Worship & Music
Daily Scripture
Paul’s Farewell Visit to Troas
On the first day of the week, when we met to break bread, Paul was holding a discussion with them; since he intended to leave the next day, he continued speaking until midnight. There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were meeting. A young man named Eutychus, who was sitting in the window, began to sink off into a deep sleep while Paul talked still longer. Overcome by sleep, he fell to the ground three floors below and was picked up dead. But Paul went down, and bending over him took him in his arms, and said, ‘Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.’ Then Paul went upstairs, and after he had broken bread and eaten, he continued to converse with them until dawn; then he left. Meanwhile they had taken the boy away alive and were not a little comforted.
Previous Scriptures:
For it is God who is at work in you — for his good pleasure. Think about God’s pleasure. Do you often think about the possibility of causing God joy? Faith is a journey … a journey of the mind, the heart and mostly of relationships. Pressing the journey is what gives God joy. Think a bit about how your faith has grown in the past year orDo all things without murmuring and arguing, so that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine like stars in the world. It is by your holding fast to the word of life that I can boast on the day of Christ that I did not run in vain or labour in vain. But even if I am being poured out as a libation over the sacrifice and the offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you— and in the same way you also must be glad and rejoice with me.so. How’s your journey?
Thoughts on the Scripture: Paul is encouraging the church in these verses. He reminding them to be as faithful as they can, because their faithfulness gives him strength and joy … after all, he has given his life that they may know the gospel. But he also reminds them how he is trying to be as faithful as he can in difficult circumstances. From the beginning, we learn, being Christian is never an easy thing … but it’s easier when we remember we are not Christian alone … There are always other who encourage us.
for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Thoughts on the Scripture: For it is God who is at work in you — for his good pleasure. Think about God’s pleasure. Do you often think about the possibility of causing God joy? Faith is a journey … a journey of the mind, the heart and mostly of relationships. Pressing the journey is what gives God joy. Think a bit about how your faith has grown in the past year or so. How’s your journey?
Shining as Lights in the World
Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling;
Thoughts on the Scripture: Work out your own salvation? We can’t save ourselves … but we can live every day in gratitude that the love of God can be trusted, that the grace of God is given in Jesus Christ. To work out your salvation is to live like you trust in God’s promised day all will be well.
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.
Therefore God also highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Thoughts on the Scripture: Paul is probably quoting a hymn, perhaps a hymn the Philippian congregation would know. It is an amazing affirmation: Jesus, the one before whom every knee shall bow, is one who humbles himself to dwell and sacrifice for God’s children. Read again the note from yesterday … Jesus humbles himself not simply because Jesus is humble, but because of the value Jesus sees in you.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others.
Thoughts on the Scripture: Humility. We tend to think of humility as a personal virtue, something we possess. Humility is more complicated than that. Humility is one first something we perceive about ourselves; it lives in how we perceive others. Humility is the fruit of seeing the neighbor a little more like God sees the neighbor … as one of value.
Imitating Christ’s Humility
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind.
Thoughts on the Scripture: Be of one mind, Paul says. The unity of the church is a core value for Paul. But we have a translation confusion in this verse. “One mind” sounds like Paul is asking us to think alike, maybe even think the same things. That’s not the point. It’s not even possible. A better way to think of this is “one attitude” or “one orientation” toward each other. You know that being divided from people you love is the hardest thing in the world. The way to reconciliation is not often by “thinking;” it’s by loving. That is the attitude Paul speaks of.