philippians - johndallan

Philippians: Working it out

Resources for a teaching series at Belmont Chapel, Exeter, UK

What is this series about?

Paul's letter to the Philippians has always been one of the most prized books in the New Testament. That's because it encapsulates so clearly some of the most important principles for living the Christian life. The church in Philippi had started well - but was now showing signs of losing its way, and slipping into defeatism and division. So Paul wrote to underline for them the basic secrets on which all Christian growth and development depend. This series will unpack the six key things he has to say.

Paul insists that beginning to follow Jesus isn't enough; we need to continue constantly to "work out our own salvation with fear and trembling". This series aims to uncover ways of doing just that. It should be especially useful to any of us who feel that our faith and vision needs a bit of revitalizing.

Welcome to Philippi

Just another Greek city... but the Christian church began here in dramatic circumstances. And it didn't take long for the new fellowship to become well-known throughout the area; its members were hard-working, enthusiastic about their faith, and extremely generous too.

Then things started to go wrong. It wasn't through heresies and false teachers, as happened in other places. It wasn't through persecution or fanger. It was just that things went off the boil a bit. Seasoned Christians, who had worked side by side through the hard times, began to fall out over minor matters. The friendships became a little strained.

And one day shattering news arrived. Their great hero, the Apostle Paul - who had been directly responsible for the foundation of their church, during an unforgettable whirlwind visit - had been thrown into prison in Rome. The church had supported Paul financially during his work in other places. It had all been so exciting... but now it was over.

Was this the beginning of the end? Was the Christian movement destined to run into the sand? Many of the Christians were starting to think so. And then one day an unexpected visitor arrived.

Epaphroditus had been a member of the church in Philippi, but for some time he had been travelling with the Apostle Paul. News had filtered home that he had been extremely ill... and many of the Philippian Christians feared that he might have died, because they'd heard no more. Now suddenly he was back, smiling broadly, and clutching in his hands a letter to the church. Written by the Apostle Paul.

And that letter would become one of the most important documents in the next two thousand years of the Christian church...

You'll find several different kinds of resource on this site. Click.around and explore them all:

Key pages for each week of the series

Six background pages about the city, the church, the letter...

Six thumbnail sketches of biblical themes which are covered in Philippians (audio)

Five key theological questions

A verse-by-verse commentary for the whole book (hosted on another website)