Introduction

                Aunt Betty, by now I hope that you have gotten the idea that whether we have roasted you or toasted you, we love you and appreciate you. What words will wrap up what we are doing here with a focus on God? As I thought about this, I looked into scripture and found a number of verses that said what I think is appropriate to say at a time like this. I want to read five verses and talk about them briefly.

Ephesians 1:15,16 – “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints,  16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you…”

Philemon 4,5,7 – “I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers,  5 because I hear about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints… Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the saints.”

I Thessalonians 1:2,3 – “We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers.  3 We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.”

II Thessalonians 1:3 - “We ought always to thank God for you, brothers, and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing.”

Colossians 1:3-5 – “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,  4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints—  5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel  6 that has come to you.”

Each of these passages is a part of a greeting which Paul wrote. Four of them written to a church and one to an individual. The pattern is the same in each one and the message is one that fits this occasion.

I. Paul’s Pattern

                Let us take note of what Paul does here. Remember, in each of these verses he is greeting the people from these various settings. The first thing that strikes me is that he is thankful for them. In saying this, he honors them. He is saying to them that he is glad he knows them. He honors them as special in his life. In some cases, he specifically says that they have helped him by being an encouragement to him.

                The reason for his thankfulness is similar in each case. He says that he is thankful for their faith. Now if we translate this word as “faith,” then it says that he is thankful that they have placed their trust in Jesus Christ who has forgiven them and given them eternal life. If we translate it as faithfulness, which is possible, then he is thankful that the work God has done in their hearts by saving them has resulted in their obedience to God. He also mentions that they are acting like Christians should act in that they are demonstrating love. When Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment, he answered that it was to love God and to love your neighbor. That is what these people were doing. They were obeying the greatest commandment. They had faith in God and were faithful to Him. They demonstrated their faithfulness in showing love to others. In several of the passages we have the third element of the great triad included and that is hope. Paul was thankful because they were filled with hope in God because of the promises He had made and were  living in that hope. So Paul is thankful because of the faith, hope and love that is evident in their lives.

                But we also need to take note that he does not thank them. He is thankful for them, but his thanksgiving is directed at God. In each case he says, “ I thank God for you.” What he is saying by this is that although he honors them by being thankful for them, the glory goes to God. It is God who has given them the gospel. It is the Spirit of God who is guiding them in faithfulness. It is God who has put love in their hearts and it is God who fills them with hope. When Paul sees these things, he knows that Christ is being formed in these people. This is indeed something to be thankful for. Most if not all of these people had been pagans who were far away from God and now they were God’s people and living like God’s people. Paul thanks God for them because he sees in their lives the evidence of what God has done in them. God had done this and Paul is excited about and thankful for the gracious work of God in their lives.

II. We Thank God For You Aunt Betty

                I think these statements which Paul makes are appropriate here today.

A. We Are Thankful

                Aunt Betty, we are thankful for you. You have heard our words of appreciation by which we are acknowledging that you have been a blessing to so many of us. We want to honor you by saying that we are thankful for you and the way you have been an encouragement to us.

B. Your Faith And Love

                I also think it would be right to say, as Paul did, that we are thankful because we have seen the evidence of God’s work in your life.

Your confidence is in God alone. You know that it is through Him that you have salvation. You have demonstrated not only faith in God, but faithfulness to God. You desire to obey Him and to follow Him. The evidence of this has been shared in what we have said. Your involvement in church whether it was teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, leading the choir, leading the Super Senior’s or serving at “Sing and Serve” are all an evidence of your faith in God and faithfulness to Him.

You have also demonstrated the same kind of love for the saints which Paul talks about here. You are generous, having given of your time and finances to help others. The love of God is evident in your life in the way you serve and also the gracious way you host people.

Your life is also characterized by hope. You do these things because you know that life on this earth is not all there is. You have an eternal hope and your life is in some measure guided by the idea of storing up treasure for yourself in heaven.

C. Thanks To God

                Although it is right for us to express our love to you, I think you would agree that the glory and the honor go to God. Therefore, it is right for us to do as Paul did and thank God for you.

                And we do thank God for you. We see in you a person who has followed God and in whom God has done his work by His Spirit. God has helped you grow in your faith so that the evidence of faith is clearly in you. God has grown love in you so that the evidence of love is active in your life. By Jesus’ work on the cross and by His resurrection, you have been given an eternal hope by God which is a hope that fuels your life. For this work of God in you and the evidence of His work we give thanks to God. He is a gracious God and a powerful God. He is the God who makes all things new. The evidence of God’s work in you and the way in which we have benefited by God’s work in you is cause for us to give thanks to God for you.

                I also believe that it would be your desire to give thanks to God on this your 80th birthday. The year you were born was a year when many people died of disease. Your life began just after the Russian revolution and so when you were born you began in difficult circumstances. I don’t know how much you remember of your time in Russia and your trek out of Russia, but as we now observe others who through revolution have become displaced, I am sure it is in your heart to give thanks to God for what he has done in leading you through life. God brought you to Canada. You were blessed with a family that loves you, many good friends, good health and so much more. For all of these blessings and many more, we join you in saying thanks to God.

Conclusion

                And so the conclusion is a note of thanks to God. We say thanks to God for you and we join you in saying thanks to God for what He has done for you.