Journey to Eternity Podcast

Why Showing Up To Church Changes Your Life

• Luisa and Mike Sirignano • Episode 57

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What if the difference between a stale spiritual life and a steady, joyful walk is as simple as showing up? We dive into the biblical heart of fellowship and unpack how Acts 2:42 forms a clear pattern for a thriving church: Scripture-centered teaching, genuine community, shared meals and communion, and real prayer that happens face to face.

We talk candidly about why livestreams can never replace embodied presence, how staying after service becomes fertile soil for prayer and encouragement, and why serving is a powerful way to move from shy to connected. Drawing from Hebrews 10:24–25, we make the case for meeting together to “stir up” love and good works, especially when life is heavy. You’ll hear practical, doable on-ramps—Sunday worship and adult Bible classes, midweek prayer as a midweek oasis, men’s and women’s gatherings, small groups, and simple hospitality that turns a meal into ministry. If you work Sundays, we share creative ways to stay plugged into the body so you continue to give and receive the care God designed for you.

We also explore 1 Corinthians 12’s picture of one body with many members, showing why every gift matters and how isolation robs both you and your church. With Proverbs 27:17 as a guide, we highlight how “iron sharpens iron” through honest conversation, shared work, and loving accountability. Come ready to trade a solo faith for a shared journey where people know your name, carry your burdens, and point you to Christ.

If this resonates, share it with a friend, subscribe on your favorite platform, and leave a review to help others find the show. Tell us: what’s one step you’ll take this week to deepen fellowship?

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Purpose And Welcome

Mike

Brothers and sisters, God did not send his son to die on a cross so we could wander aimlessly through life. He had a purpose for us: to do his work, submit to his will, and glorify his name. Join us on this journey. A journey to eternity.

Luisa

So welcome to the show. I'm Luisa.

Mike

And I'm Mike, and this is episode 57 of the Journey to Eternity Podcast.

Luisa

In every episode, we help Christians use God's word to navigate everyday life in a sinful, fallen world.

Mike

Hey, babe, it's Thanksgiving time. And I'm so thankful for so many things.

Luisa

Yeah, me too. This is the season for gratitude, and I love this season.

Mike

Oh, babe, it's so beautiful. And I'm so grateful for our church. Now, this has been a season where we've had such sweet fellowship, lots of opportunities for us to come together as a family.

Luisa

Yeah, and I love this season. I love just watching families come to our church. That brings so much joy to my heart.

Mike

It is a beautiful thing.

Luisa

Yeah, and now we're in the season of Thanksgiving and holiday time and holiday time, and it's festive and it's loud and it's happy. And I just love that.

Mike

Oh, it's a beautiful thing. And you know the Bible commands us to fellowship with one another, but we should never have to be commanded. It should be a desire that burns within us.

Luisa

In today's episode, we will discuss church fellowship as it is covered in Scripture and give some practical ways we can honor God and each other with our fellowship. But before we get started, let's pray.

Prayer To Begin

Scripture Blueprint For Church Life

Mike

Heavenly Father, we thank you for the opportunity to explore your word today. Please help Louisa and I to honor you by explaining it plainly and clearly, looking to you to lead us and to guide us. We pray that those who are listening would have open hearts to receive it, and that they would have the eyes to see and the ears to hear, so that they might apply it to their lives. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen. Amen.

Luisa

So let's start off with Scripture so we can get God's take on the subject of fellowship.

Acts 2:42 Teaching And Presence

Mike

So we're going to start with the very early church, and I mean early, like as in Acts chapter 2. Now, this is the first recorded writing that an assembly was formed. And what is the first thing that is mentioned about what the church did? Acts chapter 2 and verse 42 says they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer. This is what it's all about. It clearly answers the question why go to church? So let's break it down.

Luisa

They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching.

Mike

Okay, babe. So this is really the main reason that we're going to come to church. It's really just to hear God's word. If you look at the early church, they only had the Old Testament. Now, how blessed are we? We have both the Old Testament and the New Testament. So we have no excuse. We have no excuse. There was no internet, there was no YouTube, no live stream.

Luisa

There was no just nodding out on the couch.

unknown

You know.

Mike

Are you trying to say that people nod out on the couch when they're at home?

Luisa

I don't know. Well, if the shoe fits, then um, yeah, I'm talking to you.

Mike

So as as useful as all these things are, they really do kill fellowship. When you depend on watching it on TV or listening to it when you're at home trying to do something else.

Luisa

Yeah, doing that, how focused are you in listening to what is being preached? You're not really connecting.

Mike

No, not at all. So God created the church to gather and listen to his word. When you're sitting in the pew, there's no distraction. Think about it, you're locked in. And I'm telling you, it's it makes such a huge difference. We've been home sometimes to watch it on live stream because we were either sitting in the street.

Luisa

And you know, I don't like that.

Mike

It's really rough. To me, it's rough. Now, some people uh maybe they they like it that way, but I certainly believe that you really need to be in the pew.

Luisa

And I know that we brought up these topics about drinking coffee and in your pajamas. I've done that. I remember during COVID, we watched it online. I hated it because I didn't like I don't do church online, it just doesn't work for me. I need to be present because I like to fellowship. Right. I like to be with the body and you got your phone and I had yeah, and you're scrolling. No, I didn't do that. No. Because you would have, if if I would have been on my phone, you really would have said, babe, what are you doing? So, no, not the phone. I got up and I made me coffee, and yes, I had my pajamas on. So we we're talking about something that we have done.

Why In-Person Beats Livestream

Mike

Right. So clearly there's no substitute for sitting in a quiet atmosphere, Bible open on your lap, laser focused on a godly man speaking God's truth. Now, if you want to go home later and listen to it again for clarity, that's fine.

Luisa

And I do that, you know I do that.

Mike

But there's something special about hearing it straight through the pastor's mouth.

Luisa

Right. And it's that you the Holy Spirit is just swirling into that room, and I just feel the connection.

Mike

It's a big deal. Yeah, it's just a big deal.

Luisa

It's important for me. I don't know. So to the fellowship part now.

Mike

The early church saw value in gathering together. Now, think about it. Most of the time they didn't they didn't have all the distractions that we have.

Luisa

They didn't have any of those distractions.

Mike

When Saturday rolled around, even the Old Testament people, they were on it. They were at the synagogue.

Luisa

Right, because they were sharing life together.

Mike

Right. And then when the church was formed, they shared life together. The scripture supports that. There was just a physical participation that was common only to them. The church is such a special bond.

Luisa

Right, and it's that spiritual connection between them, God, and with each other.

Mike

That's it right there. Our common bond is Jesus Christ. Right. Where else can you experience that? The world doesn't offer it, but your local church does. Now, maybe you do come on a regular basis, but don't really participate in the fellowship.

Luisa

But maybe you run out after service and don't take a moment to be with the congregation.

Mike

That happens sometimes.

Luisa

And ask yourself why do you do that?

Mike

Right. I I like hanging out after church.

Luisa

So you could see what I can't get out of the church if I want to.

Staying After Service Matters

Mike

But our our church is that type of church. Our church hangs around. If you're there 20 minutes, a half hour after service, there's still people in the sanctuary, still not having moved out yet. Then there's people in the lobby, then there's people in the gym.

Luisa

Right. So consider, consider getting involved with that.

Mike

So I think it's important to hang around. I really do. Some of the best conversations that you could have with people happen after the service is over. You know, you could talk about the sermon, you could pray for somebody. There's a lot of people.

Luisa

You can encourage somebody. And you know what? Sometimes I think people really just want to hang around because being around other brothers and sisters. You get filled up. You get filled up, and you can help by listening. You can help by just I I do a lot of laughing. You know, I laugh with a lot of uh my brothers and sisters in Christ after church, and there's so much sharing and there's so much loving, and I just love it. I just like being around there. I don't know.

Mike

Right. Now, some people are naturally shy. I get that. Okay, I was shy for most of my life. I wouldn't have a conversation with anybody. But if you're shy, I would suggest you start serving. Now, this is kind of like a little sidetrack here, but this is a good way to make friends. This is a good way to start fellowshiping with people. If you get into a ministry and you start to serve, boy, you're gonna have more friends than you've ever had in your life. And I really believe that you can participate if you really want to.

Luisa

So And again, it's a choice to participate. It's a choice to want to stay after, it's a choice to want to talk to other people, it's a choice to encourage somebody, it's a choice to listen to somebody.

Serving To Overcome Shyness

Mike

Yes, I really believe that. Let's talk about the breaking of bread.

Luisa

There are two meanings here: communion and the Lord's Supper.

Mike

Amen. Okay, that's the first one. So our church holds a very high reverence for communion. This is all about remembering Jesus' sacrifice by participating in this sacred meal as a group.

Luisa

And do you know how much I love that?

Mike

That's beautiful.

Luisa

I love communion. It's such a reverent time. Yeah, and you can only get that in church. Right, you can't get that from your kitchen cabinet.

Mike

Right. But we tried that one time, remember that? I gotta tell you this.

Luisa

Okay, go ahead. Throw our stuff out there, babe. Go ahead.

Mike

I don't think it was during COVID. I think it was a time that we were sick because they had communion in the church that day. I said, All right, we're gonna miss communion today. Oh, that's not not good. So I had to.

Luisa

And it was Mike that came up with this.

Communion And Shared Meals

Mike

I I had wraps up on top of the of the refrigerator. So I took a whole wheat wrap and I cut a circle, like two small, two small circles. I put them in a pan and I kind of like browned them a little on each side. And we had some kind of juice in the refrigerator. I I'm not sure if it was grape juice or not, but we we had something. And after the service ended, Luisa and I had communion together. And it was really a beautiful thing. But there was just something missing, which was all the other people around us. It just didn't have it. It was a noble try. Right. But I I really believe that it's such a uh a beautiful thing to have communion with the saints, and and I I it's so worth it. And some of the other things that we can do is we have everyday meals with the saints. And our church is really good for this. We have a lot of meals. There's always an excuse to cook, there's always an excuse to get together. The early Christians they ate together regularly. The Bible talks about that, where they just had meals. They shared the table together.

Luisa

And you know, we do a lot. I know I do a lot with a lot of women in the church, and it doesn't have to be meals in the church. It's meals going out. Going out.

Mike

Sometimes we go to a restaurant, go to the dining with people. Somebody's home? Somebody's home opens up their home and we we cook a meal, and and it's such an edifying time. So these are ways that you could fellowship. And the conversation is always about God, it's not about worldly stuff. Right. So think about how you grow in fellowship just by having a meal. And I I really encourage you to do that more often. If if you think you want to do that, open your home. Right. Invite one couple over or two couples over. Or if you're single-time. Invite a group of single people over, or however you want to do it. You can make a simple meal.

Luisa

You ask people to bring something, and before you know it, you got a table full of food, and you you're just having a but it's even more than that because I know that when we open up our home and we fellowship, for me, I find that people's shoulders fall down and people start sharing stuff that's going on for them in their lives, and it gives us an opportunity to minister to minister, to encourage, to encourage, to pray, and to listen. Yes. People need to share and to be heard. So that's so, so important. And I love that about that.

Mike

And all of that out of a meal. Right. So think about that.

Luisa

And the meal is usually good.

Mike

Yeah, it sure is.

Luisa

So let's talk about prayers.

Meals That Minister

Mike

We all need prayer. So, where else are you gonna get prayed for? You spend the entire week around unbelievers. And you're not gonna get prayed for there. But if you come to church and you share a burden with somebody, chances are you'll get prayed for. You go to somebody and say, Hey, what's going on for you? How can I pray for you? And you pray for somebody else because if I go up to somebody and say, Hey, how can I pray for you? You know they're gonna tell me something, and I'm gonna probably find out something that I have never heard before. Yeah. Because something somebody's got stuff going on.

Luisa

And I know for you and I it's always important that I never tell a person, I'll pray for you when I get home.

Mike

No.

Luisa

When somebody shares a burden with me, I just start praying because that person is really at that moment sharing what's going on for them, and they need prayer right then and there.

Mike

Right. So look at the fellowship that comes out of prayer. So you're you're getting somebody to to relieve themselves of a burden, and then you're praying to God. That's fellowship with God. Right. So now you have all three of you or all four of you, however many are there, and you you you have fellowship together and with God. It's such a beautiful thing, all through a prayer.

Praying With And For Each Other

Luisa

I just know for me, whenever I'm in a space of a burden or something, and I get to share it with one of my sisters in Christ, yeah, and at that moment I'm feeling like my my the burden is falling off of me because I'm just sharing it. And we we just talk about it, and and like you say, we keep God in the center, and it's just it's it's such a beautiful thing when you're able to be around people that understand what to do when somebody's sharing a burden.

Mike

Amen. Amen. Prayer is so important, but so taken for granted. So we all need prayer, and who else but a fellow believer can fill that need? A church that prays together stays together.

Luisa

A husband and wife that prays together stays together. Exactly.

Mike

So Acts 2 in verse 42 provides a blueprint for a healthy, vibrant church founded on the word of God, expressed through genuine community and mutual care, celebrated through shared meals and communion, and sustained by a strong dependence.

Luisa

And you know what, babe, I'm so happy that we see that in our church. Amen. I'm so grateful for that. I really am.

Mike

You know, Louisa and I are on the welcome team, and we see such a genuine love that the saints have for each other. People actually love and care for each other. It's it's just really amazing. Where are you gonna get that in the world?

Luisa

Yeah, you're not gonna get it.

Mike

Why would you pass that up? Yeah, what an opportunity.

Luisa

Right. So let's look at another short passage of scripture. Hebrews chapter 10, verses 24 to 25.

Hebrews 10:24–25 Encouragement

Mike

It says, and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Luisa

This passage urges believers to meet for mutual strengthening, especially because this fellowship helps prevent spiritual decline and provides support during difficult times. Let's break it down.

Mike

It starts off by saying let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works.

Luisa

Right. So we must be proactive and encouraging fellow believers to act with love and perform good work.

Mike

We have to push people. Yeah. Okay, we have to be a catalyst for each other's spiritual growth. So it's really about helping each other grow. Right. Now, you could stand by and do nothing, or you can really get involved. So this is not a passive observation, it's really active support.

Luisa

It says to stir up. So we have to push one another.

Mike

And we can't be afraid that people are going to get offended.

Luisa

Right.

Mike

So the other thing is you can't do this from your living room. You need to be in the presence of other believers.

Luisa

Sometimes we ourselves need to be pushed. So if we are not with other believers, we may get stale or stagnant.

Mike

That's a big point. So when you're home and you're out of church for a week, two weeks, three weeks, you will get stale and you will get stagnant because you're not going to have the growth. It's so important that you have to be there.

Luisa

And there's sometimes a lot of times I talk to people and they share, I haven't seen them in church for a while, and then they come in or they miss a Sunday or the next Sunday, and we start talking and they're talking to me about all these burdens. And I'm like, this is where you need to be. Yeah. To share these burdens so you can get prayed for. Right.

Mike

And you need to encourage them.

Luisa

But a lot of people just, you know, when whenever life gets hard, I think it's human nature. Sometimes life happens to every single one of us, and it's hard. And the always way of being is I'm tired, I'm gonna stay home, I don't have no energy. I just need to just stay home. And I think as believers, that's the wrong thing to do.

Mike

We need to push through that. It says not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some.

Luisa

Right. So it's very important to be amongst each other, amongst believers. Right.

Don’t Neglect Meeting Together

Mike

That's just what you were talking about. It's not being in church is going to affect your walk more than you think. Right. We all kind of take that for granted. And it's the wrong approach. Right. You need to be in church because it's just not going to work if you stay home.

Luisa

Because the more you stay home, the weaker you're going to get, the more stressed you're going to be, the more you're going to start thinking that you can handle whatever it is that you that's going on for you. That's right. And we don't, and that's the problem there, okay? And we just get deeper and deeper into that kind of lifestyle in that world, and it never turns out well.

Mike

Right. So the reason they put that in the scripture is because there were some that were in the early church that were skipping the meetings. But the reason they were skipping the meetings was they hid for fear of persecution. You have to understand in that time to be a Christian, you know, you put a bullseye on your head. You could get killed for being a Christian.

Luisa

But not in today's world. No, no, now in modern day America, right.

Mike

That's not the problem. Right. Okay. We're free to meet. We never have any problems. Nobody persecutes us here for getting together on a Sunday. But people have all kinds of excuses for missing church. Nothing should be more important in the life of a believer than to be in church at least every Sunday.

Luisa

Right. And we know that people work on Sundays. We know that people do get sick. We know sometimes people just have emergencies that happen. That's not what we're talking about.

Creative Ways To Stay Connected

Mike

Now we know some people that work on Sunday, and it's really tough on them. Okay, so you kind of have to get creative. So you start to look for other ways, and we're going to talk about some of those things later, but there has to be a creative way. If you have to work on Sunday, I mean you got to go to work because you got to put food on your table, but there's got to be a way for you to still be part of the body and fellowship.

Luisa

And I think that some people, if you're working on Sunday, there's a day in the week that maybe you're off, and if there's something going on in the church and you're off, attend that. Right. That's how you stay plugged in.

Mike

Continuing on in the verse.

Luisa

We have to encourage one another, and all the more as you see the day drawing near.

Mike

Can you encourage somebody over the phone? Yeah, probably. I mean, you can, but more often than not, it's it's really not the same as when you're looking somebody in the eye. Sometimes you just gotta have a feel for people. So yes, you can do it over the phone. But I really believe that the best encouragement comes in a personal one-on-one setting. Right. And sometimes that's just a spur-of-the-moment thing. So you're having a conversation with somebody in the church, and you you you see that there's a need there, and boom, that's when you do it. That's when it's the most effective. You can't really plan these things, some again. The personal one-on-one thing, that's important. That's really the most important thing.

Luisa

The day refers to the return of Christ. The need for mutual encouragement becomes even more urgent as the day draws near.

One-Another Encouragement Face To Face

Mike

So we don't know when that day is. Could be tonight. So the more we fellowship, the more we encourage, the more we help each other grow, the more we stay in the Word, that's really the main thing because we don't know when Christ is going to come back. Right. So this passage argues against a solitary Christian life, insisting that believers are designed to be part of a body where they can build each other up and hold one another accountable.

Luisa

Right. So here are a few practical ways to fellowship. Actively think about how you can support other believers rather than passively waiting for your own needs to be met. And I think a lot of people do that.

Mike

Offer words of support, comfort, and counsel, sharing personal experiences of faith to help others through trials.

One Body Many Gifts

Luisa

Right. Make regular church gatherings and smaller group meetings a priority, seeing them as opportunities to contribute to others' spiritual well-being, not just to receive.

Mike

Amen. The next verse describes the anatomy of the church. First Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 12.

Luisa

For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ.

Mike

Amen. Now this verse uses the metaphor of the human body to explain that the church is a single, unified body with many different members or believers.

Luisa

Right. The human body is made of many parts that work together. Right.

Mike

So you have like a pinky toe.

Luisa

And you have an elbow.

Mike

And you have an elbow. And you have a shoulder.

Luisa

And you have an ear.

Mike

And you have an ear. So you have all these different parts, and they all work together.

Luisa

Right. That's like in the same way the church is one body made up of diverse individuals.

Mike

Amen. So the church has many parts. We have people that do this, we have people that do that. We we have a very diverse body. We come from all different backgrounds. We have all different ethnicities. We have all different age groups. And we have all different tasks and spiritual gifts that we do. So all of this is one big combination. Right. So the parts or the church members are all united by the Holy Spirit to serve their specific yet equally valuable functions within the whole of the church.

Luisa

Right, because there might be somebody in the church that might need the special gifts that you have that I don't have.

Mike

Right.

Luisa

There might be somebody else in the church that needs the gifts that I have that I can pour into them with that. And vice versa.

Mike

And you might have you might need what they have. Right. So the body has many individual parts, but it's still one complete body. Right. In God's providence, we have two ears and one mouth. So listen more and talk less. Right. And in this case. God is smart. He knows how to put the body together, okay?

Luisa

So in the same way, the church is one, even though it includes many different believers from all backgrounds.

Mike

So it's really important that we have all these different people and we all do different things. Right. And it's God who puts us in these particular roles that we have. That's why it operates so perfectly as a unified body, because God is in charge. No single member is self-sufficient or unimportant. Every part depends on the others to function for the good of the whole.

Luisa

So that's why we need people to come and fellowship because those gifts are needed.

Mike

Right. And we don't even know some of these people because they're not hanging around, because they only drift in and out. And we don't know what their gifts are.

Luisa

And they're not walking in their gifts, so they're not growing in their gifts, and people are not benefiting from what the gift that you have. Somebody needs to benefit from that. Because that's just how God created it to be.

Mike

Amen. The passage makes it clear that all members are valued and indispensable to the body. Right. And these diverse gifts and roles are given by the same Spirit to serve one another and to build up the church. And it's not for personal status or pride. It's only to build everybody up in the strength of Jesus Christ. Yes. So this verse is a foundational scripture for understanding the importance of every believer's unique contribution and the necessity of unity and mutual care within the church community.

Luisa

So guess what, people? If you're home on your couch, you don't get this part.

Iron Sharpens Iron

Mike

Amen. And here is one last verse, and it's a popular one, but it is true in every sense of the word.

Luisa

Proverbs 27, 17 says, Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another.

Mike

Amen. So if it sounds simple, it's because it is simple. This proverb highlights the importance of close intentional relationships where individuals encourage, challenge, and hold each other accountable to grow personally and spiritually. Relationships should be a two-way street where both individuals benefit and become better.

Luisa

True friends challenge you to become a better version of yourself rather than just being comfortable.

Mike

Right. So the whole point of it is when you and I are interacting with God's Word, where we're talking about the scriptures, we're building each other up. So I say something, you respond, you say something. And we go back and forth because we each have maybe a different way of looking at the scripture.

Luisa

Or understanding it or receiving it.

Mike

It's important to share those types of things. So when it says iron sharpens iron, it's like a knife and a steel. Okay, you're just going back and forth, and that's how it gets sharp.

Luisa

Because there might be something that you really don't understand deeply, and I do, and we can have this conversation together. Right. And that's how we help each other. Right.

Practical On-Ramps To Fellowship

Mike

And growth because these interactions with other believers, that's what leads to growth. It's it's both in a practical and a personal sense, and also in a spiritual sense. Yeah. And it can happen different ways. Sometimes it's conversations, sometimes it's shared experience. And mutual accountability. Right. Holding each other accountable is a really big deal. You can support people in a difficult time. Right. These are all different ways that iron sharpens iron. Right. So this proverb encourages being intentional about the relationships you form. That's really a big deal. You want to form these relationships with people. You want to go out of your way to make them happen. You seek out other people. You seek out people who are going to inspire you to grow and to make you better. And you can do the same.

Luisa

That's why being in church and fellowshipping is important because if you're not there, you're not going to establish relationships with anybody. And who are you going to encourage? Who are you going to pray for? Who are you going to do anything for if you're not there? Right. And there's so many people sometimes that come up to me and say, Who's that person? This person's been here for three months. You don't know them.

Mike

Right. So sometimes you got to go out of your way. Don't ask me who they are. Go up and say hello to them. Right. Go up and make friends. Maybe that person is having a little struggle getting into you in the church. Right. And it's up to us, like we talked about before, right? To go out of our way to encourage them, to go out in a way to build them up. Home. Part of the body.

Luisa

Part of the body. Body to body. Introducing them to people. You know what? Just gathering.

Mike

Exactly, exactly. So to summarize this verse, it underscores the importance of not going through life in isolation. God designed humans for relationships and community where they can support, encourage, and challenge one another.

Luisa

Right. So once again, if you're not in fellowship with other believers, you are not getting this.

Mike

Amen. Before we close out, let's look at some of the opportunities you have for fellowship. Now, we're going to use our church as an example, but maybe your church has some of these ways or similar ways where you could fellowship. And if not, be creative.

Luisa

Most important attendance at Sunday service. You need to come and hear God's word taught plainly and clearly. This is where you learn.

Sunday School And Evening Service

Mike

Amen. So there are reasons that some people don't come, but then there are lousy excuses. Right. All right. So don't find a reason to do something else and think you could just make it up by watching it on the live stream. Right. This is the most important thing.

Luisa

Because that's not where you're going to grow, and that's not where you're going to benefit, and that's not where somebody else is going to grow because of the gifts that you that God has given you to help them.

Mike

Amen. Another way you can do is Sunday school. Now, people think Sunday school is for kids. Well, it's not only for kids. Our church has an adult Bible fellowship before the main service.

Luisa

And how great is that Sunday morning, Michael?

Mike

It's taught by our senior pastor, and we have an associate pastor who teaches the teens, and then we have other members that teach the kids. So, yeah, you have to get up an hour earlier. Yeah, you do, okay? But our ABF, boy, babe, it's a fellowship feast. When Pastor Doug walks in the room and sees 30 or 40 people just yakking and gabbing and just having a good time, I I could just see the look of joy on the back.

Luisa

And that and that's fellowship. Did you see how we fellowship in there before we sit down and get serious and listen to Pastor Doug start teaching us? Exactly. And we catch up real fast. Okay, we catch up later over there.

Mike

And and truthfully, you get a seminary-level Bible study right there in that hour. Yes. My thing is get to bed an hour earlier on Saturday night and get up and get here.

Luisa

Because it will benefit you. It will benefit you and it will benefit your walk with Christ.

Mike

Amen.

Luisa

Sunday evening service. The evening program is different, but but it's another opportunity to learn and be around the saints. And you know we love that Sunday night.

Midweek Prayer As Oasis

Mike

Sunday night is cool. It's different. So we've been going through a Route 66 series. So we've been doing an overview of all 66, the books of the Bible. So we're coming down to the end, but it's just been such a great thing. We learned about the Old Testament. A lot of times the Old Testament doesn't get preached as much as the New Testament. So by having that, we got to learn about books that really are might be obscure to us.

Luisa

But on the subject that we're talking about fellowship, think about how many times that and one Sunday have we fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. A lot. Think about that. We get there in the morning till we get into the into the service, and then we fellowship after that. Then we I go home for a nap. You go, Mike always goes home for a nap, and then we come back. We come back and we're doing more fellowshipping before the preaching starts. Then after the preaching finishes, we have more of fellowship. Right.

Mike

So we're there until like 8 30. Right. So it's it's it's really just a joyful day.

Luisa

And what do I always tell you on Sunday nights when we're coming home? I am on so overflow of Christ right now. Because it's been a full day of being in the presence of our brothers and sisters in Christ and keeping Jesus in the center. And I love that.

Men’s And Women’s Gatherings

Mike

Amen. So Sunday to Sunday is tough. Right. But in the middle of the week, on Wednesday, there's a prayer meeting. Most Bible-based churches have a midweek meeting. Maybe some do it on Tuesday, but most do it on Wednesday night. And this to me, this is it's an oasis in the middle of the week. We spend most of our time around unbelievers. And to get to come to church on a Wednesday night and sit around the table and we sing some hymns and we get a little Bible.

Luisa

We fellowship after. Let's think on the subject of the fellowship party.

Mike

It's a gab fest. Right. But what else we get? Yeah. Okay. We get to pray, which is a big deal. We get to pray for other needs. We get to sometimes ask for prayer for our own needs.

Luisa

And how many times do you and I, you know, we both work. And how many times do we're exhausted? We're exhausted on a Wednesday. And there's a lot of times I just want to just kick off my shoes, jump in the shower, and just sit on my couch. Okay.

Mike

We're going.

Luisa

But um, you know, when you're married to somebody like this guy here.

unknown

No.

Luisa

He looks at me and is like, okay, babe, get it together, get it together. And I love prayer night. I do. It's beautiful. It's beautiful. And then once I'm out and I'm there, I'm just so grateful because again, um, even if I fellowship with one of my sisters or one of my brothers before we start praying, that's huge for both of us.

Mike

And we are in God's word even when we're there.

Luisa

Right. And I am so grateful for another night for growth. Because, you know, it breaks the monotony to the Sunday. I don't know if I can make it from Sunday to Sunday. For me.

Mike

When we miss okay, on those rare occasions, it's rough. Right. It's hard. I'm just telling you, it's it's really rough. We've been sick lately and we missed the men's the Wednesday, and it's it's harsh.

Luisa

Right. And then we had the men's and women's Bible study. Most churches have weekly Bible studies where you can meet, learn, and fellowship. I know that our Bible study is on Zoom.

Mike

Right.

Luisa

Okay, on Saturdays.

Mike

But the men's women's the men's have one on on Wednesday morning.

Church Meals And Home Hospitality

Luisa

Right. But even even gathering together on Bible study for the woman, you're still fellowshipping. Before you get into Bible, into the study, the women are fellowshipping. They're talking, they're doing whatever they're doing, and maybe somebody comes in with a burden and they share it and and and we just start praying there. I know we do that in our book club, that we just fellowship again. And people have needs, and you're able to just do whatever it is that God is calling you to do at that moment. That's why it's important to fellowship together in Bible study. Right.

Mike

And I'm waiting to retire because I'm it starts at 6 30 on a on a Wednesday morning. And I know that the the men who go, and there's probably about 15, maybe a little more, that go pretty regularly. And then they go out for breakfast after they're done.

Luisa

I know you're gonna be part of that. I know that.

Mike

I know I'm gonna be part of that. And I I can't wait. So I uh uh as soon it's gonna come, but not quite yet. So um there are other men's and women's special events. Our church has opportunities for men and women to gather and learn. So I'm just gonna speak from the men's perspective. We we have a men's breakfast once a month on a Saturday morning, and you that's the best meal you're ever gonna have. I'm sorry, I I my wife is a great cook, but I'll tell you that that meal that we have on that Saturday morning is just stellar.

Luisa

Listen, those pancakes that you bring me home, they are delicious. Thank you, Pastor Doug. Yes, but and again, for the woman, we have brunches. Yes, we have teas, and we have uh uh that's a time to fellowship with our sisters right. We're having a retreat coming up this weekend, and that's an opportunity for us to fellowship with our sisters in Christ and unbelievers. Yes, and that's that's a great fellowship, and I love those than anybody, right? Right. So, you know, we have that as well.

Make Fellowship A Lifestyle

Mike

And then we have special church meals and events. Uh most churches provide opportunities to gather for a community meal. It's combined serving because it takes people to serve to put these things together, takes contribution, people bring stuff to share, and then there's fellowshipping. It's always an awesome time. I mean, this month alone, uh at the beginning of November, we had a Reformation barbecue. And boy, you I I can't even describe it to you. You just you have to be there next year. Right. Okay, so if you're in the area, come next uh the beginning of the next year.

Luisa

And the fellowship was sweet.

Mike

It was great. Uh we're having a Thanksgiving lunch uh in two Sundays.

Luisa

Right.

Mike

So these types of meals happen all year round, and our church is always planning them because they know that it brings the saints together, they know that it builds the community, builds a bond between us, and builds us up spiritually. We get fed. We get fed physically and we get fed spiritually. So it's it's really just uh it's really just a great deal.

Luisa

And let's not forget to mention all the individual Bible studies in people's homes, all the gatherings in homes for a meal, all the nights out in a restaurant, and it's what you make of it. You can certainly participate if you choose, okay? So there's a lot of a lot of times I like I said, I go out with the with the ladies, we go out for a brunch, we go out for a dinner, we get together, and we just we just love being with each other, but God is always in the center of that conversation.

Mike

And that's the key.

Luisa

Okay, and again, then people are able to really share their burdens.

Mike

Amen.

Luisa

And we're able to encourage and we're able to pray no matter where we are, and I love that. You know I love that.

Mike

No, it's it's it's it's really great. And you can participate in that by opening your home. Right. Just invite somebody over, right? And we talked about that before. When you do that, it it's it's just an atmosphere for spiritual growth. Right. And you can definitely benefit from all of that.

Luisa

And there are many other ways you can come together as believers. Help your church to be creative and make things happen. Our church is always looking for ways to bring saints together.

Mike

Amen. So for Louisa and I, we attend as many things as we can. And we have more friends than we have ever had in our lives. We live a rich, full life with Christ at the center. It helps us grow, it helps us to stay steady focused on the Lord as we go through life, and we are urging you, don't do this walk alone.

Luisa

And it's really great. I must say, babe, as a couple, we do these things, and I encourage and I would really encourage all couples to come and gather together with your spouses because it's so important as well.

Closing Prayer And Calls To Connect

Mike

Let's pray.

Luisa

Heavenly Father, thank you for stirring all of our hearts and giving us a desire to fellowship with the saints. Thank you for your word that shows us that clear importance of meeting together. We pray that all of us would be intentional to obey this command that you clearly give us in your word. We thank you for the opportunity to teach on this important subject, and may your name be glorified through this episode. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. So that wraps up episode 57. We thank you for listening. We invite you to leave us a comment or a question by going to our website at jtepodcast.org.

Mike

That's JTE Podcast.org.

Luisa

Click on the contact us page and we will respond within 24 hours. If you don't personally know us, introduce yourselves. We would love to get to know you from across the states or around the world.

Mike

And while you're there, you can subscribe to the podcast and receive an email the minute a new episode is published. You can also find all of our previous episodes, and we invite you to find one that resonates with you. In addition, the Journey to Eternity Podcast can be accessed on any of the major podcast platforms, such as Apple and Spotify, along with many other outlets across the web.

Luisa

And as always, please support us by sharing this podcast with a friend or on your social media page.

Mike

So till next time, we wish you God's blessings as you navigate everyday life in a sinful fallen world.

Luisa

May the peace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

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Luisa and Mike Sirignano

Host