SHN, See You Later
Notes
Transcript
ME
ME
Our family came to this church 9 years, 9 months, and 26 days ago on Kayla and I’s anniversary.
Our son Brayden was 3, our daughter Ava was 6 months, and Elena wouldn’t come around until 5 years later.
Our babies have grown up here, and you have been there to encourage, build them up in the faith, and love them well.
We had gone through some tough times at our previous assignment, and coming to this church was like a breath of fresh air for us.
From day one, you embraced and loved our family.
We cannot thank you enough for your kindness.
You know how to make people feel at home more than anywhere we’ve been.
From the moment we arrived you made us feel like family.
And no matter where we go, you will ALWAYS be family to us.
Thank you for the opportunity to Pastor the students and families of SHN.
It has been the honor of my life to do so.
I could go on and on about how much you people mean to us, but time is short and God has called me to preach the Gospel.
So church family, I have one last word of encouragement to you.
A 5 minute sermon- waaay shorter than the ones Pastor Curtis preaches!
After this week, I will be almost 500 miles away.
So I want you to hear the message I would tell you after leaving this place, before I leave.
I shared this with our students on Wednesday, and want to share it with you now.
Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
This isn’t working FOR your salvation… it’s working OUT what Christ has done in you.
God supports the believer, but it is the believer's responsibility to do what he has been called by God to do.
-Oswald Chambers
From the beginning of the Christian movement, being a Christian has always been about action.
Preaching the Gospel, helping the poor, loving enemies.
Not just sitting at a church service a few hours a week.
But learning from that service how to be a better, stronger, more effective Christian through the power of the Holy Spirit, “working out” each day through prayer and the Word, and putting faith into practice by sharing Christ through our words and our lives.
It’s living the crucified life:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Paul learned how to work out what God had worked in him until his entire life, body and being was wrapped up in Jesus Christ.
Christ was literally living THROUGH him.
And that is my prayer for each and every one of you.
That Christ would transform you so radically that He would literally be living through you in such an obvious way that others would be curious about this Jesus.
That you would build each other up in the faith each and every day.
That you would serve well in this local church, finding places where help is needed and stepping up to serve.
That you would get 1,000% behind these incredible men and women on the church board, your new Lead Pastor and your new Youth Pastor here at Science Hill Nazarene.
When I consider your heavens,
the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?
The beginning and end of your walk of faith is the grace of God.
The keys to finishing your life of faith well is abandoning pride and relying on the grace of God.
Giving every single bit of your life, heart and soul over to Him.
In the New Testament new birth is always spoken of in terms of sanctification, not of salvation; to be saved means that a man receives the gift of eternal life, which is “the gift of God”; sanctification means that his spirit becomes the birthplace of the Son of God.
-Oswald Chambers
My prayer is that Christ will be formed in You completely.
That He will be Your all in all.
If you’re not there yet, BEWARE: I’m going to pray so hard for you until the day you get there.
If you’re already there, I will pray that you continue growing in God’s grace until You see Him face to face.
I love you church with all my heart, and will miss you more than words can express.
But this isn’t goodbye. It’s “see you later.”
We will be back to visit and you are always welcome at our home in NC.
And let me be clear about one thing: I will ALWAYS be a Cats fan and promise to give those Duke and UNC fans all kinds of grief once we move there.
Numbers 6:24–26 (NIV)
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine on you and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.
*Prayer*
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
May Science Hill Church of The Nazarene be a shining city on a hill for another 109 years.
God, may You be glorified in this place and in the hearts and lives of these people.
May dead souls in this community be brought to life through the power of Your Holy Spirit as people are saved and sanctified.
And no matter what happens, may the peace that passes all understanding guard the hearts and minds of the people of SHN.
