May 31, 2020
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Philippians 3:7-14
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faith
As we begin to return to life outside our homes, what have you learned about what really matters to you? Having so many things closed and isolated from school mates, neighbors, church attendance, even family… what have you missed the most? And have you considered whether everything in your formerly busy life should be just added back willy-nilly? Or should we carefully consider how we order up our lives going forward, asking what really matters?
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he challenged them to follow his conviction that faith in Jesus Christ is what really matters above all other things in life. We can choose to see our faith in Jesus Christ as what really matters most in our lives.
May 10, 2020
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Philippians 4:4-7
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anxiety
Over the past few weeks, we have talked about how troubled times can cause us to be overwhelmed by fear, by
depression, and by doubt. Today, we want to consider how trouble can cause us to feel overwhelmed by anxiety. Certainly, the “uncertainty” of this time has caused much anxiety in our world today. Yet, even before COVID 19, anxiety was a pervasive condition for Americans.
Are you overwhelmed by anxiety today? Do you have a constant sense of unease? A kind of nervousness? Have the uncertainties of what’s coming next overwhelmed you with worry? The truth is, there will be trouble in this world. But do we have to be overwhelmed by anxiety as we face it? In the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he taught them to turn to the Lord when overwhelmed by anxiety. We can learn to turn to the Lord when we are overwhelmed by anxiety.
February 29, 2020
TURN YOUR WORRIES INTO PRAYERS It’s Leap Day and there is no OYB reading for today, so I have chosen one of my favorite Scripture passages to consider. With the all the anxiety over the Coronavirus, politics and the economy, it seemed a good time to offer God’s prescription for worry. Consider what worry
October 3, 2019
TURN YOUR WORRIES INTO PRAYERS What is worry? Isn’t it anxious self-talk? It’s an internal conversation between you and you. Worry circles around your head like a cloud of gnats that you can’t swat away. What is prayer? It’s talking to God. Why not take the same amount of effort that you’re putting into worry
October 1, 2019
HOW DO WE WELCOME OUR MISSIONARIES BACK HOME? The apostle Paul urged the believers in Phlippi to welcome their own Epaphroditus back as one who had “risked his life for the work of Christ” (Phil. 2:30). He urged them to give him the “honor” he deserved, for he had almost died while serving with Paul.
September 30, 2019
LIVING WORTHY OF THE GOSPEL Paul taught the Philippians that they should live as “citizens of heaven,” remembering the gospel in their conduct. When we live as worldly, our message has no consistency and the gospel comes across hypocritical. Our lives should be consistent with the Good News we profess. Our lifestyle should in fact
September 29, 2019
DO YOU FOCUS ON WHAT REALLY MATTERS? Paul prayed that the Philippians would understand what “really matters.” He prayed that their priorities would focus on becoming more and more like Jesus until the Day of completion when Christ returns. What are you focused on today? There are many good things that might occupy our
December 9, 2018
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Philippians 2:1-11
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christmas
The first Christmas was a humble one. Jesus was not born in a royal palace, but in an animal pen. He was not born as a prince, but as a pauper. His birth was not announced before high society, but before lowly shepherds. He slept not on a bed with sheets, but a manger filled with straw. Jesus came not as a Sovereign, but as a Servant. Jesus came to save us. He came to be our Savior.
In Paul’s letter to the Philippians, he described the humble mind of Christ which moved Him to come to us as Savior. We can understand the humble mind of Christ which moved Him to come to us as Savior.
October 3, 2018
JOY OR HAPPINESS?
While imprisoned in Rome, the apostle Paul writes this command, “Rejoice in the Lord always!” He then repeats it for emphasis. What state of mind is this that even chains can’t remove its smile, nor imprisonment stop its song? It is the joy that comes from the Lord as a “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22). It is the gladness that always fills those who abide in the Lord (See John 15:11).
Everyone wants to be happy. But happiness is fleeting for it depends on favorable happenings. When circumstances are good, happiness is possible. External conditions affect happiness. But joy comes from within, where the Spirit of Christ dwells in those who believe. It is not affected by changing circumstance, but rests in the unchanging presence and promises of the Lord.
So, those who are in Christ can choose where to set their minds–– on the temporal things of this world, or on the eternal things we have in Christ. What will you choose today? God’s Word teaches us to always choose joy!
October 2, 2018
MADE RIGHT WITH GOD BY FAITH
Paul told the Philippians that before he trusted Christ, he had worked to earn righteousness through obeying the law. But when he encountered Christ, he saw his attempts at righteousness as worthless in comparison to Christ’s infinite worth. As a result, he stopped counting on his own law-keeping efforts and gladly received the righteousness of Christ by faith.
The law was not given that we might earn righteousness, but that we might recognize the depth of our unrighteousness. But Christ was given that we might be made right with God by faith.