Sermon Title: Purposeful Living: The Best Is Yet to Come.
Occasion: 17th Week after Pentecost | Senior Citizen’s Sunday, 27 September 2026.
Scripture Readings: Joshua 14:6-13; Psalm 16; Philippians 3:12-16; John 21:18-23 & Jeremiah 29:10-14; Colossians 1:9-14.
Original Language Reflections (For deeper study, refer to the Table of Hebrew and Greek Terms in Section VII. of the sermon).
Website: www.reverendbvr.com
Theological Thesis: Christian hope does not teach that every later season of life will be easier than the one before. It declares something deeper: no season of life lies outside the call of God. The future belongs to God, our inheritance rests in God, and discipleship continues until our final breath. Therefore, even amid ageing, limitation, grief, uncertainty, or waiting, the Christian can say, “The best is yet to come,” because the best is finally not youth, health, success, or achievement. The best is the fullness of life with God.
I. Introduction: When the World Says “Slow Down”
Modern societies often measure human worth by productivity. Childhood is preparation, adulthood is production, and old age is sometimes treated as withdrawal. Scripture refuses this pattern.
Abraham receives promises when he is old. Moses confronts Pharaoh at eighty. Anna worships and witnesses in advanced age. Simeon waits faithfully until his eyes see Christ.
The Bible does not deny ageing. Bodies weaken. Friends die. Responsibilities change. Yet Scripture never declares that divine calling has an expiry date.
Senior Citizen’s Sunday therefore asks not merely, “What have you accomplished?” but, “What is God still calling you to become?”
1. Caleb: “Give Me This Mountain” (Joshua 14:6-13):
Caleb belongs to the generation that came out of Egypt. Forty-five years earlier, he had trusted God when most of Israel feared the giants of Canaan.
Now Caleb says: “Today I am eighty-five years old… Now give me this hill country” (Josh. 14:10, 12).
He is not pretending to be young. He knows his age. Yet age has not erased his confidence in God.
The hill country around Hebron was difficult territory. The Anakim were associated with the very giants who had terrified Israel in Numbers 13. Caleb therefore asks not for the easiest assignment, but for the promise that still remains unfinished.
His courage is not self-confidence. His words are qualified by faith: “It may be that the LORD will be with me” (Josh. 14:12).
Caleb teaches us that purposeful ageing means allowing God’s promise, rather than our age, to define the horizon of our obedience.
This does not mean every older person must remain physically active or visibly productive. Some serve through prayer. Some mentor younger generations. Some carry suffering faithfully. Some reconcile divided families. Some simply bear witness to Christ amid weakness.
Purpose is larger than productivity.
2. The Psalmist: “The LORD Is My Chosen Portion” (Psalm 16) :
Caleb receives land, but Psalm 16 takes the idea of inheritance deeper: “The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup” (Ps. 16:5).
The Hebrew word ḥēleq means “portion” or “share.” In Israel, a portion could describe one’s inheritance in the land. Yet the psalmist says, in effect, “My deepest inheritance is God himself.”
This changes how we understand the phrase “the best is yet to come.”
The best is not necessarily more possessions, better health, or greater recognition. All these may disappear. But the one who possesses God cannot finally become poor.
The psalm ends: “You show me the path of life. In your presence there is fullness of joy” (Ps. 16:11).
Christian ageing therefore becomes not merely a journey toward the end of earthly life, but a pilgrimage deeper into the presence of God.
3. Paul: “I Press On” (Philippians 3:12-16):
Paul writes: “Not that I have already obtained this… but I press on” (Phil. 3:12).
The Greek verb diōkō means to pursue something intensely. Paul refuses spiritual complacency.
Then comes his famous image: “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus” (3:14).
The word skopos means a goal, mark, or object upon which the eyes are fixed.
Paul’s life is oriented forward.
This does not mean forgetting history in the literal sense. Paul remembers God’s grace constantly. What he refuses is to let yesterday become the limit of tomorrow.
There are two dangerous sentences in Christian life: “I have done enough,” and “It is too late for me.”
The gospel challenges both.
As long as God gives life, there remains room to forgive, pray, teach, encourage, repent, bless, learn, and love.
4. Peter: “Follow Me” (John 21:18-23):
John 21 gives the theme a more sober depth. The risen Jesus tells Peter that when he grows old, another will lead him where he does not wish to go. John interprets this as pointing toward Peter’s death.
Then Jesus says: “Follow me” (John 21:19).
The Greek akolouthei moi is strikingly simple: “Keep following me.”
Peter then asks about the beloved disciple: “Lord, what about him?”
Jesus answers, essentially, that another disciple’s path is not Peter’s concern: “What is that to you? Follow me!” (21:22).
Ageing often tempts us toward comparison. Why is that person healthier? Why did they receive more years? Why has my path included illness, bereavement, financial uncertainty, or loneliness?
Jesus does not answer every comparison. He gives Peter a vocation: You follow me.
Purposeful living does not require another person’s journey to make sense before we obey Christ on our own.
5. Waiting with Hope (Jeremiah 29:10-14 and Colossians 1:9-14):
Jeremiah speaks to exiles who must wait decades for restoration. God promises them “a future and a hope” (Jer. 29:11). The Hebrew ʾaḥarît can mean “future,” “latter end,” or “outcome.”
Biblical hope is therefore not instant optimism. Israel must live faithfully even when fulfilment seems distant.
Colossians adds that believers are strengthened for hypomonē, “endurance,” and makrothymia, patient steadfastness.
Sometimes purposeful living means climbing Caleb’s mountain. Sometimes it means waiting faithfully in Jeremiah’s Babylon.
Both can be obedience.
II. One Unified Biblical Message:
These readings move beautifully together:
- Caleb says: God still has a calling.
- The Psalmist says: God himself is our inheritance.
- Paul says: Keep pressing toward the goal.
- Jesus says: Keep following me.
- Jeremiah says: God still holds your future.
- Colossians says: Endure with patience and joy.
The Christian life therefore does not move from usefulness to uselessness. It moves from calling to deeper calling, from faith to greater trust, and ultimately from life with God by faith to life with God in fullness.
III. The Collect: Called, Renewed, and Hopeful:
The Collect asks God to help us “live not for ourselves, but in faithful obedience, love, and hope.” That petition captures the heart of these readings.
Caleb lives toward God’s promise. Paul lives toward Christ’s call. Peter is told that even his final years belong to discipleship. Jeremiah teaches trust during uncertainty. Colossians prays for strength to endure.
The Collect therefore rightly asks God to “renew our minds and transform our hearts.” Purposeful living is not achieved simply by finding more activities. It begins when our desires are reordered around God’s will.
IV. Contemporary and Practical Application:
- For senior members of the Church, purposeful living may include mentoring younger believers, telling the stories of God’s faithfulness, praying for families and congregations, practising reconciliation, sharing wisdom without controlling the next generation, serving according to physical ability, and preparing spiritually for death without fear.
- For younger Christians, this Sunday carries an equally serious command: honour the elderly not merely by caring for them, but by listening to them. A Church that ignores its elders loses part of its memory.
- And for those whose ageing includes dementia, disability, illness, or dependence, the Church must proclaim something essential: human dignity does not depend upon independence or productivity. A person who can no longer “do” what they once did remains one who bears the image of God and belongs to Christ.
V. Conclusion:
- At eighty-five Caleb still sees a mountain.
- Paul still sees a goal.
- Peter, facing old age and death, still hears the same words he heard at the beginning: “Follow me.”
That may be the great grace of ageing. After achievements fade, titles disappear, strength decreases, and many ambitions become irrelevant, one calling remains.
Follow Christ.
And because the One we follow has passed through death into resurrection, we dare to say that the best is yet to come.
Not because every tomorrow will be easier. But because our final tomorrow belongs to God.
VI. Closing Prayer:
Eternal and faithful God,
you were our dwelling place before we knew your name,
you have walked beside us through years of joy and sorrow,
and you remain the keeper of our future.
Give us Caleb’s courage to receive each unfinished calling,
the psalmist’s confidence to find our portion in you,
Paul’s perseverance to press toward Christ,
and Peter’s obedience to follow wherever you lead.
When strength diminishes, deepen our faith.
When memories burden us, teach us gratitude and grace.
When the future is uncertain, anchor us in your promise.
When comparison distracts us, turn our eyes again to Jesus.
Make the elderly among us fountains of wisdom, prayer, blessing, and hope.
Teach every generation to honour one another.
And when our earthly pilgrimage is complete, receive us into that fullness of joy where hope becomes sight and faith becomes communion with you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
VII. Original-Language Word Study:
| S.No | Passage | Verse | Word | Transliteration | Literal Meaning | Significance | Theme |
| 1 | Joshua 14 | 14:12 | הָהָר | hāhār | mountain/hill country | Caleb still receives God’s promise | Calling continues |
| 2 | Psalm 16 | 16:5 | חֵלֶק | ḥēleq | portion/share | God is the believer’s true inheritance | Our future rests in God |
| 3 | Philippians 3 | 3:12 | διώκω | diōkō | pursue, press on | Discipleship remains active | Keep moving toward Christ |
| 4 | Philippians 3 | 3:14 | σκοπός | skopos | goal/mark | Christ gives life its direction | Purpose has a destination |
| 5 | John 21 | 21:19 | ἀκολούθει μοι | akolouthei moi | follow me | Christ’s call continues into old age | Lifelong discipleship |
| 6 | Jeremiah 29 | 29:11 | אַחֲרִית | ʾaḥarît | future/outcome | God holds Israel’s future | Hope beyond waiting |
| 7 | Colossians 1 | 1:11 | ὑπομονή | hypomonē | endurance | Faith perseveres through difficulty | Purpose amid limitation |
VIII. Footnotes for Personal Study:
- Richard D. Nelson, Joshua: A Commentary, OTL (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997).
- John Goldingay, Psalms, Volume 1: Psalms 1-41 (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006).
- Gordon D. Fee, Paul’s Letter to the Philippians, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995).
- J. Ramsey Michaels, The Gospel of John, NICNT (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2010).
- Walter Brueggemann, A Commentary on Jeremiah: Exile and Homecoming (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1998).
- Douglas J. Moo, The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon, PNTC (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2008).
IX. Bibliography:
- Danker, Frederick W., et al. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3rd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
- Koehler, Ludwig, Walter Baumgartner, and Johann J. Stamm. The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament. Leiden: Brill, 1994-2000.
- Nelson, Richard D. Joshua: A Commentary. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1997.
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