Philippians – Page 3

Morning Musing: Philippians 1:12-14

February 18, 2026February 18, 2026Leave a comment

“Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually advanced the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard, and to everyone else, that my imprisonment is because I am in Christ. Most of the brothers have gained confidence in the Lord from my imprisonment and dare even more to speak the word fearlessly.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

In his letter to the Thessalonian believers, Paul said that we should give thanks in everything. That sounds nice in theory, but tends to fall apart in practice. This is because there are things that happen to us on occasion that we are not thankful for. Sometimes we are rather unthankful for them. How do you respond when something that seems irredeemably bad happens? Frustration? Anger? Righteous indignation? As if offering a case study for the Thessalonians, Paul here follows his own command, giving us a pretty interesting perspective. Let’s check it out.

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Digging in Deeper: Philippians 1:9-11

February 17, 2026February 17, 2026Leave a comment

“And I pray this: that your love will keep on growing in knowledge and every kind of discernment, so that you may approve the things that are superior and may be pure and blameless in the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of God.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

One of the slogans that came out of the Sexual Revolution was, “Love is love.” That notion is ridiculous on its face and was never about anything more than trying to give moral cover to a variety of sexual practices that had been rightly judged aberrant by pretty much every human culture up to that point in history. A significant part of the problem is the imprecision of the English language itself. We throw the word love around for all kinds of different situations where the emotion or feeling (and we are almost always referring to one or the other) that is actually appropriate to the setting ranges rather widely such that conflating one kind of love for another is foolish at best. The authors of the New Testament took a word in Greek that meant love, agape, and redefined it in a whole new way based on the character of Jesus. The result is that when we are talking about biblical love, if we get love right, we get a whole lot of other things right as well. Let’s take a look at this with Paul in these three verses.

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Morning Musing: Philippians 1:7-8

February 12, 2026February 18, 2026Leave a comment

“Indeed, it is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I have you in my heart, and you are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. For God is my witness, how deeply I miss all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

Being a part of the church can be tough. Now, some of that depends on the individual church. Some churches are hard to connect with because their culture is broken. But being a part of a church that is healthy and welcoming doesn’t happen automatically. Even the best church takes some work and intentionality to be a part of. It takes building relationships and investing in those relationships over time. When you do that, something like what Paul describes here becomes possible. Let’s talk about it.

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Morning Musing: Philippians 1:6

February 11, 2026February 18, 2026Leave a comment

“I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

I was watching a movie the other night and in one scene a dad had taken his kids backpacking in the mountains. As they were hiking to their intended campsite, he kept telling them, “There’s just one more hill.” But then they’d crest that hill only to find another one waiting for them. Sometimes life feels that way. We make some forward progress only to discover just how much further we still have to go. This is especially true when we’re talking about following Jesus and becoming more like Him. Paul here offers us some encouragement in the journey. Let’s take a look.

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Digging in Deeper: Philippians 1:1-5

February 10, 2026February 10, 2026Leave a comment

“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus: To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I give thanks to my God for every remembrance of you, always praying with joy for all of you in my every prayer, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” (CSB – Read the chapter)

“‘The time has come,’ the Walrus said, ‘to talk of many things: Of shoes—and ships—and sealing-wax—of cabbages—and kings—and why the sea is boiling hot—and whether pigs have wings.’” Those words from the Lewis Carroll poem, The Walrus and the Carpenter, have since eighth grade meant it is time to make a change. It was just our class seating chart in Mr. Brock’s eighth grade algebra class. Today it means that our journey together through the Scriptures is heading off in a new direction. Romans is officially under our belt (along with Exodus, Amos, and Mark). Next up will be Paul’s letter to the Philippian believers. We’ll start right where Julie Andrews helpfully identified is a very good place to start: the very beginning. Let’s dive in.

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