Philippians 1:3-6
3 I thank my God every time I remember you.4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,6 being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 1:3-6 THANKING GOD AND TRUSTING GOD
Springford Baptist Church: December 31, 2023.
Pastor Lola’s Last Sunday With Springford Baptist Church
I am grateful for the significance of the timing of my last Sunday as Pastor of Springford Baptist Church.
On this New Year’s Eve Day 2023, it is an ideal opportunity both to look back and to look forward. We can think of it as standing on a doorstep. As you are about to step through the doorway into a new year and a new season in the life of this church, what do we see when we look back and what can you expect as you look forward?
This Scripture from Philippians 1:3-6 guides our thoughts this morning as we both look back and look forward. When we look back, we have reasons to THANK GOD! As we look forward, we have reasons to TRUST GOD!
We will begin with THANKING GOD:
3 I thank my God every time I remember you.4 In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, (Philippians 1:3-5)
It has been a “partnership in the gospel” that we have shared as we have been seeking God and His will for us all these 16 ½ years. The first day for me with Springford Baptist Church was July 1st of 2007. How old were you and what was happening in your life then?
I recall that 2007 was the year of Springford Baptist Church’s 175th Anniversary. We had a Sunday in September when we dressed in 1800’s attire and I rode a horse to church while our daughters had a horse and small carriage. We can look back to how things were in the past and we can thank God that He is with us past, present, and future.
We have seen God with us guiding us and helping us as we have celebrated birthdays and anniversaries. We have seen children and grandchildren and nieces and nephews born and we thank God. There have been weekly worship services; the inspiration of music and God’s Word reflected on; prayers and witnessing God’s answers to our prayers; Women’s mission circle gatherings; Bible Studies; Junior Church and Youth Group activities; visits in homes and hospitals and care homes; Live Nativity Christmas events and Christmas Eve Candlelight Services; Children’s Carnivals and Summer Fun for children; Mothers’ Day Teas; yard sales and bake sales; classic car shows; and after church shared lunches. There have been opportunities to respond in loving ways to needs of individuals and families. God has given us so many good times to share together.
We have also experienced illness and heartache and the passing of loved ones and we thank God that He has been with us and will be with us in our times of adversity and loss and grief.
When we are in partnership, which is what a church family is meant to be about, then we do share both the good times and the hard times with each other. We look to God for strength in all that we experience and share.
Partnership in the gospel includes ways that we share the good news of Jesus Christ. I am thankful to God for those who have chosen to follow Jesus and to be baptized. I am thankful to God for all the ways that our faith in God has deepened during this time that we have been in partnership together. This has had an impact on us and on our families and our communities.
I think of some of the yearly themes that we have explored over the time I have been with you: REACHING OUT; FINDING JESUS; GOD’S GUIDING HAND; TRUSTING JESUS; TOGETHER; SERVING; LISTENING FOR GOD; KNOWING GOD; and BECOMING.
My prayer is that our encounters with Jesus will cause us to want to experience more of His lifechanging grace.
Sometimes we are inclined to linger over what has been. We may feel hesitant to step through the door into a new year and a new season of life. We may wonder about the unknowns of what is ahead. Here too, we can thank God that He promises to accompany us.
Think of it this way. There can be a tendency to leave the furniture and all the arranging of things in our homes exactly the same. When we resist change, we may miss some really positive possibilities that God has for us. God invites us to be willing to rearrange and to make room for something new. Our Christmas Eve service this year was urging us to make room for Jesus, to make room for God to write His story for our lives.
Looking to the future, we can both THANK GOD and TRUST GOD.
6 being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
We can have courage that the good work in us has been begun by God and will be carried on to completion by God. It is God Who initiates and inspires His plans for us, but we have a part to play in cooperating with the work of God’s Spirit.
I have seen evidence of God’s good work in each of you. I am confident and trust God for what He has yet to do in each of us.
It is actually an exciting thing to consider what God has yet to do among you. The living of your lives of faith in God has great potential to shape you for God and to shape and those around you for God.
None of this will happen as we rely on ourselves. In fact, when we try to accomplish worthwhile endeavors and to face insurmountable challenges by ourselves without God, what gets highlighted is how unable we are. Instead, we can choose to draw attention to how much we need God. Then what gets highlighted is our God of mercy and grace.
The Christmas season involves a lot of gift giving. Over my retirement and Christmas celebrations, I have gratefully received generous amounts of chocolate. As much as I enjoy eating chocolate, it is best when I share what I have been given. Then others can also be blessed.
This same principle is a vital part of the good work that God has begun in us. When we find meaningful ways to share the faith that we have been given then God is moving things toward completion.
Our God has given us many reasons to thank Him for each other and what we have experienced of His immense love together. Our God has also given us many reasons to trust Him for the year ahead and this new season in the life of this church!
I do thank God for all of you and I do trust God and am confident that God will carry on to completion His good plans for each of us! TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!!