Philippians 1:18b-26 / Matt Nelson

18b Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. 23 I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. 24 But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all, for your progress and joy in the faith, 26 so that in me you may have ample cause to glory in Christ Jesus, because of my coming to you again.

In our passage this week, Paul concludes his missionary report by considering his future. As we’ll continue to see throughout Philippians, Paul seeks to give us examples to imitate. Next time, we’ll consider his exhortation to the Philippians. But for this Sunday, we are focused on the exemplary role-modeling of Paul. Here he applies his chief desire for Christ to be honored in his body to the hypothetical question of whether it is better to live or to die. The big idea of this passage is that Christ exalted should be the great desire of every Christian. Thus, the main takeaway is to let the desire to see Christ exalted rule our hearts and drive our response to every trial.

Service Order

Welcome
Exhortation
Assurance of Pardon
    Praise to the Lord the Almighty
Reading – Psalm 89
    The First Place
    My Worth Is Not In What I Own
Offering
Sermon
    You Are The Way
    Crown Him With Many Crowns
Benediction

Memory Verse

1 Timothy 2:5 – [For] there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus

Service Times

Prayer
8:30-8:45am
Sunday School
9:00am-10:00am
Worship Service
10:30am-Noon

Berea

In Berea, we're close to wrapping up our study through the whole Bible. This week will be the first of two weeks looking at the book of Revelation. Sunday School (kids ages 2-12) and Berea (kids 12+ and adults) take place at 9am on Sunday.