I Thank My God For You

Annual Meeting 1/15/2023

I Thank my God for You

Philippians 1:3-11

Good Morning and welcome to service. We are glad you are here.

This morning will be just a little bit different from the normal as we will have our annual meeting and give results from the voting that took place this morning during the Sunday school hour before Church. I do plan to have a message this morning but will pause one week from our series “When the enemy attacks” and pick it up again next week.

I am happy to being my annual report to the great people of Rosedale.

Sometimes people get the wrong impression of an annual report.

They think it is strictly about what went well and what didn’t.

What to change and what not to change.

Nickels and noses- how much money was brought in and how much is needed to pay bills.

How many people came through the doors and how many went out of the doors.

These are factors but not the only things.

If that was true for the church it would have to be true for its members and attendees…right?

If the Lord had to give you a grade for this past year about staying connected, being in the house of the Lord, helping and using your resources and talents…what would your grade be? Would you need to improve? What would He have to say?

This report is going to be about praying and staying connected to the Lord in these challenging times where there are many things that can disconnect you from Him.

I want us to be praying for a breakthrough in our lives, in the churches life, in our community.

I want us to be a church that is not looking at our circumstances but at our Lord.

Praying is not always about the answer, it is about hearing and responding to the Lord we are praying too so we can walk as He would want us to walk.

If you would turn to Philippians chapter 1:3-11- it will be our text with a sermon title “I thank God for you” it is the words of the Apostle Paul and my words to you as we journey together to do what we believe God is showing us to do for the kingdom of God.

As many of you know I was at a prayer retreat this past week with about 70 of my colleagues. It was a refreshing time and while I had about ¾ of my sermon ready before I left I found myself tearing it up and starting over when I got back. The Lord seemed to shift my attention and my urgency and gave me a fresh word from Him from our time together.

I had planned to have a New Year message casting vision and casting ourselves at the Lord’s feet of what he would have us do in our lives and the life of the church.

Most of us at the end of a year cannot wait to cast the old year aside with fresh hopes of a New Year being better than the last one.

We want all bad things gone, corrected, and all the good things to continue and be blessed. –

We say to God that we will make all the decisions involved in the process.

We say to God take this out of my life, fix and repair, do a great works in this life, change this person, maybe it is a child or a spouse.

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE INSTEAD SAID TO THE LORD- WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO IN MY LIFE, WHAT EVER YOU WANT TO CHANGE IN MY LIFE, I AM WILLING AND WANTING THAT TO HAPPEN. THEN WHAT WOULD OUR NEW YEAR LOOK LIKE?

I WANT TO CHALLENGE YOU THIS YEAR 2023- ASK God what he wants for your life and in your life!

Let’s see what apostle Paul is saying to the church and what maybe the Lord is saying to us this morning-

Philippians Chapter 1:3-11 Read from Bible clearly and slowly

Paul’s prayer was to the church and to the believers that he came in contact with him on a daily basis.

He said that he was praying for them and thankful for their partnership in everyday life of living and sharing the gospel of Jesus.

That from the first time they met, he was sure that the Lord would accomplish all that was needed until the completion of Jesus Christ.

HE WAS CONFIDENT THAT WHAT GOD HAD STARTED, HE WAS ABLE TO FINISH.

HE WAS CONFIDENT IN THE LORD AND WHAT THE LORD WAS GOING TO DO IN THEIR LIVES.

HE SAYS THAT IT IS RIGHT TO FEEL THIS WAY BECAUSE WHETHER HE WAS CHAINED TO A GUARD WHICH HE WAS AT THE TIME OR FREELY PREACHING GOD’S WORD THAT THEY WOULD ALL SHARE IN GOD’S GRACE AND MERCY.