Rejoice in the Lord

Our real joy is not in our success or circumstances, but in Christ himself. That's why a Christian can have joy in the midst of hardship or suffering. it may be that in that in the hardship or trouble, and certainly in chosen sacrificial service that you choose for the good of others, you are actually drawn nearer to and know more deeply the heart of Christ.

Thinking about Joy caused me to do a word search. Here are the verses.

Matthew 2:10; 5:12; 28:8-9

Luke 1:28; 10:20; 15:6-10

John 16:22; 16:24

Acts 5:41; 8:39; 16:34

Romans 5:2; 12:12

2 Corinthians 7:5-16

Philippians 1:18; 2:2; 2:16-18; 2:28; 4:10

1 Timothy 2:19

Philemon 7

Hebrews 13:17

James 1:2-4 joy

1 Peter 1:3-8; 4:13

2 John 4

3 John 3-4

I categorized them under four headings: Joy in Christ, Joy in His salvation, Joy despite trouble , and Joy in experiencing relationship in Christ together. I was surprised by which category was the largest. I hope you enjoy the study to.

Have fun...or better...Joy!

Evans family Mission Commissioning Philippians 2:1-11

This morning we stepped into Philippians 2. It was more than a sermon: as a church we "lived out the Gospel," commissioning Rob and Laura Evans and their two kiddos, Hannah and Josiah, to serve in Mexico with WEC international. This is the kind of sermon illustration/application pastors only dream about. Rob and Laura are following Christ (2:5), leaving their home and loved ones for the salvation of others. What a blessing Rob and Laura are to our church!
May our Lord (2:11) bear much fruit through their sacrificial ministry!

Les Miserables and Philippians 1:21

Last Sunday I shared a scene from Victor Hugo's classic, Les Miserables.
Released from prison after 19 years (for stealing a loaf of bread) Jean Valjean is taken in by a bishop and given supper and lodging. Valjean steals his hosts silverware and slips away in the middle of the night only to be stopped by suspicious policemen, questioned and returned to the priests home to see if the silver they found him with was indeed stolen. Here is the dialogue from the musical, it reaches its pinnacle in the bishop's final lines.

[the police constables]

Tell his reverence your story
Let us see if he's impressed
You were lodging here last night
You were the honest Bishop's guest.
And then, out of Christian goodness
When he learned about your plight
You maintain he made a present of this silver.

[Bishop]

That is right.
But my friend you left so early
Surely something slipped your mind

[The bishop gives Valjean two silver candlesticks]

You forgot I gave these also
Would you leave the best behind?
So, Messieurs, you may release him
For this man has spoken true
I commend you for your duty
And God's blessing go with you

But remember this my brother
See in this some higher plan
You must use this precious silver
To become an honest man.
By the witness of the martyrs
By the passion and the blood
God has raised you out of darkness
I have bought your soul for God.

My Lord, by His passion and His blood, has raised me out of darkness and has bought my soul for God! What will I do with the riches of inheritance He has given me?

Living as Part of Something Bigger

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain, Philippians 1:21.
In life I will seek not own intersts, but the interst of others. Like Him I will lay down my rigths for the sake of His rigtheousness to be given to others in the Gospel. My life shall be, as Robin Marks sings so well, All for Jesus.