A Pastor’s Farewell

Acts 20:17-38

TRANSCRIPT: Light Editing

https://youtu.be/hybILPgTPw4?feature=shared

Welcome

Good to be with all of you. And if you are new, I'm Ricky. I'm honored to be the lead pastor of this church, at least for a little while longer. So you, you are in a great church. And it was great before I arrived. It'll be great after I'm gone because God is good and he loves this place. And he's got a great plan for Fort Caroline Baptist Church. And I cannot wait to see what God does in the life of this church. So if you are new, welcome. Come back. If you are a part of this church, stay faithful. God is not finished yet.

I do want to bring a message I'm calling “A Pastor's Farewell.” It'll be in Acts 20:17-38 if you would like to find your copy of God's Word.

Sermon Introduction

Acts 20:17–38 ESV

17 Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him. 18 And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19 serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews; 20 how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, 21 testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. 22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, 23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. 24 But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. 25 And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. 26 Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. 29 I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. 33 I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. 35 In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ” 36 And when he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. 37 And there was much weeping on the part of all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, 38 being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

May God bless the reading of His holy Word.

You know, farewells are never easy, are they? I remember in elementary school reading the farewell address of President elect Abraham Lincoln. He spoke to his beloved Springfield, Illinois, on February 11, 1861. He was on his way to Washington, in a country that was divided, in a country that was in danger. And he didn't know what the future held.

He said to the people gathered at the train station that day:

My friends, no one, not in my situation, can appreciate my feeling of sadness at this parting. To this place and the kindness of these people, I owe everything. Here I have lived a quarter of a century, and have passed from a young to an old man. Here my children have been born, and one is buried. I now leave, not knowing when, or whether ever, I may return, with a task before me greater than that which rested upon Washington. Without the assistance of that Divine Being who ever attended him, I cannot succeed. With that assistance I cannot fail. Trusting in Him who can go with me, and remain with you, and be everywhere for good, let us confidently hope that all will yet be well. To His care commending you, as I hope in your prayers you will commend me, I bid you an affectionate farewell. —-President Elect A. Lincoln

And as they say, the rest is history. Farewells are never easy. Wasn't easy for Abraham Lincoln. Certainly not going to be easy for me today. But you know, farewells are a necessary part of life. God is a God of every season. He is always there. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He is the one who is beyond time. And so no matter where we go, he is already there. And we can be confident that our farewells are often just not goodbyes. They are just see you until later. And it's not an end as much as it's the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one.

That's how the Apostle Paul felt here in these verses we're going to read together. For two and a half years he had invested his life in the people in that city we know as Ephesus. It was not always an easy ministry.

There he found opposition from those who were hostile to Jesus Christ and the Gospel. But he also found great success there because people's lives were changed, not by Paul, but by the grace of God through the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And as a result of that, the church there was established and it was encouraged and built up in large part because God sent Paul there after he had to leave. He spent about a year ministering in other places. But there came an occasion where he was on a ship headed back to Jerusalem, not knowing what awaited him there, that they had to stop off in the port city called Miletus.

And it was just about a 38 mile trek to Ephesus. So he decided, while he had a few days of a layover in Miletus, that he would send word to the elders, the spiritual leaders of the church in Ephesus, and call them to come to him so that he could give them one final farewell, not knowing if he would ever see them again.

And so what I thought I would do today is just share the words of Paul and hopefully the sentiments of Paul with not only the whole congregation but also the spiritual leaders of this church. You know, this is really Paul preaching and teaching and speaking and encouraging the leaders of the church, the elders. It's the only time we have a direct address of Paul to these elders in this way.

And so if I could gather our staff together, if I could gather our worship team together, if I could gather our deacons together and all of our committee leaders together and all of our volunteers together who make this church what it is, these are some of the things that I too would like to say to you here In Acts chapter 20, beginning with verse 17, we read these words

Acts 20:17 ESV

Now from Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called the elders of the church to come to him.

That word elders in the Greek is presbuteros, where we get our word Presbyterian. It simply spoke of a spiritual leader in the church. Not so much as an office, as a function that they were to use the God given wisdom to lead the congregations that God had placed them in. In fact, there are three terms, I think, that are interchangeable for the office of elders. We see Elder here. Later we'll read the word overseers. Episcopal says it means bishops. Sometimes it means spiritual leaders who had the oversight of the congregation. And then my favorite term used of men called into ministry, pastors, shepherds. And that speaks of their care for the flock, their recognition that the people of God are Christ's flock, not theirs. Christ is the great shepherd, the chief shepherd, the good shepherd. We are just simply under shepherds, working for the Lord, and we need to care for his flock, and we need to feed his flock and we need to lead and protect his flock.

So all of those terms are summed up here, Elders. And as he gathers the elders of the church to him from Ephesus, he speaks to them about a few things.

1. The Pastor’s Transparency

He speaks first of all about the pastor's transparency, the pastor's transparency. And I would say to all of our spiritual leaders, live as God says, live. Let your life be transparent. Don't be one way on Sunday and a different way on Monday. Don't be one way when the lights are on and the cameras are on and the mic is on. And be a different way when no one else is around. You need to live a life of transparency. Here's how Paul describes it in verse 18 says.

Acts 20:18 ESV

And when they came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia,

He talks about his life of transparency. Did you pick up on some of the things that he said? They knew firsthand through eyewitness accounts. They had been with Paul up close and personal for those two and a half years.

Acts 20:19 ESV

serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews;

A. Humility

He says, you know that I was with you from the first day until now, serving the Lord with all humility. It may sound like you're bragging if you talk about being humble, but the reason Paul has to point this out is for a couple of reasons. Number one, in Roman culture, humility was not a prized virtue. Humility was looked down on. Don't be humble. Be proud. Know who you are. Exert your lordship over other people. And Paul says, you know, that's not how I was. Even the Apostle Paul, I was with you, serving the Lord with all humility.

But he also had to say that because there were some back in Jerusalem, there were some in Ephesus, there were some in Corinth who were attacking Paul and calling him prideful and filled with himself. And he says, no, I didn't have an exalted view of myself. I know who I am. I am the chiefest of sinners. I'm changed by the grace of God.

I was with you, serving the Lord with all humility.

B. Sympathy

And he also speaks about what they saw in him in sympathy. He says, I was with you in all humility and with tears. See, I'm not the only one. And don't think I didn't spot some of you coming in looking for tissue boxes even before this service started. Because you say, if I see his lip quiver, I'm gonna cry. Well, I'm trying to be good today. I promise you, I'm trying to be good. But I will never apologize for my tears because God wired me the way he wired me, and I'm grateful for it. And anybody that says real men don't cry, I've never read the Bible because Jesus wept. The Son of God. God of all God, man of the Son of man. And so God, even in Paul's heart, gave him a heart of sympathy. And he says, I was with you with tears. Paul's the same one who would tell the Roman Christians, rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

C. Difficulty

He was with them in humility and sympathy, but also in difficulty. He says, I was with you with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews. He says, ministry wasn't always easy with you. There were people who opposed our ministry. There were people who lied and tried to malign my character.

There were people who tried to attack me. And I want you to know, as your pastor, I've never experienced anything like what Paul experienced. Fort Caroline Baptist Church, you have been a pastor's dream. That doesn't mean I've always gotten it right. I've made mistakes. It doesn't mean you've always liked what I did and how I led our church. But I have never felt anything but love and support and encouragement from this congregation. But any pastor and any staff member and any volunteer and any key leader in this church needs to know ministry is not always easy. There are going to be days and nights of difficulty. And I have had it up to here with pastors who only want to be in ministry if the pay is good, if the perks are in place, if everybody's happy with them, if they can have a big church, and if things don't go their way, they bail.

Paul says, no, I was with you in difficulties with trials. He talks about the pastor's transparency. Live as God says. Live. And then he moves on.

2. The Pastor’s Ministry

And he talks a little bit about the pastor's ministry. What did he do when he was with the Ephesian believers?

Acts 20:20 ESV

how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house,

He said in verse 20, here's something else you yourselves know. You know how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable and teaching you in public and from house to house.

A. Courageously

He says, I was with you in a ministry and I spoke the Word courageously.

He says, I did not shrink back. I did not cower in fear. I did not hold back anything that was profitable to your salvation or to your sanctification or to your service in God's kingdom. I preach the Word of God without apology. And he says, I also preach the Word consistently, publicly I preach the Word, and from house to house, I preach the word.

B. Consistently

I think, among other things, Paul is saying is my message was consistent. No matter where you heard me speak, I was speaking the same gospel. Whether it was in a public setting or in your home. I preached one message, the Gospel of Jesus Christ. In verse 21, he tells us why.

Acts 20:21 ESV

testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

He says, testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of here, listen to this. Of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. He says, not only did my ministry of the Word present that I was courageous and consistent. I was also comprehensive. Jews and Greeks. The gospel is for everyone or it's for no one.

And I pray to God that one of the hallmarks of my ministry from the very beginning, when I was 17, to this very day, is that I have preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ is for all men and all women, all people, all languages, ethnicities, tongues, tribes. Because one day the. The Bible says, before the throne of Jesus Christ, people from every nation, every tribe, every tongue will stand before the throne of God and we will praise Jesus together. There is no room in the kingdom of God for racism or prejudice. The only color that ought to matter is the crimson blood of Jesus Christ shed for all of us.

And Paul says, I know I've been getting opposition from the Jews because I take the Gospel to the Gentiles and they don't like that. I take the gospel to the Jews, they don't like that. But I have been comprehensive. I want to reach everyone that I can with the Gospel of Jesus.

And when you read Paul's first letter that he wrote that we have a record of first Thessalonians, you hear the message of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. When you read his last letter that we have a record of second Timothy written 20 something years later, you hear the same message. Repentance toward God, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. That is the gospel. One coin, two sides.

Repentance toward God, A change of mind, where you humble yourself before God, confessing your sin before a holy God, but you also place your faith in Jesus, the one and only Savior of sinners. And Paul says, I've been consistent in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And one of the finest compliments that someone gave me after 28 years here, 26, as your pastor, is that my messages have not changed. Thank you for that. I've often told you I am like a broken record. And now, 28 years later, I have to explain what a record is because we've got kids here. That what you remember those vinyl records and you put it on a turntable and a needle and it went round and round and music came out and I'm like a broken record. Did you ever have one of those? And it would skip and it would jump to that same point, the same note, the same lyrics, just over and over and over. That's who I have been as your pastor.

I have preached one message.

John 3:16 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

I'm a broken record. I've only got one message, repentance toward God. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And by the way, whether you're a minister or a minister's family or a deacon or a teacher or a layperson or a teenager in this church, stay true to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

He talks about the pastor's transparency and he talks about the pastor's ministry. But then he talks about the pastor's responsibility.

3. The Pastor’s Responsibility

Part of the pastor's responsibility is to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. That's why he writes in verse 22.

Acts 20:22–23 ESV

And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.

Constrained. Maybe your translation reads compelled by the Spirit. Notice capital S. He's talking about the Holy Spirit of God, the presence of God in his life, the third Person of the Trinity, Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

A. Follow the Leading of the Holy Spirit

He says, now behold, I'm going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. Paul wants to go back to Jerusalem, even though there are people there that are trying to have him killed. And others are warning him, don't go to Jerusalem, your life's going to be in danger there. You know what awaits you. And Paul says, I have to do what the Lord is leading me to do, and I have to trust the rest into God's hand. And somehow the word received by Paul that difficulties and trials awaited him and imprisonments awaited him in Jerusalem. Maybe God raised up prophets and teachers in the churches and they would speak to Paul.

Or maybe it was just the inner knowledge of the Holy Spirit giving him this insight. But either way, it is a minister's responsibility to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit. And just so you'll know, I don't expect a perfect church when I get to Blairsville, Georgia. And thank the Lord they don't expect a perfect pastor. I told them up front, don't expect me to be a perfect pastor if you called me here.

But here's what I do know. While I'm not going up there looking for imprisonments or beatings, I don't remember the pastor search committee telling me anything about that. I also don't think it'll be easy. It won't always be perfect. Things will not always go the way I planned. But here's what I do know. I am following the Lord's will as best I can discern it. And I have peace. I have peace about that. And not only do I have peace about it in my life and my ministry, I have peace about what God's doing at Fort Caroline Baptist Church when I leave the Holy Spirit of God continues to lead Fort Caroline Baptist Church.

I loved how President Lincoln put it. He talks about trusting in him who can go with me and remain with you and be everywhere for good. That's what God's able to do. So while I have to follow the Holy Spirit's leading, you have to follow the Holy Spirit's leading as well. So follow the Holy Spirit. That's part of your responsibility.

B. Finish Well

Finish well. That's another part of your responsibility. Finish well.

Paul says, I know I'm saying goodbye, but I want to finish well.

Acts 20:24–27 ESV

But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, I know that none of you among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God.

And finishing well means I've been true to God I've been true to the calling that he's placed on my life. I've been true to you. And I finished what God sent me here to do. God's going to keep working in you. But I can say I've done what God called me to do, finish well.

And I pray that that's what I've been able to do. You've allowed me to finish well. One of the reasons that it's been a little shock to some people that I'm leaving is first of all, I've been here so long, some of you thought he'd never leave. And I didn't want to leave. I thought, this is where I'm going to finish. I want to retire here.

Many years ago, I received a phone call. I had just become your pastor. And it was this, I won't call any names, it was this well known pastor of a mega church. And he was calling looking for our former pastor. He didn't know I had become the pastor. And so when he figured out who I was and how young I was and how inexperienced I was, he said, “Now, Ricky, let me give you some advice.” And I remember sitting in my office and I actually took out a legal pad and a pen and I started writing because I'm thinking, this man of God is going to give me some good advice to be a good pastor. And this is what he said. He said, “You need to have some well known pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention come and preach in your pulpit. You need to know them, they need to know you. You need to get more exposure. You also need to build a new church. You don't let millions of dollars of debt scare you off. You need to have a church that looks bigger than what you guys really are right now. Get in there and build a big old building. You need to get on as many boards and institutions as you can to get your name out there. You need to finish your seminary degree and then you can write your own ticket. You can go to any church you want to go to.”

And I cannot tell you how disappointed I was in that man's advice to me. He was saying to me, Ricky, use Fort Caroline Baptist Church as a stepping stone to a larger, more lucrative ministry. And I thought, how in the world have we gotten to this point? God, if you will let me stay here, I'll stay until the day I die. I want to be faithful to you, but if you ever want me to go, you lead me and where you lead, I will follow. But I refuse to use this church for my benefit. I want to pour my life out for this church and by the grace of God, I pray that I've done that.

That has always been as pastored Dr. Clyde Stokes preached on my ordination sermon. Ricky, do not use people to build your ministry. Use your ministry to build God's people.

C. Fortify the Church

And that leads me to the other responsibility that Paul mentions. Not only should you follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and finish well, but fortify the church on your way out.

Acts 20:28–31 ESV

Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears.

Fortify the church, verse 28. Pay careful attention to yourselves. He's talking to the elders.

Remember, you were no good in leading God's people if you don't first take care of yourself spiritually. Stay humble before the Lord. Stay close and clean. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock. That's the word flock. It's God's flock, his sheep, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for. Remember Elder, and overseer. Now care for, shepherds, pastor. That's my responsibility. That's the leadership's responsibility of this church. The pastors that you've ordained, Matt Sparling, Craig Marsh, Joe Otwell, ordained ministers of the Gospel. And it's their job to care for the church of God—-not Ricky, not the Southern Baptist Convention, but the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. It was Jesus, the Son of God, who hung on the cross, shed his blood to purchase our salvation. We are his, no one else's.

And one day we will stand before the Lord and give an account to him of how we have led his church. And I pray that we will fortify the church, build up the church, equip the church, protect the church and make sure that Christ is lifted up high.

And here's why Paul's concerned. He says in verse 29, I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore, be alert. Remember that for three years I did not cease night and day or or night or day to admonish everyone with tears.

Paul says the reason you need to fortify the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is because it's the flock of Christ bought by his blood. But also there are enemies that want to come in and infiltrate the church with false teaching to take the church off the Gospel of Jesus. There are men who were in it for themselves and they'll want to come in and they'll want to get people to follow them rather than follow Jesus.

And Paul was worried about that. And all you have to do is read both letters that Paul wrote to Timothy, who became the pastor of the church at Ephesus, and realize that what Paul said would happen did happen. And all you have to do is read the Book of Revelation, chapter two, where you hear Jesus speaking to the church at Ephesus saying, you have left your first love me, repent and do those first works again.

Paul was worried, and he was worried, rightly so, for false teaching in Fort Caroline Baptist Church. One of the things I'm going to commend you to do is to keep your eyes on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And whoever you call to lead this congregation, make sure they preach the unadulterated Gospel of Jesus Christ. Make sure they believe God's Word is holy, inspired, inerrant and infallible, and is the only authority for our beliefs and our behaviors. Make sure they stay true to the doctrinal statement of this church, The Baptist faith and Message. And God will protect his flock as you do that.

D. Focus the Church on God

And then finally, as we close, the responsibility of the pastor is also to focus the church on God.

Acts 20:32–35 ESV

And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

Verse 32, Paul writes, and now I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Paul says, I commend you to God and God's Word. I commend you to God. Bible, I commend you to the God of the Word and the Word of God.

Notice Paul didn't say, I commend you to the next pastor. God will take care of that. Paul says, I commend you to God and to His Word. Because when you've got God in His Word, everything else will take care of itself. Keep your eyes on God. Keep your heart and eyes in the Word of God, and he will take you from there.

Verse 33. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me in all things. I have shown you that by working hard in this way, we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He himself said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Paul is saying, when I was with you, I didn't even take a salary.

Now I can't say that. In fact, I want to thank you for the salary that you provided me so that I could focus 100% of my time on you and also to care for my family. But Paul was a tent maker by trade. And before you say no pastor ought to be paid, Paul is the same one who says it is a pastor's right to be paid. He said, “I just forgo that right. Because there are people who are weak in the faith who think I'm in it for the money. I'm going to show them I'm not. And I'm going to reach people I would never reach otherwise. So I'll work making tents, I'll work with my hands, and then I'll do what I do in the church so that I can take that at least that accusation away from them.” Paul is the same one who said that a laborer in the Word is worthy of his wages. Jesus said, one who labors is worthy to be paid. Nothing wrong with paying ministers. But Paul is saying, listen to what people said, that I was only in it for the money. He said, it's just not true, and you know that. But he focuses the church on God.

Verse 36. When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was much weeping on the part of all. They embraced Paul and kissed him, being sorrowful most of all because of the word he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they accompanied him to the ship.

I pray that God will allow us to see each other again this side of heaven. But if he doesn't, I've been wrestling. How do I close my last sermon as your pastor? And I can't think of a better way today than to close this sermon with the same commendation of the Apostle Paul to the Ephesian elders.

Acts 20:32 ESV

And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Prayer

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, in the stillness of this moment, I thank you for this opportunity to say thank you to you for the privilege of being the under shepherd of this great flock, to say thank you to these dear people who have trusted me these many years, who have become my family and my friends. And Father, I thank you for the privilege of pointing them to you. Because every good thing that's ever happened, the time I've been here, is not because of me. It's all because of your grace.

Salvations, baptisms, baby dedications, weddings, funerals, blessings of homes, hospital visits, nursing home visits, counseling appointments, vacation, Bible school, mission trips, millions of dollars given to missions, hundreds of people's lives changed, thousands every week changed through the ministries of this church like Celebrate Recovery or Faithful and True.,the Academy, Grief Share, Angel Arms School, partnerships with our public schools, standing for the sanctity of life in helping women in those difficult times of not knowing what to do in a pregnancy that is difficult, helping feed the hungry, care for widows, take care of the homeless, serve veterans…

God, we think about all of those things that we have to say to God be the glory, great things YOU have done! It's not me, it's not us. It is you, but we are humbled that you have used us.

So thank you for allowing me to say thank you to this congregation. Thank you for allowing me to say thank you to this staff that I've had the honor of serving with the finest team I could ever imagine. Thank you for Matt Sparling and for Craig and for Joe and for Christy and for Kelsey and for Kirsten and for Lori Gray and for Greg Herrin, and Lord, I'm going to miss names if I start naming names, but you know who they all are. Thank you for them. Bless them, God, as they lead this church forward.

Father, I thank you for a wife who has stood by me and who's been a blessing to this church and who says, wherever the Lord leads, let's just follow him. So thank you for her, thank you for my kids, thank you for a church that allowed me to raise my family with such love and an extended family. Thank you for them. Thank you for this church, God. My gratitude is inadequate to express.

But most of all, thank you for Jesus, our Lord and our Savior. And it's my prayer that if there's anyone in this room who's never received him as their Lord and Savior, this would be the moment they would turn from their sin and repent and place their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, their only hope of forgiveness and eternal life. And God we will praise you for what you do in their lives as you save them, bring them into the family of God and become part of a church that loves you.

Help this church, Father, in the days ahead, to be one church, passionately united and focused on reaching the spiritually lost in this community through the gospel of Jesus Christ.’ It is in His name we pray. Amen.