TO KNOW CHRIST

Life Lessons from Paul’s Letter to the Philippians

 

I am very much looking forward to our Sunday morning study on Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It is chock-full of wonderful insights into the gospel and its implications for our lives. Here, Paul offers powerful encouragement, perspective, inspiration and spiritual nourishment for our souls. It has been said that this little epistle (only four chapters long) offers more memorable sayings and theological sound bites in such a short compass than any other part of Scripture. We are going to be taking a leisurely pace through this material, so we can take plenty of time to stop and consider the deeper implications of these truths.

To get the most benefit from this series, I would encourage a few healthy spiritual practices:

  1. Be present on Sunday mornings so that we may experience the power of God’s word together. There is something that God does in our corporate worship gatherings that cannot be reproduced anywhere else.
  2. Pray for the Spirit’s life-giving work in our hearts. Illumination, conviction, encouragement, and transformation all come as gifts from God through His Spirit to the humble and receptive heart.
  3. Read through the letter multiple times. Read the whole letter each week if you can. Then widen your reading to include Paul’s other writings. Compare how Paul deals with similar themes in different contexts.
  4. Get together with others to study and grow together. As we share these things in community, we grow in godliness and love.

If you are looking to supplement your learning, feel free to pick up a good commentary or listen to some podcasts on this amazing letter. Here are a few commentaries I find specially helpful:

Karl Barth, The Epistle to the Philippians, Westminster John Knox Press, 2002.

  1. T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters, Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.

Frank Thielman, Philippians in the NIV Application Commentary New Testament series.

 

And you will find an almost inexhaustible source of information from this online resource: https://www.preceptaustin.org/philippians_commentaries

 

We begin our study on January 12, 2020. My prayer is that you will be greatly blessed and encouraged by God’s word as you humbly hear and follow.

 

Yours in Christ,

Pastor Dale

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Fill out this field
Fill out this field
Please enter a valid email address.
You need to agree with the terms to proceed

Menu