Meditate on These Things

In one paragraph

Pastor Mark preached through Philippians 4:8-9, walking the congregation slowly through each of the eight things Paul tells believers to meditate on. He connected these qualities to the habits of mind that either produce or undermine the peace of God described in the verses just before. Coming off the previous week's message on anxiety and the peace of God, Pastor Mark returned to the closing of...

Read together

1. Philippians 4:8-9 the main text for the sermon, listing eight things to meditate on
2. Philippians 4:6-7 reviewed from the previous week, on prayer and the peace of God guarding hearts and minds through Christ Jesus
3. John 17 Jesus' high priestly prayer, cited for 'sanctify them by your truth, your word is truth'
4. Philippians 2:1 the 'if there is any consolation in love' structure compared to the same 'if' construction in Philippians 4:8
5. Philippians 3:17 cited as Paul saying 'join in following my example and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern'
6. Psalm 119:165 quoted as 'great peace have they that love thy law, such that nothing shall be able to offend them'
7. Micah 6:8 used as the benediction, 'to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God'

Talk about it

1. Pastor Nathan described attending a joint service between a Lutheran church and a Catholic church, where both sides acknowledged five hundred years of aggravation toward each other. What did that example say to you about what it actually costs to pursue unity?
2. Pastor Nathan walked through eight things Paul tells us to meditate on: true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy. Which one of those eight is hardest for you to keep your mind on, and why?
3. The sermon pointed out that the woman mopping the floor in a Mexican hospital every morning struck Pastor Nathan as genuinely noble, doing a thankless job consistently whether anyone noticed or not. Where have you seen that kind of quiet nobility in everyday life?
4. Pastor Nathan suggested that watching the news constantly may feed ongoing anger, and that Paul's instruction to meditate on good things has a practical effect on our emotional state. Do you think that connection is real, and how have you seen it play out in your own life?
5. Paul writes in verse 9 that if his readers do the things they learned, received, heard, and saw in him, the God of peace will be with them. What does it look like in practice to have a person in your life whose example is worth imitating that closely?