Philippians 4:6-8 Letter

Last week I sent a letter to SRCers that are dealing with the pain of losing a church that they love. I wanted to record it here for posterity:

One passage of scripture has been replaying in my mind and it is from Philippians 4:6-8, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things.”

This passage is important for the following reasons:

Anxiety — There can be quite a bit of anxiety right now. Anxiety about where we’ll go from here. What will the next church be like? Will friends for SRC end up there together? Will we all end up in different places? What do other people think about us? We believe that we have honored God, do other people view us as failures? So much anxiety. But godly wisdom says that we can exchange anxiety for peace through prayer.

Thanksgiving — Our prayer and petition should be served to God with a side of thanksgiving. In just about a week we will pause with family and friends to enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. I want to encourage you take time each day to give thanks to God. Find all the things you can for which to give thanks. I think it is a great spiritual discipline of choosing what we will remain focused on.

Peace — God’s peace is peace whether we can understand why or not. Sometimes even with the circumstances of life stacked against us, in the face of unmet expectations, and when things haven’t gone as we planned, somehow God gives us peace that He’s with us. And when our confidence is entrusted to him through prayer, Jesus himself guards our hearts and minds. As he stands guard he keeps our hearts and minds from running back to anxiety.

Choice — We can choose what we keep our mind focused on. Choose to think on good, pure, noble, and praiseworthy things. In my sermon two weeks ago, on the rules of the road ahead, I called for us to yield the right of way to others. The reason is that others are going to do and say things that are hurtful. In most cases there is no intention on their part to hurt us, but due to misinformation and misunderstanding and our process of grieving they hurt us nonetheless. I want to ask you again to yield the right of way to others. Most people have never experienced the kind of grief that we are facing. They just don’t understand. Be patient with them. Think of the good, pure, noble, and praiseworthy things that God is doing in those that offend us unintentionally. We can choose what we keep our mind focused on.

Over the next four weeks we have the opportunity to work through our grief with those that understand most — one another. I want to ask you to make a commitment to finish well, and be part of the final days of our fellowship. In an effort to allow everyone to be part of the services and receive the ministry of the word we will be keeping the children in with us during services. They have been very well behaved over the last two weeks, and I’m sure will be for the remaining services. The services will be as follows:

· November 21st — God’s promise to His Family

[A special element of this service will be the dedication of Carson and Calvin to the Lord. This will be a special celebration that we’ll share together.]

· November 28th — God’s promise for His Church

· December 5th — God’s promise for the World

· December 12th — All Church Celebration

Our final gathering (December 12) will take place at Joe and Jess Harp’s house for a brunch together. The focus of the morning will be a remembrance of all the wonderful experiences we’ve enjoyed as part of Severn River Church. This will NOT be a weepfest, it will be a chance to laugh, and share the joy of obedience and unity in the mission of Christ.