If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish…
—Philippians 3:4-8

Week 1: We are better

!

“Community is the most ‘overpromised and underdelivered’ aspect of the church today.” —Ruth Haley Barton

When we say the word “fellowship” in Acts 2:42, what we mean is

!

We need a

of faith to grow into the people God has created us to be all along.

“We can no more be conformed to the image of Christ outside corporate spirituality than a coal can continue to burn outside of the fire.” —Robert Mulholland

Five to ten years after starting the Philippian church, Paul writes from

to this church that has been caring for him.

Week 2: The Christian life is a public act of living as a

of heaven.

Kingdom citizenship requires sacrifice, and Holy Spirit power to achieve a

by living like Jesus.

Christ-like sacrificial service is how the Philippians are to live a common life of humility and

.

The Things That Matter

Paul warns the Philippians against those who teach that Christians must observe the

of Moses.

For Paul, putting one’s trust in law observance was putting faith in our

. (Philippians 3:2-3)

Paul had

reason to trust in himself than most: he had a good lineage and was raised by an observant family. (Phil. 3:4-5)

Not only was his upbringing solid, but he was also so passionate for the law that he

the church. (Phil. 3:6-7)

Despite his pedigree, Paul considered it all

compared with knowing Jesus.

Climbing the Ladder

We live in a society obsessed with the outward marks of

.

Even when we achieve them, they leave us

and wondering why we aren’t content.

“Everyone was saying that I was doing really well, but something inside me was telling me that my success was putting my own soul in danger.” —Henri Nouwen

What defines our identity is not our status, but our relationship with

. (Phil. 3:8)

After teaching at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard, Henri Nouwen

academia to live in community with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

“It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busy-ness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall.” —Stephen Covey

It doesn’t matter how successful we are if we’re seeking the wrong

.

Pursuing the Goal

Only after sharing what matters most does Paul instruct the Philippians in how to

it. (Phil. 3:12-14)

Paul uses the language of an

in a race seeking to win the prize.

Speaking to the Philippians as a master to an apprentice, Paul instructs them to imitate

. (Phil. 3:17)

While we can read all about how to follow Jesus, we only learn by

and imitating those further along the way.

The mentors we choose will determine the goals we seek and the

we make.

Choosing to imitate Paul was not a

choice.

If we choose to prioritize Jesus over status, we will

, and even possibly suffer. (Matthew 16:26)

Your faithfulness can enable someone else to make the

choice.

Pursuing the way of Jesus

enables us all to seek the things that matter most. (Phil. 2:3-5)

Action Steps

Think about the goals you are currently pursuing.

of any that lead you in the wrong direction.

Reflect on your relationship with Jesus. Choose to spend time with him

.

Say

to something that distracts you from what matters most.