Last week, I reminded you to put on the whole armor of God because there is a spiritual war happening beyond the veil of the physical world that we can see. So much is happening beyond what we can see. But today I also want to remind you that part of what we cannot see is a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on.
Imagine standing in a great stadium filled with a roaring crowd.
Now, I know we have a lot of football fans here at Pleasant Grove — you’ve been to those stadiums packed with thousands of people. But picture something far greater — ten, twenty, a hundred times larger. And this crowd isn’t cheering for a football team. They’re cheering for you — for us — brothers and sisters in Christ who are striving to do the will of our Father.
Abraham from Genesis is there. Moses from Exodus. Mary, the mother of Jesus. The twelve apostles — they’re all there, cheering for us. Isn’t that incredible? We’ve spent our lives looking up to them, admiring their faith and courage — yet now they are the ones cheering us on!
Martin Luther of the Reformation, Martin Luther King Jr. of the Civil Rights movement, John and Charles Wesley, Billy Graham — they’re all in that heavenly grandstand, lifting their voices for us. And among them are the saints of Pleasant Grove — people whose names you may never have heard, who worshiped in this church 150 years ago, dreaming of the ministry you’re living out today. They are in the glory of heaven, cheering for you now.
And then there are the saints we do remember — Sarah Brooker, T.W.W. Soby, Bonnie Sloan, Eddie Marlow, Sue McKenna, and so many others. I couldn’t possibly name them all; we’d be here forever. But they’re all part of that great cloud of witnesses, watching, hoping, and cheering for you.
Among them are former pastors of this church — Jack Gillespie, Dean Milford, Jack Summers — and even those early circuit riders who came on horseback, preaching in this very place, pouring their hearts into this congregation, loving you just as I have loved you. Now, they’re in heaven, still cheering for you. They haven’t forgotten.
This is the Communion of Saints. It is the living, eternal fellowship of all believers in Christ–both those living in this life and those living in the afterlife. Whenever we worship, they worship with us. They care about us. The Bible says they are cheering for us.
Hebrews 12:1
1 Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith,
let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so
easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before
us.
Revelation repeats the vision of the Communion of Saints in even greater detail:
Revelation 7:9-12
9 After this I saw a vast
crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language,
standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white
robes and held palm branches in their hands. 10 And they were shouting
with a great roar,
“Salvation comes from our
God who sits on the throne
and from the Lamb!”
11 And all the angels were
standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings.
And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped
God. 12 They sang,
“Amen! Blessing and glory
and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor
and power and strength belong to our God
forever and ever! Amen.”
The Kingdom of God is so much bigger than we can see or even imagine. It is a multitude from every nation, worshiping the Lamb — a vision of ultimate unity and joy.
For fifteen years, we have been on this journey together. We have loved each other, challenged each other, encouraged one another, helped each other, and learned together. We have worshiped side by side, and through it all, we’ve seen God’s hand at work among us.
No matter where I am—whether on earth or one day in heaven—I will always be cheering for you. Always. I will continue serving as the pastor of Pleasant Grove Methodist in Dalton until December 31st. But even after that, though I may no longer be their pastor, I will always be their friend, their brother in Christ, and their biggest supporter.
And thanks to the gift of technology, I will still be able to keep up with them and even worship with them online from time to time.
Most importantly, I will always be their brother in Christ; and in Him, that bond is eternal.
In the meantime, we still have a race to run. We still have a kingdom to build.
Hebrews 12:1-2
1 Therefore,
since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith,
let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so
easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before
us. 2 We do
this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our
faith.[a] Because
of the joy[b] awaiting
him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the
place of honor beside God’s throne.
Hebrews says, “Strip off every weight that slows you down.”
When I first came to my church in Dalton, we had a program called Run for God. For many people, it was the first time they had ever tried to run, and I was so proud of how everyone gave it their all. I went back and looked through some of the old Facebook posts from that time, and it was so encouraging to see the comments like: “I’m out here trying to run for God… it’s a good thing I’m running for God, because otherwise I’d have quit already!”
You could hear the struggle, but also the determination and joy behind it. Running is hard work—and so is walking in faith. Some people couldn’t run, but they got out there and walked. They were walking for God. And you know what? If you can’t run, walk. If you can’t walk, crawl. Whatever it takes—just keep moving forward for God.
But the writer of Hebrews says, “Strip off every weight that slows you down.” Imagine trying to run a race with a 50-pound bag on your back, your arms full of boxes, maybe a few grocery bags too. How far do you think you’d get? Probably not very. It would be exhausting—maybe even impossible.
That’s what happens when we try to run the spiritual race while carrying things that weigh us down. The passage says especially sin, because of course, there are things in our lives we know we need to let go of—things we ought not to do, things we know aren’t right. We’ve got to lay them down, like the old hymn says, so we can run freely and effectively.
But notice—it doesn’t just say sin. It says, “Every weight.” There are things that aren’t sinful, but they still slow us down. They still keep us from running the race effectively. It’s like dragging an anchor while you’re trying to run a marathon.
So what are those things?
Maybe it’s worry—carrying anxiety that God never meant for you to bear.
Maybe it’s fear—hesitating to follow God’s call because you’re afraid.
Maybe it’s busyness—being pulled in so many directions that you can’t focus on what really matters. Not everything you do is bad; it just may not be what God wants you to do.
Maybe it’s comparison—constantly looking at what someone else has, how they look, or how they serve, instead of running your own race.
Like Amy said earlier, it’s easy to want someone else’s “nose”—or their talents, their gifts, their circumstances. But God made you to run your race, not theirs.
So let’s strip away anything that slows us down—sin, fear, distraction, comparison—and fix our eyes on Jesus. He’s the one who set the course before us, and He’s waiting at the finish line with open arms.
Verse 2 says: "Keep your eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith."
Jesus is the reason “Love Lives at Pleasant Grove”.
Jesus is the reason so many saints have come from our pews.
Jesus is the reason Pleasant Grove has endured through so many trials over the years ans continued to be a vital part of our community.
Jesus is the reason this church will continue to be a beacon of love and hope for years to come.
I will be
leaving at the end of this year to go serve where Jesus is leading me.
But the
mission of God continues here at Pleasant Grove.
The same Spirit who brought us together will continue to lead you.
And my
sincerest hope for you is that you will continue to follow Him with your whole
heart.
Closing Ceremony
[Invite
everyone to take the hand of the person next to them until we are all holding
someone’s hand…]
Pastor:
We stand as one body — saints together, past, present, and future.
As I prepare to go where God is sending me,
and as you prepare to receive what God will do here next,
let’s bless one another.
Congregation:
Lord, we thank You for every saint who has run the race before us.
Thank You for the love we have shared, the prayers we have lifted,
and the lives You’ve changed here.
Pastor:
Bless this congregation as they continue their ministry.
Strengthen them in faith, guide them in hope, and unite them in love.
Congregation:
And bless Pastor Chris as he prepares to go serve another part of Your body
in January,
that together we may keep running the race You’ve set before us —
so we all gather together at Your throne in eternity.
All: Amen.
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