Philippians: This is Joyful Living

This Sunday, we begin a new sermon series in Paul's letter to the Philippians, entitled This is Joyful Living. To many of you, this letter is very familiar. Some of the most memorable verses in the Bible come from this little letter. For example:

• For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ (1:6)
• For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (1:21)
• Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves…have this attitude in yourself which was also in Christ Jesus (2:3, 5)
• …work out your salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you (2:12-13)
• But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ (3:7)
• Rejoice always; again I will say, rejoice (4:4)
• I can do all things through Him who strengthens me (4:13)

The church in Philippi was founded around AD 49-50 when Paul visited the city during his second missionary journey. It was the first major city in Macedonia (Europe) where Paul brought the gospel. He visited the church at least twice afterward, but now he was writing from prison, probably in Rome, about 10 years after the church was planted.

Considering that Paul was writing from prison, it might be surprising to see that this short letter is full of joy. In four chapters, he refers to joy or rejoicing 16 times. Through this, Paul shows that joy is not tethered to our circumstances but comes from our relationship with Christ.

Jesus Christ is the center of the letter. Paul references Christ, His work, His example, and our relationship with Him 51 times in 104 verses. It is all summed up in one statement found in 1:21, “For me to live is Christ.”

So over the course of the next three months, we will see what joyful Christian living is all about as we consider Paul’s call and example to live in community, with the right perspective, worthy of the Gospel, in unity, with the right purpose, for eternity, in peace, in contentment, and in generosity.

As we walk through this letter together, we pray that God would use His Word to encourage us, purify us, and grow us into a church that increasingly knows, loves, and lives for Christ.