THANKSGIVING MESSAGE

Welcome & Announcements - Pastor Terry

Greetings to everyone in the name of Jesus Christ! We invite you right now to join us for a short time to worship our God and give thanks to Him.

Thank you for staying with us for this Thanksgiving Service and our prayer is that it will be uplifting and encouraging to you. I know that many if not all of us are struggling to some extent because of all that is going on around us.

So, we are going to take our eyes off of all that stuff and focus on God’s love and message to us for this time!

Let us pray! Lord Jesus, we thank you for your love toward us right now . . . and we choose right now to focus on you and what you have done for us, what you are doing in us, and what you are going to do in the future! We glorify your name Jesus! In Jesus Name we ask! Amen!

Pastor Wes, would you come and open our service with a scripture reading?

Call to Worship - Scripture Reading (OT) - Pastor Wes

Psalm 116 NIV84

I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy. Because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live. The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow. Then I called on the name of the Lord: “O Lord, save me!” The Lord is gracious and righteous; our God is full of compassion. The Lord protects the simplehearted; when I was in great need, he saved me. Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you. For you, O Lord, have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before the Lord in the land of the living. I believed; therefore I said, “I am greatly afflicted.” And in my dismay I said, “All men are liars.” How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me? I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. O Lord, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains. I will sacrifice a thank offering to you and call on the name of the Lord. I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people, in the courts of the house of the Lord— in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the Lord.

Prayer for the Community - Pastor Wes

Pastor Wes - introduce Jake as he leads us in worship.

Scripture Reading - (OT) - Pastor Jake

Psalm 100 NIV84

A psalm. For giving thanks. Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth. Worship the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the Lord is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Praise & Worship

My Redeemer Lives

Thank You Lord

Give Thanks

Message - Pastor Terry

Read Text: Philippians 1:3-11

Philippians 1:3–11 NIV84

I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus. 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 until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Thanks & Prayer

As we begin to take a look at this passage we must remember that Paul is not writing from a comfortable position like our current living conditions . . . maybe you are listening to me right now from the comfort of your own living room . . . sitting on a nice cozy couch or a nice recliner . . . but he was writing while he was in prison . . . cold dirt floors . . . cold walls . . . no toilet facilities . . . you get the picture . . . the prisons of his day did not have the comfort of our prisons today. But . . . his mind is not focused on his current condition physically, but upon the many people that he had connected with in his travels sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. He has the church . . . the Body of Christ on his heart and mind!

He states that he is thankful for each one as he remembers them and prays for them . . . always praying with a spirit of joy. This joy was not based on the current conditions surrounding them, but it was focused on the partnership that they had formed in real life situations relating to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And now he builds upon this . . . our partnership!

We are in a Partnership because of the Gospel

Partnership? The word partnership (which comes from the Greek word Koinonia) is referring to the association, the connection they have which involves close mutual relations and involvement with one another . . . a fellowship! A COMMUNITY of believers!

What is this gospel partnership?

You see, it’s not just any partnership . . . but a very specific partnership that he is talking about . . . with a very specific purpose.

Exactly what is a “partnership in the gospel?” It is a partnership based upon common truths and relationships. The baseline for this is the gospel message which we find simply in the story of Jesus Christ.

Simply put that we are sinners who need a Savior to save us and deliver us from our sin. That Savior is Jesus Christ, who has come to us from God our Father. God sent Jesus to us! He was sent to save us from our sin by paying the price for our sin and setting us free. He paid that price by dying on the cross and shedding His blood. Without that price being paid by Jesus for us we are left to pay it ourselves through eternal death separated from God.

When we believe on Jesus in faith we are made to be in partnership with one another . . . we are then part of the Body of Christ. Not only are we in partnership in that way; but when we believe on Jesus Christ and are saved from our sin . . . we also are filled in our inner being by the Spirit of God. The same Spirit (the Spirit of God) fills every believer. Because of this, we are also partners because of the relationship we have with the Spirit of God living in us.

Because of this . . . we are all part of the Body of Christ . . . brought together in unity because of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God living in us.

He who began will carry it through

Paul then shifts gears a bit here from our relationship to a message of confidence and hope that God gives us.

He began

You see, at the point of us coming into relationship with God, Jesus Christ, and one another . . . God is beginning a work in us! This work is to make us into the image of Jesus Christ His son; but it is also to bring all of us as the Body of Christ into Unity with one another.

Paul expresses great confidence in this work (THIS GOOD WORK) that God is beginning in each of us!

The Confidence of Him carrying us

This confidence is not a WISH! This confidence in not a pipe dream of any sorts! Literally it is to the degree that Paul was basing his life on it. It was a confidence that was fully trusting, fully dependent upon what God had said he would do . . . it was based upon promises made!

God had said He would complete this work.

Paul then shares some feelings that he has about those he is writing too! He talks about his heart of love for them . . . again, remember, he is prison . . . in chains because of his stand for the gospel . . . but he is rejoicing in God’s grace and expressing his affection for those in Christ.

His prayer is this . . .

our love may abound

that our love would abound more and more . . . that our love for one another would grow and expand. Not only for those already having faith in Jesus . . . but for those that had not responded in faith yet . . . you see God’s heart is always burning for those he came to save.

in knowledge & insight

Our love would abound and grow . . . but not just as an emotion . . . NO! It would grow and abound because of our increased knowledge and understanding of who God is and what He has done for us . . . and for what He is doing for us.

Even in the midst of bad conditions that seem to worsen every day . . . GOD IS AT WORK for the good of those that believe and have faith in Christ.

in discernment

Not only would our love abound and grow and be affected by our knowledge and insight of God and his work . . . but God would also give us discernment for our lives on a day by day basis. Discernment for what? . . .

what is best

Discernment for what is best in our lives . . . that which would honor and glorify God as we live out each day. God cares very much for what is best for us . . . even when we don’t know what is best. Isn’t this so real and applicable in the days we live in. There is so much confusion, so much anger, so much bitterness, and so much division over some of the most trivial things sometimes. Relationships, marriages, and families are being effected by all of this!

God comes to bring clarity to things when we spend time in His Word. He comes to bring peace and not confusion in our our hearts and minds . . . those things that are best!

what is pure and blameless

Not only does He come to bring what is best . . . but those things that are pure and blameless.

What does He mean here?

Pure, meaning sincere, having pure motivation without hidden motives.

The scriptures talk about the motives of our hearts being so important. Today, many seek out what is real and genuine . . . that which is not fake, not a front, not a mask (no pun intended) . . . but pure and honest.

Blameless, meaning to not cause offense or causing trouble.

You see, the gospel, the Word of God, when allowed to be a part of our lives by reading it, studying it, being a part of a church that preaches the Word of God truthfully . . . it does the work of effecting our minds, hearts, and lives . . . making us pure and blameless.

The result is being filled with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ.

filled with the fruit of righteousness through Jesus Christ

What is that fruit. Simply, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

These are thing we can’t produce ourselves! Only God can bring about these things in us.

He will complete

The promise is that He (God) will complete these things in us. In other words . . . God is going to help us! He is going to carry us through! He will not leave us alone! He will always be there! We are to call on Him . . . through prayer . . . through His Word . . . through His promises! He is not a liar! He is always truth! He is not one who says He will do something and then not do it! He will complete it! He is with us to the end!

in death

either until we leave this earth in our physical death and go to be with Him!

in resurrection (rapture)

or until we leave this earth in the rapture, the catching away of the church.

Either way, God will be with us and complete the work that He has began in us!

We can take great comfort in this with Thanksgiving and in Hope! Jesus does not leave us to despair because of what is going on around us! NO! He calls us to look to heaven . . . to look to Jesus . . . the author and finisher of our faith . . . the alpha and the omega (the beginning and the end)!

There are so many things to be thankful for in our lives; and there is so much to look forward to in great hope because God has a plan that He is carrying out in our midst! May we continue to grow and abound in love towards others through the knowledge and insight that God gives us; that we are continually being made pure and blameless in His sight, and filled with His righteousness through Jesus Christ!

Closing Song (TBD)

Closing Prayer - Pastor Terry

Lord Jesus, I thank you for this opportunity to worship you . . . this time in our lives which has brought a plethora of things that have challenged us in many ways . . . but we choose every day to keep our eyes on Jesus and to live our lives in a way that is devoted to you and others in relationship as the Body of Christ!

We pray that today, these things that Paul reminds us of will be a vital part of our lives as we partner in the Gospel of Jesus Christ . . . and as we live out our lives as Salt on this earth, and as Light to our World!

Bless your people today, draw people to your son Jesus Christ! Now, may your face shine upon us and bring us peace, and may you guide us in your righteous paths of truth in this day we live in.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, I ASK . . . AMEN!