Ordination and Induction of Aaron Scott

It's lovely, isn't it? The sun's out.

It's in my eyes. We can't see the

projector, but it'll be great. It'll be

fantastic. So, welcome in the name of

the Lord Jesus Christ to this service of

ordination and induction for Aaron

Scott. Uh my name is Matt. I'm the lead

pastor here. Um and a special welcome to

Dan Dwelli as well we've invited to

preach today. He's the pastor at Christ

Church Tilehurst. Uh Dan has been

influential in Erin's path to ministry

who's actually also at Bible College the

year above me um as well. So there's a

couple of links there. So welcome.

Um just a few practicalities. If you've

got a phone, please do uh turn it to

silent. Now, if you want to take out

your phone and take pictures at any

point, that's absolutely fine. Send them

to Aaron. I'm sure he'd be delighted to

have a record of uh this afternoon. So,

take a few pictures throughout the

service. That's fine. After the service,

there will be refreshments. Probably the

best thing is if we go in that door,

there's a a row of tables. Work your way

around and then come back through that

door and sit down and have fellowship.

So, that will be a lovely time of

refreshments afterwards. The toilets are

out those doors. And there's a toilet

there. There's a toilet there. There's a

toilet as you came in through the

entrance as well. If you brought your

children as well, that's fantastic. If

they make a bit of noise, don't worry

too much. I'm sure that's fine. If you

feel uncomfortable, you think, I need to

escape. Um, there is a room just

throughout those doors and you can sit

there and the service should be relayed

there. Or there's a quiet room, a crash

room, you can go in through there as

well. Well, this is a wonderful day

which we can recognize God's

faithfulness and his mercy to us as

God's people here and to Aaron and

Sophie as well and leading them to this

point. So, let's commit our time to the

Lord in prayer.

Oh, Father God,

you are truly awesome.

And Lord, we want to come before you

this afternoon acknowledge and

acknowledging that this is all about

you. Lord, it's not because we have done

anything special. It's not because we

are in any particular way special. We

are just a group of mainly believers

here

saved by your grace, brought to this

point by your grace. And Lord,

therefore, we look to you for this is

all about you. This is your church. We

belong to you.

Father, we want to commit the whole of

this service to you. We pray for your

blessing. We pray for your help. This is

a serious occasion, but it's a joyful

occasion. So Lord, may all we do honor

Jesus and be a blessing to one another

here. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

Well, we're going to stand to sing our

first song. His mercy is more. will

stand when the music starts.

wrongs we have done all

the way

from

without

our sins they How many his mercy is

patience with as we constantly

tend

the He is the highest of all.

Our sins they are many. His mercy is

praise the Lord.

His mercy is

strong.

everyone

our sins and our his mercy is

fores of kindness he

His

life was

gather

his mercy is

praise the Lord.

His mercy is

stronger than darkness

every

his mercy is more.

His mercy is

stronger darkness

everyone.

Our sins they are ready. His mercy is

more. Our sins they are ready. His mercy

is

well Richard, one of our elders and

Aaron's father-in-law is going to come

and read from the scriptures to us. If

you can turn in your Bibles to Ephesians

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4, Richard will be reading from

verse 4. Thank you, Richard.

Afternoon

everyone. Ephesians 4. So we're going to

be starting at verse 4. I'll be reading

till verse 16.

There is one body and one spirit. Just

as you were called to the one hope that

belongs to your call. One Lord, one

faith, one baptism, one God and Father

of all, who is over all and through all

and in all.

But grace was given to each one of us

according to the measure of Christ's

gift. Therefore, it says, "When he

ascended on high, he led a host of

captives, and he gave gifts to men."

In saying he ascended, what does it mean

but that he had also descended into the

lower regions, the earth,

he who descended is the one who also

ascended far above all the heavens, that

he might fill all things.

And he gave the apostles, the prophets,

the evangelists, the shepherds and

teachers to equip the saints for the

work of ministry for building up the

body of Christ until we all attain to

the unity of the faith and of the

knowledge of the son of God, to mature

manhood, to the measure of the stature

of the fullness of Christ, so that we

may no longer be children tossed to and

fro by the waves and carried about by

every wind of doctrine, by human

cunning, by craftiness in deceitful

schemes.

Rather speaking the truth in love, we

are to grow up in every way into him who

is the head, into Christ, from whom the

whole body joined and held together by

every joint with which it is equipped

when each part is working properly makes

the body grow so that it builds itself

up in love.

Thank you, Richard. Well, the word of

God teaches us that the ascended Lord

Jesus gives pastor teachers to his

church, as we've just read from

Ephesians chapter 4. Let me repeat some

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

of those verses for you. It was he who

gave some to be apostles, some to be

prophets, some to be evangelists, and

some to be pastors and teachers to

prepare God's people for works of

service so that the body of Christ may

be built up.

Now this service is both an ordination

and an induction.

Ordination speaks of setting aside a man

uh for pastoral ministry and induction

refers to the setting apart of a pastor

to a particular local church. And today

we are doing both.

The duty of a pastor is to be a faithful

undersheperd of that part of the great

shepherd's flock that has been entrusted

to his care.

What are his duties? Well, there's at

least three. So, firstly, he is to feed

the flock by faithfully teaching the

word of God in all its breadth and depth

and applying it to the particular needs

of the congregation in which he serves.

Secondly, a pastor is to care for the

flock by prayer and the exercise of

pastoral care and that does include uh

pastoral discipline too. Thirdly, he is

to lead the flock, lead them forward

with the other elders in a lifestyle in

service and evangelism by example and

exaltation.

Since we believe it is God who calls men

into this kind of ministry, it's

important that we hear how God has

called Aaron into this ministry, how he

called him to himself in the first

place, too. So, Aaron's now going to

come and share his testimony and the

call to ministry. Thank you.

>> Well, thank you all for being here.

uh blessed with Christian parents,

blessed by faithful ministry at Kerry

Baptist Church where I grew up, uh

blessed by a good CV primary school, the

truth about God and the stories of the

Bible were ever present in my life.

It was at the age of 11, confronted with

the reality of my own mortality through

the death of a close family friend, that

I put my faith in Jesus to save me from

my sins.

And John 3:16 was a verse that had been

John 3:16

imprinted on my mind. And the Lord was

pleased to use those words that are so

familiar to many of us to draw me to

God. For God so loved the world that he

gave his one and only son that whoever

believes in him shall not perish but

have eternal life.

I realized that though I knew all the

Bible stories, because of my sin, I was

in danger of facing the judgment of God

in hell when I died.

But God sent his son so that I can be

saved simply by putting my faith in him.

I cannot make myself good enough for

God.

He has made me good enough through his

son and his death on the cross and his

resurrection.

But I struggled.

My Christian life from that point

forward would see great high points in

the year, particularly in a field in

Wales under canvas during CCIW camp.

The Christian life would make sense and

feel easy surrounded by other young

people who love Jesus.

But when I would get home, it was so

much harder. My life was not shaped by

the gospel that I believed in in the way

it should have been. As much as I would

argue with my friends at school about

the Christian faith, my life did not

reflect my faith.

It was in one such argument that I was

challenged on whether I'd actually read

the whole of the Bible. And I realized

that I hadn't. And so I thought, well,

if I'm going to fight my corner, I

better get on and read it. And so I read

the Bible in a year, which was hard.

But God mightily used his word to shape

me and change me.

much of it I I didn't understand,

but the truth about who God is and in

particular how he is an absolute control

of all things captured me.

Uh that summer when I was 15, I went to

CCIW camp again. I've been praying a lot

about what I should pick for my A levels

that was supposed to be happening within

the next few months.

and sat at the back of one of the

evening meetings listening to the

preacher. I remember and it's a hard

feeling to describe and difficult to put

into words, but feeling suddenly

overwhelmed and delighted by a thought.

I am supposed to do what the person at

the front is doing. I'm supposed to

teach the Bible.

I can't express that feeling fully, but

it certainly felt as though it hadn't

come from me. It felt as if it had come

from God. And it was very confusing.

I love my home church, Kerry Baptist,

deeply, but it was a rare day when I saw

overt expressions of joy and happiness

in the people around me. But there I was

in the back of a meeting full of joy and

confused. I didn't know what to do.

uh leaving the meeting that evening, the

sun was just setting in the way that

those of you who've been in that field

know that it can. An amazing formation

of clouds, the sun just shining through

it. An utterly beautiful sight. It

lasted only for a moment.

But in that moment, the truth that I'd

been reading and hearing in God's words

that God is in control of everything

came home to me in a new way and really

settled in my heart. I knew it was no

accident that each water droplet that

had evaporated in just the right place

and gathered together in the clouds at

just that time that the person who was

preaching went on for just the right

amount of time so that I would leave the

meeting and see what I saw and know God

saying to me through a beautiful sunset,

I am in control.

God reminded me of that. He called me to

teach the Bible and it felt like a huge

deal and I had no idea what to do with

that feeling. But he told me, "I'm in

control."

I was filled with a desire to understand

the Bible better, to be able to teach

it, to be useful to God, to be part of

making disciples for Jesus. And I really

didn't know what to do. And God provided

in another way. uh in his amazing

control which as Christians we call

God's providence uh Dan Dwelli was

called to back Kerry Baptist Church as

assistant pastor. It was the September

after the August when I'd been on camp

and during the service Dan spoke about

his some of his journey into ministry

and lots of things clicked.

After the service I went straight up to

him and asked if we could meet up and

talk about it possibly slightly

overwhelming. Yeah. Dan welcomed me into

his life. We met up. We talked about the

Bible. We prayed together. The

foundations of my faith deepened. Uh

even as I still wasn't sure about what

it would mean to be someone who taught

the Bible.

Uh I took a a gap year after I did my A

levels. I spent three months in China as

an English teacher. And then Kerry, my

home church, they ran and still do

evangelistic um Bible teacher, I'm

sorry, English classes. Uh so I got

involved in that as well. and I applied

to work at the church working with

internationals as an apprentice.

The elders there wisely decided that it

would be good for me uh to go elsewhere

to be an apprentice, somewhere where I

wasn't known, where I would be stretched

and challenged in ways that would help

me to discover where my gifting was. And

so I ended up in Bristol as a ministry

trainee in Pandennis Good News Church,

where for two years I got stuck into

life as a member of a much smaller

church than the one I grew up in. It was

there that I preached my first sermon,

had plenty of corners knocked off me,

and began theological training. First

off with the ministry training course in

Bath, which I know many of you have

done. And then I began a 4-year

theological training course run by the

Evangelical Movement of Wales.

I carried that on when I then moved to

another church in Bristol, Bradley

Stoke, to work as a pastoral assistant.

and working so closely with the pastors

in both of those churches, God showed me

that what mattered most was not just my

sense of calling to teach the Bible, not

just that feeling I had in the back of a

tent in in Mid Wales. The most important

thing was that I do his will in all of

my life. Uh to not just be someone who

obeys God in the churchy bits of life,

but in all my friendships, the way I

managed my money, my time, my thoughts,

and my actions. The good news that Jesus

died and rose again is not just that I

can be saved from hell. It's that I can

enjoy a living relationship with God.

But begins now and goes on for eternity.

Uh I worked really hard during COVID.

Without close friends, I would have

broken much quicker than I did.

But I did break.

The second round of lockdown in

particular was very painful.

At the same time, I was being given very

wise advice that I should get some

experience doing work somewhere other

than a church for a while. But I didn't

always take that advice well.

In fact, I saw it as a direct challenge

to what I thought God had called me to

do. And I entered a period of time when

my mind was a mess. My priorities were

all mixed up. My identity had become I'm

the guy who does ministry, not I am a

child of God.

That was a message I preached many times

myself.

I got a job as a teacher at a mayor

school part-time in September 2021 and

by the end of the October I made the

decision to leave Bristol. Uh Bradley

Stoke Evangelical Church had just

changed my job title to minister in

training. They committed to supporting

me uh for another few years but I I

couldn't carry on.

I thought back on that time on CCIW, sat

in the meeting full of a sudden joy and

certainty that I was supposed to do what

the guy at the front was doing. And

leaving Bristol, I thought I'd failed.

I thought that might be it. That my time

in ministry was behind me and I'd have

to find something else to do.

Through the love and support of my new

church, North Bradley Baptist Church,

and particularly through the help of my

now in-laws,

I was able to rest working as a

part-time teacher and part-time as a

waiter in a pub.

Through a painful process of healing, my

identity became rooted again in Jesus.

Even if at times I wrongly felt

humiliated to be taking food orders and

washing dishes, God was in control.

I didn't know where I would end up, but

he graciously fixed me.

Sophie and I got married.

During our marriage prep, uh I had was

approached by the elders about whether I

would consider some part-time work with

the church here. And I really wasn't

sure.

I thought it might be too soon, if too

much, to ever come back to ministry. But

God was in control.

We spent a few months at KFrey Church

where Sofh was finishing a year as a

ministry trainee. And then in January

2024, I was appointed as traininee

pastor here at North Bradley Baptist

Church.

Uh it was at my sixth month review, a

review that I actually nearly slept

through. Sorry, Matt and Phil.

It was at that review that I realized

that preaching the word, the care of the

flock, the sharing of the gospel and

prayer was what God was calling me to

commit my life to again with all that

involves

uh to seek to grow in holiness and

obedience to his commands to live a life

worthy of the gospel while keeping my

identity rooted not in what I do but in

what Jesus has done.

And at the end of a time of uh prayer

and fasting in April last year, Sofh and

I felt confident in the decision to

pursue the role of associate pastor here

at North Bradley Baptist Church. To God

alone be the glory.

Oh, thank you Erin for for sharing that.

Um it's not easy to stand here and sort

of bear your soul, but it was

encouraging to hear. So thank you. Uh

these times are almost um seem like a

wedding, don't they? There's there's a

sort of how we Aaron met us and in a

moment we're going to hear how we met

Aaron. Phil's going to in a in a moment

he'll come and share from the church's

perspective. But before we do that,

we're going to sing another hymn, When

Peace Like a River. So we'll stand to

sing when the music starts.

When

I

when

I He will th

it is Well,

my soul with my soul.

It is well

with my soul.

I should

be

in my

sh

my soul.

It is well

my soul.

My soul.

It is well. It is well with my soul.

I sing all the

glorious

I

praise the Lord. Oh, praise the Lord,

my soul.

Is well. It is well with my soul.

My soul. It is well. It is well with my

soul.

He is Christ. He is Christ.

He shall

shall be

glory

to my soul

with my soul. Oh my soul. It is well. It

is well

my soul.

My heart is for you. For your

we

are

all angel

bless

my soul. Oh,

well

my soul with my soul. It is well

with my soul.

The day when my face shall be I

shall res

and

shall be

even

with my soul.

Heat. Heat. Heat.

is well

with my soul.

>> Well, praise the Lord for that.

>> Um, Phil's now one of the elder is his

elders here. He's going to come and just

share the testimony of the church and uh

from our perspective how the call of

Aaron took place. So, thank you, Phil.

Hi everyone. Lovely to see you here.

Thanks for coming.

So I've been given a task of explaining

some of the background as to how the

church here came to call Aaron as a

pastor. And uh as I was thinking over

this um I feel it really is quite

remarkable that we are doing this uh as

a church. Um, it's an evidence of God's

great kindness and grace to us that for

the first time in the church's history,

we're in a position to have two

full-time pastors in permanent paid

positions. And it's especially

remarkable if you consider that between

1932 and 1979, a period of 67 years, uh,

that the church was not even able to

employ one full-time minister. the

pastors we had over this long period

were always either part-time or shared

with another church. So it really is uh

wonderful for us that we are having this

ordination service today and I think we

have to acknowledge that we've seen

God's abundant kindness and blessing to

us as a congregation recently especially

in the five in the past five years under

Matt's ministry here. Uh the membership

has increased by over a third in this

period. Uh we've seen many people

baptized, eight people in the last year

alone. Uh and our finances are in a much

healthier position uh than we've known

in recent years. It actually I'd suggest

that the background to us calling Aaron

to the pastor here is a further evidence

of God's abundant kindness and blessing

to us. It wasn't that we had a vacancy

to fill and needed to search out an

unknown person to fill the gap. Instead,

God brought Aaron into the church

family. and we came to know him and love

him before any conversation or thought

of a paid position was on the cards.

Uh looking back, I think it's fair to

say that as a church, we first became

aware of Aaron in about 2016 or 2017

when Katherine met him on the ministry

training course in Bath. Uh he came to

preach a couple of times in the

following years and it was at this time

that Aaron would have first met Sophie

too.

Now um you'll remember the difficult

COVID years when we were unable to meet

face tof face uh or run many of our

ministries. But it was over this period

that we got to know Erin much better. He

was leading an online youth work for

local churches that some of our

teenagers participated in. And I

remember in March 2021 recording a video

interview with Sophie of her testimony

that was broadcast at that youth

gathering. Uh, and as it happened, a few

months after this, Aaron and Sophie

started dating. And that's when Aaron

went from being a visitor to being a

real part of our church family.

It was at the end of 2022 that we as

elders first discussed whether there was

any scope for us to employ Aaron in a

part-time capacity in the church. Uh we

were aware that God had gifted him

greatly and that our church could be a

helpful environment for Aaron to step

back into a ministry role and further

develop his gifts. Um Matt met with

Aaron about this. Um and we shared our

thoughts with the church members shortly

afterwards over the coming months. As

Erin's already said, he got married. Um

he preached here several times and a

vote was held in November 2023 with the

agreement to employ Aaron as a part-time

trainee pastor for two days a week for a

period of two years to commence in

January 2024.

As church we greatly benefited from

Erin's gift in preaching, music and

youth work over this period. Uh Erin sat

in on the elders meet meetings and as a

leadership team we were impressed with

the contributions he brought to our

meetings and the humility he display

displayed in being willing to listen

well and not dominate.

By the end of 2024, Erin's paid hours at

the church had increased to two and a

half days per week. Uh and I was meeting

with Aaron on a fairly regular basis to

discuss and pray about his future. Uh my

desire, and I know I wasn't alone in

this, was for Aaron to remain in the

church in a full-time capacity after the

two-year period came to an end. Uh but

there were several obstacles in this,

including whether the church as a whole

shared this same desire and whether the

necessary finances were in place.

uh on Erin's part, he needed to weigh up

other opportunities and decide where he

and Sophie could be of most use.

Over the coming months, it became

apparent that our church finances were

in good shape. Uh and there was an

overwhelming desire within the church

membership to appoint Aaron as an elder.

Uh Aaron came to a settled conviction

over that Easter period that it would be

right for him to pursue a full-time

position at the church. And so at our

July 2025 members meeting, the proposal

was put to the members to appoint Erin

Scott as a full-time associate pastor

and elder. Uh the church members voted

unanimously in favor of that res

resolution and Erin started in a

full-time capacity from September.

Uh we've really benefited from having

Erin and also more recently John Brett

joining the eldership here and we're

thankful for your continued prayers for

the church and for Aaron and Sophie over

these last few years. Thank you.

Well, Jesus set aside his 12 disciples

for their ministry. Similarly, the

apostles set aside the first group of

deacons by laying hands on them. Was an

act that symbolized not only their being

set apart for ministry, but also their

need for and and promise of God's

blessing and help for the work he had

called them to do. And Paul is clear

that elders are to be uh appointed in

every church. And so we come now to set

Aaron apart and appoint him to this work

that he's been called to.

But first, um before we go much further,

I just need to clarify one thing. See,

Aaron, bless him, gets called all sorts

of different things. Now, I'm not

talking about childish insults like

goofy, smelly, or hairy. as appropriate

as some of those might be um often

people do refer to him as Aaron and uh

it's just something that happens and I

remember meeting with Aaron a guy and I

said right his his name's Aaron and the

guy continued to call him Aaron and we

said is but he couldn't so so I I just a

little simple thing as we're having this

service here I think we need to practice

so when you think of Aaron think of air

the stuff you breathe okay you're

breathing air and you turn a light on.

So, air on sort of, right? If you say it

too much, it starts to sound a bit

weird, but let's just have a practice,

right? 1 2 3 Aaron. 1 2 3.

>> Fant Aaron, do you want to come up here?

Cuz they're calling for you.

So, at these um these sorts of services,

sorry. At these sorts of services, it is

uh sort of customary to ask a few

questions. We'll be asking you some

questions. will be asking the uh

congregation some questions as well. So

uh Erin, we've heard how the Lord called

you to the work of pastoral ministry in

this local church. And in order that the

importance of this solemn responsibility

may be clearly understood, I will now

ask you these questions in the presence

of God and the congregation.

So do you believe in one God, father,

son, and holy spirit? And do you

personally confess Jesus Christ as your

savior and lord?

>> I do.

>> Do you believe the scriptures of the Old

and New Testaments to be the word of God

and the only infallible rule of faith

and conduct?

>> I do.

>> Do you wholeheartedly and without

reservation affirm your belief in the

doctrines of the Christian faith as laid

out in the FIC State of Faith?

>> I do.

Do you believe that God has truly called

you to this pastoral work in this local

church?

>> I do.

>> And do you promise to fulfill your

charge faithfully teaching,

praying for, and caring for this

church's spiritual needs?

>> With God's help, I do.

Do you promise to be faithful in prayer

and in the study of God's word and to

live in such a way both publicly and

privately as to be an example to all?

>> By God's grace I do.

>> Okay. Sophie, do you want to join us um

for this next question? This next uh one

is for you. So Sophie, you have heard

the commitment which Aaron has just

made. Do you promise to encourage and

support your husband as he seeks to

exercise his ministry in this church and

in this community?

>> I do.

>> Okay. It's almost like we're getting

married, isn't it? It's wonderful.

Right. I'll I'll let you sit down for a

second. You'll be rejoining us now. But

uh now this is for the the church, the

congregation here. Uh they're going to

ask you four questions. If you agree

with this, the response is we do.

So, do you receive Aaron whom you have

called to be associate pastor of this

church?

>> We do.

>> Do you promise to receive the word of

truth from him with meekness and love

and to submit to his leadership when

discipline is required?

>> We do.

>> Do you promise to encourage him in his

heavy responsibilities and to assist him

as he labors for your instruction and

spiritual growth? We do.

>> And do you promise to do all you can to

care for his practical needs and comfort

among you for the honor of God?

>> We do.

>> Okay, I think that's enough of the

questions. Now, um this next part I'm

going to require the elders to come up

the front here. Uh so elders, do you

want to join me? And uh we've agreed

that Aaron will kneel at this point. Um,

you won't see him do this very often,

but here we go. Do you want to kneel on

the floor? This is just a sign of uh the

the serving uh role that you're going to

be taken. Um, elders, if you want to

gather around and lay your hands upon

him.

So Aaron, in the name of the Lord Jesus

Christ, the head of the church, and in

recognition of the gifts and calling of

God, God God has given to you, we lay

hands on you and set you apart to the

pastoral ministry, and we also declare

you to be inducted as associate pastor

of this church.

You can clap if you like.

Now, whilst it is the elders who lead

the church, we recognize that our wives

are often deeply involved in many of the

aspects of our ministry. They provide us

with help, support, encouragement,

advice, and sometimes a timely word in

the air.

and being the wife of an elder or pastor

does have a major impact. And so it

seems only right that we invite um

Sophie up to stand beside uh Aaron as we

pray for him. And we're also going to

invite the elders wives to come and join

us as well. If you like to come into the

middle somewhere, we're again uh lay our

hands upon you. And uh when we're all

assembled, Walter will lead us in

prayer.

Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we just come before you

with uh thankful and uh rejoicing

hearts. Lord, uh we've heard the way in

which you have led um both the church

and Erin and Sophie to this point and we

just thank you, Lord. And we would now

just commit them into your loving care.

Lord, we just lift them up before you as

they begin this ministry. Lord, pray

that you would watch over them and

protect them. We pray you would keep

them, Lord, as a couple and bless their

life together. We pray Lord God that as

they uh go into the work of this

ministry Lord that you would keep them

humble as they see you bless their

ministry and Lord that you will give

them grace Lord to bear with those times

uh when the things seem to be a

struggle. We pray you'll protect them

from the evil one who always seeks to

disrupt and destroy your work. And but

Lord that they would know in their

hearts that the one who is in them is so

much greater than he who is in the

world. Pray you will protect them, Lord,

from the attacks of the evil one. Pray

they would be aware, Lord, and supported

and beared up by the prayers of the

people of this fellowship. And uh Lord,

that you would just uh help them and

keep them in your word that they might

be thoroughly equipped for every good

work here in this place.

>> And Lord, we commit them into your

loving care. Lord, would you bless them

and keep them? Would you make your face

to shine upon them and be gracious to

them and grant them your peace because

we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Amen. Right, everyone can take their

seats now. That's uh wonderful.

Okay, so in a moment we're going to sing

another song, another hymn, Preachers of

the God, Preachers of the God of Grace.

And then uh John will come and uh give

us our reading straight afterwards. And

he'll also pray. Then Dan Dwelli will

come straight up and uh preach for us.

So, we'll stand to sing when the music

starts

graing.

with the Lord for all my

way

show

of your rightousness.

Thankful.

God

for your holy name.

What you have done

here

with the Oh

sh

and joy.

and

all his

Christ

of the Lord

and

crazy

still.

I am when we

all

your churches

your Glory

as

Christ.

Good afternoon. If you've got a Bible

with you, um, open it, um, to

Colossians, um, chapter 1, and we're

going to be reading from verse 24, um,

down to Colossians chapter 2 and verse

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

7.

So Colossians chapter 1 and starting at

Colossians 1 · chapter mention

verse 24.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your

sake and in my flesh I am filling up

what is lacking in Christ's afflictions

for the sake of his body that is the

church of which I became a minister

according to the stewardship from God

that was given to me for you to make the

word of God fully known the mystery

hidden for ages and generations but now

revealed to his saints

to them God chose to make known How

great among the Gentiles are the riches

of the glory of this mystery which is

Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Him we proclaim, warning everyone and

teaching everyone with all wisdom that

we may present everyone mature in

Christ. For this I toil, struggling with

all his energy that he powerfully works

within me.

For I want you to know how great a

struggle I have for you and for those at

Leodysa and for all who have not seen me

face to face. That their hearts may be

encouraged being knit together in love

to reach all the riches of full

assurance of understanding and the

knowledge of God's mystery which is in

Christ in whom are hidden all the

treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

I say this in order that no one may may

delude you with plausible arguments.

For though I am absent in body, yet I am

with you in spirit, rejoicing to see

your good order and the firmness of your

faith in Christ.

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus

the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and

built up in him and established in the

faith, just as you were taught,

abounding in thanksgiving.

Let's come before the Lord and just

pray.

Thank you, Lord God, for your precious

words. And Lord, as we meet this

morning, it's so appropriate that we are

reading and hearing from your word this

afternoon even that that we may

that that we may we may be rooted and

grounded um in in this Lord in in in the

truth that you give us in the the the

the

just the the life that we can have

through your living and powerful word.

Lord, we thank you for we thank you for

this this time and we can we can we can

be together and we can we can witness

Aaron and um the way that you have

brought him to this point. Um the

different paths that you've you've

you've prepared for him to walk in his

life and and will prepare for him. um

bringing him here um bringing him and

safely together. Bringing him into um

into the ministry of of of your word

into being a pastor. And Lord, we thank

you that we can just be here today. We

can we can witness this and we can um we

can we can celebrate your goodness in

bringing him this far. And we and we do

pray for Erin and for Sophie and pray

that you would you would be with them in

in all the different paths of life that

um that that you will cause them to walk

through whether the high points or the

low points that they would know you with

them and that they would be able to

trust you in in the midst of those. And

Lord, we pray that as we come and hear

your word um that you would speak to us.

You be with Dan as he preaches in a few

moments time. Um, and Lord, you would

fill in with your spirit to do your work

in our hearts here today. For we pray in

Jesus's name. Amen.

>> Amen.

It's a tremendous joy and privilege to

be with you this morning. Even just for

the singing. It's been fantastic to hear

you singing this morning. So, thank you

uh this afternoon. We What? It's so

weird, isn't it, doing we're not used to

doing this on a Saturday afternoon. What

are we doing this afternoon? All right,

there we are. Yes, it's a a great

privilege to be here to address you uh

this afternoon on this very special

occasion. Special personally, as you've

heard, uh because it's a joy to see my

friend Aaron. Uh you've really

confusing. I've got to really doubly

think about it, haven't I? Um, in this

special I mean, my my memory here, how

could I sum up Baron back then? It's

basically a slightly grumpy old man

trapped in a young p person's body.

That's basically um and it it seems

nothing's changed probably.

Um, but it's been a good 15 years, maybe

something like that. to see you set

apart for ministry today is is is so

thrilling, but it's also super special

for you as a church. It really, really

is. And we've heard a bit about that

today. Now, we've heard some sobering

words already spoken to Aaron and by

Aaron today. I hope just to bring one

more word really that I hope will

encourage, maybe inspire, maybe

orientate us a little bit as we continue

together uh as Christ's body.

Lots of people have mission statements,

don't they, for their lives. Uh,

companies have a mission statement

sometimes. Churches have mission

statements, too. Here in Colossians 1,

Colossians 1:28

verse 28, I think we have maybe Paul's

aim in life and ministry in a very

simple phrase. Simple so that Aaron can

remember it. All right. What does he

say? him we proclaim.

Sometimes people ask me what my job is

and I tell them that I'm a pastor and

then they tell me, "Well, what does that

mean?" Um, and I you know what that

involves and and if if it wasn't too

obscure for them, I would say something

like this. My job is to proclaim him.

The summation of everything Paul

preached and taught, making fully known

the word of God, as he says in verse 25,

was simply Jesus Christ.

He is the message. He is the means for

ministry. He is the goal of all we do.

Erin, may I submit to you that this is

the one thing that God has really set

you apart for today to proclaim Jesus.

Make it your whole ambition, your whole

work, your whole life to proclaim

Christ.

If we were to sort of slightly tweak it,

maybe broaden it even more and simply

say, "Your aim is to bring people to

Jesus."

Bring people to Jesus in your preaching,

in your pastoral care, in your marriage,

with your neighbors, in your community.

Bring people to Jesus. That is the

heartbeat of Christian ministry. It's

what Paul lived for and suffered for and

is what he is calling us all to, not

just Darren. today.

And let me show you three reasons why

bringing people to Jesus should be so

central to your life and our life and

ministry. Firstly, Aaron, bring people

to Jesus because he's the one we all

need.

Look how Paul describes his ministry in

verse 24. says, 'Now I rejoice in my

sufferings for your sake, and in my

flesh I am filling up what is lacking in

Christ's afflictions for the sake of his

body, that is the church, of which I

became a minister, a servant according

to the stewardship from God that was

given to me for you to make the word of

God fully known. Paul had been called by

God, to make the word of God fully

known. And I think he sums up what that

word is. Verse 27 tells us, "God chose

to make known how great among the

Gentiles are the riches of the glory of

this mystery, which is Christ in you,

the hope of glory."

The mystery, it's been revealed. The

essence of all that God's word is about

is this, Christ in you, the hope of

glory. And then comes verse 28. Him we

proclaim. Simple really.

But why?

Well, one thing Colossians draws out

back in chapter 1 verse 18 is because

well, God thinks it's all about Jesus.

He He wants Jesus to be preeminent. He

says supreme.

God thinks it's about the son. But more

than that, we proclaim Jesus because

Jesus is the one we need.

first because Jesus is the revelation we

need. I mean, think again about what

Paul has already told us in the book of

Colossians. We didn't read this, but

back in verse 15 tells us, I mean,

amazingly, Jesus is the image of the

invisible God. That's what it says. He

is the revelation of God. You know, for

centuries, uh, humanity has been groping

in the darkness, wondering, is there a

God? What might he be like? Philosophers

have speculated.

Religions have offered their best

guesses. But in Jesus, at last, God can

be truly known. And when you see Jesus,

you see God himself. He's a revelation.

Aaron, bring people to Jesus because in

him they will encounter God.

Secondly, bring people to Jesus because

Jesus is the savior we need. Again, all

through Colossians, look back at verse

13 of this chapter. He says, "He has

delivered us from the domain of darkness

and transferred us into the kingdom of

his beloved son in whom we have

redemption, the forgiveness of sins. We

are enslaved to sin and we need to be

set free. We are held captive in the

darkness. We are condemned in our

rebellion. But Jesus, he's the redeemer.

He's the one who paid the price for our

freedom. He's the one who can forgive

us, who wipes the slate clean. He's the

rescuer who brings us into the light.

It's again verse 20.

Uh Jesus is there the reconciler who

makes peace through his blood shed on

the cross. He presents us holy and

blameless and above reproach before him.

Aaron when broken, battered, guilty,

wicked people come to you. Take them to

Jesus who can cleanse, who can forgive,

who can reheal, who can restore. Who

else has shed their blood for our sin?

Who else has conquered the grave? Who

else has slain Satan? Only Jesus. Bring

them to Jesus because he's the savior we

need. Thirdly, because he's the teacher

we need. He's the teacher we need. Verse

18 says he's the head of the body, the

church. He's the Lord of our lives, the

master of the church. And he shows us

then. He teaches us and leads us in the

way of real life and hope. Chapter 2

verse three Paul will say that in Christ

are hidden all the treasures of wisdom

and knowledge.

Everything we need for life is found in

him. Jesus is the one who makes sense of

everything and makes sense of the world.

Erin, when people come to you anxious

and confused, troubled, tossed about in

life, trying to make sense of things,

bring them to Jesus, the truth, who

teaches us, who shows us the way things

really are in the world. Jesus is the

one we need because he's the revelation

of God. He's the savior for sinners.

He's the teacher for our very lives.

You may have heard me share this with

you before, Erin. I can't quite

remember, but there's a lady in my

church. She's about 15 years of age, and

she's endured a brutal life, abusive

relationships. She's got a disfigured

face from a violent partner, an eating

disorder, shattered self-worth.

When we met her, she was too afraid to

leave her house.

But we began reading the Bible with her.

We told her about Jesus. And after a few

sessions, I asked her, "What do you

think of Jesus?"

And without hesitation, and I'll never

forget this, she said, "Oh, I want him.

I want him."

And a few months later, we were able to

baptize her. She didn't know anything

about God or the Bible.

But when she encountered Jesus, she knew

he's the answer.

She didn't find a self-help program. She

didn't find her own truth. She found a

person, the son of God, who died to free

her from her sin and shame and

brokenness. She needed Jesus. And when

she found him, she found everything.

And oh Aaron, that's what we want when

we present Christ in such a way that

people realize,

yeah, I want him. That's our aim.

Eron, give your people here Jesus

because he's the one they need the most.

Give them Jesus in your preaching. Open

the scriptures and show them Christ on

every page. Give them Jesus in your

pastoral care. Point them to the Savior

who who understands their pain and

carries their burdens. Give them Jesus

in your leadership. Shepherd them as an

undersheperd of their chief shepherd.

Because when they encounter Jesus, they

encounter God himself. When they find

Jesus, they find grace for their souls.

When they follow Jesus, they find a

shepherd for their life. When they see

Jesus in the scriptures, they see

everything rightly.

The church, the church here. This is

this is your mission, too, isn't it?

Isn't it? To bring people to Jesus,

your neighbors, your colleagues, your

family members. Don't you know how much

they need him? Don't you know how much

you need him? Bring people to Jesus

because he's the one we truly need.

Secondly, Aaron, bring people to Jesus

because he's the one who transforms us.

He's the one who transforms us, not you.

You'll find this painfully in ministry

sometimes. How much you wish you could

just grab someone and shake it out of

them or shake it into them. Well, no, we

can't. Only Jesus can transform. Look at

verse 28 again.

him we proclaim, warning everyone and

teaching everyone with all wisdom that

we may present everyone mature in

Christ. Here's the the goal the goal of

bringing people to Jesus. It's total

transformation.

Chapter 1 vers 22 says something similar

here. It's Jesus doing the work, right?

You have been reconciled to his in his

body of flesh by his death in order to

present you holy and blameless and above

reproach before him. So the goal here is

nothing less than being transformed into

the image of Jesus, conformed to the

image of the son, as Paul says elsewhere

in Romans, to be presented holy,

blameless, above reproach, mature in

Christ.

And and how does this transformation

happen? If that's the goal, what's the

means? Verse 28 again, through warning

everyone and teaching everyone with all

wisdom.

warning or or or admonishing is

necessary so that people don't lose

their way. I it's a guard rails on a on

a narrow mountain road and faithful

pastors must warn God's people about

false teaching about patterns of sin

compromising with the world and so on.

It's also teaching. Teaching is giving

people all that Christ has commanded us.

Jesus said this in Matthew 28. Go

therefore and make disciples of all

nations, teaching them to observe all

that I have commanded you. That's the

systematic instruction in the whole

council of God. And it's done with all

wisdom because well, we know life is

complicated. People are complicated. And

the skilled pastor must take the

unchanging truth of scripture and apply

it uh wisely to the varied situations of

people's lives.

That's the goal. That's the means. And

there's a process here too. Look at

chapter 2 verse 6. Therefore, as you

received Jesus, Christ Jesus the Lord,

so walk in him, rooted and built up in

him, and established in the faith, just

as you were taught, abounding in

thanksgiving. C. Can you see there?

Rooted, built up, established.

There's a organic growth there, but

there's also sort of a solid

construction going on as a tree sinks

its root roots deeper into the soil. a

building that's constructed brick brick

by brick on a firm foundation and it's

all as we walk in him there's a process

it's a constant thing keep coming back

to Jesus daily drinking from this well

feasting at his table never move on from

Jesus the goal is becoming like Christ

the means is the teaching and warning of

Christ and the process is walking with

Christ.

Imagine uh a couple of orphans

begging on the street in rags

until along comes a loving father and he

he overwhelmed with compassion for them

and he says, "Come, no, you come home

with me." And he adopts them into his

family. But it turns out he happens to

be like a a bajillionaire. A and they

now live in this grand mansion. They

have warm beds to sleep in. They've got

kitchens full of food. They've got um

clothes in wardrobes and so on. They

have everything there.

And that night they go to bed and they

they wake up the next morning and uh

they look at each other and they think,

"Well, what are we going to do today?

What what can we do?" "Oh, I know." So

they say and they put on their old rags

again and they go downstairs and they go

out the door down the long driveway out

the gates

and start begging again.

The father comes by.

He says, "What are you doing? This this

isn't you anymore. No, you're my beloved

children now. This is not where you

belong."

And the children say,

"But we don't know how to live any

differently. This is all we've known. We

don't know how."

And then the father says, "Well, here

look,

here's your big brother. You've got a

new big brother, my beloved son. He'll

show you. Follow him. He'll show you how

to live my way in my house.

follow him. That that is really

Christian disciplehip, isn't it? We've

been adopted into a new family. We've

got a new way to live now, but we don't

know how. But God has given us his son,

Jesus, who can show us the way, our big

brother, who's right there alongside us.

Erin, this is what you're called to do.

Keep bringing people to their big

brother, Jesus,

so that he can transform them through

your warning and teaching. You're you're

helping former orphans learn to live as

beloved children. So you're part of the

process of presenting everyone mature in

Christ. So church,

you need to receive this ministry. He

Hebrews 13:17 says, "Obey your leaders

Hebrews 13:17

and submit to them for they are keeping

watch over your souls as those who will

give an account." When your pastors warn

you, listen. When they teach,

learn. When they show,

imitate. Don't resist the transformation

God wants to work in your life.

And look, come with it. Look at

Colossians 3:16.

Colossians 3:16

What does it say there? Colossians 3:16.

Colossians 3:16

Let the word of Christ dwell among you

as a church richly teaching and

admonishing one another in all wisdom.

There's the same idea. You're all to be

doing this.

This isn't just the pastor's job. You

all need to be doing this for one

another, helping each other follow Jesus

more faithfully. Come, let's go to our

big brother Jesus. He'll show us the

way.

brings people to Jesus because he's the

one who transforms us.

And thirdly, and finally, Erin, and here

it gets personal. Okay?

Take yourself to Jesus because he's the

one you need, too.

Look at the end of verse 29 of chapter

1. For this, I toil, struggling with all

his energy that he powerfully works

within me. It goes on chapter 2 verse

one. For I want you to know how great a

struggle I have for you. Christian

ministry is costly.

It requires toil. It involves struggle.

Paul uses the Greek word agon where we

get the word agony from. It's the

language of an athlete straining every

muscle. It's a it's a soldier fighting

for his life. Ministry isn't always a

comfortable career. It's not a job you

kind of clock in and out of. It's a

calling that demands everything you

have.

You will suffer for Christ in this

ministry.

You know this. There'll be sleepless

nights praying for your people. There'll

be heartbreak when people walk away.

There'll be opposition and criticism and

misunderstanding. There will be times

when you pour yourself out and see

little fruit. There will be spiritual

warfare and physical exhaustion and

emotional depletion.

And Paul knew this in two Corinthians.

He says that ministry is when you die so

that others can live.

But may it be so. May we die, Aaron, a

little bit so that Christ might be

lifted up. I must decrease so that

Christ must increase. That's the way.

He says in verse 24 of our passage, "Now

I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake

and in my flesh I am filling up what is

lacking in Christ's afflictions for the

sake of his body that is the church."

Now what's Paul saying here? Was was

Christ's sacrifice somehow lacking

something? Was it insufficient? Now

that's not what he's saying. He was

saying that as Christ's body, the church

continues his mission in the world, we

will continue to experience suffering

just as Christ did. So, so Christ

suffered, but there was more suffering

to come that his church would

experience. And so, we we we take up our

cross and we follow him.

So, Erin, here's the crucial question

then. How can you ever think or hope to

sustain that kind of ministry? How can

you toil and struggle and suffer without

burning out, without becoming bitter,

without giving up?

The answer's right there, isn't it?

Verse 28 again, uh 29, sorry, with all

his energy

that he powerfully works within me.

You cannot serve Christ without Christ's

power. You cannot give what you don't

have. You cannot lead people to Jesus if

you're not going to Jesus yourself.

This is why you need strong a strong

personal relationship with Christ. You

need to be rooted in him as your

personal savior. Remembering daily that

you're not saved by your ministry. Your

identity isn't there. And you've been

learning this lesson over the years,

haven't you? It's not your success. It's

not your performance. It's not your

giftedness.

Christ and his grace alone.

You need to know him as the Lord of your

life. Submit yourself to his wisdom.

Follow his leading. Trust his timing.

He's your big brother, too.

You need to be someone who communes with

God in prayer and the word, not just to

prepare a sermon, but to nourish your

own soul.

You need to be someone who rests in

Christ's sufficiency,

not your own strength.

Because Erin, if you if you try to

minister in your own power, you're going

to fail. You'll run dry. You'll collapse

under the weight. But if you minister in

his energy that he powerfully works

within you, you'll find supernatural

strength for supernatural

work.

Aaron, take yourself to Jesus

because you need him, too.

And church, look, this is where you come

in.

Bring your pastor to Jesus.

He's not Christ.

Christ is the one you need, but he's the

servant of Christ for your sake. So pray

for him, encourage him, support him,

remind him of the gospel when he's

weary. Point him back to Jesus when he's

discouraged. Don't put him on a

pedestal, but don't tear him down

either. Honor him as one who labors

among you.

So Erin, as you begin this ministry,

make this your aim.

Proclaim him. Bring people to Jesus

because he's the one we all need. The

revelation of God, the savior of

sinners, the Lord who gives us hope.

Bring people to Jesus because he's the

one who transforms us into his image.

And take yourself to Jesus because he's

because he's the one you need, the

source of power that works within you.

Notice verse 24

and also in chapter 2 verse four and

five here Paul talks about rejoicing in

this kind of ministry. There's joy in

ministry like this in the riches of

Christ's

the riches of Christ is is joy

unspeakable.

Where else could you go?

Who else would you want to live for than

Jesus?

And and surely, Erin, if if you do this,

you won't go far wrong, I don't think.

And above all, it'll be Christ who

receives the glory. If you make it all

about Jesus, he'll surely be the one

that is glorified.

Aaron, North Bradley Baptist Church,

bring people to Jesus.

Proclaim him. Amen. Let's pray together.

We praise and thank you, oh Lord, our

father, for giving us your one and only

son, Jesus. Because in him we find a

revelation. We find salvation. We find

life through him. We enjoy the the hope

of glory

in Jesus. We uh receive the presence and

power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Our God in heaven. We praise you

for him.

Make us people of Jesus who are obsessed

with Jesus, who are all out for Jesus,

who live for him. May we be people too

who bring others to Jesus. We pray for

our brother Aaron that he would uh take

this calling deep into his own heart and

life. We thank you for the evidence of

this already over these years. But Lord,

may as he goes from here, may he live a

life of this kind of work and ministry

among your people here. And let this

church, we pray, be a beacon of Jesus.

May they lift up the living Christ

so that many would be drawn to him.

Hear our prayer in Jesus name. Amen.

We're going to sing a final song now.

And uh classic, a gooden. I don't know

if you can guess what it is, but it's in

Christ alone. We're going to stand as we

sing that together.

In Christ alone

my hope is found.

He is my life, my strength, my soul is

for my soul. is solid

se my

love of Christ I

in Christ alone

who took on flesh

of God in helpless

love and righteousness

by the ones he came to

Still on that cross that Jesus died

on the cross was sisfied

for every

There in the ground his body lay

light of the world by darkness

slay then mercy falling

glorious day

from the gra

and as he stands in victory.

since I lost his rib on me. For I am his

and he is mine

with the precious blood of Christ.

This is the power of Christ in meus

Christ.

Jesus Christ.

holds me up

here in the power of Christ

stand

from his hand till he returns

so he alone

here in the power of Christ.

>> Let's pray as we close.

>> Jesus, we would proclaim you.

We would show the world you.

And we ask, Lord God, ask for myself

that you'd help me to take these words

in your Bible to heart. I pray that for

each one of us here, too. And Lord,

would you bless our fellowship now?

Thank you for time we can spend

together. Lord, would you keep us safe

on our journeys as well? Wherever we've

come from, wherever we're going to,

Lord, we look to you for for blessing in

that way, for traveling mercies. But

Lord Jesus, may you have the glory.

Amen.

>> Amen.