Forgetting What Lies Behind, Pressing Forward

In one paragraph

The sermon worked through Philippians 2:19 through 3:14, covering Paul's personal greetings about Timothy and Epaphroditus before turning to a sharp warning against trusting in religious credentials rather than Christ. The preacher kept the text personal and practical, drawing a straight line from Paul's situation in prison to the unity struggles inside the Philippian church. The invitation at the...

Read together

1. Romans 5 opening encouragement read before worship song about hope and God's love through the Holy Spirit
2. Philippians 2:19-3:14 main passage for the sermon, read and expounded throughout
3. Philippians 1 referenced for Paul wrestling between living and dying and taking pride in Christ Jesus
4. Ephesians 2:8-9 cited on salvation by grace through faith not of yourselves
5. Ephesians 2:10 cited on being God's workmanship created for good works prepared beforehand
6. Romans 6 referenced in connection with baptism, buried with Christ into death and raised to walk in newness of life
7. Romans 15:5-6 spoken as benediction about God of endurance and encouragement granting harmony and one voice to glorify God

What was said

• Write down the things you have relied on to feel religiously acceptable and ask God to help you count them as nothing compared to knowing Christ.
• If you have been holding something against someone, work through the steps the pastor described: hear their confession, name the hurt honestly, and say the words 'I forgive you' out loud.
• Stop rehearsing a past failure or wound this week and deliberately turn your attention to what God has in front of you rather than what is behind you.
• Come to the 4 PM meeting today in the fellowship hall for the Zambia and Costa Rica trip discussion, even if you have no plans to go on either trip.
• Get the contact information from KC or Brian so you stay connected to the Seeking Truth in Your Twenties group after the summer events end.

Talk about it

1. Paul says he is sending Timothy because Timothy will genuinely be concerned for the Philippians' welfare rather than seeking his own interests. When you have seen division start in a group, what difference did it make whether the people trying to help had that kind of proven character?
2. The preacher pointed out that Paul admits to sorrow upon sorrow at the thought of losing Epaphroditus, right in the middle of a letter full of calls to rejoice. What does that tell you about what joy in the Lord actually looks like in practice?
3. Paul lists his religious credentials, circumcision on the eighth day, tribe of Benjamin, blameless under the law, and then calls all of it rubbish compared to knowing Christ. Is there anything in your own background, religious or otherwise, that you have been tempted to lean on instead of leaning on Christ?
4. Paul says he wants to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and also the fellowship of his sufferings. Why do you think he connects those two things, and what has it looked like in your own life when they have gone together?
5. The preacher described pressing on as forgetting what is behind and reaching toward what lies ahead, and compared it to keeping your eyes on the windshield rather than the rearview mirror. What is something from your past, a failure, a hurt, or even a former success, that makes it hard for you to press forward right now?