Saturday, January 7, 2017

This Sunday's Sermon at Carrollwood Baptist Church (1/8/2017)




A Singular Resolution, “I Press On”
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.Philippians 3:12, NIV

This is the season of New Year’s resolutions. Maybe you focus on a couple of areas each year, or perhaps you’ve already left your 2017 resolutions behind altogether. I recently heard someone describing that the key to successfully keeping your new year’s resolutions is to set goals that are achievable and measurable. Otherwise, you will soon get discouraged and give up. And that your goals should tie in to a greater purpose in life. The same is true of our spiritual life. At times we set goals that are worthy but we get discouraged soon after we make them.

Having dreams, godly goals and desires is a good thing. Paul lived out the Christian faith with about as much diligence and intensity as a person could. But even though Paul was serious about finishing well as a Christian, he never seemed to lose the joy of the journey of faith. Paul successfully lived with the tension of the “now” and the “not yet.” What I mean is that Paul maintained the right perspective in life. He knew that he had not arrived in the Christian life but that did not discourage him at all, he knew the best was yet to come. And this motivated him to “press on.”

“Pressing on” this year means that I acknowledge that I have a long way to go and that’s ok. “I’m not there yet, but I want to be.” In Philippians chapter three, we discover that “The Christian finds fulfillment by holding to the perspective of not having arrived in the Christian life while simultaneously pressing on toward the goal of becoming like Christ in everything.”

This Sunday during worship we will look at what it means to have a singular resolve to “press on” towards the goal of becoming like Christ in everything. That is a resolution worth keeping! All are welcomed at Carrollwood Baptist Church where our Sunday morning Worship begins at 10:30 a.m. Life-changing Bible studies for all ages begins at 9:15 a.m.

Looking forward to seeing you and worshiping with the family of God at CBC this Sunday!

Pastor Joe
I thank my God every time I remember you.” Philippians 1:3

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