Philipians 4

4 Rejoice* in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.* 5Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 


Heavenly father,

I pray that you would take our minds and think through them, take my words and speak through them, take our hearts and set them on fire with love for you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord Amen

The Epistle reading this morning is Christianity in a nutshell – take a look at it. It is full of Joy, it is full of great advice for dealing with any circumstance we find our selves in and it has the assurance of God's presence. What more could you ask for?

As we delve into it for a short time this morning let us ask ourselves what we can learn from it for our walk with God.

Let us begin with Joy – It is the underlying theme of Paul's letter many times in this letter he uses either the word joy or rejoice – It is also the theme of today's Candle – and coming up to Christmas it is the theme of many of the songs we sing – Joy to the world etc.

When we talk about Joy or rejoicing in the Lord it is not simply a nice happy smiley face that we put on for show, it is much, much deeper than that. If we think about the situation which Paul found himself in when writing this – in Chapter 1 he has already stated his situation – He's in prison and facing death head on but is determined to keep going

For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labour for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you.

But throughout all of this he is able to speak of Joy in the Lord. Rejoicing in the Lord comes from knowing him, realising what the Christian life is about, knowing that the future is secured, knowing how precious you are in his sight.

Once you know that you can really rejoice, knowing that relationship with him. Christmas is special not because of the commercialism and the Coca Cola Lorry arriving in the town but because God came down to us and made it possible for us to have a relationship with him.

The Joy which we rejoice with is only possible because we can have an intimate relationship with him – If our joy is founded on anything else it is inferior.

For some they rejoice in the latest technology or the latest fashion styles – nothing wrong with that but if that is where their identity is then they will always be striving for something more. But the thing is that with Joy founded in Christ brings meaning and fullness of life. Paul knew that – even in the midst of life locked up in a Roman jail.

As we move on in the passage How amazing it is to hear Paul re-iterate the words of Jesus – Do not worry about anything. Says he who is facing imprisonment and even death – Don't worry about anything … instead pray

I wonder what is concerning us this day. On the run up to Christmas what is worrying us, on the cusp of a new year what is scaring us? In our work life what is bearing down on us? In our familes are there worries we have? In these days of financial hardship are there things which are concerning us?

What are we to do … we are to pray about our worries. It is not a magical formula – pray and all your worries will disappear there and then but it is about gaining perspective, its about allowing God to minister to you, its about sharing your burdens with Him. Over the course of my time in St. Columba's it is such a privelige to go round on pastoral visits and share peoples burdens and pray with them – and leave the answers up to God. We do believe God does answer our prayers. As clergy we are only to delighted to pray with people in their joys, in their sorrows, in their concerns.
Please, if there is anything we can pray for please do not hesitate to ask us anytime.

In this passage it is interesting at the end – Paul concludes with a cresendo – if you do rejoice in the Lord, if you bring your requests before him – the result will be peace.

The word peace in the Bible as many will know – doesn't just simply mean a cessasion of violence or quietness but it means the deep fullness of life –

Paul was saul a jew before he became a follower of Christ so he would have known the fullness of the term shalom although he was now writing in Greek. If Chaos is disorder in the world – shalom is a restored order – The wholeness and health life in its proper place. The kind of life we sometimes dream of.


And he is saying that this peace will guard our hearts. Think about where Paul is … he is being guarded by soliders – he is illustrating here that the peace which God can provide is able to protect us from the harassment and fear which the world so often throws at us.

As we make our preparations for Christmas this year – let us remember what Paul is writing from his prison cell.

Let us rejoice in the incarnation, the fact that God is with us. On our Parish Christmas Card we have that reminder – Behold Emmanuel – God is with us. Our Joy needs to be grounded in that fact – if it is elsewhere then we are on shaky ground

Then let us bring our worries to God in Prayer … He is in control. Pray continuously … There is no problem too trivial or too Big for God. Share your prayers with others who can join you in prayer.

And finally rest assured in the Peace of Christ – know that he is God