What I'm Grateful For in 2023
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Benjamin Kreps:
Hey everyone and welcome to the Mark Prater podcast where our aim is to connect our global family of Sovereign Grace Churches with our executive director. Mark, it is wise for each one of us at the end of each year to pause and to ponder what God has been doing in our lives in our churches over the last year because he has been at work. We serve a God of steadfast love and faithfulness who loves to give good gifts to his children. And certainly we have experienced so much of God's goodness in Sovereign Grace churches over the last year, you have been reflecting on what God has been doing. Talk to us about that.
Mark Prater:
I have been, it's December 28th. That's the day that we are recording this podcast. It'll drop into inboxes probably January 2nd or third next week. So I've been doing that this week like you have been, just reflecting on how good God has been to our family of churches over the last year. And I'm always amazed at his goodness, I probably shouldn't be, but I am because he just does more than we could ask or even think to ask him. His goodness is just exceedingly good because it's a reflection of his infinite goodness that is one of the attributes of God's character. So I've just been walking around as I've been praying this week as I recount the many blessings toward our family of churches from God this year just worshiping him and being amazed by them. And what I wanted to do is share just a few.
We could record a very long podcast where I could give you a comprehensive list of the good things God has done, but I'll try to distill it down so this episode isn't too long. First of all, here's the first thing I'm grateful for. I'm grateful for the pastors and members of Sovereign Grace churches who have a clear commitment to gospel centrality. What I mean by that is our pastors have a faithful commitment to preach gospel centered sermons each and every Sunday. And it's just always humbling to see really how the members of our churches respond to that preaching by applying the gospel to their lives in every aspect of their lives.
And so what you see, wherever I go really throughout the world in Sovereign Grace churches, I see the fruit of the gospel in that church. It's a reflection of the fruit of the gospel and our gospel culture that is really captured, I think, in our seven shaping virtues. You did a breakout session on that at the pastor's conference. So humility, joy, gratitude, generosity, encouragement, servanthood, godliness. You see that in Sovereign Grace churches and it's not unique to Sovereign Grace. I don't want to sound that way, but it is distinct in Sovereign Grace and it's really seen, and I experience it in every Sovereign Grace church I go to regardless of what part of the world that church is in. And that's really a remarkable work. It is really the fruit of the gospel and God's power at work in us through the spirit to transform us and make us more like Christ. It's an amazing work and God deserves all the glory. So I'm very grateful for that as I've traveled over this last year.
The other thing I'm really grateful for is the number of new Christians, new believers that I've met in Sovereign Grace churches. They recently have come to faith in Christ. They're beginning to grow in Christ. Many of them have just been baptized or planning to be baptized, and it's such a joy to interact with them. And you can see the impact that has on a congregation that some new life in Christ is among them and their own love for Christ affects all the others who have been loving Christ for years and it just makes it exponentially greater. So I'm grateful for how the pastors have faithfully preached the gospel and how the members of our churches and our pastors have shared the gospel with unbelievers and reached out to them and invited them to church. It really is another amazing work of God and I just thank the members and pastors of Sovereign Grace Churches for doing that.
Another thing I'm grateful for is I just see how God over this past year has continued to give us opportunities to plant churches and partner with churches throughout the world. I think we have churches in about 20 different nations now, and that's something that we didn't plan for. It's something I don't think we even anticipated. And yet God has been good to us to partner with really like-minded churches, not just theologically, but also in terms of their own gospel culture that just maps onto ours. And it's just been a wonderful season for us to expand globally and to see how God is using our churches throughout the world to advance the gospel. Another evidence of that this year, we talked about this in a previous podcast, at the Council of Elders meeting, we voted to establish Mexico as the first ecclesiastical nation outside the United States. And that's important because it's a reflection of how our brothers in Mexico, our pastors there and the members of our churches have really labored for the gospel for over 30 years now. So I just thank God for the global opportunities that he's given us.
Another thing I'm really encouraged by, especially as an older man, as I've traveled throughout Sovereign Grace churches this year, I thank God for the young people in our churches. I see younger generations of people, and I'm thinking particularly the teen years into the twenties, early thirties, who really love Jesus and are excited about the work of the gospel and love their Sovereign Grace church. It really is encouraging to see and maybe an evidence that we might be a multi-generational family of churches by the grace of God. And that's why I'm so encouraged by the Relay Conference that will happen this first week of January where we're going to have between 650 and 700 young adults there who are gathered together. And I think one of the effects of that conference is those young adults are going to leave together realizing, boy, we're not on gospel mission alone. We're doing this with other people of our generation throughout the world in Sovereign Grace Churches. So I'm very grateful to God for the young people in our churches.
Another thing I'm grateful for, and I think this is really important given this cultural moment, I'm grateful to the pastors of Sovereign Grace who faithfully preach sound doctrine and build their churches on sound doctrine. Much of that is found in those theological commitments we've made to one another in our statement of faith. And that has a long lasting effect because when you build your church on the solid rock of God's word, it will not be moved. And that's not easy to do right now in this cultural moment. So not only do you need theological precision in your preaching, you need courage to preach it. And brothers, pastors in Sovereign Grace, you have done that well and I thank God for you. And it's an evidence just one of the many evidences of the grace of God on your lives.
I'm also grateful for our commitment, ongoing commitment to build together relationally as a family of churches. So we are a denomination. When we codified the BCO and approved it in 2013, we became a denomination. But since then we've continued to build relationally. And so we truly are a family of churches. And I've seen that even as we've expanded globally, even as new generations step into pastoral ministry, there is a commitment to continue to build relationally. And I think that's always marked us. And it's something that makes doing ministry together sweeter. We know one another, we love one another, we like one another. And that makes doing gospel ministry just so much better. And so that is the grace of God on our lives. It's another expression of his goodness towards Sovereign Grace.
And then let me say one other thing I've got on my list. I thank God for the wives of the pastors in Sovereign Grace Churches. These ladies are the real heroes in my opinion, in Sovereign Grace. Not because of how they selflessly serve in their homes, but also in the church, but they do something unique. They are a unique help to their husband's pastoral ministry, meaning that they pray for their husbands, they encourage their husbands, they also speak truth to their husbands. And we need to hear that. They will correct us when we need to be corrected, which I need, and I'm sure you need Ben, I think every Sovereign Grace pastor needs. And so I'm just very grateful for their love for their husbands, their service to them and their willingness to speak truth to them. And that has only strengthened the pastors in Sovereign Grace. And in a human sense, the strength that lies behind that are the wives of Sovereign Grace pastors and they are an expression of God's goodness to our family of churches. I could go on and on, but those are some things I've been reflecting on and thanking God for this year.
Benjamin Kreps:
Amen. It is wonderful to ponder 2023 and to spy all over the place, God's goodness toward us, his blessing upon our lives and churches. And we don't want to ever take that for granted. And so I join with you having a grateful heart at what God has done and even pondering 2024 and anticipating how God will meet us by and in his goodness in the days ahead for Sovereign Grace Churches.
Mark Prater:
Amen. One other thing I want to just express gratitude for, Ben, is for you. Thank you for doing this podcast with me yet again another year. I believe we've only missed a couple of weeks this year, so we probably recorded 50 podcasts this year, and I just thank God for how you make it so much better. I went back and looked because I'd forgotten, actually, I think I started this podcast in the fall of 2019 and tried to do that a bit alone. I did it with Eric Turbedsky for a bit. And then around the first of 2020, you and I began to record these podcasts together. So we've been doing it about three years now and I'm so glad I get to do it with you again. I think you just improve it. And thank you for making the time and the effort to do this. We both have said this, we do this podcast to serve the pastors and members of Sovereign Grace Churches, and so if it stops fulfilling that purpose, we'll just close it down. We'll shut it down. But if it continues to do that, I'm so glad I get to do that with you. So thank you.
Benjamin Kreps:
Well, you're quite welcome and thank you, Mark. It is an honor and a pure joy to get to record this with you each week. I think we're heading toward, we're around 150 episodes, which is pretty substantial and we're not stopping regardless of whether there may be some out there who wish we would. It is just for those who are checking out the podcast. It's deeply encouraging to Mark and myself when we hear from you, either personally at the conference or through email, that this podcast does serve you because that is the heart that beats behind this. So I'm so grateful that we get to do this together, Mark. I do believe that the pastors in Sovereign Graces churches are just the finest pastors on the planet. And so to be in partnership together with the like-minded churches of Sovereign Grace Churches is such a joy.
So thank you all for giving us the opportunity to come into your inbox so you can hear from Mark every week. And this is the last podcast we're recording in 2023. So when you get this podcast next week, it will be 2024. And so we look forward to continuing to serve you in whatever contribution we can make in 2024. So thanks, Mark. Thank you.
Let me add one more piece of gratitude, and that's for the excellent job that you do in serving us as our executive director. And looking at and pondering what God has been doing through your leadership team and the pastors of Sovereign Grace Churches, I have nothing but a joyful expectation about what God has for us in the days ahead. So thank you all for watching or reading. We'll see you here next year. Lord willing. Bye for now.