Matthew 16:21-28 on August 30th, 2026
Above is audio of the sermon pulled from the video and amplified.
Below is transcript pulled from the video and formatted by artificial intelligence. There may be inconsistencies or errors.
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Last week, Peter made his wonderful confession that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And this week, Jesus immediately starts talking about suffering, death, and the cross. So of course, Peter emphatically says, nope, that is not how it's supposed to go. And Jesus reminds Peter that following him is not about protecting what is or being successful in the world's eyes. It's not about human things, but divine things. It's about taking up the cross and following him.
And that, I think, presents a really good question for us. What does it mean for us to follow Jesus? In this particular moment in the life of St. Philip. And to start to answer that question, I'd like to give a general update on where we are as a faith community, a state of the congregation, if you will. Now, maybe this won't be quite as exciting as some story where I embarrass myself, but hopefully it's good and helpful to hear about where we were, where we are, and what questions lie ahead as we try to keep following Jesus.
This past year saw a lot of transition. Believe it or not, just one year ago, we were still worshiping in the fellowship hall as this space was very much still being renovated. And through those renovations, we were hoping to improve our worship and welcome. Flipping the worship space, creating a narthex, removing steps and other barriers, adding an organ, improving the parking lot, and more.
And to get to that point, we kicked off our forward-together capital campaign in the spring of 2023. And the three years for giving gifts came to a close at Easter of this past year. And to do a quick review of those numbers, we set a goal of raising $700,000, but we had pledges and grants totaling $830,000. The total bill for all of the projects that we accomplished came in at about 1.5 million. However, generosity continued, and in May of this year, we converted our line of credit into a mortgage. The total amount to pay back was around $600,000 with a monthly payment of about $35,000, which we have been handling since.
But in efforts to pay off that loan as soon as possible, we launched our free to flourish special appeal in April. And this came to be because generous donors approached us with a challenge. Those donors would match all new funds given to the capital campaign, $1 for dollar, up to $300,000. And the matching challenge would run from April of 2026 to October of 2027. So if you do a little bit of math, we could be debt-free a year from now, or sooner.
Paying down debt itself is a hard, cross-shaped, sacrificial thing to do. So initial pledges came in for the free to flourish special appeal. And those came to about $215,000. Some of those were one-time gifts. Some of them are monthly. Some of them are still yet to come in 2027. Already, though, our regular payments and several lump sum payments have reduced our loan amount to around $250,000. Then in May of 2027, we'll have the chance to re-amerturize the loan based off the principle that we've paid off. So even if no more large payments happen between now and May, our monthly payment is already expected to be reduced to about $1800. It is a tremendous gift to be where we are so soon. And I am hopefully confident that next year at this time, we will be on the brink of being debt-free. So thank you for all that you have done and given up to this point.
Now, with all of the excitement of renovations and generosity inspiring more giving, we're also doing some strategic planning. While the physical changes are important, the spiritual and organizational focus really is what helps us function and follow Jesus better as a community. We knew that we were experiencing growth and we wanted to be prepared for what was coming. So we asked the question, what would we need to change to integrate the next 50 people that God wants to send to us? And through wrestling with that question, we created our Throb Crossing Thresholds Ministry Guide.
The first foundational piece was a mission statement, particularly because St. Phil's previous mission statement was adopted while I was still in high school. It wasn't bad in the strict sense of the word. It just didn't describe what we do and who we are striving to be together. Our new mission statement does just that, expanding God's table for all in spirit, song, and service.
Along with that, the Crossing Thresholds plan had six various focus areas to help us navigate the growth that we have had and anticipate. Small group ministry to help form relationships in the congregation, especially with the number of people that we have spread over multiple worship services. Congrational care to help ensure people don't slip through the cracks and times of need. Christian hospitality, as we learn how to live into this new space. Community engagement, how to be a good neighbor and share what we have to offer. Children and youth, and how to better nurture their faith. And serving neighbors in new and ever-expanding ways.
In the midst of all these exciting things, we continued to gather for our authentic worship, welcome intentionally and inclusively and have genuine, faithful fellowship. And looking ahead, we will continue working on those pieces of our crossing Thresholds plan to help us better function for those here and those not here yet. Along with that, our congregation council not only looks back, but that spends intentional time looking ahead, seeing what areas need support, crafting vision in the midst of changes, and striving to help us all become better followers of Jesus.
And while this is a whole lot of information with zero stories about me being the butt of the joke, this sermon isn't really about our building. It isn't about a mortgage or a special appeals. It isn't even a sermon about the exciting things that are happening here at St. Philip. It is a sermon about following Jesus.
So let's go back to Peter for a second. This Jesus, the one who calls us to bear a cross and follow Him, is the same one Peter declared as the Messiah. So before Jesus tells anyone to take that cross and follow the truth of the good news is already out there. The Messiah is the one who calls us. The Savior sends us, the one who is the way, the truth, and the life is the one who gathers us, forgives us, feeds us, and sends us back out into the world.
Because all of this could easily slip into being a monument to us, rather than a testimony to what God has done is doing and promises yet to do. We got here because God kept leading us, showing us, directing us, and we followed, however imperfectly. But that is what Jesus does. He sends us to follow, to do the hard things, to trust that He is leading us in right pathways for His namesake.
And for us at St. Philip, none of this would have happened if we just sat back and didn't follow Jesus, the Messiah. And even when He led us to do hard things, which He often does, we trusted that if we were following He would be leading. Because Jesus is who He says He is, we know that His way is the right way to go.
We have a lot to celebrate. We really do. God has been incredibly generous to this congregation, and God has worked through numerous people and countless ways. We have followed His faithfully as we could. God has called us to this place, and look what God has done through you. Worship and welcome expanding God's spirit, song, service.
And where next? Where is Jesus calling us to follow? What will God do through us in the coming year? We don't know exactly where Jesus is leading us, but we do know who we are following. And that is enough. So St. Philip, let's follow on. Amen.