Life Together
We will study Paul’s letter to the Philippians throughout the summer of 2011. I had not been planning for us to do that, but I sensed God’s leading to this short book while I was studying other things. Now, I’m not saying that the Lord dropped a scroll in my hand or sent an angelic choir directing me to Philippians. I simply know that as I began roughing out our summer schedule, I could not move away from this book in the Bible. So, I’ve been reading Philippians over and over throughout the past several weeks. I’ve never preached through this letter, even though I’ve taught it in seminary classes. I previously thought that Philippians’ theme was something like Joy in the Midst of Adversity. After all, Paul mentions joy 16 times in this short letter.
A Summer in Philippians
We would like to buy ten dollars' worth of gospel, please. Not too much. Just enough to make us happy, but not so much that we get radical about it or addicted to it. We don't want so much that we learn to hate injustice or lust or covetousness. We don’t want so much of it that we start loving enemies or cherishing self-denial. Most of us are certainly not yet ready to contemplate missionary service in some alien culture. (And we're not sure we want our children and grandchildren to go off into some global mission work, either.) We want to feel good about doing good things—not get committed to personal sacrifice and generous giving. We want ecstasy, not repentance. We want to have warm fellowship with nice people, but we don’t want to love those from different races and ethnicities. We want to give charity to the poor, not have them in our homes. We would like enough gospel to make our families secure and our children well-behaved and our businesses thrive but not so much that we redirect our ambitions or find our giving enlarged. We would like about ten dollars of gospel, please.
-Adapted from D.A. Carson’s Basics for Believers (who adapted it from a Paul Rees sermon)
We will study Paul’s letter to the Philippians throughout the summer of 2011. I had not been planning for us to do that, but I sensed God’s leading to this short book while I was studying other things. Now, I’m not saying that the Lord dropped a scroll in my hand or sent an angelic choir directing me to Philippians. I simply know that as I began roughing out our summer schedule, I could not move away from this book in the Bible.
So, I’ve been reading Philippians over and over throughout the past several weeks. I’ve never preached through this letter, even though I’ve taught it in seminary classes. I previously thought that Philippians’ theme was something like Joy in the Midst of Adversity. After all, Paul mentions joy 16 times in this short letter. And he talks about joy while sitting in a prison, probably in Rome. However, Philippians is dealing with something much more basic than that. It really is about life together in the family of God. If Ephesians is the Bible’s manifesto about what the church of Jesus Christ is, Philippians is all about what life is supposed to be like in the church. It’s very personal, practical, and often hard-hitting. We’ll discover that “ten dollars of gospel” is not what following Jesus together is about.
It soon will become clear from Paul’s writing to the Philippians that what ties us together in the church is our thoroughgoing commitment to the gospel. So, our recent studies in the Statement of Faith centered on the gospel will be foundational. Moreover, this gospel is centered in the person and work of Jesus Christ. So, as always, we will be forced to think about Jesus again and again and... And what we will discover is that this Jesus-centered gospel always calls for us to change our lives - both individually and corporately. When we do, we will discover that we can have joy in any situation and contentment whatever the circumstances. Indeed, we will discover the thrill that we "can do all things through him who gives us strength" (Phil. 4:13). All of this flows from life together (yes, I know of a famous book with that title written by another Jesus-follower imprisoned because of his faith) as those committed to the person and mission of Jesus Christ.
To His Glory,
Dr. Greg Waybright
Senior Pastor
Teaching Series Schedule
-
Week 1■May 21 - 22
Philippians 1:1-11
Speaker: Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor
5 pm Sunday Speaker: Albert Tate, Pastor of Intergenerational Ministries
-
Week 2■May 28 - 29
Philippians 1:12-26
Speaker: Dr. Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor
5 pm Sunday Speaker: Albert Tate, Pastor of Intergenerational Ministries
-
Strength and Courage in Community
Week 3■June 4 - 5
Philippians 1:27-30
Speaker: Albert Tate, Pastor of Intergenerational Ministries
5 pm Sunday Speaker: Albert Tate, Pastor of Intergenerational Ministries
-
Week 4■June 11 - 12
Philippians 2:1-4
Speaker: Dr. Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor
5 pm Sunday Speaker: Jesse Oakes, Pastor of High School Ministries
-
Week 5■June 18-19
Philippians 2:5-11
Speaker: Dr. Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor
5 pm Sunday Speaker: Carol Kenyon, Pastor of Preteen Ministries
-
Growing Together without Complaining
Week 6■June 25 - 26
Philippians 2:12-18
Speaker: John Secrest, Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries & Young Adults
5 pm Sunday Speaker: John Secrest, Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries & Young Adults
-
Becoming FAT Christians
Week 7■July 2 - 3
Philippians 2:19-30
Speaker: Dr. Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor
5 pm Sunday Speaker: Jeff Liou, Pastor of College Ministries
-
The Audacity of God's Love
Week 8■July 9 - 10
Philippians 3:1-11
Speaker: Dr. Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor
5 pm Sunday Speaker: Carol Kenyon
-
God's Renewing Grace
Week 9■July 16 - 17
Galatians 6:1-4
Speaker: Dr. Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor
5 pm Sunday Speaker: Jeff Liou, Pastor of College Ministries
-
Pressing Forward Together
Week 10■July 23 - 24
Philippians 3:12-4:2
Speaker: Jeff Liou, Pastor of College Ministries
5 pm Sunday Speaker: Jeff Liou, Pastor of College Ministries
-
Euodia, Syntyche, & the Elephant
Week 11■July 30 - 31
Philippians 4:1-9
Speaker: Dr. Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor
5 pm Sunday Speaker: Albert Tate, Pastor of Intergenerational Ministries
-
From the Inside Out
Week 12■Aug. 6 - 7
Philippians 4:1-9
Speaker: Dr. Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor
5 pm Sunday Speaker: Jeff Liou, Pastor of College Ministries
-
The Secret
Week 13■Aug. 13 - 14
Philippians 4:10-13
Speaker: Dr. Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor
5 pm Sunday Speaker:Jeff Liou, Pastor of College Ministries
-
We Are One In Christ
Week 14■Sept. 3 - 4
Philippians 2:1-11
Speaker: Dr. Greg Waybright, Senior Pastor
5 pm Sunday & Saturday Speaker:Matt Barnes, Guest Speaker
