Philippians 1:3 I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ 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.

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 what seemed like miles to get some of his cool and 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. The result was too few bowls 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. Employees of a firm are involved in the business, customers of the business are involved, but partners are committed. Customers will jump ship when there is a better deal someplace else. Employees will abandon ship in stormy seas. Partners stick together. It is no wonder then that in the business and professional worlds, achieving the rank of partner is such a sought-after goal.

My friends, you and I are privileged to be partners in the greatest of all ventures – the kingdom of God. Our sermon text speaks of our partnership in the gospel. It is indeed a commitment and passion. It is a partnership from the gospel and for the gospel.

We are partners with fellow Lutheran Christians and congregations for spreading the gospel in the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod or Shoreland Lutheran High School. We are partners with First Evan in running Wisconsin Lutheran School. We are partners with fellow members in sharing the gospel at Epiphany. We are partners with people in the pew next to you and partners with fellow Lutherans around the world.

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.

As he wrote, he could have focused on the negatives of his time spent in Philippi. He could have said, "Oh, I remember Philippi alright. I remember we could hardly find any religious people there at all. And then there was that demon-possessed slave girl who harassed us. I remember how the townspeople arrested us, stripped and beat us, put us in chains and threw us in prison. Oh yes, I remember Philippi."

But, no, his 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. I remember praying and singing hymns with Silas while the other prisoners listened. I remember the miraculous earthquake that opened our chains and the prison doors. I remember the Philippian jailer who was going to kill himself, but instead heard the gospel, so he and his whole family were baptized and became followers of Jesus. And when I remember, I thank God for all of you." The apostle recognized the hand of God in his gospel ministry.

When we think of our partnership in the gospel in the WELS, we could focus on the negatives. We could become disheartened when we learn that our church body is in a deep financial crisis and that we are dismantling ministries because of the severe budgetary problems. For example, our synod may be cutting $2 million from its budget. That means no longer funding 20 home missions and bringing home 10 world missionaries this year. It means cutting support staff. It means possibly closing Michigan Lutheran Seminary, one of our two WELS preparatory high schools.

Doesn’t that sound eerily similar to the problems we have experienced at Epiphany? Talks of cutting a secretary, losing a janitor, freezing called worker salaries, cutting a teacher, closing our school. We share the same problems as our synod, just on a smaller scale.

Or do we focus on the positives of this gospel partnership? For example, last week we saw a mother and her two daughters baptized and become members of God’s holy family; next Sunday we will see four adults and five teenagers joining our congregation; 125 children are receiving a Christian education in WLS and beautifying our worship with their singing; or as we saw last week, our teens willing to use their speaking and serving gifts as ushers, greeters, lectors, and instrumentalists.

Here is a positive story how God is using the cutbacks in world missions to raise up new men to carry on that important gospel ministry. Noah and Angela Chen had been attending classes at our Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in Mequon where we train our future pastors. The Chens had immigrated from Taiwan to the United States to spend their retirement years near their children. But Lutheran churches in Taiwan were without pastors because of WELS missionary cutbacks. Taiwanese Lutherans were urging Noah to come back so he could become a pastor as his grandfather had been. Noah’s brother, Peter, is training to become a Lutheran pastor. It seemed only natural to recruit Noah to shepherd congregations in Taiwan.

Noah decided to move back to Taiwan and become a pastor. He is officially a student of Asia Lutheran Seminary in Hong Kong, but since he was going to spend some time in the States, he began his pastoral studies at our seminary. Here is a man who spoke limited English taking beginning Greek, beginning Hebrew, and other courses like hermeneutics, isagogics, and exegesis. While here he also received practical training as he helped with preaching and teaching Bible classes at the Chinese outreach programs at St. John’s, Wauwatosa, and Wisconsin Lutheran Chapel in Madison.

Because Noah spoke limited English, his wife, Angela, sat with Noah in all of his seminary courses to translate the professors’ remarks into Mandarin as necessary. They were a great team at our seminary. And now we ask God to bless this gospel team at the Asia Lutheran Seminary and then as Noah becomes a pastor and missionary in his home country of Taiwan.

When God allows difficulties and challenges to arise in our ministries, he also provides extraordinary ways to overcome those difficulties and challenges. For example, hearing of the financial crisis at Epiphany, last year we received sizable gifts of fifteen thousand dollars, five thousand, and recently another eight thousand. Hearing of the financial emergency in the WELS, recently one family has promised a gift of one and a half million dollars to the synod for the next five years. We need those special gifts, but we also need the regular, faithful offerings of God’s people. At Emma Bunck’s funeral, Emma’s daughter gave me a stack of offering envelopes. Every Sunday when Emma wasn’t able to be here for church, she put her five or ten dollars into her envelope and put it in a stack. When challenges arise, God provides faithful people to overcome those challenges.

And when difficulties, frustrations, disappointments and challenges arise in our ministries, God always provides a way to carry out his work until it is completed to his divine satisfaction.

It was a cold winter day and the sidewalks were covered with ice. Little Bobby and his father were on their way to church. It was the first time the little three-year-old was wearing his new overcoat with its deep pockets. As they approached a slippery place, the father extended his hand to the youngster and said, "You’d better let me hold your hand." But Bobby had his hands tucked down deep into those pockets and kept them there – until he slipped and fell. Somewhat humbled by this experience he got up and said, "Okay, Daddy, I’ll hold your hand." And he reached up and took his father’s hand with the feeble grasp of a three-year-old.

Soon they came to another slippery place – and down he went. His tiny fingers had not been able to hold on tightly enough to his father’s hand. Once more he picked himself up and they continued walking. But after thinking for a moment, Bobby looked up into his father’s face and said with childlike confidence, "Daddy, you hold my hand." And as they went safely on their way and ultimately reached their destination, it was the father’s hand that upheld the boy and preserved him from further danger – not the boy’s grip on the father’s hand, but the father’s grip on his.

Whether the dangers and difficulties we face in our personal lives or in our church or church body are personal, doctrinal or theological, we will overcome. Not because we are working hard. Not because we are holding on to God with our faith. But because God is holding on to us. Our great Good Shepherd takes our hand in his and walks with us every step of the way. And we have the Good Shepherd’s own promise on this, "No one can snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:28) Paul gives us this same confidence: "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."

God has given us partners in the gospel to carry this work to completion. As the apostle Paul reflected on the congregation at Philippi he was filled with joy "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." (Acts 16:15) And she persuaded Paul and his missionary companions to use her home as a base of operations from which they could carry on the gospel ministry.

Paul didn’t do his ministry alone. He had lay members that assisted him like Lydia, Aquilla and Priscilla. He had missionary partners like Luke, Mark, Barnabas, and Silas. He worked closely to train pastors like Timothy and Titus. While in prison he was supported by people like Epaphroditus and Onesimus and whole congregations like Philippi.

In the same way, we work together in a partnership with fellow members and churches in our Wisconsin Synod to spread the gospel in Racine, in the United States and around the world.

On our own, we could not train theologically competent men and women to serve as pastors, teachers, staff ministers, professors, counselors or missionaries. We need the partnership of fellow members and churches in the WELS.

Together as partners in the gospel we are able to have theologically trained men with a masters of divinity degree to lead us in worship and Bible study. Together as partners we are able to have teachers to educate our young people in math, science and especially Christ at WLS and other parochial schools, Shoreland and other area Lutheran high schools and preparatory schools, and at Martin Luther College and Wisconsin Lutheran College. Together as partners we are able to produce sound Lutheran theological studies like the Christ Light curriculum, various Bible studies, and countless books all provided through our Northwestern Publishing House. The list of what we are able to accomplish as partners in the gospel could go on and on.

Yes, there are problems in our synod, just like in this congregation. Thankfully those problems are not theological, but only monetary. As I have always said about this congregation – and it is also true about our synod – if money is the only thing we have to worry about, then we are blessed beyond belief. Lack of money is the easiest problem to fix.

Partnering in anything is a challenge, whether it be in sports, military, business, a church or a synod. It is a challenge and an opportunity to accomplish great things for God’s kingdom. Our good and gracious God has seen us through the most difficult of challenges – sin, death and hell. He won salvation for us. We will one day gather around the Lamb’s throne with all our fellow partners in the gospel. If God can win heaven for us, surely he can and will see us through any other challenges we may face.

Partnership in the gospel. This is something for which to give thanks. This is something to rejoice in. This is something to be passionate about. Amen.