Draft

so here's the thing
I have spent the evening writing notes for my sermon and ahve been bold over by the relevance of the scritptures to our times, sohere's the first draft of my seromn.
What do you think?

How to Stand Firm: Philip. 4:1-9 (TEV)
A SERIOUS SERMON FOR SERIOUS TIMES

So then, my friends, how dear you are to me and how I miss you! How happy you make me, and how proud I am of you!—this, dear friends, is how you should stand firm in your life in the Lord.
[2] Euodia and Syntyche, please, I beg you, try to agree as sisters in the Lord. [3] And you too, my faithful partner, I want you to help these women; for they have worked hard with me to spread the gospel, together with Clement and all my other fellow workers, whose names are in God's book of the living.
[4] May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice! [5] Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon. [6] Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need, always asking him with a thankful heart. [7] And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
[8] In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honourable. [9] Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.

Introduction:
There is a distinct unease in the air today
It’s not just the financial situation… although that is at the heart of how we feel
It’s more that we somehow feel that chickens are coming home to roost.
Insecure times are dangerous times for communities.
Some of you might just remember the insecurity of pre-war Europe that lead to World War Two and worse.
It’s dangerous for churches too… we start to panic, we start to lose our trust.
So I was glad to receive a letter this week [Open the Envelope]
It’s from Paul and it helped me see what our reaction to the current situation should be… we need to lead our community into this direction too.

So then, my friends, how dear you are to me and how I miss you! How happy you make me, and how proud I am of you!—this, dear friends, is how you should stand firm in your life in the Lord.

1 Unity
[2] Euodia and Syntyche, please, I beg you, try to agree as sisters in the Lord. [3] And you too, my faithful partner, I want you to help these women; for they have worked hard with me to spread the gospel, together with Clement and all my other fellow workers, whose names are in God's book of the living.
Try to agree, it’s crucial and obvious but it’s the first thing that goes when we are under pressure, our unity or that of those around us.
Stress is incredibly isolating
This why brother Paul asks Timothy to help Euodia and Syntyche to work it out.
We can’t always do it on our own we need help.

How do we stand firm?

We stand firm together.

The Wire Fence - Michel Quoist

The wires are holding hands around the holes;
To avoid breaking the ring,
they hold tight the neighbouring wrist,
And thus it is with holes that they make a fence.
Lord, there are lots of holes in my life.
There are some in the lives of my neighbours.
But if you wish, we shall all hold hands,
We shall hold very tight,
And together we shall make a fine roll of fence to adorn Paradise.

There is peace to be found when we find our way to hold each other…

As the David a poet and King wrote some 3000 years ago:
Psalm 133:1-3 (KJV)
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! [2] It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments; [3] As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Unity is not some luxury: it’s absolutely necessary
More important than anything else for as someone else said in the Bible
How can you say you love the God you can’t see if you can’t love the brother or sister you can see?
How do we stand firm, we stand firm together.
Let’s start now…

2 Realistic joy through prayer
Paul doesn’t finish with unity, it’s just the beginning, to stand properly we need to learn joy.
He says it twice, just in case we don’t get it.
[4] May you always be joyful in your union with the Lord. I say it again: rejoice!
But this joy is not some Polyannaish always look on the bright side happiness it’s the joy that comes from choices made in our prayers.
Choice 1- Be gentle to each other
[5] Show a gentle attitude toward everyone. The Lord is coming soon.
Choice 2- Turn your worries into prayers
[6] Don't worry about anything, but in all your prayers ask God for what you need,
Choice 3 - Turn your prayers into thanksgivings
always asking him with a thankful heart.
This kind of joy protects us, it keeps us safe.
[7] And God's peace, which is far beyond human understanding, will keep your hearts and minds safe in union with Christ Jesus.
There have been times when I have despaired, I talked about it before I went to Yemen
Learning to be joyful in despair has kept me safe.
I have a long way to go but better to rejoice than despair.

Paul doesn’t end with unity and rejoicing, he has one more bit of advice for us in his letter to us this morning.
This time it’s a warning
Watch your diet!

Cereal Packets – I like to read them – I worry about what’s in them
If we took as much care of what we put into our minds as what we put in out stomachs the world would be a better place.


[8] In conclusion, my friends, fill your minds with those things that are good and that deserve praise: things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, and honourable. [9] Put into practice what you learned and received from me, both from my words and from my actions. And the God who gives us peace will be with you.

I have got to admit to having a problem with this… I have to watch what I watch.
What do you feed your mind with?
things that are good and that deserve praise:
things that are true,
noble,
right,
pure,
lovely,
and honourable
The most powerful muscle in your body is the one that operates the remote control.

Conclusion
These are dangerous times
St Paul has written us a letter
We need to pursue unity
We need to be joyful in our prayers
We need to watch what we eat
If you want to be at peace in Jesus… Paul shows us the way