Philippians Chapter 1

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Once a month, I lead a Bible study in my home. Last night we started our journey through the book of Philippians. I would like to share the lesson outline I prepared here on my blog. And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God (Philippians 1:9-11).

Philippians 1:1-11 - Thanksgiving and Prayer
How Should we pray?

• with joy and thanksgiving (vv. 3-4)

Why should we pray with joy and thanksgiving?

• God is faithful to finish all He begins (v. 6)

What are some specific things Paul prayed for his friends?

• That they would be abounding in love, have knowledge, depth of insight, discernment, be pure and blameless, and be filled with the fruit of righteousness (vv. 9-11).  Why pray for love, knowledge and depth of insight? So we can discern, be pure and blameless and be filled with righteousness.

Philippians 1:12-20 - Advancing the Gospel
How we respond to persecution and trials is a test of our faith. The world is watching to see whether our faith is genuine. Is your faith genuine? Do you love and follow Christ in the good times and the bad times?

• Miscarriage, loss of a loved one, betrayal, financial problems, medical diagnosis

Have you seen instances when trials in a believer’s life led to the advancement of the gospel?

• Jim Elliot, gospel preached at funerals and around hospital beds, etc...

Verse 20 - Cling to this verse. When hard times hit, be like Paul and say, ‘I eagerly expect and hope God to give me courage so He can be glorified through me in this hard time.”

Philippians 1:21-26 - Living in Christ
Paul is talking about life and death with an eternal perspective. Are there areas in your life where your perspective needs to change?

• Dwelling on self rather than Christ? Dwelling on temporal rather than eternal?

Can you say “In good times and in bad, Christ is my life and my joy”?
Who in your life are you impacting for Christ? Would anyone say, “Because of Nikki, my joy in Christ Jesus overflows?”

Philippians 1: 27-30 Gospel-Living
What does gospel-worthy conduct look like according to what we've studied in chapter 1 of Philippians?

• Praise, thanksgiving and joy no matter the circumstance because our focus is on Christ and His glory.
• Verse 27 - One Spirit - unified body - sharing and defending the gospel (gospel-worthy conduct).