Work It Out: God Works In You to Will and to Do

In one paragraph

On the last Sunday of 2017, Pastor Mark walked First B through Philippians 2:12-18, the next passage in the ongoing series through that letter. The message centered on what it looks like to work out a salvation that God Himself is working in, and on the call to shine as light in a crooked and perverse generation. The benediction he landed on was 2 Corinthians 5:9: "We make it our goal to please...

Read together

1. Psalm 16 quoted to introduce the idea of joy in God's presence: 'you will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence'
2. Philippians 2:1-2 recapped as the lead-in from the previous sermon in the series, on being like-minded and avoiding selfish ambition
3. Philippians 2:5-11 read as the Christ-hymn centerpiece describing His humiliation and exaltation
4. Philippians 2:12-18 the main passage for the sermon, covering working out salvation, shining as lights, and being poured out as a drink offering
5. Acts 4:5-12 quoted in full to ground the claim that there is no other name under heaven by which men must be saved
6. Deuteronomy 32:5 referenced to describe the surrounding crooked and perverse generation, contrasted with God's call for His people to shine as lights
7. 2 Corinthians 5:9 used as the closing benediction: 'we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it'

Talk about it

1. Pastor Nathan talked about the balance between God's sovereignty and human responsibility, saying we can't work out what God hasn't first worked in. What does it look like practically to hold both of those things together rather than leaning hard to one side?
2. The sermon said that grumbling is an interior thing that works its way out into outward complaining, the way one leads to the other. Where do you notice that pattern showing up in your own life, and what does it look like to interrupt it before it gets outside?
3. Pastor Nathan described purity as being unmixed, having God's plan as your plan and looking out for the interests of others rather than your own. What are some of the things that tend to get mixed in and pull us away from that kind of purity?
4. Israel was set apart to be a light to the nations but largely kept that light to themselves. Pastor Nathan said God is now asking the church to shine as lights in the middle of a crooked and perverse generation. What does that actually look like in Jackson day to day?
5. Paul described being poured out as a drink offering and said he was glad about it even while suffering in prison. Is there an area of your life right now where you feel poured out, and how does Paul's response challenge or encourage you in that?