Partners In The Gospel

Now y'all didn't miss a beat. Was that a new song for some of y'all?

It's a very old song. Y'all sounded like you knew it.

It's a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful picture of the work of Christ for His people.

Let's remain standing if you've taken a seat.

That was too early. Too early.

Because we're going to stand in honor of the reading of God's Word this morning.

We're starting a new book this morning.

It's always exciting for me to open up a new book of God's Word and begin into a new section of the Word of God.

We're in the book of Philippians this morning.

Our passage this morning is going to be Philippians 1, verses 1-11.

Philippians 1:1–11

We always encourage you to have a copy of God's Word open,

whether that's the scripture journal that I hope you have a copy of to take notes in,

or your own copy of God's Word.

Or if you don't have a copy of God's Word at all,

you can find that in the Bibles in the seat back in front of you.

It's going to be on page 921 in that Bible.

If you don't own a Bible, take that copy home with you.

It's our gift to you.

We want you to have a copy of God's Word.

It's going to be necessary as we go through this series in the book of Philippians.

Philippians 1, verses 1-11.

Philippians 1:1–11

Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi with the overseers and deacons,

grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

always in every prayer of mine for you all,

making my prayer with joy because of your partnership in the gospel

from the first day until now.

And I am sure of this,

that he who began a good work in you

will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

It is right for me to feel this way about you all

because I hold you in my heart.

For you are all partakers with me of grace,

both in my imprisonment

and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.

For God is my witness,

how I yearn for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more

with knowledge and all discernment,

so that you may approve what is excellent

and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ

to the glory and praise of God.

Father, we praise you again for your word.

We praise you for the good news of the gospel of Christ.

And we pray now as we open up the book of Philippians,

would you teach us,

would you lead us in awe and in worship

for all you are and what you've done in Christ.

We pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

Most of you know last week I traveled up to Wake Forest

for the annual Pillar Network conference.

Our church is part of the Pillar Network.

That's a group within the Southern Baptist Convention

that plants and strengthens and establishes churches all over the globe.

And I came away as usual from that time,

both very tired and very encouraged.

And one of the things that I always come away encouraged by when I go

is meaningful gospel partnership.

Meaningful gospel partnership.

Between like-minded churches,

churches that share the same convictions and beliefs,

churches that love the Lord and love each other,

and churches that want to see the gospel advanced,

not just in their own church and in their own community,

but want to see the gospel advanced all over the world.

And I'm always encouraged because it is a beautiful thing

to partner together for the advance of the gospel.

Well, this past conference,

I was surprised to see a pastor friend from Asheville

there at the conference.

As you know, Asheville was one of the areas

that was hit hardest by Hurricane Helene.

And my friend got up on stage.

They invited him up there and he shared two things.

For one, he shared the incredible level of need

that's there in the area.

His area has just been totally wrecked by Helene.

There are physical needs, of course,

water, food supplies, cold weather supplies,

these needs that we're collecting for,

these physical needs.

And there's spiritual needs as well.

And by the grace of God,

their church is well positioned to be a source of grace

for both spiritual and physical needs.

And these needs are going to continue for a long time.

All right, long after the news cycle

has moved on to the next thing,

these needs are going to continue.

But then he shared, second,

how thankful he was for the ways

that other churches like ours,

other churches within our network,

churches from Greenville,

churches from Charlotte,

churches from Mount Pleasant,

he rattled off six or seven other churches

that came together to help in his time of need.

And he praised God for the evident grace

that he saw through gospel partnership.

And as he spoke,

and as I reflected on what he said,

I thought, you know what,

that is exactly what we see happening

here in the book of Philippians.

The book of Philippians is a beautiful picture

of gospel partnership.

Paul, the apostle Paul,

has planted the church in Philippi.

He has since moved on to another location

to go continue the message of the gospel

spreading throughout the areas.

He's continued planting

and strengthening other churches.

And now he's found himself in prison

because of the ministry of the gospel.

He has a tendency to do that.

And in his time of need,

who comes to help him?

Who comes to encourage him?

Who comes to strengthen him?

But a member of the church at Philippi.

Epaphroditus.

And he comes not just with words of encouragement,

but Epaphroditus comes with a financial gift

from the church.

And he comes to say,

Paul, we believe in what you're doing.

We love you.

We love the Lord.

We love the gospel.

We love the mission.

And we want to be your partners in the gospel.

So in response to this gift,

Paul writes the letter to the book,

the letter of Philippians,

to all the saints in Christ Jesus

who are at Philippi

with the overseers and the deacons.

This passage is,

y'all get ready for this, okay?

This passage is Paul's prayer of praise

for gospel progress through partners.

Y'all follow that?

Y'all say it again, okay?

This is Paul's prayer of praise

for progress,

you could say,

through his Philippian partners.

And what it shows us here

is the beautiful picture

of what comes through gospel partnership.

And so what I want to do this morning

as we look to verses 1 through 11

is I want to ask the question,

what does gospel partnership produce?

What does gospel partnership produce?

And we'll see two answers

to that question this morning.

This will be our outline.

What does gospel partnership produce?

Gospel partnership produces,

first,

praise for God's grace.

See that in verses 3 through 8.

And second,

prayer for more.

See that in verses 9 through 11.

First, gospel partnership produces

praise for God's abundant grace.

Gospel partnership is evidence

of God's grace at work.

It's reason to give Him glory and praise.

And I think it's helpful here for us

as we begin the book of Philippians

to remember how the church in Philippi

even came to exist in the first place.

Let's zoom out here from our passage

and think about the origins

of the church at Philippi.

You read verse 1 here,

and it seems clear to me

that this is an organized gospel church.

They have a group of saints there

that Paul's writing to.

Those who have come to know the Lord

who have been baptized into membership

of the local church there in Philippi.

They've installed officers.

They have the two offices

of the New Testament church,

overseers,

that's another word for elders

or pastors,

and deacons.

This is a functioning,

organized gospel church.

But zoom out for a minute

from this book

and ask,

how in the world did we get here?

How in the world did we get here?

How did this happen?

Well, Acts chapter 16

Acts 16 · chapter mention

tells the story.

You can flip there if you like.

You don't have to.

But all of this

is a work of God's grace.

Paul,

as far as we can tell,

had no intention

of coming to Philippi,

but the Lord gave him

a vision in the night.

A man from Macedonia

was calling out to Paul,

urging him,

saying,

come over to Macedonia

and help us.

Come here,

help us.

And I love how Luke

puts it in Acts.

He says,

Paul concluded

that maybe God

was calling him

to preach the gospel

in Macedonia.

And so he went.

Immediately,

it says,

they sought to go

to Macedonia,

concluding that God

had called them

to preach the gospel

to them.

This is grace.

God has sovereignly

intervened

and providentially

guided the steps

of Paul

to come to the area

of Macedonia.

And when they come there,

they arrive at a city

called Philippi

in the rest of the chapter.

It tells the story

of how Paul goes

and preaches the gospel

and this hodgepodge group

of unlikely converts

come to faith in Christ.

First is Lydia,

the seller of purple goods.

She listens to Paul

teach and preach

and the passage says

that the Lord

opened up her ears

and she might hear

and perceive

what Paul was speaking about.

This is grace.

There's the girl

who's possessed

by a spirit

and she's delivered.

And then there's

the Philippian jailer

and his family

who come to faith

there in Philippi.

Slowly but surely

as seeds are planted

here and there

as the word of the gospel

is spread,

God builds the church

in Philippi.

So now,

now I imagine

Paul as he's sitting there

in a jail cell,

he has a lot of time

on his hands, right,

while he's there in prison

and he sees Epaphroditus

coming to him

with words of encouragement,

a member of the church

of Philippi

coming to him

with a financial gift

of support.

I imagine him thinking

back on all of this

and just marveling

at the grace of God.

Look what God

has done here.

Look what God

has done

with these people.

I had no idea

what God was about

to do in this place.

God has taken

strangers,

enemies of the gospel

of God,

enemies of Christ.

He's brought them

to faith in Jesus.

He's opened up

their ears

to hear the gospel.

He has established

a church.

They're growing,

they're maturing

and now they're

at the point

where they are

sending support

out to more gospel

mission,

more gospel ministry.

This is a work

of God's grace.

And so he says,

verse 3,

Philippians chapter 1,

Philippians 1 · chapter mention

I thank my God

in all my remembrance

of you,

always in every prayer

of mine for you,

making my prayer

with joy.

Why?

Because of your

partnership

in the gospel

from the first day

until now.

Gospel partnership

produces praise

for God's grace.

So let me ask

just a couple of

questions here

because I want to

make sure that we're

all on the same page.

We're talking about

gospel partnership.

I need to ask a couple

questions of you.

First,

what is the gospel?

And second,

why do we need

partners

in the gospel?

What is the gospel

and why do we need

partners?

Well,

what is the gospel?

You may have come

to church all your life

and never really understood

what the gospel is.

What is the gospel?

I'm so glad you asked.

The gospel

is the good news

of Jesus Christ.

If you're a visitor

with us this morning,

you should know

that our church,

our aim is to make

a really,

really big deal

about the gospel.

This isn't an

unusual sermon

where we're preaching

about the gospel

right now.

This is every single

week that we gather here.

We want to make

a big deal

about the gospel.

In fact,

our mission statement

as a church family,

do you all remember

what it is?

We exist

to magnify

the glory

of God

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

It's a message

of the glory

of God

that's seen

and experienced

and demonstrated

and manifested

most clearly

in the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

It's a message.

So what's the message?

What's the message?

The message is

that there is

a God

in heaven

who is

good

and holy

and just

who has created

all things

including me,

including you,

but it's the bad news

that you and I

both

and everybody else

have rebelled

against this holy God.

We have sinned

against Him.

We have earned

separation

from Him

left to ourselves.

His wrath

is against us

in our sin.

This is bad news.

Praise God.

The gospel

is a message

that God

is a God

of grace

and a God

of mercy

and He has

made a way

to be made right

with Him

through the blood

of His own Son,

Jesus Christ.

Christ Jesus

has come,

has lived

perfectly

in our place

where we've all

failed.

Christ Jesus

has died,

on the cross

bearing the wrath

of God

against our sin.

Christ Jesus

has risen

from the grave

defeating sin

and death,

defeating all

of our greatest enemies

so that

any sinner

who turns to Him

in faith

may have eternal life.

That's the gospel.

If you found

your way

into this place

this morning

and you've not

put your faith

in Christ,

this is all you need

to hear this morning.

Repent and believe

the gospel.

You too

will be saved.

This is

the message

and the ministry

of the church.

If you ever

have a friend

to ask you,

well what is

Sea Wee Bay

about?

What do y'all do?

What's your ministry

at this church?

You can respond

very simply,

we hold out

the gospel

to sinners.

We preach

Christ crucified.

We lift up

the name

of Jesus.

Why?

Because that's

how sinners

are saved

and that's

how the church

is built.

No gimmicks,

no fluff.

Our ministry

is the message

of the gospel.

Jesus Himself

defined the mission

of the church.

Matthew 28,

18-20.

What does He say?

All authority

in heaven

and on earth

has been given

to me.

Therefore,

go and make

disciples

of all nations,

baptizing them

in the name

of the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit,

teaching them

to obey all

that I've commanded

you and surely

I am with you

until the end

of the age.

So question

number two,

why in the world

do we need

partners

to do it?

Why do we need

partners to go

about this

great commission

task that Christ

has given the church?

Well,

the mission

of the church

is required

of each individual

church,

but it is never

dependent on

each individual

church alone

to do it.

The great commission

is required

of every individual

Christian.

We are all

required,

called to preach

the gospel,

but it is never

dependent entirely

on any one

individual Christian

to fulfill it.

In other words,

gospel progress

requires

gospel partners.

Christians ought

to link arms

with other

Christians

to evangelize

their neighbors,

their co-workers,

their family members,

and churches

ought to link arms

with other churches

to see more

gospel preaching

churches established.

This is how

the great commission

will be fulfilled.

world.

We should know

this better

than anybody,

Siwe Bay,

shouldn't we?

Siwe Bay Baptist

Church probably,

and I only say

probably because

God can do

what He wants,

right?

But Siwe Bay Baptist

Church probably

would not be here

right now

apart from

partners in the

gospel.

First Baptist

Church,

Mount Pleasant,

Oakhurst Baptist

Church in Charlotte,

Lakeside Baptist

Church in North

Myrtle Beach,

Grace Baptist

Church in Asheville,

Life Church in

Athens, Georgia,

McDonough Road

Baptist Church in

Georgia,

Life Park Church

down the road

along with

dozens of

other individuals,

some of whom

you have met,

many of whom

you have not met.

these people

have seen a

need for a

gospel witness

here in this

community,

and so they

have partnered

with us to

make it happen.

You know what

that is?

That is the

abundant grace

of God on

display.

It is

evidenced,

it is seen,

it is manifested

visibly,

made visible

through their

partnership,

and you know

what I do

when I think

about these

partners in

the gospel?

I marvel at

the grace of

God.

See,

one reason why

we are called

to partner

together and

to link arms

together is so

that we might

see God's

power and

His grace at

work in the

lives of our

brothers and

sisters in

Christ.

Paul sees

it.

He thanks

God, but he

doesn't stop

there.

Look with me

there.

Look what he

does in verse

six.

He not

only prays

and thanks

God for

them, he

also sends

back some

encouragement

to them.

He lets

them know

that in

their partnership

he sees

evidence of

God's grace

at work in

them.

Look what

he says.

I am

sure of

this,

certain of

it, that

he who

began a

good work

in you

will bring

it to

completion

at the

day of

Jesus Christ.

One of the

most beautiful

verses of

assurance and

confidence in

all the

scriptures.

It is right

for me to

feel this

way about

you all

because I

hold you

in my

heart.

Why?

For you

are all

partakers

with me

of grace,

both in

my imprisonment

and in the

defense and

confirmation of

the gospel.

You know,

Paul knew a

little bit

about grace,

didn't he?

He was a

Pharisee,

a persecutor

of the

church.

He hated

the name

of Jesus

Christ.

But what

happened?

How did we

get from

there to

here?

Grace.

Christ

himself,

the risen

Lord Jesus,

appears to

Paul,

revealed himself

to him.

He saved

him.

He gave

him a new

identity,

gave him a

new purpose

in life to

give it away

for the glory

of God.

to no

longer tear

down the

church,

but to

serve and

to build

the church,

to advance

the gospel.

And Paul

says,

that same

grace that

took me out

of my sin

and opened

up my eyes

that I might

see the worth

of Christ,

that same

grace that

has changed

me, I see

it at work

in you.

And what

God started

in you,

church, he

is going to

complete it

at the day

of Jesus

Christ.

You know,

we just

sang this

hymn.

I hope

you listened

to the

words,

complete in

thee.

Did you

notice this?

Yea,

justified,

O blessed

thought,

and sanctified

salvation

wrought,

thy blood

hath pardon

bought for

me,

and glorified

I too

shall be.

All three

pictures are

here in

this text.

Do you see

it?

For the

Philippians

and for

you,

this is

true.

The moment

the Philippians

heard the

gospel of

Jesus Christ

and believed,

they are

justified in

the sight of

God.

Declared

righteous.

God looks

at them and

he sees all

the perfection

of Christ.

They are

legally,

objectively,

truly righteous,

perfect in the

sight of God,

justified.

And yet we

all know this,

we're not

perfect.

God sees us

as perfect,

covered by the

blood of

Christ,

but truly,

experientially,

really,

in our day-to-day

lives,

are you

perfect?

I'm not.

We're not

perfect.

We are being

sanctified.

We are being

made like

Jesus.

We are seeing

the fruit of

our justification

played out

through

sanctification.

and Paul

says,

I see that

in you

through your

partnership.

I see that

in you

through your

generosity.

I see that

in you

through the

ways the

Lord is

shaping your

mind and

your heart

to be more

like Christ.

Your

sanctification

is proof

of your

justification

and it

gives me

confidence

in your

glorification

to come.

We are

declared

righteous.

We are

being made

righteous and

one day,

Paul says,

you will

truly,

finally,

be

righteous,

glorified,

complete

in thee.

Here's the

good news,

church.

God finishes

what he

starts.

God has

a no man

left behind

policy.

He is

not like

us where

he starts

a project

and it

doesn't get

done until

months down

the road.

He doesn't

leave any

projects

unfinished.

If God

has begun

a work

in you,

you can be

absolutely

certain

that at

the day

of Christ,

when the

Lord Jesus

returns,

he will

bring that

work to

his

completion.

Gospel

partnership

produces

praise for

God's

grace.

But not

only this,

second,

second,

when we

see God's

grace at

work through

gospel partners,

look what

happens.

We pray

for more.

We pray

for more.

Now,

this is

interesting,

isn't it?

Because,

I mean,

Paul has

seen God

do a lot.

He's

seen God

save these

Philippians in

unthinkable,

miraculous ways.

He's seen them

grow up in

Christ-likeness.

He's seen them

now share his

heart for

ministry.

He's seen

them give

generously out

of their own

pocket to

support him

sacrificially for

the cause of

the gospel.

And what does

he do?

He doesn't

say,

thank you,

God,

that's enough.

He asks

God to

do even

more.

He says,

I want to

see God

continue to

shape you

by his

grace.

If you

will one

day be

complete at

the return

of Christ,

and if that

work of

transforming

grace has

already begun

in you,

and I see

it,

and if I'm

praising God

for it right

now,

then I want

to see it

grow more

and more

and more.

I want to

see you

shaped more

and more

and more

by the grace

of God

so that I

might magnify

the glory

of God

because of

you,

because of

God's grace

in you.

I want to

see you

become who

you are

in Christ

and who

you will

be when

he returns.

Look with

me at what

he prays

for God

to do

in them.

We see

his prayer

in verse

9,

and then

the result,

the outcome

of his

prayer in

verses 10

and 11.

So here's

what he

prays.

He prays

verse 9,

look there

with me.

He prays

that God

would work

in them

abounding,

truth-rooted,

discerning

love.

You see

all three

of those

there?

Look there

with me

to verse 9.

It is my

prayer

that your

love may

abound

more and

more

with knowledge

and all

discernment.

You see

each part

there.

Each phrase

is loaded

with meaning

for us

to unpack

this morning.

Abounding,

truth-rooted,

discerning

love.

And you

know,

this is

really a

helpful

description

for us

as we

think about

how we

can pray

for our

partners

and even

as we

consider

partnering

with other

works.

We want

to be

marked

by abounding,

truth-rooted,

discerning

love.

What does

this mean?

He first

prays that

their love

may abound

more and

more.

This is

horizontal

love.

This is

one another

love.

This is

sacrificial,

humble,

selfless

love for the

sake of

the gospel.

And church,

love has

to be at

the heart

of any

meaningful

partnership

in order

for it to

last and

in order

for it to

honor God.

You all

know this.

It's one

thing just

to check

off a

box,

to write

a check,

to feel

like you've

done your

duty,

your good

deed,

but that's

not necessarily

love.

That could

just be

obligation

or duty

or just a

sense of

I feel like

I've done

a good

thing.

Paul knows

that these

Philippians

went out

of their

way to

support

his

ministry

and they

sent people

over there

to fund

the mission,

to encourage

him,

but he

knows that

they did

this not

because they

just wanted

to do a

good deed,

but because

they loved

Paul.

And they

loved the

gospel.

They loved

the mission.

He says

abound in

this love,

but not just

any old

love.

Not just

any old

love.

There's a

shape to

the love,

isn't there?

It's grounded

and it's

rooted in

the truth.

This is

abounding

love with

what?

With

knowledge.

knowledge.

He doesn't

just want

them to

do,

he wants

them to

know why

they do.

That's

knowledge.

Listen,

love and

knowledge are

friends.

We shouldn't

pit them

against each

other.

They go

together.

It's not

good just

to stroke

a check

and send

it off

to Paul

or to

Seawee Bay

or to

any gospel

partner and

not actually

know why

you're doing

what you're

doing.

Other than

you just

think it's

a good

thing to

do.

I mean,

it is a

good thing

to do,

but why?

Paul wants

them to

know why

they're giving

him this

gift.

He wants

their love

and their

loving actions

to be rooted

in knowledge.

And again,

ultimately,

this is knowledge

of the gospel.

I mean,

Seawee Bay,

if I could say

anything about

you,

you are a

big-hearted,

loving-to-a-fault,

generous,

kind-hearted

people.

And I praise

God for that,

but listen,

our love

needs to be

rooted in

the truth

of the gospel.

Our actions

of love

need to be

rooted in

knowledge

of the gospel.

Why do

Christians love

one another?

Well,

we love

because what?

Because he

first loved

us.

That's the

gospel.

Why do

husbands,

why are we

called to

love your

wives?

We're called

to love

our wives

as Christ

loved the

church.

How?

He gave

himself up

for her.

That's why

and how

you love

your wife.

Christ humbled

himself to

bring eternal

life to the

lost,

and so we

go and

follow in his

footsteps and

bring the

gospel to the

lost and to

the perishing.

God has been

generous to us.

What do you

have that you've

not received?

God has been

generous and

gracious to us,

and so we

are generous

for the sake

of the glory

of God.

The deeper

your knowledge

of the truth,

the greater

your love

should be for

your brothers

and sisters in

Christ.

They go

together,

Paul says.

Grow in your

knowledge of the

truth so that

you might

grow and

abound in

your love.

And with

that knowledge,

he prays,

will come

discernment.

Now,

when we

talk about

partnering for

the sake of

the gospel,

partnering with

other good

works,

this is

incredibly

necessary because

the needs are

so many.

There are more

needs than we

can possibly

begin to meet.

And again,

I know your

heart,

church,

we're big

heart people.

We want to

meet needs.

We want to

help people.

But here's a

word of caution

for big

hearted people.

Not everybody

can meet

every need.

Not every

church can

meet every

need.

I had a

seminary

professor who

cautioned us

as a room

full of

ministry

trainees

getting ready

to go into

churches and

college campuses

and communities

and go bring

the gospel.

And he said,

you need to

know that the

need is not

necessarily the

call.

You may hear

that a church

needs help in

the area of

children's ministry.

And you may

love that church,

abounding love.

You may know

that children

need the gospel,

but you need to

discern whether

or not you are

called to fill

that need.

The need is not

necessarily the

call.

We need love

with knowledge

and with

discernment.

And so

here's where

this applies

to us,

church.

Over the

past two

years,

we've given

generously

out of our

budget to some

excellent

organizations.

We've given

to the

Pillar Network.

We've given

through the

cooperative

program to

see churches

established and

the gospel

advance throughout

the nations.

as we move

into next

year,

you should

know that

we're prayerfully

discerning how

we might partner

more directly

with a gospel

work to see

other churches

established.

I came back

from the

Pillar Conference

this past week

with invitations

to go to

Colombia and

to go to the

United Kingdom.

you imagine

two more

different areas

of the world.

But why?

Why?

Because churches

are being

established in

these areas.

Pastors need

theological

education.

These churches

need resourcing.

They need help.

There are needs,

but the need

is not necessarily

the call.

We need

discernment.

And for us

to partner well,

we need to ask

good,

good,

discerning

questions like,

well,

is this a gospel

work?

Is this something

that would carry

on if the gospel

were removed

from it tomorrow?

Are we

theologically

and missiologically

aligned with

this partner?

Do I understand

the need that's

here?

Do I understand

how we can

contribute?

Is this open-ended?

Is it for a

defined period of

time?

Do they exist

to magnify the

glory of God

and the gospel

just as we do?

Or is their

mission something

different?

Church,

we need

discernment.

And so,

will you pray

this for our

church?

Will you

pray this

for me,

for Treg?

Will you

pray that the

Lord would

grow us

as a body

in ever

abounding,

truth-rooted,

discerning

love?

And let's

trust that

the result of

this will be

verses 10

and 11,

that we might

approve what is

excellent and not

what's false,

that we will be

blameless at the

day of Christ,

that we will be

filled with the

fruit of righteousness

right now in the

present,

this righteousness

that comes not

through us and

our generosity and

our sacrifice,

but through Christ

alone and above

all,

above all,

that God would

receive all glory

and praise

for his work of

grace.

That's what

gospel partnership

produces.

Jesus.

I'll tell you

one more story

as we close.

One of the most

encouraging moments

of my life,

a couple years ago

I was at the

Pillar Conference

and we had just

arrived at

Seaweed Bay a few

months earlier

and I went out

to the tent

for lunch.

Everybody goes

and we grab a

sandwich and go

sit outside under

these big tents

and around the

table with me

were four

pastors.

Dave from

Oakhurst Baptist

Church in

Charlotte where

I served a few

years out of

seminary.

There was Mike

from Lakeside

Baptist Church in

North Myrtle Beach

where I came from

before arriving

here who sent

us here.

There was Matt

from First Baptist

Church of Mount

Pleasant and there

was Treg Hallman

from Seaweed Bay.

About ten years

of my ministry

assembled there

in one table

it was almost

surreal to look

around the table

and say why are

we all sitting

here right now?

I'll tell you why.

Because these men,

these churches

have linked their

arms together

for the sake of

the gospel

here in all

and all.

Here at Seaweed Bay

and I'll tell you

I praise God

for his grace

to our church

through partnership

and I pray for

more.

Let's do that

now church.

Father,

would you grow

us?

Grow us in

ever abounding

truth rooted

discerning love

Father that we

might know how

you might use us

for the advance

of the gospel.

Lord we praise

you for what

you've done

and what you're

doing here.

We praise you

for our generous

partners who have

seen the need

of the gospel

here in this

area.

Lord we praise

you for the

fruit that we're

seeing reaped

as the word is

proclaimed and the

gospel is preached

and we pray for

more.

We want to see

your grace in

action.

Lord,

sinners are saved

and the church is

built.

We pray all this

to the glory and

praise of God

in the name of

Christ.

Amen.

Amen.