Ten years: a decade, 520 weeks, 3,652 days, 87,600 hours. A lot can change in ten years: less hair, more weight, deeper wrinkles. As I stand here this day, ten years to the day when I became pastor of this church, my mind is literally boggled at where I am today, and where we are today, and the journey we have made together over the last ten years.

As I struggled to discern the message I should bring this Sunday, I had several different texts and thrusts dancing in my head, when sitting at the Executive Committee Meeting in Nashville a couple of weeks ago, a dear lady got up and read one verse, Philippians 1:3, and the Lord impressed me immediately to preach this message.

First Baptist Snellville and the church at Philippi have so much in common, even concerning the time period when Paul…