As believers, we have so much to be thankful for that it’s sometimes easy to take these gifts for granted. It’s human nature for appreciation to wane over time as blessings become normality. This is why it is so important for us to take some time each day to consider just how much we have […]
Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, Colossians 1:5-6 Continuing the introduction […]
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Colossians 1:3-5a ESV Last time, we looked closely at the relationship […]
After an urging to stand firm in the Lord (Phil. 4:1), and immediately before one of the most memorable exhortations about rejoicing in the circumstances God has placed us (Phil. 4:4-9), the Apostle Paul drops in a brief appeal for help addressing an issue between two women in the church, but wraps it with an […]
Turning to the fourth and final chapter of his letter to the Philippians, Paul again shared his affection and love with this church, and offers a pastoral exhortation to remain strong in the faith. Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, […]
Following a scathing rebuke of those who lead people away from the true gospel of Christ, those he describes as enemies of the cross, the apostle Paul returns to the encouraging theme found throughout this epistle to the church in Philippi. For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a […]
In Philippians 3:7-10 we learned how the apostle Paul sought to intimately know the Lord Jesus Christ, to share in His sufferings, and have a mind that was eternally focused on the goal of being resurrected from the dead. We also saw how important it is that we not only know the Lord, but that […]
Last time we learned even more about Paul’s stand against a self-righteous, legalistic faith, and how he counted all the worldly possessions and accomplishments he’d racked up as nothing but dung (Phil 3:7-10). In our passage here, we get more to the heart of Paul’s reasoning and where he had his mind set. that I […]
We last left off with the apostle Paul noting that all the earthly achievements and religious prestige he had once possessed was of no value in saving his soul. Today let’s continue looking at this and just how passionately he wanted to make the point that salvation is by faith alone. But whatever things were […]
Coming out of a reminder to rejoice in the Lord always, the apostle Paul moves into a new phase in his letter to the Philippian church, one of warning and exhortation, but clearly wrapped in a deep and profound love for these believers. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the […]