This Sunday we will finish our “Discover Joy” series by looking at Philippians 4:1-23, which shows us “The Path To Peace.” 

How can we be at peace with others?  With ourselves?  How can we have a peace that transcends circumstances?  We’ll talk about all of that on Sunday. 

What a great blessing it has been to walk with you through this “Epistle of Joy!” 

In June and July, I will be on Sabbatical.  I am deeply grateful for this gift, which coincides with my 10^th anniversary as your pastor, and my 30^th anniversary as a pastor and a husband.  On May 23, 1992, Melissa and I stood at the front of our FBC-Suffolk sanctuary and made our vows to one another.  We went on our honeymoon, and our first church was waiting for us when we got back. This will be the first extended break we have ever taken.   

So pray for us during this Sabbatical.  My plan is to spend lots of time in the Word and prayer, just drawing close to Christ and family, without the weekly pressure of sermon preparation and ministry.  I plan to do some writing, and some reading that will “sharpen the saw.”  Other pastors I know, who have taken Sabbaticals, have shared with me that it was a huge “win-win” for them and their churches, because they came back refreshed and ready for the next season of ministry.  

That is what I would ask you to pray for us.  And I will be praying for you.  It is healthy for churches to hear other voices at times, and we have a fantastic lineup of preachers that you will hear from in June and July.   

Upon my return at the beginning of August, we will embark on a study of the life of Joseph, called “God Meant It For Good.”  We’ll dig into Joseph’s story in Genesis 37-50, and see how our sovereign God is “causing all things to work together for good, for those who love him and are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28).  

I’ll be faithfully praying for our church over the next couple of months.  I believe it will be a sweet season of ministry for FBC.  Our church family is not about one person.  It is a family.  And I ask you to pray for me, that the Spirit of God will do a deep work in me during this Sabbatical, and that I will return closer to Jesus than ever, closer to Melissa and our family than ever, and more ready than ever to lead our church into the bright future God has for us.  

But we are not gone yet!  I will see you this Sunday, with a Bible in my hand, as we finish our study of Philippians.  Come prayed up and bring a friend.  

By His Grace, For His Glory, To The Nations,  

Dr. Thurman Hayes, Jr.