
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
“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
Week 2: The Christian life is a public act of living as a
Kingdom citizenship requires sacrifice, and Holy Spirit power to achieve a
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
For Paul, putting one’s trust in law observance was putting faith in our
Paul had
Not only was his upbringing solid, but he was also so passionate for the law that he
Despite his pedigree, Paul considered it all
Climbing the Ladder
We live in a society obsessed with the outward marks of
Even when we achieve them, they leave us
“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
After teaching at Notre Dame, Yale, and Harvard, Henri Nouwen
“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
Paul uses the language of an
Speaking to the Philippians as a master to an apprentice, Paul instructs them to imitate
While we can read all about how to follow Jesus, we only learn by
The mentors we choose will determine the goals we seek and the
Choosing to imitate Paul was not a
If we choose to prioritize Jesus over status, we will
Your faithfulness can enable someone else to make the
Pursuing the way of Jesus
Action Steps
Think about the goals you are currently pursuing.
Reflect on your relationship with Jesus. Choose to spend time with him
Say