Where We've Been
Why do some of the most meaningful and life changing experiences grow out of desperate circumstances? Why do some of the best letters come from prison?
Paul's letter to the followers of Jesus at Philippi is one of the most joyful letters found in the New Testament—which is strange, because he wrote it in a jail cell. We've spent fifteen weeks as a community looking at Philippians, and beginning September 7, we're continuing our discovery of the letter. But before we move forward together, let's review. Here's what we know thus far:
Despite his chains, in Philippians Paul speaks of grace and peace. His letter continues the story that God had set in motion at creation, and in Paul's mind, this story is headed somewhere. Not even prison can contain the creative explosive energy that brought the universe into being—suffering or not, Paul invites followers of Jesus to participate as conduits through which God finishes his already-begun work.
Sample The Teachings
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Going Deeper In Philippians
Check out our Deeper Sheets for further study as an individual or with your House Church.
Paul's desire is for the followers of Jesus at Philippi to posses a deeply informed and experiential knowledge of God. Such experience, Paul urges, gives the depth of insight needed to live blamelessly and discern wisely in a hostile world. After all Jesus, not Caesar, is Lord. Paul tells the Philippians that participating in God's story of new creation means being at odds with the power structures of their world. It means suffering.
Nevertheless, Paul insists that God's story is bigger than power structures and differences. He suggests that the love of God, unleashed in the church, compels followers everywhere to enter the turmoil of the broken world. To be unified by the conviction that Christ's body is broken, his blood poured out for the healing of everything. For Paul, all suffering is being redeemed by God and this is cause for unceasing joy, the kind of joy that looks death in the face and in the face of death finds life.
Where We're Headed
Join us beginning September 7 as we continue our verse-by-verse Philippians series through mid-December. We'll be covering the remainder of chapter two through the end. Paul's letter—themes will be amplified and developed by Rob Bell and other familiar voices, including Greg Boyd, Ed and Kent Dobson, and Mars Hill staff pastors. [Full schedule]