following Him they had become one body, connected to other believers. When we follow Christ we must make an individual decision to follow, but that leads to a corporate identity. We become the body of Christ connected to every other believer.

The 4 Commitments of Life Changing Small Groups

August 25, 2016 | church growth, community groups, faith, fellowship, Gary Combs, koinonia, small groups

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:42 ESV). We’re not a church with small groups. We’re a church of small groups. Our church started in my living room with seven people. So, we’ve considered small groups to be one of the keys to fulfilling our

The Habit of Authentic Fellowship

March 8, 2009 | Acts 2:42-47 | community groups, fellowship, spiritual disciplines