GROW: What do you think about a God who comes to suffer with his people?

Is that a new idea for you? A strange idea? A comfort? ______ ______________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ PRAY: Invite the Holy Spirit to draw you ever closer to the heart of God in every situation that life presents. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Discipleship Journal
Live Worthy: Paul's Letter to the Philippians Week 3: The Life Worthy of the Gospel of Christ Philippians 1:27-30 Monday, September 5 READ: Philippians 1:27-30; reread v. 27 STUDY: Philippians 1:27 is really a turning point in the letter. Prior to this point, Paul has told the Philippians of his prayers for them and given testimony of how God has been at work during Paul's imprisonment. Now, for the first time in the letter, Paul gives a command: live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel. This command to live this certain kind of life comes from the Greek word politeuomai which refers to a person's positive contribution to the civic life of a city in the Roman Empire. It would have carried a lot of special meaning to the people of Philippi, who would have desired to make a positive impact on the culture of their city. The word would have evoked feelings of patriotism and civic loyalty for the Philippian Christians. Paul used this word and all that it meant to draw the attention of the Philippians towards the gospel, the good news that Jesus died for our sins and was raised from the dead. Paul wanted the Philippians to remember that their ultimate allegiance is to Jesus Christ, King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Paul's desire is that the Philippians play a positive role in the growth of the gospel and the life of the church. GROW: What are some specific ways that you can live your life in a manner worthy of the gospel? (Use the back page of this journal or a notebook, if you need more space.)_______________________________ _____________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ PRAY: Invite the Holy Spirit to strengthen you to live increasingly worthy of the gospel in the specific ways you've just listed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Tuesday, September 6 READ: Philippians 1:27-30; reread v. 27

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STUDY: Philippi was a Roman colony in the first century and had a significant population of people who had been a part of the Roman military. A Roman soldier would have known that if his unit were to be effective, the soldiers would have to stand firm together and strive together with one spirit. Paul is using language that his audience would have understood. He wants the Philippians and us to comprehend that living worthy of the gospel means maintaining the unity of the local church as we strive to fulfill our common mission. When the church is divided, she falls easily to opposition. If followers of Christ are to be faithful in spreading the faith of the gospel, it requires standing firm with one spirit and a single intention. And that single intention is the gospel-driven mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. GROW: What hinders the unity of the local church? What can you do to help the church maintain unity by avoiding those hindrances? _________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ PRAY: Ask God to guide you as you seek ways to build the unity of the church for the sake of our common mission. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wednesday, September 7 READ: Philippians 1:27-30; reread v. 28 STUDY: We've been thinking about the importance of unity as we strive to fulfill our gospel mission. This was especially important for the Philippian believers because they were facing some sort of opposition. We don't get a lot of detail, but they appear to have been persecuted in some form for their faith in Christ. So, Paul wrote to encourage them to stand firm in their faith, even in the face of opposition. That's part of what it means to live a life worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ GROW: What do you think it would be like to live in a place where you were not free to worship Jesus openly? Would you find a way to worship? Or would you play it safe? _____________________________ ______________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________

PRAY: Ask God to encourage and strengthen your Christian brothers and sisters who live where there is opposition to the Christian faith. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Thursday, September 8 READ: Philippians 1:27-30; reread v. 29 STUDY: Philippians 1:29 probably sounds very peculiar to most of us. Paul speaks of the privilege of suffering for Christ. But who ever thought of suffering as a privilege? We usually think of the life of comfort as privilege. Paul understands, though, that sometimes following Jesus means we will face the scorn of the world. Paul says clearly that his imprisonment was "for Christ" (Phil 1:13) and that the Christians in Philippi share his struggle. There was no empirewide persecution of Christians in the 1st century; so the Philippians are likely feeling local pressure for challenging the standard religious life of the empire. They could be facing social pressure or even violence for forsaking the worship of the emperor and the Roman gods to worship the God revealed in Jesus. But when God's people are faithful in the face of pressure, it commends the gospel we profess to believe. Christians are followers of the crucified Lord, and any suffering that we experience for the sake of the gospel will be a participation in the sufferings of Christ. That's a big part of what it means to "live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ." GROW: Read Mark 8:34-35. What do you think Jesus meant when he said, "If any want to become my followers, let themtake up their cross"? _______________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________ PRAY: Ask God to help you be faithful, even when it may be scary. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Friday, September 9 READ: Philippians 1:27-30; reread v. 29-30 STUDY: It's easy to think that if we believe in God and try to follow Jesus that everything will just work out nicely for us. But life is messier than that; isn't it? And we live in a world

that continues to feel the effects of sin, even though God is at work to renew all things. Sometimes struggles come, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Paul knew what it was like to struggle and to suffer, but he also knew that God is never absent from our suffering. God has come to us in the person of Jesus Christ to be with us and walk with us. Jesus even suffered on our behalf on the cross when he died for our sins. It is not as if God is sitting up in heaven with no sympathy towards our struggles. God has given his Spirit to be with us. God wants to draw close to us, especially when times are tough. He wants us to know that he is with us.