Here is the recommended personal devotions schedule. Monday to Thursday For each weekday, from Monday to Thursday, – Read the assigned text several times – Do Inductive Bible Study using the questions and prompts provided in the downloadable packet – Personal Reflection based on the questions in the packet. Friday to Sunday Read the assigned Old [...]

v. 1 “Whom I . . . long for, epipothetoi, recalls 1:8, and expresses his ardent desire to see them again. […] The Greek word for crown, stephanos, besides the figurative meaning which expresses ten­der love, was commonly used to denote the festive garland, worn as a sign of gladness, or the wreath awarded to [...]

Here is the recommended personal devotions schedule. Monday to Thursday For each weekday, from Monday to Thursday, – Read the assigned text several times – Do Inductive Bible Study using the questions and prompts provided in the downloadable packet – Personal Reflection based on the questions in the packet. Friday to Sunday Read the assigned Old [...]

v.1 “There is a certain indestructibility in Christian joy; and it is so, because Christian joy is in the Lord.  Its basis is that the Christian lives forever in the presence of Jesus Christ.  He can lose all things, and he can lose all people, but he can never lose Christ.  And, therefore, even in [...]

Submitted by Pastor Jonathan Lee, Gracepoint Davis What kind of man would risk his life for the work of Christ?  Why is it appropriate to honor such a person? Who are the people in my life I ought to honor for their labor for the Lord? The kind of person who would risk his/her life [...]

Here is the recommended personal devotions schedule. Monday to Thursday For each weekday, from Monday to Thursday, – Read the assigned text several times – Do Inductive Bible Study using the questions and prompts provided in the downloadable packet – Personal Reflection based on the questions in the packet. Friday to Sunday Read the assigned Old [...]

v.2 “On the basis of what they have in Christ, Paul now appeals to the Philippians to behave in such a way as will ‘make [his] joy complete’ (v.2).  The Philippians have already brought him joy (1:4; cf. 4:1), and if their behavior reflects their common life in Christ, they will fulfill Paul’s joy.  The [...]

v.1 “Paul’s word for “servants” (douloi) does not refer to hired household help but is the term commonly used in ancient times for “slaves.” Although in the Old Testament the term “slave” sometimes appears as a title of honor to indicate the special relationship of great heroes like Moses, Joshua, and David to God (Josh. [...]

Instructions to Children and Parents (6:1 – 4) The Greek word for “fathers” in verse 4 can mean “parents,” but more likely Paul is turning attention specifically to fathers. Fathers had legal control of children and were responsible for their instruction from about age seven. Girls did not normally receive formal education, but were taught [...]

Avoid Shameful Sins (5:3 – 6) SEXUAL SIN AND greed. The shift from Christ’s self-giving nature in 5:2 to the self-indulgence of 5:3 is striking. The three sins mentioned — “sexual immorality” (porneia), “impurity” (akatharsia), and “greed” (pleonexia) — were already mentioned at 4:19. The second and third sins are the same in both passages, [...]