A Message From Ps. Jesse

I’m so grateful that you would join us in reading through the book of Philippians in this 28-day reading plan. Creating a daily habit of reading God’s word is one of the best habits you can ever form in your life. It will strengthen and encourage you in every other part of your life. This year as a church we are focusing on biblical literacy and we’re taking a look at one of my favorite books of the Bible, written by the Apostle Paul while he was in a Roman prison. It’s amazing to see how encouraging Paul could be while he was in such dire circumstances. He wrote to the church in Philippi with the intention of encouraging the local church and urging them to persevere and keep their eyes fixed on Christ through any obstacle set before them. Each Sunday of this series, I’ll share some key points from this book, but I’d also encourage each of you to do the reading on your own Monday thru Friday. Set aside some time each day to pray and to read the daily Bible passage or verse, then read the following short devotional we put together as a team. Lastly, take some time to write down your thoughts with each days application question. Each daily reading should only take you 10-15 minutes, so it’s something that even the busiest of us can and should carve out time to do. For each week of the reading plan, Saturday is set aside to review key verses and answer questions. There are areas to take message notes each Sunday and also a weekly memory verse for you to hold onto over the following week.  Long after the 28 days of this series is over, you will have four verses memorized and ready to declare over your life in every season. Remember, what you’ll get out of this reading plan is what you’re willing to put into it…so let’s get started by taking a look at the historical context of Philippians.

Philippians
NEW TESTAMENT BOOK

The book of Philippians is better described as a letter, written by the Apostle Paul, with the help of Timothy in approximately 61 A.D. while Paul was under house arrest in Rome, as depicted in Acts 28. The letter was written to the Church of Phillipi - which was a leading city and Roman colony within that district of Macedonia. The Church of Phillipi was also the first Christian church founded in what is now modern-day Europe. The church was founded as a response to a vision Paul had in Act 16:9. In the vision, Paul saw a man from Macedonia begging him and saying, “come over to Macedonia and help us.” This letter was later written as a response to some reports Paul had received over issues and needs within that particular church. The themes of joy and unity found in Christ run throughout the book. Jesus is mentioned over 40 times in just these four chapters. Paul must have sensed that what the church of Phillipi needed most was not to be scolded or rebuked, but to be encouraged and strengthened because of the division and persecution happening all around them. It was in the very city of Phillipi that Paul and Silas had sung hymns of praise to God after they had been beaten and thrown into jail. At midnight, the earth shook and their chains were broken. While writing this letter, Paul would have remembered his experience and held gratitude in his heart. Philippians is a letter of love and hope, with joy and spirit-filled wisdom. It is a valuable book to read, study, and meditate on.