The year is 55 A.D. A young man named Epaphroditus stands on the deck of a merchant vessel as it pulls into the magnificent harbor of Ephesus.
His eyes are wide. His hometown of Philippi is not exactly shabby, but Ephesus is on a whole other level. Vast, marble lined avenues, bustling manufacturing districts and markets full of exotic goods from the east. Rising over the city is the smoke of animal sacrifices at dozens of magnificent temples and shrines.
As the boat docks, Epaphroditus checks his satchel for the thousandth time. Yes. The money and gifts for brother Paul are still there.
He jumps onto the dock and walks up to the first city official he can see. “Excuse me. Where can I find the city prison?”
—
That’s how I picture things happening. We don’t really know the details. What we do know is that a man named Epaphroditus brought gifts and supplies from the Church in Philippi to the Apostle Paul when he was at one of the lowest moments of his life.
Sick, imprisoned, and close to death. These gifts came not a moment too soon.
When Paul eventually sent Epaphroditus back home, he sent him with a letter, what we call today the book of Philippians. And Paul’s joy and gratitude for his dear friends’ support practically leaps off the page.
Philippians 4:13-18
I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength. Even so, you have done well to share with me in my present difficulty… At the moment I have all I need—and more! I am generously supplied with the gifts you sent me with Epaphroditus. They are a sweet-smelling sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God.
The whole letter reads like that. And it’s pretty remarkable when you consider what Paul has been going through. Think about it. He wrote this in chains!
Despite his horrible situation, and despite the fact that he may be at death’s door, Paul is so overjoyed when he thinks about his kind, generous brothers and sisters in Philippi that he can barely contain his emotions. Just listen to how he begins his letter.
Philippians 1:3-6
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
With so much love and encouragement in this letter, it should come as no surprise that Paul’s message to the Philippians continues to resonate even today. As Paul faces the prospect of his own death in prison, his parting words to them still contain great wisdom for us.
And we’re going to listen to those words again.
Welcome back to Reimagine! Today we are kicking off a brief, 3-week series to revisit the initiative we launched last February.
We’re going to share updates about how our financial pledges and projects have been going and, more importantly, we’re going to fan the flames of our passion to reach our “ones” with the love of Jesus.
As Paul says in verse 6, we are going to focus on continuing the work that God began at Grace Church not just last February, but at our founding 35 years ago.
Now, some of you have no idea what I’m even talking about, so let me bring you up to speed really quickly.
Reimagine is a two-year initiative that we are right in the middle of. It has two major areas of focus. One is relational; the other is physical.
The relational aspect is all about being intentional with the people in our lives that at Grace call our “ones.”
Your “one” – One person God has laid on your heart who is not currently walking with Jesus.
Last March we made commitments to love, be in relationship with, and pray for our “ones.” That’s what the big tree is out in our lobby. Each leaf represents somebody’s “one.” That’s the relational component.
There’s also a physical component to Reimagine. Back in March we also collectively pledged to contribute $2.7 million to invest in our building and our grounds.
The idea was to make our space more welcoming, safe, and accessible so it can be a resource to our neighbors. Treating our building more like a community center where people can meet Jesus by rubbing shoulders with you and me.
I’m going to give you some updates on where those projects stand in just a bit. For now I want us to dive back to Paul’s letter to the Philippians to remind us all of the heart and the “why” behind this initiative.
And there really isn’t a better place to do that then in Philippians 1. While you’re turning there, I’ll pray for us.
OVERFLOWING LOVE
Back in February of last year, we talked a lot about the world behind the text of Philippians. How the church there got started, some of what they were up against, etc.
But for now, all we need to remember is that Paul is writing this letter from prison, he expects that he might die there, and he is passing the baton to a new generation of Christ-followers in the church he helped to start.
That’s the context that’s important for right now. So, let’s read again how Paul opens his letter.
Philippians 1:3-6
Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
In Acts 16 we learn the story of Paul’s first visit to Philippi – “the time they first heard the good news,” as Paul says in verse 5. And it really is remarkable who God brings to be a part of this new Church – Paul’s first church plant in Europe.
There’s a wealthy cloth merchant named Lydia who hosts the church in her home. There’s a demon-possessed slave-girl who is freed of her oppression. There’s a prison jailer who starts out guarding Paul but ends up being baptized by him; then his whole family joins the church.
It’s quite the rag-tag collection of people. But one thing that is very clear through Acts and Paul’s letters is that the church in Philippi was incredibly generous and supportive of Paul’s ministry from the very beginning.
Remember, he wrote Philippians in the first place because they had sent Epaphroditus across the Aegean Sea with a care package when they heard Paul was in trouble. But there are clues in Paul’s letters that this was hardly the first time they had done this.
It makes sense why Paul would say in verse 3. “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.” No wonder! They clearly loved Paul and he clearly loved them. Let’s keep reading.
Philippians 1:7-11
So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.
What a beautiful prayer. And it’s really remarkable when you compare it with Paul’s other letters.
In most cases, Paul faced nothing but trouble from the churches he started, and his letters to them are filled with correction and rebuke. But Philippians is wall-to-wall encouragement.
Just look at what Paul says here.
Verse 7. You have a special place in my heart. You have the special favor of God. Verse 9. You already have tremendous love. Now I pray that it overflows.
By the way, Paul literally says “more and more” in the Greek. μᾶλλον καὶ μᾶλλον. Microsoft Word flags that phrase for a lack of conciseness. But Paul doesn’t care!
“I’m praying that your love will be over the top. More and more and more. I pray the love you’ve offered me will multiply into the lives of others.”
When you remember that Paul wrote this from the depths of despair in prison, facing the prospect of an imminent death, his level of joy and passion for them is remarkable. And it makes his comment in verse 6 even more poignant.
Philippians 1:6
I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
In other words, “My beloved brothers and sisters in Philippi, I may not be around to see what God has in store for you next, but you’ve shown me nothing but love and generosity and a passion for the gospel and I am confident that that good work will continue and I’m praying desperately for that to be so.”
That, I believe, is the core message of the entire letter of Philippians. Paul is passing the torch on to the next generation of leaders in Philippi and encouraging them to carry it forward.
Not out of a place of drudgery or obligation, but as an overflow of the love they’ve already shown – “more and more!”. Put simply, he’s encouraging them to
Continue the work.
Continue the work. That’s how he starts his letter, and over the next four chapters, Paul explains how.
REIMAGINE
If you can’t tell, I love Philippians, and it has been such a great inspiration to me as we’ve gone through the Reimagine initiative.
Because we have our own work to continue that God began here years ago. Our own knowledge and understanding to grow.
That’s what Reimagine is all about: investing in our relationships and in our space so that our love can overflow more and more.
And in a lot of ways, just like Paul passing the baton to the next generation in Philippi, it feels like a new generation here at Grace is also carrying the mission forward which began way back in 1991.
Our mission has never changed. We make disciples of Jesus and launch them into the mission of God.
But every year as we pursue this mission we do what we’ve done since the very beginning. We don’t ask God to bless what we want to do, we ask the Holy Spirit where he’s moving so that we can jump in and join him.
Just think of what happened in Philippi. You don’t get a wealthy cloth merchant, a slave girl, and a city jailer worshipping together without a movement of the Holy Spirit. But that’s exactly how that church began.
Grace Church also began with a rag-tag group of people simply trying to be faithful to God’s call. And just like in Philippi, God has been shaping us ever since.
That’s why today we have a global focus and a passion for justice and making room. That’s why we have a Care Center and a disability ministry. That’s why we do musicals and love the arts. Because we keep jumping in where the Holy Spirit is moving, even if he takes us places we never could have imagined in 1991.
Well, I believe the Reimagine Initiative is more of the same. It’s a new generation at Grace jumping in where the Holy Spirit is moving.
Why? So that we can Continue the work. And be exactly who God has called us to be. Overflowing “more and more” with the love of Jesus.
REIMAGINE UPDATES
So let’s talk about how things have been going.
Priorities: welcoming, safe, accessible space = resource to our community!
Completed projects
• North wing roof repair
• Expanded Care Center warehouse space
o +New flexible auditorium space (Good Friday services, homeschool co-op, rentals)
• Grace Kids hallway – ADA compliant security doors requiring key fob access
• Grace Kids hallway – new flooring & paint
• Painting and repairs on the exterior of the building
Projects underway
• Old Bookstore/Café – new multipurpose room (will help us continue ministry as we update Room 111 and expand the space our congregation and community can use)
• New guest services desk (for Sunday & for turning door 1 in the lobby into the new “front” door of our building)
Projects starting after Grace Kids Camp
• Room 111
• Security solutions to help us open our café through the week
Projects starting soon
• Café Playground
• Lobby co-working spaces
• Drop-off lane & accessible parking
• Front entrance awning
• New parking lot flow (w/ new entrance)
Financial update
Reminder: our commitment is to avoid any long-term debt
• $2.7 million pledged
• 66% has already been received
• So far, we’ve spent only a little over half of what we’ve received.
It’s not too late to pledge and be a part of it! gracechurch.us/reimagine
COMMITTING TO YOUR ONE
Finally, I want to talk about our commitments to our “ones.” Again, these are people we love who are not currently walking with Jesus. And this is what Reimagine is really all about.
In verse 5, Paul says this about the church in Philippi:
Philippians 1:5
You have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now.
Paul understood that he was only one man. He could preach, he could teach, he could travel, but he could only ever be in one place at a time. He needed partners to spread the good news, and that’s what his friends in Philippi had become.
“Carry the torch forward, because the message of Jesus’ love is now yours to spread.”
In the same way, there’s only so much that our building can do. We can create a beautiful café and playground for rich conversations to happen. We can design rooms and co-working spaces our neighbors want to use as a resource. We can build a safe and welcoming atmosphere for all ages and abilities.
But our building is just an instrument. The real work happens face to face.
That’s why we’ve all made commitments to our “ones.” To love them, to be in relationship with them, to pray for them.
I’ll speak personally and say that my commitment to my “one” because of Reimagine has made me way more intentional in that relationship than I was before. I hope it’s been the same for you.
And you if haven’t yet committed to your one, it’s not too late. Again, you can go to gracechurch.us/reimagine and join in.
CONCLUSION
The Apostle Paul was overwhelmed with joy because of how he saw God working through his friends in Philippi.
I feel the same way about you, Grace Church. What a beautiful thing it is to be a part of a community so dedicated to loving our neighbors so well. As Paul said,
Philippians 1:6
I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Our world may be broken. But God is in the business of healing it. What a gift it is that we get to join him in that mission.