Dear Friends,

We have spent five weeks now “thinking on these things,” inspired by Paul’s letter to the Philippians. As we complete this series with our final message, “What’s On Your Mind?”, let’s take the time to thank God for the many ways we have been inspired by His Spirit so far, and for the blessings still to come.

The Letter to the Philippians was written by Paul from a Roman jail cell, with his arrest creating a considerable distance between himself and his hearers. This is why he states in Philippians 4:8-14 that “now at last you [the church in Philippi] have shown your concern for me again.” Paul saw that even in the church’s infancy, they were bound together and united in Christ in supernatural ways more powerful than the physical distance which separated them.

In our secondary scripture for the week, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, Paul follows up these earlier ideas with a shocking quotation of Jesus: “My grace is enough for you, because power is made perfect in weakness.” We might prefer that Christ would just give us the power and skip the weakness! But as Paul notes, we must first be brought low in order to receive grace, without which we could not have faith.

As we prepare to worship together this Sunday, let’s consider some questions:

1. From Paul’s own list of things to think about in Phil. 4:8 – true, honorable, just, pure, pleasing, commendable, excellent, and praiseworthy – which do you think on  the most often? Which commands the least amount of your attention?
2. In what areas of your life do you feel content (Phil. 4:12)? In what areas do you struggle with contentedness?
3. Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 12:10 – “when I’m weak, then I’m strong” – is a paradox. In what ways have you personally experienced spiritual paradoxes – such as strength in times of weakness, clarity in thought in times of confusion, or feeling closer to God despite life’s challenges?

I look forward to seeing YOU at the 9 am traditional worship service in our sanctuary, or at the 10:30 am Cross Connect contemporary worship service in the New Room worship space, this coming Sunday as we close out this sermon series and, hopefully, spend the rest of our lives thinking on these things!

In Christ,

Pastor Dale