Philippians 1:1-6

Introduction – From Paul and Timothy, to the saints in Philippi.

Letter Form – From, To, Greeting or good wishes (Christians Prayer)

Paul is in Prison – Probably in Rome. AD 60 or so.

¹ Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus,

To all the ^[a]saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, ^[b]including the overseers and deacons: ² Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

³ I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, ⁴ always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, ⁵ in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. ⁶ For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

There is a special bond among believers. Paul had a special bond with the Christians at Philippi.

What is it that causes that relationship among believers? How do you get to participate in those kind of friendships?

How are some believers robbed of this blessing?

Paul records that he continues to pray for his friends at Philippi. He prays for them with JOY.

He also mentions that their participation in the gospel (ongoing) is part of that prayer.

Why do you think Paul recorded that he was praying for this group?

What does it do for you to know that your brother or sister is praying for you?

When you pray for someone, do you tell them? Why or Why not?

Paul talks about God beginning and completing a good work in the believers at Philippi. It has been suggested that the good work that God had begun in this church was Salvation, the result of the Gospel.

3 Big Words Justification (experiencing salvation / accepting Christ as savior) Sanctification (the process of God molding his children into the person He wants them to be) Glorification (Final transformation into our glorified eternal condition)

One way to look at this good work is to see it as Sanctification, or God working in our lives to shape us into His people, who reflect His image.

This promise sounds so wonderful, and it really is, but sanctification can mean that God has to knock off a few rough edges in us, which can be painful at times.

How does God work in our lives to sanctify us?

I believe that the “Day of Christ Jesus” refers to the time when Jesus will return to earth to collect His church. This verse also is comforting to us because it is a promise that our salvation does not depend on our work, but on the work of the Lord.

God's Presence in Worship

God has manifested His presence in different ways throughout history. This morning we are going to visit a few passages of scripture that demonstrate how God has shown Himself to Man, and then we are going to discuss what it is like to experience God’s presence in worship.

OT

Genesis 3:8 They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Exodus 13:21 The LORD was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night.

2 Chronicles 5:11-14 When the priests came forth from the holy place (for all the priests who were present had sanctified themselves, without regard to divisions), ¹² and all the Levitical singers, Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun, and their sons and kinsmen, clothed in fine linen, with cymbals, harps and lyres, standing east of the altar, and with them one hundred and twenty priests blowing trumpets ¹³ in unison when the trumpeters and the singers were to make themselves heard with one voice to praise and to glorify the LORD, and when they lifted up their voice accompanied by trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and when they praised the LORD saying, “He indeed is good for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” then the house, the house of the LORD, was filled with a cloud, ¹⁴ so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the house of God.

NT

Romans 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

John 14:9 Jesus *said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?

John 16:5-8 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ ⁶ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. ⁷ But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. ⁸ And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;

Many of the encounters with God in the Bible are visual, but today we have the Holy Spirit to “come to us”.

How can we recognize God as the Holy Spirit?

Is your worship different when you expect to encounter God? How?

What can cause us to miss experiencing the presence of the Holy Spirit in worship?

What is the result of experiencing the presence of God in worship? (John 16) conviction, righteousness

Worship and Scripture

Why does God desire our worship?

Matthew 4:8-11
Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’ Deut 6:13” 11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Satan wanted Jesus to worship him.
What technique did he use to try to get Jesus to worship him? (shortcut to power, personal glory)
Why do you think Satan wanted Jesus to worship him?
Does Satan try to temp you to worship something other than God?
Why? Idols.

What constitutes worship of anything other than God? Do you have to “bow down” to money, fame, or personal glory to consider it worship?

Jesus responded to Satan’s attempt at temptation with scripture. The scripture he quoted is a command to worship and serve God only. In this single response Jesus emphasized the importance of both Worshipping God and knowing God’s word.

Worship like a magi

Matthew 2:1-12
Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for this is what has been written by the prophet:
‘AND YOU, BETHLEHEM, LAND OF JUDAH, ARE BY NO MEANS LEAST AMONG THE LEADERS OF JUDAH; FOR OUT OF YOU SHALL COME FORTH A RULER
WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL.’”
Then Herod secretly called the magi and determined from them the exact time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the Child; and when you have found Him, report to me, so that I too may come and worship Him.” After hearing the king, they went their way; and the star, which they had seen in the east, went on before them until it came and stood over the place where the Child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. After coming into the house they saw the Child with Mary His mother; and they fell to the ground and worshiped Him. Then, opening their treasures, they presented to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, the magi left for their own country by another way.

How much trouble did the magi go to?
Travel, investigation, preparation, financial sacrifice

What was their state of mind when they arrived to see Jesus?
They rejoice with exceeding great joy

What was their primary way of expressing worship in this passage?
Giving gifts

What happened after they worshiped?
God warned them in a dream to go a certain way


How much trouble are we willing to go to in seeking to worship the Lord?
How often do you enter into worship with Joy?
How important is it to open your treasure and present gifts to God?
What is the result in your life when you worship God in spirit and in truth?

Worshiping God Personally

This week we are going to consider worship from a personal standpoint. Not thinking about corporate worship, but individual one-on-one worship of God from our own heart.

How is individual worship different than the worship we experience as a group?

Luke 1:46-55
Mary’s Song of Praise: The Magnificat
46And Mary said,"My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
48for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49for he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
50And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; 52 he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; 53he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty. 54He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, 55 as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever.

Remember how we discussed the idea that Worshipping God is a spiritual activity? (John 4)These verses demonstrate that by Mary’s description of her Soul and her Spirit.

We know Mary’s situation, what do these verses in particular tell us about her worship of God?
She feels blessed, she is focused on God, She is happy and rejoicing.

What parts of God’s character and actions are emphasized here?

As you worship God, what parts of God’s character and actions do you focus on the most? Why?

How does bringing these character components and acts help us to worship God?

Mary had a unique experience with God where she learned first-hand about God’s blessings.
Each time I worship God, I bring my own experiences and encounters with Him along with me. I don’t have any experiences like Mary’s but I do have some recurring things that I come back to over and over, Thanking God, and praising Him for. One of them is my family. Another is my health. Another is my church family. In each of these areas I have seen God demonstrate many of these same character traits that Mary cited in her song of praise. He has done great things for me, He is strong, He keeps his promises, I am blessed.

What personal experiences have you had that allow you to worship God in a personal way?

Personal worship should be personal. As you worship God during this Christmas season, remember to praise Him for something that He has revealed to you personally.

The Object of our worship

Last week we talked about how worship is a spiritual act, something that arises in our hearts and should be done in spirit and in truth.
Today, we are going to look at a practical example of worship, focusing on who we are worshipping. One of the reasons we are able to worship God is because of His perfect character. Who God is and what He does in our lives gives us endless reason to worship Him.

As we read Psalm 138, let’s look at what it tells us about the object of our worship – our heavenly Father.

1 I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing praises to You before the gods.
2 I will bow down toward Your holy temple
And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;
For You have magnified Your word according to all Your name.
3 On the day I called, You answered me;

You made me bold with strength in my soul.
4 All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, O LORD,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
5 And they will sing of the ways of the LORD,
For great is the glory of the LORD.
6 For though the LORD is exalted,
Yet He regards the lowly,
But the haughty He knows from afar.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;
You will stretch forth Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will save me.
8 The LORD will accomplish what concerns me;
Your lovingkindness, O LORD, is everlasting;
Do not forsake the works of Your hands.

Taking this passage in 3 parts: Part 1 is 1-3
What does this passage say about the Psalmist’s attitude in the beginning?
What do these verses say about God?

Part 2 4-6
What does this passage say about God’s authority and position?
What about his connection with us?
What about his connection with the haughty? disdainfully proud; snobbish; scornfully arrogant;

Part 3 7-8
What do these verses say about our trouble?
Which is more important – to know that God will accomplish what He intends, or to express that we know he will accomplish what He intends? (could be said about all this stuff, the expression and acknowledgment is the worship part).

Putting Worship in its Place

Where is the most beautiful church you have ever seen? (not a trick question)

Jesus addressed the place of worship in his encounter with the woman at the well.

John 4:19-26
The woman said to Him, “Sir, I perceive that You are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped in this mountain, and you people say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.” 21 Jesus *said to her, “Woman, believe Me, an hour is coming when neither in this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; By "you" Jesus meant the Samaritans (plural "you" in Gr.). They worshipped a God whom they did not really know. The reason for this was their rejection of most of His revelation in the Old Testament. we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to Him, “I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.” 26 Jesus *said to her, “I who speak to you am He.”

Part of the old controversy involved the proper place of worship. In Deuteronomy 12:5 God had said that His people were to seek the place that He would choose among their tribes where He would dwell among them. The Jews, accepting all the Old Testament as authoritative, saw God doing this later when He commanded David to build the temple in Jerusalem (2 Sam. 7:13; 1 Kings 11:13; 14:21; 2 Chron. 6:6; 12:13). The Samaritans, who acknowledged only the authority of the Pentateuch, believed that Mount Gerizim near Shechem was the place that God had appointed. They based this belief on the fact that God had told the Israelites to worship Him on Mt. Gerizim after they entered the Promised Land (Deut. 11:29-30; 27:2-7, 12). (Soniclight.org, Dr. Thomas Constable)

Just as Jesus turned the conversation away from water to the woman’s more personal and serious needs, He turns the conversation from the unimportant aspect of location of worship to the paramount aspect of how to worship. In spirit and in truth. This is a hendiady, a figure of speech (greek grammatical construction) in which the speaker expresses a single complex idea by joining two things with "and" instead of using an adjective and a noun. Though the idea is one, it has two components.

Spirit – How is worship Spiritual? Worship is spiritual in every respect: in its source, mediator, object. It rises from the spirit of the worshipper, not just his or her mouth; it is heartfelt. Moreover it proceeds from a person who has spiritual life because of the new birth that the Holy Spirit has effected. It passes from believers to God through a spiritual mediator, namely, Jesus Christ. Its object is spiritual, namely, God who is spirit. Its subject is spiritual matters.

Truth – What does it mean to worship in truth? "Truth" in this context contrasts with the hypocrisy that characterized so much of Jewish and Samaritan worship, which is still present in worship today. It is sincere, God-centered worship rather than just going through motions or worshipping for what we can get out of it instead of as an offering to the Lord.

Isaiah 29:13-14
13 Then the Lord said, “Because this people draw near with their words And honor Me with their lip service, But they remove their hearts far from Me, And their reverence for Me consists of tradition learned by rote, 14 Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; And the wisdom of their wise men will perish, And the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.”

V23 Says that the Father seeks true worshippers. Do we ever go into a worship service here and rely on tradition, repetition, or any non-spiritual factors to worship God? Is there any good in that? How can we make sure we are combining spirit and truth in worship at each opportunity?