Do you ever struggle with gratitude? Or perhaps even with pride, wanting to hide it when someone has helped you in a time of need? Philippians was written by Paul, in part, as a thank you letter from Paul to the Philippians for their generous monetary gift to him while he was in prison. Listen […]
Philippians 3:15-16 The Imperfections of the Perfect
Immediately after saying in Philippians 3:12 that he has not yet been perfected Paul immediately includes himself as numbered with those who are perfect. Is this a contradiction in the Bible? Not at all! A paradox is a statement or group of statements that is/are seemingly contradictory or that goes against one’s natural intuition. Philippians […]
Philippians 2:13 Both to Will and to Do
Have you ever heard a person say that God will not turn anyone away? James 4:6 says just the opposite; ‘God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.’ Put another way pride is grace repellant. So how can we recognize and eliminate pride? By regularly being transformed by the Scriptures one’s pride is […]
Philippians 2:9 The Responses of the Father to the Son_ Part 1 of 2
Walk with Pastor Matt as he looks at Philippians 2:9 to see how the Father responded to Jesus’ life as a humble servant; as one who put Himself in a vulnerable position for others, as one refused to display His power for His own benefit, as one who trusted the Father so much that He […]
Philippians 2:7-8 Four Aspects of Being Empty
Philippians 2:5 exhorts us to have the mind of Christ and then Philippians 2:7-8 fleshes that out for us. What does that look like? Instead of selfish ambition and empty conceit we see Christ relinquishing glory and emptying Himself of His rights. Walk with Pastor Matt as he examines four convicting aspects of becoming empty, […]
Philippians 2:5-7 What is Christmas All About
Have you ever wondered how Jesus could possibly be both fully God and fully man? How could He have existed eternally yet have been born 2000 years ago? Been all powerful and a helpless baby? How could He grow and learn? How could He be omnipresent yet be flesh and blood? Are these things not […]
Philippians 1:24-26_ Why the Dilemma?
In Philippians 1:23 Paul says that departing to be with Christ is ‘very much better’ or ‘better beyond all expression’ when compared to continuing in the flesh. If that is true then why does it seem that Paul is torn concerning whether he would choose life or death if the choice was his? Listen as […]