During the summer of 1904 an unlikely partnership was formed at the World’s Fair in St. Louis.  The summer was unusually hot and people were searching the fair for something to help cool them off.  Arnold Fornachou had just what they were looking for – ice cream.  People lined up for miles to get some of his cool, satisfying ice cream.  But there was a problem.  Arnold was not prepared for the demand and ran out of paper bowls and was forced to wash a few porcelain bowls over and over again! Too few were being served, and people were getting tired of waiting.

Next to Arnold’s ice cream booth was the booth of a pastry chef by the name of Ernest Hamwi.  He was making a Persian wafer desert called zalabia.  Ernest also had a problem.  His pastry was not selling.  He noticed the problem Arnold was having and took some warm zalabia and rolled it into a cone shape.  He then went over and showed Arnold how the zalabia could hold a scoop of ice cream.  On that hot day during the World’s Fair, the ice cream cone was born because a partnership was formed!

Partnership is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.  It involves commitment and passion.  Customers are involved in a business, employees of a firm are involved in the business, but partners are committed.  Customers will jump ship when there is a better deal someplace else.  Employees will abandon ship in stormy seas.  But partners stick together.  It is no wonder that achieving the rank of partner is such a sought after goal.

Friends, you & I are privileged to be partners in the greatest of all ventures – the kingdom of God!  Our text speaks of our partnership in the gospel.  It is indeed about commitment and passion. It is partnership from and for the gospel.  You are part of something great!

A partnership in the gospel was a thrill to the Apostle Paul.  It brought him joy!  He wrote of it in his letter to the Christians in the city of Philippi.  Philippians has a joyful tone running through the entire letter.  That is evident from the opening words:  “I thank my God every time I remember you.  In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel.”

There is a huge difference between joy and happiness.  Happiness depends on circumstances.  Joy is a blessing that flows from the gifts God gives.  The Apostle Paul was not in happy circumstances.  He wrote this while imprisoned in Rome under “house arrest.”  Today, courts enforce “house arrest” by attaching electronic monitors on the wrist or ankle of prisoners.  Lacking such technology, the Romans simply chained the prisoner to a Roman soldier 24/7!  Can you imagine what that would be like?  We’ve seen how Roman soldiers can be!  “House arrest” wasn’t something that would bring “happiness.”  Yet, Paul writes with joy and thanksgiving!
           
It is also joy that fills his memories.  Writing to the Philippians, he could have said, “Oh, I remember Philippi alright!  I remember we could hardly find any God-fearing people there at all.  And then there was that demon-possessed girl who harassed us.  I remember how the townspeople arrested us, stripped and beat us, put us in chains, and threw us into the dark and dirty dungeon.  Oh yes, I remember Philippi.”

But no!  Paul’s thoughts were, “I remember Lydia and how she and all her household became Christians and then she insisted we stay at her house.  I remember casting a demon out of a slave girl and seeing her set free, her life changed.  I remember praying and singing hymns with Silas while the other prisoners listened.  I remember the Philippian jailer and his family, and all those other people who became followers of Jesus!  And when I remember, I thank God for you!”  The Apostle recognized God’s hand in his ministry!

Friends, what comes to mind when we think of one another?  What do our memories of each other hold?  The times you disagreed with someone in a meeting?  The times you were disappointed with someone who didn’t come through in helping you out?  Or have you ever had a smug “I told you so” kind of satisfaction when your brother or sister fell into a dreadful kind of sin, even though they should have known better?  Is our opinion of someone framed by the memory of how they failed to carry through on their commitment?  When we think of our synod, our partners in the Gospel, on this special Sunday, is your first thought, “They must want something from us again!”?  Those kinds of memories and thoughts will tear apart a congregation and synod.  They will tear apart a partnership.

What a different atmosphere pervades our family of believers when we remember the partnership in the gospel with which God has blessed us!  We all are on equal standing before the Lord – sinners in need of forgiveness; sinners forgiven by the grace of God in Jesus; sinners forgiven of our own dreadful sins, and our less than charitable thoughts toward others.  We believe in the same Saviour; we live in the same peace and forgiveness; we possess the same hope of heaven!  We each have a share in the blessings of the gospel, and we share those blessings together!  That is a partnership in the gospel!

What joy we have when we gather together for worship and encourage one another and are encouraged by one another.  How we cherish “proclaiming the Lord’s death until He comes” together with those with whom we come to the Lord’s Supper.  What excitement when we band together here, and with our brothers & sisters in the WELS, to do the work of the kingdom!

This partnership in the gospel has come to us from God.  He began that good work in us!  That “good work” is God’s saving activity in us!  Our partnership in the gospel – our faith in Jesus by which we have a share in forgiveness and salvation – is all God’s doing.  And He accomplished it with the Gospel.  The same Gospel Paul once proclaimed in Philippi to the jailor who locked him up - “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”- God has used through his Word & sacrament here to bring us to faith in Jesus and fellowship with one another.

With that same gospel God will continue to bless us!  “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Many a Christian has been haunted by the fear of losing one’s faith.  How can we last until eternity dawns?  How can we be sure we will not let go of our faith and end up losing the salvation we have in Jesus and are enjoying today?

It was a cold winter day and the sidewalks were covered with ice.  I was walking Elijah to the bus.  He had his winter coat on, and wanted to keep his hands inside the pockets.  But I noticed there were some ice-patches coming up, so I held out my hand and said, “You’d better let me hold your hand.”  But Elijah sometimes has a mind of his own, and insisted on keeping his hands thrust into his pockets.  The first patch of ice came, and down he went.  He wasn’t hurt, but maybe his pride was a bit.  Somewhat humbled, he got back up and said, “OK, Dad, I’ll hold your hand.”  And he reached up and held my hand with the grasp of a four-year-old.

But another ice patch came – and down he went again.  His little fingers had not been enough to grip my hand with sufficient strength to insure against falling.  Once more, he got up as Elijah does, and we kept making our way to the bus stop.  But after thinking it through for a bit, he finally looked up at me and said, “OK, Dad, can you hold my hand?”  At the next icy spot, his little feet began sliding again, and he was going down, but I locked on, and held him with my hand, his feet dangling, but kept him from falling.  He smiled and laughed.  And on we went to the bus stop, reaching it safely.  Ultimately, it was his father’s hand that held him up and kept him from further danger.  Not the boy’s grip on his father’s hand, but the father’s grip on his.

Similarly, our faith is not a matter of us holding onto God.  It is a matter of God holding on to us!  And we have the promise He will do so.  “Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

It is important for us to realize that God, not only in the giving of our faith, but also in the keeping us in our faith, uses his gospel in Word and sacrament to do it.  God uses his Word to “hold on to us.” It is through his gospel he brought us to faith, and it is through his gospel that He keeps us in faith.  So what should we do?  Let’s remain close to the gospel!!  Let’s practice the habit of daily meditation on God’s precious Word.  Let’s be regular at church, listen attentively to the Scriptures and messages, and neglect no opportunity to receive the Lord’s Supper for the reassurance it gives us of the peace and forgiveness Jesus has given us!

Will the Gospel always be here to preserve us?  This is where our partnership in the Gospel becomes another blessing.  Remember: a partner is not only involved, but also committed.  Paul was filled with joy as he remembered the congregation at Philippi “because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.”

He remembered how Lydia and her household were the first ones God brought to faith through the gospel, and then Lydia telling them, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord come and stay at my house.”  And she persuaded them, the Bible says.  From the very beginning, their partnership in the gospel provided Paul and his companions a base from which they could carry on their gospel ministry.  “And until now,” Paul writes.  One of the purposes for which God inspired the Apostle Paul to write the letter to the Philippians was to thank them for a gift they had sent him to support his ministry.  In the last chapter of his letter he writes: “I am amply supplied now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent.  They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” (4:18). The Gospel had blessed the Philippians and they wanted the gospel ministry to continue so others would also be blessed.

Our partnership in the gospel is not only having a share in the blessings of the gospel, but also a sharing of the gospel!  What a blessing it is to have partners with which to do that!  Through our common faith in Jesus we join our time and abilities and offerings to carry on the work of the gospel ministry.  This is what enables us to have facilities and funding which can serve as the base for our ministries as Lydia’s house did for Paul.  This is what enables us to support called workers to lead us in worship and the preaching of God’s Word to nurture and preserve us in faith, to have teachers to assist our parents in bringing up their children in the training and instruction of the Lord, to have Bible classes to grow in the knowledge and grace of Jesus, and to have an outlet to give of ourselves for the Lord’s Kingdom.

And what a blessing it is to have partners in the Gospel beyond our congregation to support us in our gospel ministry.  All of our called workers have come from within our fellowship and have been trained in our synod schools to preach and teach God’s Word in all its truth and purity.  And by the way, Cross of Life exists because of the direct funding of our synod! (explain).  On top of this, we have the opportunity to bring the gospel all over the world through our offerings for the mission work coordinated by our synod.

Partnership in the Gospel.  It has more than a nice ring to it.  It is a sharing in the blessings of the gospel with the commitment to share the gospel with others.  This is something for which to give thanks!  This is something to rejoice in!  This is even something to be passionate about!  Each one of You are part of something great!   Amen.