Philippians 1:3-11
“Inviting To: A Relationship with Grace”
Preached Sunday, September 4, 2022
“I thank my God every time I mention you in my prayers. I’m thankful for all of you every time I pray, and it’s always a prayer full of joy.”
These are Paul’s words to the disciples in Philippi - although a different Scripture version than the one I read today. And these are my words that I want to say to you today, as your pastor - at the close of our sermon series “Inviting To: A Relationship With…” and as we close this Worship by the Water season and are getting ready to transfer into our next season in our church year.
And at the risk of sounding like a sap, they are true words. I do thank God for you and I am filled with joy when I think of you.
When I went through the vision process with a small team here and we set to identify our mission statement we wanted it to have what we were calling the 5 c’s: clear, concise, catalytic (meaning actionable), contextual and compelling. My vision coach said you know it’s compelling when it makes you feel like an old Southern church lady who grabs her pearls and goes “Oh my heavens.” Although I asked my friend who is a through and through Southerner if this was right and my friend said pearl clutching is more being aghast and better metaphor to draw would be making a Southerner say, as my friend’s mom would always say: ‘That tastes so good it’ll make you slap your momma!”
Our mission “to invite all into a joyous and caring Christian community” did just that. A little bit of a good “Oh my heavens” - no actual mother slapping - and a lot of strangely warming my heart. That last one is Methodist language. John Wesley said he felt his heart strangely warmed when he was convicted of God’s love for him. I consider myself strangely warmed when I feel the Spirit moving around in my heart, filling me with passion and love for God’s work in this world. And it didn’t just ring true for me, I know many of you had that reaction. That warmness and joy that spread across your faces when you first heard our mission statement. Because whether you’ve been here over 50 years or 5 weeks - you can just sense that we truly are a joyous and caring Christian community. I have had charter members tell me it rings true as well as friends who have visited once or guest preachers who have shared in worship - they text me and say, “Your congregation is something special. You can feel the joy of the Spirit in them.”
And so along with Paul I say, “I thank my God every time I mention you in my prayers. I’m thankful for all of you every time I pray, and it’s always a prayer full of joy.”
I also think, along with me, Paul also might call that church in Philippi - “a joyous and caring Christian community.”
In fact, scholars and lay people alike have said for centuries that one of the defining traits of the letter to the Philippians is JOY. And that can be surprising when you realize that Paul wrote this letter from jail - awaiting his trial where he could recieve a sentence of execution. He had been here before and he thought he would be released - but also, he didn’t know. But his faith never faltered. And neither did his thanksgiving for the church in Philippi - a congregation who Paul knew was doing the Good Work of God, a congregation who cared for Paul during his trials and time as a prisoner, a congregation that had been generous with him and with others.
Now, before we go thinking that the church in Philippi was perfect - or even, before we go thinking that Grace is perfect! - Paul’s letter also focuses on some problems in the church and he urges them to correct them. There is a dispute between two church leaders that Paul talks about - he even mentions their name and basically tells them to bury the hatchet. He also knew that the church was facing harassment - I mean, he himself is in prison for preaching the Gospel! And he offers them both comfort and theological reasoning so they can continue to hold fast to Jesus and the work of Gospel they are called to do.
The fact is: no church is perfect. Churches are really just communities made up of imperfect people, striving toward love of God and neighbor together. And sometimes we get it more right than others. Sometimes there are internal disputes and sometimes external factors plague us.
But like Paul in a jail cell and like the church in Philippi, we are joyful despite it all! Because that joy comes from trusting that God will never abandon us and will always see us through: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.”
God is doing good things through Grace and through each of you. I see it every day. How you all strive to better know and love God. How you all strive to love one another. To love neighbor. To love all. To serve one another, neighbor, all. To see Christ in the least of these. To invite all into a joyous and caring Christian community.
God began this work in us and I am joyful because I trust that the God who began a good work in us will complete that good work. As long as we follow God’s call, as long as we strive to serve God, as long as we can - God will work in us and through us, and often, as I say: God will work despite us! I trust that we and the work we do to live out our mission are a part of God’s GREATER mission to establish the Kingdom of God here on earth and a reign of peace and love that will never end. And because of that, I am filled with joy.
To help them stay true to the good work, Paul also urges the Philippians to “determine what really matters.”
And this is also something that makes me thankful for Grace: we’ve done that. We lift up and follow our mission. We have talked about how as a church all we do should connect to Worshiping, Belonging, and Serving. And we even have named values that help us discern what kind of tasks we undertake as a congregation and what kind of people we want to be!
And in case you don’t know what those values are: They’re Persistence through Resilience, Gratitude through Generosity, Service through Companionship, and Beauty through Wonder. I’d love to talk more with you about what those mean if you don’t know - but that would make this sermon too long! If you grab the bags of popcorn at the Greeter’s table, there is info on how to learn more about Grace, our mission, and our values on our website.
Okay - so I think this is a good point to take a step back. I’ve been talking about the church in Philippi and the church in Vermilion - about how I am thankful for you, about how God has begun a good work in you, and about how you have determined what really matters so that, the words of Paul, that our love may overflow.
And now I want to center all that in the midst of our current sermon series I mentioned in the beginning. “Inviting To: A Relationship With…”
So a quick recap - the whole purpose of this sermon series is to lay the foundation for our current vision goal: In order to build, strengthen, and renew connections with Grace, we will extend 500 invitations with the hope that 50 or more will be accepted.
We wanted to equip and empower each of you to know what you’re inviting someone TO and why you should invite them. So at first we talked about “Inviting To: A Relationship with Jesus.” And a relationship with Jesus is about abiding in God’s love, knowing you always have a home in Jesus where you are deeply known and deeply loved.
Then “Inviting To: A Relationship with Christians” - because we’re not meant to do this alone. Together we are the full body of Christ in this world. When we are together, God is in our midst and we learn and grow in God with and through one another.
Last week was “Inviting To: A Relationship with the World” - basically a relationship with Jesus IS a relationship with the world. However we treat the least of these, the hungry, thirst, naked, stranger, sick, and prisoner - that’s how we treat Jesus.
And so over the course of the last month or so you may have noticed we widened the net a little bit each week - Jesus, Christians, World. And that was a natural progression - a love for and from Jesus that radiates out and changes everything. But with this week, “Inviting to: A Relationship with Grace” - we reeled it way back in - to our particular church.
Now, I know there are people here who aren’t members of this church - maybe you like Worship by the Water and are just with us for the summer - and that’s okay. I hope that as I talked about the joy present in this church community, you thought of a church community that you have felt that joy in, that you know is carrying out that good work, that you give thanks to God for. Maybe you don’t have a church community yet - and maybe today’s sermon made you think, “I’d love to be part of a place like that.” My prayer is that you do find a church home that fills you with joy, that is doing the good work of the Gospel, that you give thanks to God for - whether it’s here or elsewhere.
But I wanted to focus on Grace today, our Grace, because if you want to invite someone to connect with Grace and through us, connect with Jesus, other Christians, and the world - you have to believe and know that there is something about Grace, something about the community we share, something about how we live out our mission, how we care for one another, how we serve that world…that is worth being a part of. That it’s life changing.
And I think it is. And I am thankful for you, filled with joy when I think about you - and am full of hope and joy for what God has begun in and through you and will continue to do through you.
I pray you are too.
So together, let’s invite all into a joyous and caring Christian community.
Amen.
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