Six Months In Philippi

Last night our twenties ministry wrapped up six months of studying Philippians, the apostle Paul's 1st century letter to a diverse community of Christians living in the bustling, pagan city of Philippi. After reviewing Acts 16, the moving story of how Paul planted the church in Philippi with three transformed lives, I taught an overview of Philippians, a review of our six month soak in this gospel-centered, Christ-exalting, humility-producing, and joy-infusing epistle.

• We celebrated how the epistle begins and ends in grace, 1:2 & 4:23.

• We reviewed the precious promises of Philippians, such as 1:6 and 4:19.

• We marveled over Paul's life transforming model of living for the advancement of the gospel and finding joy and contentment in any circumstance, even if that means imprisonment under Emperor Nero.

• We paused and contemplated the stirring sacrifice and achievement of our Savior, slowly re-reading 2:6-11.

• We pondered afresh the rich commands of the epistle, most of which center on rejoicing in the Lord, shedding worry and finding peace in the Lord through prayer, living in community in humility, shining as lights for Christ in the midst of a twisted world, and living in line with the gospel.

• And we soaked afresh in the gospel, the good news, ever-transforming message that stands at the center of the epistle to the Philippians, 1:27 being, in many ways, paradigmatic for the entire letter.

After I gave this re-cap of the letter, for about forty minutes we had member after member of the twenties group share how they've experienced transformation from spending six months with this slice of the Bible. It was deeply moving to listen to all of these stories. I was beyond encouraged to see evidence upon evidence of ways God's grace has been at work in this twenties group these last six months, and over this entire last year.And a sweet surprise from the evening came when, with meaningful words that cut to my heart, the guys in the group expressed their appreciation for my first year serving as Twenties Pastor at CPC and presented me with this book that I've been wanting, complete with their notes of encouragement and gratitude. I was moved by this unexpected act of kindness.My friends, let me bear witness to the fact that Philippians is a slice of the Bible that is worthy of your deep study and that pays rich dividends as it's studied in community. I've had the six month privilege of watching the Holy Spirit use this book among sixty or so of us twentysomethings, to center us on the gospel, lift our eyes off of ourselves and onto our great Savior, infect us with increased humility, stir up fresh repentance, increase our joy, draw us into greater love for and engagement with the hundreds of thousands of lost people here on the San Francisco Peninsula, and fill us with gratitude for our glorious God and his wise providence.So, if you're at a loss for what to study next, either privately or (even better) in a small group or in your church, consider Philippians.