Nov 22: Unity of purpose

We studied Philippians 1:27 – 2:4.

Looking at groups we have belonged to, we found that short-term or narrow goals are easier to work toward than long-term or broad goals. Firm commitment of the group members makes reaching goals possible.

Paul exhorts the Philippians to live as citizens of God’s kingdom, which requires constantly showing Christ’s love, and acting with humility. Without the love of God, openness to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and humility, unity of purpose can go wrong.

For the last study question, we had choices!

One group decided to plan a party, inviting Albert Schweitzer, Mother Teresa, Gandhi, and the Apostle Paul, as people who exemplify unselfish caring. The party will be a banquet for Food Bank recipients and people who live in shelters. With a focus on community gardens, the centerpieces at the banquet will be fruit decorations, which the guests can take with them to eat!

Another group decided to examine concrete ways that our church tries to show the four traits Paul lists in verse 2:1.

1. Encouragement from being united with Christ: prayer chain, meals for sick and bereaved, praying in church for others, the uplifting music program

2. Comfort from Christ’s love: visiting people in the hospital, mission works like taking meals to the men’s shelter, Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes, youth group mission trips

3. Fellowship with the Spirit: praying together, small groups, youth group, Bible studies like C3

4. Tenderness and compassion: individual attention, visitors and new members feel welcomed by members approaching them, people who are sick or have trouble getting to church receive cards and visits

Two groups chose to distribute Mrs. McGillicuddy’s (fictional) bequest. One group chose to provide summer camp scholarships to 50 children, because they felt that by teaching children, the word can spread in a diverse manner. The other group chose to pay for a medical team to go to Africa, because they felt that this would reach not only the people being treated medically, but could change the perspective of the medical team itself. It responds to verses 29-30, by pushing us beyond our comfort zone.

Throughout today’s lesson we discovered how difficult it is to live up to these instructions of Paul to be unified and act with humility.

Nov 15: Paul in Chains

In Philippians 1:12-26 Paul’s circumstances seem discouraging. He is confined, chained to a Roman guard, and some leaders of the church are preaching out of selfish ambition (perhaps animosity toward Paul).

But Paul finds joy in the fact that the gospel is being preached, even if it is from wrong motives. He uses his imprisonment as a tool for spreading the gospel to the Roman guard. Some Christians are inspired by Paul’s bravery and calm in his difficult circumstances. Paul ponders life and death, and concludes that he still has work to do in his partnership with the Philippians.

We ended by either writing a dialogue between Paul and the soldier guarding him, or by writing a letter back to Paul. Here’s one of the dialogues.

Soldier: So, what are ya in for?

Paul: Great question. They tried to dismiss the charges. That would have swept things under the rug, but I wanted to take this to the top. I believe Christ is the one true God.

Soldier: Careful! Talking like that can get you in trouble around here.

Paul: Yeah, but I’m less concerned about getting in trouble around here than being faithful to God.

Soldier: What’s the big deal about being faithful to this god? Aren’t all gods the same?

Paul: Nothing can be further from the truth. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” You can live forever through Christ.

Soldier: Please, tell me more...

Nov 8: Partnership in the Gospel

We did the exercise on “How to Read Someone Else’s Mail,” learning that when we read Paul’s letters, we sometimes need to read between the lines and use information from other reliable sources.

Then we looked at Philippians 1:3-11. The church at Philippi participated with Paul in a “partnership in the gospel” (verse 5) by praying, sending Epaphroditus to take care of Paul's needs, by sending money, even sending money beyond their ability. Paul keeps using the words “all of you,” to emphasize that he is speaking to everyone, not just the leaders of the church.

We concluded by writing prayers for our own church, modeled on Paul’s prayer for the church at Philippi in this passage.

We are thankful to God for:

music; fellowship; support; abundant talent; leadership; that our church is here; nurture; openness, home; good works done in the world; for guidance; the children; warmth and fellowship of Christians who come together to grow in Christ’s love; for the church campus and buildings that allow us to host things like the Leadership Workshop yesterday.

Our hopes for our church include:

growth, both spiritually and in number; mission outreach; internal and external love; for God to be proud of us; for our church to build the good work God started and reach out to the community and grow; that our love and knowledge continue to be fruitful in God’s eyes.

Nov 1: Intro to Philippians

Intro to Philippians

1. Who?

a. Who wrote it? b. Who is it written to? c. Who is it written for?

a. Paul. Timothy’s name also listed as writer – maybe he was with Paul when letter was written; maybe Timothy wrote while Paul dictated.

b. to the Christians in Philippi. “The church” at Philippi probably consisted of gatherings of believers in their homes. Philippi was Roman/Greek in culture, was a Roman colony.

c. It was not written to us, but it was written for us. Always a good idea to figure out the context for which a particular Biblical text was written.

2. What?

a. What type of writing is it? b. What is it about?

a. a letter; only one side of the ‘conversation’.

b. Themes you might see – joy, partnership (fellowship, community = koinonia), unity, selflessness, “In Christ,” an example to follow.

3. Where?

a. Where were Paul and Timothy when the letter was written?

b. Where was Philippi?

a. Paul was in prison. Scholars not sure which prison (Ephesus, Caesarea, Rome).

b. Macedonia.

4. When?

a. When was it written?

Scholars conjecture anywhere from 54AD to 62AD; after Paul and Timothy had been to Philippi; before the New Testament was “published.”

Phil 1:1-2 - some of our observations

Two authors are listed. Timothy may have helped write or not, but Paul and Timothy are presented as authors together, perhaps to stress unity.

Paul and Timothy’s self-description as slaves indicates that Christ is their leader.

The writers open their letter with a benediction.

On titles: Choosing a title for ourselves was difficult, because we felt that our title should depend on who we are with, and which role we are in at that moment. The title “Christ” (Messiah) says that Jesus is the Anointed One. Christ is the king, but not like an earthly king.