Relationships

Jot down the first few individuals or groups that come to mind in each of the five categories. How would you rate the health of your current relationships?

1. Family

2. Friends

3. Work

4. Church

5. World

Philippians 2:2-4, 12-18

This passage promises that when we follow Jesus’s model for relationships, we will shine like bright lights in a dark world (2:15). However, this entails a crucial shift from using others for our benefit to using our lives to benefit others.

Paul’s Dos and Don’ts

How you treat others is a reflection of your relationship with God. If you follow Jesus Christ, then live differently. In other words, shift your relationships.

Read Philippians 2:2-4 and 12-18 and take note of what Paul instructs us to do and what not to do.

Dos

Don’ts

What relational shifts can you identify in this list?

How can we do this? Paul has described what shifts need to be made, but thankfully he also describes how to make these shifts. The key is in verse 5: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”

What Shifts Did Jesus Make?

Look at Philippians 2:6-8 and note the shifts Jesus made. What relational shifts did Jesus make in order to have a relationship with us?

Application

Personal

The shifts we need to make in our lives or in our relationships may be small or drastic. Yet we all have areas in need of restoration or healing. Put a star next to any of the relationships you listed at the beginning of the session that where you would like to see a shift.

For each relationship, write down one concrete action you will take to shift the relationship according to the “same mindset as Christ Jesus.”

Community

What would this humility shift look like for our church community?

2 Corinthians 5:17 So if anyone is in Christ, there is a new creation: everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting the message of reconciliation to us.