The theme this year is about following the example of Jesus in what He declared He would do in Matthew 16:18. Jesus emphatically declared “I will build” and He will do exactly what He said He would do. He completed the work that He came to earth to do in His redemptive work being the foundation of the church age that He is currently still building. He will also finish the work He is now doing in the hearts of people here on earth and through His local assemblies of His believers that He is still building. Today, we are examining this powerful declaration of promise that Jesus made about Himself. We are looking at how we need to follow His determination in our own lives to build the life we live on the foundation He has provided to His glory in us doing His will for our lives. In the days ahead, we will look at what Jesus is building and how He is building it. We will look at how we need to be a part of Him building His church on earth, about being part of spreading His work all over the world, and about finishing the work we have been given to do. My prayers is that we will all be committed to building our lives to His glory in greater ways in the days ahead than ever before in the past. Through the course of this year, we hope to finish some building projects, and we hope to begin a building project that we have been talking about for a long time. I hope and pray that at the end of 2024 we will see many things accomplished and completed by the Lord in our lives individually, in His church here collectively, and in the world around us spiritually for His glory and praise. I am thankful for all God has done in the past and for all He did this past year, which we gave praise for much of it in our Year End Praise Service last Sunday night. Indeed, God has done many amazing and mighty things for us this past year. My prayer for this year is that in the next Year End Praise Service we will hear more praise given of the miraculous and marvelous workings that only God can do in us, through us, and among us for His glory and praise. This evening we will begin a series on why the Lord is building this church to be a Baptist church and not some other type of church. I look forward to seeing what God does this year.