Lesson Recap
Philippians 1: 27-2: 11
Live Up To The Gospel
Recap: Paul is in prison and writing this letter to the believers in Philippi. He wants them to know not only is he doing well, but is in fact able to spread the gospel in his confinement. Our challenge from last week's lesson was-if Paul could find a way to share the gospel in prison, certainly God can show me ho to share His love with other believers in my life.
In this lesson: Paul uses the thought of his anticipated visit as a segue to begin discussing his major concern for the Philippians; unity among the believers.
Intro: Salvation is both gift and demand. When we accept God's immeasurable gift, we come under the demand that our lives progressively reflect Christ's character. It's a lot like adoption. It is a gift to the adopted children to be accepted into the family. But accompanying acceptance is the task of adapting to the family's way of life including: goals, values, and general lifestyle. This adaptation will prove to be an ongoing task. Similarly, meeting the demands of salvation requires a lifetime of consistent, focused effort. In this lesson we saw that Paul is going to admonish the believers to lead a life worthy of the gospel. What do you think being true to the gospel requires of us?
Our Conduct 1:27-30
What might a believer's life look like if he lived worthy of the gospel? Living a life worthy of the gospel produces unity within the community of believers. Let's identify the 4 results of unity Paul mentioned:
- Standing firm in one spirit=(as one strong group) or (the Spirit of God)
- Contending as one man=with one mind
- For the faith of the gospel= working side-by-side for the "faith of the gospel" (the gospel message) or (what the gospel produces)
- Without being frightened= as they saw that Paul was not frightened when he was being persecuted (see Acts 16:16-24) We can see that he was not frightened in Acts 16: 25
Our Priority 2: 1-4
To help us better comprehend Paul's statement in v. 1, we would benefit by replacing "if" with "because".
- Because you have encouragement from being united with Christ.
- Because there is comfort from his love.
- Because there is a fellowship with the Spirit.
- Because there is tenderness and compassion.
As motivation for unity, in v. 2 & 3, Paul pointed to four of believer's deepest experiences with Christ. They are:
- Be like-minded= thinking the same way
- Have the same love= demonstrate the same distinctive Christian love
- Be one is spirit and purpose- share the same feelings and focus on one goal
- Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit=consider others a higher priority than self.
Our Attitude 2: 5-8
Look at the attitude of Christ Jesus stated by Paul in these verses. In the workplace, on the sports field, and in relationships, attitude is often the first thing that either attracts or repels people from the message of Christ. Our task as Christians is to be aware of our attitudes, and continually try to make them like Christ.
How will our attitude affect our ability to live up to the gospel?
Our Confession 2: 9-11
How can one use vv 10-11 to argue the point that all will eventually be saved? With your background knowledge of the Bible, what do you think vv 10-11 means? When you declare that Jesus is Lord, what do you mean? What is your favorite way to confess (acknowledge) Jesus as your Lord?
Conclusion: We have discussed what we thought being true to the gospel required of us. A right understanding of this concept is important because Christians spread the gospel by living in ways that are true to it.
Quote of the Week
"All God's giants have been weak men who did great things for God
because they reckoned on His power & presence being with them.”
-Hudson Taylor
Snacks
- 5/6 Meinhardt
- 5/13 Bradshaw
- 5/20 Stubbs
Prayer Requests
- Pastor Gene's mother was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She is 82.
- Jim's mother is dealing with Alzheimer's and loss of memory
- Both of Pam Stanfield's hearing aids broke. They have to buy two new ones.
