Even Though You’re Different...Jesus Loves You
(Philippians 1:27a)
For this sermon series, we have been looking at Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi. This letter allows us a great window to see the relationship between this early Christian community and Paul. Through this opportunity we can see not only the growth of the Christian community in Philippi but use their experience to speak to our own spiritual growth.
Last week, we heard that the occasion for this letter is that Paul is in prison and is unsure in his fate. This leads to the primary focus of the letter which is the state of the gospel in the world in light of Paul’s current situation.
We began by reading Paul’s address to the church at Philippi. This address made it clear that Paul saw the community of Philippi as being called by God to live out the gospel in their time and place. This helped us to focus on the idea that we are called by God to share the gospel in our time and place and what that means for us living as agents of the gospel of Christ. We concluded with Paul remarking that the even in his imprisonment thegospel of Christ is flourishing.
This week Paul will continue this line of thinking on spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. In our readings this week Paul is still unsure about his fate and is keen to point out that the gospel of Jesus Christ is much bigger than himself. This message is still vital today. The gospel is bigger than all of us, and like Paul we may have to lose some things for it to be shared with a world that is hurting for the good news.
