Celebrating 75 Years of Ministry - January 13

What a great day. And what a great reason to celebrate celebrating God's goodness first and foremost and how he has worked two people for 75 years. I have to admit to you that well a few years ago 75 years to make an unfathomable number at my age now. It's when it's reachable, but it's still an amazing and amazing things. I can let me just ask this. Is there anybody here who was part of Emmanuel 75 years ago to start either as a charter member or even as a child in your family was here. Would you stand up if you can't I know there's one person here who was a charter member I think

Any behind me, of course? Okay. Did you stay standing for a minute? If you want now if your family if you have family that was here at the beginning your your parents or your grandparents, would you please stand? I know I know there was going to be a bunch more here and there's a bunch that are all the places that have faced and I just want to say on behalf of all of the rest of us and the thousands of people at Emmanuel has touch over the years. Thank you. Thank you to you and to your families for your ministry and for firing this whole thing up by God's grace. Thank you very much.

We we want today to to look back at what God has done and you know looking back isn't always. Well. It is always a Flawless thing to do as a parent. I know I do they stand as a child. I've had my parents do this where they talk about the past and either the past is so great that you can never match up to it or it's so hard that you will never have tasted hardship like they had right and sometimes it's a combination of the two it look looking back though. You may not be aware of this is in the Bible. It says this don't look for the good old days. That is not wise. I mean Isaiah chapter 43 it says forget the former things do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing. There's context to those words. We are words of wisdom, but they're not telling us that's never think about what's gone before it is good for us to do this. It's appropriate for us to do what we are doing today. And there's a couple of reasons for that one is simply gratitude just to express to God our gratitude to him. That's what this service is trying to focus on express our gratitude to God for what he has done in and through his people but the other reason why it's good to do this is to recognize that the past is a heritage. In Psalm 61 it says that God has given us the heritage of those who fear his name. Now the word heritage there actually means possession or inheritance and in the sense of what it's saying there is that the God has given us these amazing blessings that he pours out into the lives of those who are his but there's this connection you see some of that blessing some of that inheritance of that Heritage comes to us through God's people and as an inheritance, it is something that is not to be wasted wentland when somebody leaves an inheritance to the Next Generation they do so because they don't want to squander they wanted well spent So what is with the heritage of our history the past sets us up? It leads us It prepares us. It inspires are they calls us to do something now by definition it's past so we can't live there but we should not move forward without it because it is our DNA and it is our heritage our inheritance. I can say with confidence and with tremendous gratitude the nature. Of the inheritance of Emmanuel the nature of the heritage of Emmanuel is very special interesting as I had thought through what I was going to say and I heard Pastor Jim in the first service and then again in this service speak and he basically said what I want to say You're going to hear some of this again. That's okay because it reminds us how important it is. You know, I look back at the heritage of Emmanuel and what I see is what that Heritage that history includes Outreach and Mission is Pastor Jim talked about to the mission to the community mission to the world. I've said this before you hear it again, the people who started Emmanuel by God's grace and power they use these words that they started with a burden to bring the Gospel of Jesus to those who needed Part of our inheritance is Pastor. Jim also noted another part of our inheritance is the teaching the grounding in the word of God. That's why this Pulpit is here. It's Pulpit was the first Pulpit as I understand built for Emmanuel by the hands of people who are part of a manual a lot of preaching of God's word has happened. Behind this Pulpit Braxton after the first service. Somebody came up to me since I got a story to tell you. He said growing up in a manual. I was going up under the teaching of one of the pastors. It wasn't Pastor Jim. It was well before Pastor Jim's time and he said it was one Sunday where I was he was quite young and he was restless and noisy apparently and he said the Pastor actually threatened that he was going to take and bring me up and put me underneath the pulpit while he preached. Did I sitting under the word & way too literal away?

15 plus years ago at my installation here. I was privileged to have Pastor Jim speak. And he said to me in the hearing of all of you who were here. He said make sure to keep the main thing the main thing. Grounding in the word of God other part of our heritage. Another part of our inheritance is the whole concept of unity in the community. We have a very diverse group. Emanuel. That means that we're not always going to agree but a Unity isn't necessarily meaning that we all agree. It means we are going to go forward together in purpose because we are united in Christ. another part of that Heritage about inheritance is the whole thing of worship, you know when a manual first started Play very very quickly. By the church building much like this little replicas did it? That's right up front here. They got this church building within a within a month of deciding that they were going to form a church. They bought a building they renovated it and started immediately to use it because they knew they needed a place for worship. The big question for today then this is what do we do with this inheritance? If you've been given an inheritance by somebody a big inheritance and they said here's your heritage. Here's your inheritance. We we want you to make the world a better place to do something good with his what would you do with that inheritance? Would you ignore it? Would you bury it somewhere would you just put it in a box and store it would you put it behind a frame and put it up on the wall somewhere? I'm pretty sure you wouldn't you also wouldn't just use it to make it all about you. Friends to work here at Emmanuel was not built for us to stick in these pews. the launching pad The book of Hebrews it says since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses such an amazing Heritage of God people. Let us get rid of anything that'll floors doubt anything. That'll hold it back and let's get out there and run with perseverance the race that has an already marked out for us.

When a manual was first started in that very first year is people decided that they wanted to become members of this church. There was one question that was asked of them. And that question is this do you promise to help build up the Believers in our fellowship? And are you willing to be built top? Do you promise?

Do you promise to help build up the Believers in our fellowship? And are you willing to be built top?

Backhoe hasn't changed. I don't think the same question. We need to ask ourselves today. In fact, we've added a little bit of detail to it and we know really kind of reflect that in something that we call our church covenant. And in fact that the church covenant is something that we read a couple times a year as a membership at our membership meetings, but I'm actually going to ask you would you please stand with me right now and I'm pulling up the church covenant. It's on the slide behind me. I'm going to ask you if you are a part of a manual or if you can read this because of the church, you are a part of them, please join us and reading this commitment to God people into the church. Let's read this together having been brought by God's grace to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and to worship and serve him wholeheartedly as Lord. We now joyfully Covenant together to live for his glory to that end. We commit ourselves to care for one another and to promote the growth of the body of Christ in knowledge Holiness and obedience to his will we renew our pledge to be active in public worship and in the celebration of the ordinances the fellowship together to support the poor promote missions and Advance the ministry of the Gospel Among Us with the resources God provides. We will encourage family and private devotions and the training of our children that they might come to trust in Christ for eternal life. We will seek to encourage and admonish one another in meekness and humility. We will walk carefully in the world so that by our example, we may win souls for Christ and not cause other Christians to stumble. May God's grace strengthen us to serve him in love and faithfulness. Thank you. You may be seated.

It is now on us. It's on us to use this inheritance. For the purpose for which has been passed on to make followers of Jesus who are increasingly loving and living like ham and guiding other people to do the same being bound together in spreading the message of the Gospel caring for those in need collectively worshipping God and being grounded in the word learning and doing the mantle is now on us.

As we together celebrate what God has done. We are reminded that we can carry that mantle because it's God that's done all the heavy lifting and he will again the verse I read earlier from Isaiah when translated by the New Living Translation says it like this, but forget all that past forget all that. It's nothing compared to what I am going to do.

We want to do one better than Isaiah this morning. We don't want to forget we want to remember because by remembering were reminded of how great God is. But we also want to recognize that he intends to do more than he already has done. He's giving us the Heritage may we be found to be good stewards of that inheritance me the next 75 years be as effective or even more so than the last 75. That's the way we celebrate an anniversary in the church. We getting out there and working. So let's move forward with the same kind of baldness that this church was founded under the same focus on the Gospel of Jesus Christ with the same strength that comes from our unity in purpose. And in the spirit God will provide in us and through US everything that is needed for that to happen. Oh God, we are so grateful. You are blessed us beyond what we deserve. Beyond what we can ask or imagine.

You have allowed us to be a part of what you are doing and what you want to continue to do. Strengthen us to that in God that we may continue the good work that you have begun for your honor and Glory we pray. Amen.