Prepare for Philippians
NEW SERMON SERIES STARTS THIS SUNDAY
After a year in Exodus, we’re onto something new! Our journey through the Gospel of the Old Testament ended with Israel in the wilderness, on the way to the Promised Land. As we return to the New Testament, that same journey continues. We are saved, made new, and set free from our personal Egypts, but still haven’t arrived. God will complete the good work he’s begun in us, but we continue to work out our salvation with fear and trembling as we await a Savior from heaven who will return for us and completely remake us just as he is (Phil 1:6, 2:12-13, 3:20-21). So we carry on, day by day, “forgetting what lies behind and straining forward for what lies ahead,” pressing on “toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (3:12, 13-14).
JOY ALL ALONG THE WAY
And all along the way, that journey is marked by joy. But it’s not a joy that only exists in the absence of trouble. A joy that comes apart from suffering. Not at all. The joy we experience in Jesus is a joy that comes in and through suffering. This is the joy that is spilled across the pages of Philippians. This letter, commonly called, “The Epistle of Joy,” invites us to face real challenges with undiminished joy and real Christian courage. To experience indestructible, refined by fire, pure gold joy in while:
Being absent from friends
Experiencing imprisonment - and finding our future is out of our hands
Knowing that not everyone is following Jesus for the right reasons, and insincere brothers are around
Deeply longing to depart from all the troubles of this life to go and be with Christ
Dealing with sickness, facing death, and taking faith-filed risks
Battling false teachers
Not “having arrived yet” & still being imperfect
Experiencing relational strife
Facing anxiety
Living in a world full of bad things to think about
Being low on funds
Expect that God will lead us to rejoice right in the middle of things just like this, and more. Bringing us through suffering with an abiding satisfaction in the Savior. Allowing us to “share his sufferings,” that we would more deeply “know him and the power of his resurrection” (3:10). Building us up into a people who face the future with courage, live with peace that surpasses all understanding, and press on in hope because we know God won’t fail to get us all the way home.
RESOURCES TO GET YOU READY
In addition to reading through Philippians, check out the links below to get the most out of this new series:
Introduction to Philippians - ESV Study Bible
The Book of Philippians - A Complete Animated Overview - The Bible Project
Why Study the Book of Philippians? - Ryan Kelly