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“Rejoice
in the Lord Always”
a sermon by
Thomas L. Jenkins
Text: Philippians 4:1-9
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your
gentleness be known to everyone.
Dear Sisters and Brothers, the Apostle Paul is probably in jail, in
Rome, as he writes this letter to the church in Philippi; which was one
of the first churches he opened. I
love that our church, right here in Kaufman, was founded in 1854, by the
first ordained protestant minister in Texas.
Paul is writing to this church, telling them that he loves them and
misses them. He reminded
them of two ladies that were his partners in the church’s original
ministry. Apparently, these two ladies must have had such wonderful
leadership gifts that Paul wanted to make sure they were getting along.
Then he encourages them to help theses ladies to be united in how
they feel, think, and serve the church.
And whenever any of us are wanting and trying to serve God by
uniting each other, we should pray for God’s love to lead our
feelings, thoughts, and actions. A
very good sign that we are involved in God’s loving ministry is our
gentleness. When it all
comes together there will be a peace, given by God which is so
miraculous that even our most brilliant human minds cannot completely
understand the victory of peace in these personal conflicts.
There is a small Presbyterian church, about our size, in a small
southern town, half the size of Kaufman.
In the late 1960’s, when our nation’s Public Education
decided to allow all kinds of races [especially Africans and Caucasians]
to attend the same schools, many churches in this town were breaking
down. This was because half
the members supported this racial education move, and the other half
were seriously against it.
The Presbyterian Church, in this town, called a congregational meeting,
and voted 100% to not allow this public educational change to break them
down, like many of the other churches in their town.
What really interests me is that to this very Sunday in 2008,
looking at the congregation from the front of the church, on the right
side are the members who supported the public educational togetherness. On the left side of the congregation are the members who
supported, and helped the opening of a local private school.
Only Caucasians attend that school.
All the members do love and care for each other.
It is a very peaceful church.
I may not be smart enough to fully understand it. So to me, it is a peace from God which surpasses all my total
abilities to understand it.
One of our favorite passages in the Bible about love is found in the
first letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or
arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable
or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the
truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and
endures all things. Love never ends. [1
Corinthians 13: 4-8]
These Biblical words about love are so beautiful that they are often
read at weddings. Never the
less, the reasons Paul wrote them are very important factors, helping
our faith which is searching for more understanding.
Sure, God may bring us into peace, at certain times, which are
beyond are ability to fully understand.
But, certainly hearing that truth, it is not meant to stop us
from living in Christ’s faith, using it to learn more of what it means
that we are Christians.
Paul wrote these words about love, to another Gentile
church that he helped come together.
He had heard that this church had a lot of conflicts, and that it
could be very close to braking apart.
There were different men in the church who wanted to be in charge
because of the other men who had brought them into Christianity.
Some church people were using the Lord’s Supper as a party
where they could drink more wine than they should.
Also, they would not invite the poor people, whom they did not
like.
The church had these social conflicts we just heard of. Plus to these
conflicts, there were some sinful personal relationships that should not
be admired publically, as this church was doing.
It was because of all these conflicts, and a way to help correct them,
that in Paul’s wisdom, he taught them about
real love: “Love is patient …
[it] rejoices in the truth … Love never ends.”
Rejoice in the Lord always. He
is near us. In fact, he is
closer to us, than we are to ourselves.
We all experience real sufferings.
They really hurt. Because
we are Christians though, God is continuously finding times and ways to
download the very faith of Jesus Christ into us, where true and real
faith belong. This graceful
gift from God is totally united with God’s peace that is fully above
all our understandings.
When I was at Reformed Theological Seminary, studying to become a
minister, there was a professor of preaching there who was wonderful. He had preached close to 25 years in a big Presbyterian
Church, located in one of our nation’s largest cities.
When I was at seminary, so was this professor’s son-in-law and
daughter. Very soon before
our graduation, this Son-in-law had already received his calling to be a
minister for a nearby church. He
and his wife were both in their early 30’s.
About a week after our graduation, they were beginning moving to
their new house. The
professor’s daughter was so damaged in a car wreck that she died in
the local hospital, about a week later.
During the evening, at the very time in which she died, she had family
members, friends, nurses, and a doctor in her room.
They were all overcome with a feeling of peace they had never
experienced or imagined.
It is certainly impossible to rejoice in Christ because of the pain and
sufferings we might have. However,
there will be times, especially during our suffering, when we really can
happily rejoice in the truth that our salvation is already completed in
Christ.
Let us pray …
Amen.
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