"Sister to Sister:
Finding Shelter in the Body of Christ"

    Between working inside and outside of the home, the demands of marriage, parenting, and even grandparenting, trying to keep mind and body healthy, and still have a growing relationship with God, most women see time spent developing relationships with other women as pure luxury. Still, most of us long for the joy and fullness which uninterrupted time with other Christian women promises. Sister to Sister: Finding Shelter in the Body of Christ is an invitation for women to come away from the normal pace of life and take steps toward experiencing the full implication of the gospel in our human relationships: the joy of knowing and being known.

 

“Needing Shelter: How Biblical Fellowship Gives Us Safety in an Unsafe World”(Acts 2:42-47)
     Immediately following the ascension of Christ and the gift of the Holy Spirit, the church was empowered to live out a kind of koinonia fellowship which left the watching world breathless with wonder. Much of Christ’s church today has lost this integral connection with one another. But in an unsafe world in which it sometimes seems easier to isolate than trust each other, the church has a unique opportunity to learn as never before how to preserve and live out the unity the Spirit has already given us. The foundation for this teaching is a brief look at how the gospel of Christ provides us with shelter, first with God and then with each other. We will then define Biblical fellowship (or koinonia), determine its elements, and discover the wonderful purposes for which the Lord has placed us in a body which bears His name. 

“Building Shelter Together: Moving from Isolation to the Shelter of Community ”(Ephesians 4:1-13)
    Not only is isolation an issue in the world at large, it is rampant in the Body of Christ. We will examine the four sins which keep us, especially as women, at arm’s length from one another: comparison, competition, coveting, and criticism. Until we put these things to death in us, we will remain “lone rangers,” afraid and ineffective in our life for God. But if we will obey God’s blueprint for unity found in Ephesians 4:1-13, we will begin to rise up as a shelter of living stones. In that place we will find the freedom to grow more transparent and real with each other, and Christ’s love and ministry will flourish among us.

 

“Sheltering One Another: How Women Can Serve One Another as Spiritual Midwives”(Luke 1:26-56)
     One of God’s glorious designs for women is our innate capacity as life-givers, which we can do both physically and spiritually. As those who are filled with God’s life-giving Spirit, we can act as spiritual midwives in order to help bring to life God’s ongoing work in one another. As we learn from the compelling example of Elizabeth and Mary, the mother of Jesus, this spiritual life-giving takes place through the practice of Biblical encouragement and exhortation. Elizabeth encourages and exhorts Mary to fulfill her crucial role in the plan of redemption; Mary, in turn, encourages Elizabeth to play her extraordinary part as well. As we “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15), God unleashes a powerful dynamic for change and more of His life and nature to be born in us. In this session we will learn how by building the shelter of Christian community, we become partners in God’s life-giving work for each other.