Therefore, Stand Firm
Therefore, Stand Firm
The book of Philippians is St. Paul’s letter to a church he planted and deeply loved, and a strong theme in the book is unity within the church: “Complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind” (2:2).
Chapter 1 painted a picture of what it means for a church to be “worthy of the Gospel”. Chapter 2 gave us the mind of Christ. Now, in chapter 3, Paul puts that call to unity within a metaphor we can easily understand: a race. “Pressing on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (v.14).
Paul isn’t writing to an individual athlete running alone, however. He’s writing to a church, a whole congregation pressing on together. By the end of our passage appointed for this week, he’s warning about some “enemies of the cross” among them (v.18) and people whose minds are “set on earthly things” (v.19), before lifting their eyes to a citizenship that isn’t of this world at all (v.20). Then, with one small but weighty word, he turns it all into a charge: “Therefore...stand firm” (4:1).
I look forward to exploring Philippians 3:14-4:1 this Sunday.
Steve+
New Treasurer Appointed
After serving our congregation faithfully and well as Treasurer for eight years, Jim Evans has “retired” effective September 30. We’re going to take some time honoring his service this Sunday (there’s even a rumor of cake!) and commissioning our new Treasurer, John Remein, a member of our Vestry and genuinely exceptional pastry chef. John’s first big task will be to lead the Vestry through our fiscal 2027 budgeting process beginning at our October meeting on the 11th. You can reach out to John at treasurer@redeemerannapolis.org.
NEWS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
Second Sunday Sandwiches—Next Sunday following worship.
October Vestry Meeting—Next Sunday at 12:15pm.
Church Workday—October 24, 9:00am–noon (the more who show up, the sooner we’re done!). Our vestry and admin offices are moving to open up a third classroom for Children’s Formation, and we need help to move furniture to new spaces or an outside dumpster.
Weekly:
Youth Formation (ages 10–13)— Sundays, 9:00am, in the Parish Hall.
Around the Table—A prayer time for women, Thursdays, 9:00am, at the Wishart’s. Email Lauren for details.
Morning Prayer—Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday, 8:00–8:30am, on Zoom.
Men’s Bible Study—Thursdays, 7:00am, at 1309.
Photo: Nicolas Rizzon on Unsplash
