Therefore: Action, Light, and Rejoicing

In one paragraph

Brad preached from Philippians 2:12-18, picking up after several weeks in what he called the hymn of Christ. The message turned on three movements in the text: taking action, shining brightly, and rejoicing. The word "therefore" at the start of verse 12 sends the reader back to the hymn of Christ that the church had been studying. Brad walked through that pattern again - Jesus moving from the form...

Read together

1. Philippians 2:12-18 the main text read aloud and preached through
2. James 2:17 cited to show that faith without works is dead, works flow from genuine faith
3. Philippians 3 referenced for Paul's call to mature believers to forget what lies behind and press on toward the goal
4. Hebrews 13 mentioned as teaching that God equips us to do the work
5. Colossians 1 quoted as Paul toiling with all the energy God powerfully works within him
6. Zechariah 4 vision of the lampstand fueled by olive trees, shining not by strength or might but by God's Spirit
7. John 17 Jesus prays not to take believers out of the world but to keep them from evil
8. Matthew 5 read as the benediction, you are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden

What was said

• Stop a complaint before it leaves your mouth this week and instead say out loud one thing you have to be grateful for.
• Find a dark or uncomfortable place in your community that you have been driving past and stop in.
• When a conversation around you turns toward grumbling, redirect it by pointing to something worth rejoicing in instead of going along with it.
• Spend time in the word of God this week using it as the pattern, the way the speaker described, letting it shape how you act rather than waiting passively for change to happen.
• If you are in your twenties or know someone who is, show up to or send them to the gathering at the McCooeys house tonight.

Talk about it

1. Paul tells the Philippians to keep obeying even in his absence. Where in your own life do you find it hardest to stay obedient when no one who knows you is watching?
2. The sermon drew a distinction between being humbled by someone else and humbling yourself the way Christ did. What does that difference look like in a practical situation you have actually faced?
3. Van said the descriptive words of the Christian life are things like walk, run, race, fight, kill sin, and love enemies, and that none of those are passive. Where do you think you have been waiting passively when you should have been acting?
4. The John Newton broken carriage illustration was used to challenge complaining. What is one thing you have complained about recently that, set against what you have in Christ, you probably had no real grounds to complain about?
5. Van said he realized he had been shining his light mostly on people already inside the church rather than going into darker places. What is a specific dark place near you that you have been driving past instead of stopping at?