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Joy for the World

2/21/2024

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By Rev. Daniel J. Commerford, Senior Pastor
Let's pray.


Loving God. We thank you for your son Jesus Christ. We thank you that in him we have this joy that we can embrace and rely upon—a joy that we can share with others. We thank you that you have revealed him to us as your Word, and that even today we can gather and hear your Word read and proclaimed. We know that your Spirit continues to transform us, so we pray for that today through the gospel that is read, through the message that is preached, through the music that is sung, and the prayers that are prayed. May you take all of that and use it to help us grow closer to you, so that we can share your joy with others. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.


We have two passages for today. The first comes from Psalm 96:1-6. As I read this, listen for God's speaking to you:


"Oh, sing to the Lord a new song! Sing to the Lord, all the Earth. Sing to the Lord, bless his name. Tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples. For great is the Lord and greatly to be praised; he is to be revered above all gods. For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary."


Our New Testament passage comes from the book of Philippians 4:15-23. Again, listen for God speaking to you:


"You Philippians indeed know that in the early days of the Gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving except you alone. For even then, when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me help for my needs more than once. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that accumulates to your account. I have been paid in full and have more than enough. I am fully satisfied now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts that you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will fully satisfy every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. To God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen. Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The friends who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of the Emperor's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit."


Family, this is the word of the Lord.


This morning's sermon is the second message that I have delivered this week. On Friday, I was very honored to give the eulogy at my grandfather's funeral. I know I've been talking about it a lot, but one of the reasons I talk about it so much is that my grandfather, you didn't know him, but he was this giant in life physically; he played football for Texas Tech. He grew to be a giant in the way he lived his life—owned his own business, very successful in taking care of people, a leader in his church. But I got to see another side of him, and I wanted to let people know about this other side. As big as he was in public, he was just as kind, tender, and generous in person. Always generous with his time with us, always made time for us, even though he was busy. He was generous with his heart. As big and tough as he was, he was also very vulnerable. Later in life, I learned how generous he was with his finances. He gave a lot of his blessings away to help those less fortunate than him. I wanted everyone to know about my grandfather and how, from what I saw, his faith in Christ led him to have this capacity to be so big and bold in his pursuits, but also big and bold in his generosity with others.


Then something really amazing happened after the service and at the reception. I heard from so many facets of his life that I didn't really know about. I heard from people with whom he worked, people whom he helped when they were younger, before I was born. Every single person who got up and spoke said the same thing—that he was so generous to them, kind, and left a lasting impact. People traveled from all across the country to attend this service and say these words that, decades later, my grandfather's generosity impacted them in a way that still continues with them today. Forgive me; I'm still processing all this a little bit, but I couldn't help but think about that as I wrote my sermon yesterday.


As we talk about the end of the book of Philippians, Paul is writing his parting words to the Philippian church. We have been following this journey as Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians. There's something I love about Paul's letters. In all of his letters, he's responding to a specific circumstance happening at that time. Often, he's responding to crises in the church, crises in either the congregations he has helped guide or crises in the church as a whole, trying to figure out who Jesus was. They didn't have a Bible to guide them, so a lot of what we believe comes from Paul's writings. He writes beautifully about who Jesus was on Earth, what he did, and how his death and resurrection impact us. That's helped shape who we are as a church.


At the end of every letter, Paul always pivots to what was most important to him—relationships. What do we do with the faith and the gift of Jesus Christ that God has given us? Paul could have used that time to solidify his arguments, do a recap, solidify his authority, give guidance and leadership to the church. But in every letter, he always switches at the very end to the relationships in those churches. We see this at the end of Philippians. He's written so much about joy, how to attain and hold on to joy. He makes this pivot at the end of Chapter 4. He thanks the church for their lasting impact of generosity.


As Mary said in the children's sermon. Paul thanks the church in Philippi for all the ways their generosity impacted him and continues to have a lasting impact.


“Thank you for giving me a place to stay when I'm visiting. Thank you for providing funds because I can't do this and pay for my own living on my own. Thank you for everything you've provided. It continues to make an impact on me today.”


He thanks them for their generosity, acknowledges how it continues to impact him, and encourages them to continue to be generous with others.


“Greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The friends who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you, especially those of the Emperor's household. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.”


He reminds them of the impact they make when they embrace the joy of Jesus Christ and reminds us that, at the end of everything, this gift of Jesus Christ is meant to be shared generously with others.


As much as joy is meant to be given to us, God calls us to be a joy for the world. When we embrace the abundant love of Jesus Christ and allow it to permeate every facet of our lives, we start to see the world differently. We see opportunities to be generous with our joy, treating others as children of God, loving them abundantly and fiercely. Boldly, we can be generous with our finances, not viewing them with scarcity but as an opportunity to share and make a difference.


As we conclude this series, Joy to the World, my hope is that we have reflected on the joy in our lives. A few weeks ago, we sang, "Joy to the world for the Lord has come." Even in this dark, cold season, we have the opportunity for joy. My prayer is that we can be a people who embrace, rely on, and trust in that joy. May we also be a people who share that joy, making a lasting impact in our relationships and our world.


To God be all glory and honor and praise. Amen.

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