In Everything and In All Things

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray wrapped up his time in Philippians 4 by working through verses 10 to 20, focusing on what Paul's thank-you letter to the Philippian church reveals about contentment, generosity, and the way God moves through both the people who go and the people who give. The passage landed close to home because Ray came to it as someone who made the same shift Paul describes, from earning a paycheck to...

Read together

1. Philippians 4:8 whatever things are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, meditate on these things
2. Philippians 4:9 things learned, received, heard, and seen in Paul, do these things and the God of peace will be with you
3. Philippians 4:10 Paul rejoices that the Philippians' care for him has flourished again
4. Philippians 4:11 Paul says he has learned to be content in whatever state he is in
5. Philippians 4:12 Paul knows how to be abased and how to abound, in everything and in all things
6. Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
7. Philippians 4:14 you have done well that you shared in my distress
8. Philippians 4:15 no church shared with Paul concerning giving and receiving but the Philippians
9. Philippians 4:16 even in Thessalonica the Philippians sent aid once and again for Paul's necessities
10. Philippians 4:17 not that Paul seeks the gift but the fruit that abounds to their account
11. Philippians 4:18 having received from Epaphroditus a sweet smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice well pleasing to God
12. Philippians 4:19 my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus
13. Philippians 4:20 to our God and Father be glory forever and ever

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray pointed out that Paul's list in Philippians 4 uses 'whatever things' repeatedly, putting the focus on the reader rather than giving a fixed list. What are some of the specific things in your own life that, when you meditate on them, genuinely bring you toward what is true, noble, pure, and lovely?
2. Paul says he learned to be content whether abased or abounding, and Pastor Ray connected that to his own experience of shifting from earning a paycheck to being a supported missionary. Has there been a season in your life where circumstances forced you to learn contentment? What did that process actually look like?
3. When Pastor Ray read 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me,' he tied it back to the 'whatever things' list and said Paul means things that are noble, just, true, lovely, and praiseworthy, not a blank check for anything we want. How does that reading change the way you have heard or used that verse before?
4. Paul tells the Philippians he is not seeking the gift but the fruit that abounds to their account, and Pastor Ray said holding back a need from people robs them of that fruit. Do you find it harder to share a genuine need with your brothers and sisters in Christ, or to give when a need is shared with you? What gets in the way?
5. Pastor Ray closed by saying some are called to go, some are called to give, and some are called to work locally, and that none of these callings should be discounted. Where do you sense God has placed you in that picture right now, and is there anything keeping you from acting on it?