State of the Church Address 2023

2022 The Year of Rebirth

Last year was a year of rebirth, in the aftermath of Covid and the loss of pastor it would have been easy to give up and quit. To close the church as so many others did, but you chose to stick it out to search out another pastor and to continue as a church despite the many strugles. Then in August of 21 you called me as your pastor. Much has happened since then and I would like to remind you of what God has been doing in our midst.

In September 21 we started Sunday School. Since then we have studied the life of David, Ezekiel, Daniel, 1 & 2nd Thessalonians, 1st & 2nd Kings, Jonah, Micah, Amos, Hosea, and now John.

March of 22 we kicked off Wednesday nights with the spring fling

We contacted several new families

We also met our partner church Mayflower who came and helped with the block party not once but twice.

We even got the pleasure of watching a couple sisters forget their age with its aches and pains as they raced through the obstacle course.

This summer We had to postpone our VBS and ended up doing it one weekend in August due to Lisha and I being sick with Covid.

We still had 9 kids show up even with the quick change of plans

Then September brought us the men’s Retreat and women’s conferences of which we had a total of 14 from our church attend.

A week later was the One Day Missions trip with 15 people serving

Let’s not forget David’s favorite 5th Sunday potlucks and a Thanksgiving meal.

Then December has been busy with a Christmas parade and Chili Dinner on the same day in which we showed our love to the community, and I heard many great things about the church.

We ended the year with Children beautifully presenting the story of Jesus birth to us on Christmas Morning.

Also, throughout the year we have seen the addition of 2 new members, 15 different kids who regularly attend on Wednesday night, and at least 15 first-time visitors from the community plus many other visiting family members and friends. We have seen God answer many prayers and bless us time and time again.

Yet there have been moments of sadness and grief as well as many faced illness and surgeries cancer and even a couple saints who got their heavenly promotion.

Church Look at what God has done in just over a year. We have moved from a church that the community remembered fondly but many thought was no longer meeting to a church that has the renewed life of Christ and is joyfully sharing the Good News of Christ with the Community around us.

What Now?

What should we as a church seek for 2023?

I believe the answer is found in Colossians 3:1-17

Colossians 3:1–17 ESV

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

2023 The year of Godliness

Focused on Christ

Colossians 3:2 ESV

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

It’s so easy to get distracted with the things of this earth our friends coworkers our jobs bills children and animals entertainment and so much more. Yet Paul here reminds us our focus should be on the things above not on earthly pursuits.

We should be concerned about the eternal things. You have heard the saying so heavenly minded their no earthly good yet this is a lie as C. S. Lewis states in his book Mere Christianity “If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were just those who thought most of the next”

You have only to look at the lives of John Newton the writer of Amazing Grace and his work to abolish the slave trade, himself having been a slave trader prior to coming to salvation or what about Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong, and Dixie Jackson the ones we honor every year and take up special missions offerings for. When we consider their lives we see that indeed the opposite is true the more heavenly minded we become the more good we are to those around us remember the three commands to sum up all of scripture love God love people tell others the Gospel. You cannot be heavenly minded and not do good to those around you.

I want Trinity Baptist Church to be focused on Christ that the concerns of this world fade in our concern for Christ. That we are less focused on ourselves and our own kingdoms and more concerned on glorifying Christ on loving him and loving those whom he died for, that is all the earth, that we share the gospel regularly and people come to saving faith

Yet how do accomplish such a task.

Transformed Life

Colossians 3:5–9 ESV

Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices

sadly Christians often convince themselves that their sins are not that bad and that it is ok. Yet the idea of put to death and put them all away both imply a finality to sin.

We should in the words of Jesus Go and sin no more.

Colossians 3:12–15 ESV

Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.

Instead we should live in holiness. putting on the character of God. Jesus calls us to be in the world but to not be of the world we should stand out and be different and we do that by being living like Jesus lived. Growing up the catch phrase was WWJD I don’t want it to be a catchphrase but rather a way of life. That we as Trinity Baptist seek to live as Jesus lived.

My prayer is that this year Trinity Baptist church would be transformed from people who love the idea of God who love the blessings of God and love his forgiveness into people who love God with every fiber of their being who’s love is so great that they cast aside the worthless pursuits of this world for the weightier and more blessed pursuits in Christ. That we no longer live lives consumed by the things of this world but rather we live lives filled with the Spirit of God. I do not mean to say that we should avoid the unsaved of this earth but rather that we should be intentional about our time with them that we be an example of Godliness before them and we share the greatness of God and the Gospel with them, that they too might be saved.

Which brings me to my last point

Abiding in the Gospel

Colossians 3:16–17 ESV

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

We cannot give that which we do not have. Thus Paul reminds us we should be full of the word of Christ. Let it dwell abide or live richly in us. That is that the Gospel is not something we share or something we know or something we tell but rather it should be part of who we are it dwells in us.

We do that by teaching or giving instruction in the things of God this is the purpose of Sunday School and Sunday and Wednesday night Studies.

But then we also should admonish one another or correct improper behavior. That is when we see a brother or sister sinning we have a responsibility to correct them in love and restore them to holiness. Do this gently and with grace for we are all sinners yet do not shy away from it for to do otherwise brings judgement on both parties.

Lastly music is a great way to keep our minds on the Lord. Singing or humming an old hymn or melody can help us out at times when our bible may not be nearby or when reading and study may be inappropriate, driving comes to mind.

My Desire is that Trinity would be known as a church that knows and stands by the Bible as the Word of God that we can be a place where people receive sound biblical teaching and can worship God in spirit and truth. That we might lift up the name of God and when someone looks at us they see faithful followers of Christ not people playing church but rather people who are the Living Church the Bride of Christ.