Connections That Endear Us

Philippians 1:7 KJV 1900

Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace.

Introduction

Option I—Common Ties

Gather

Large ball of yarn

Steps

1 . Ask a volunteer to come to the front of the room. Give the volunteer a large ball of yarn. The volunteer chooses another student and names something they have in common.

2. The second student comes to the front of the room, takes the ball of yarn, and walks across the room, unwinding the yarn as he or she goes so that the students are connected by the yarn.

3. The second student then chooses another classmate and names something they have in common. The third classmate comes to the front of the room and takes the ball of yarn, unwinding it so all three students are now connected by the yarn.

4. Continue until all students are connected by the yarn. The last student then names something he or she has in common with the first student, passing the yarn to the first student. All the students adjust to create a circle if they are not already in one.

5. As time allows, students may create a crisscross pattern by naming commonalities with classmates across the circle. Take the ball of yarn from student to student.

6. Discuss the activity.

ASK: How might focusing on commonalities affect a relationship? It creates a stronger bond between two people.

ASK: What do all believers have in common? Among many commonalities, they have a common Savior, a common mission, and a common indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

7. Transition to the Bible lesson.

Any two people can discover commonalities if they search long enough. Two believers, however, share special, endearing commonalities because they are both in Christ. In this Lesson we will begin examining a personal letter from the apostle Paul to a group of believers whom he loved dearly for the things they had in common in Christ.

The Holy Spirit Created Connections

Connection to a pleading Macedonian

Acts 16:6–9 KJV 1900

Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia, After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not. And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

The book of Philippians is a letter written from the apostle Paul to the church in Philippi. Paul first visited the colony of Philippi years earlier when he traveled there on his second missionary journey. Before first trip. Along the way, a young man named Timothy joined them (Acts 16:1-3). All was going as planned before the Holy Spirit forbade Paul and his companion to preach the gospel in Asia and Bithynia.

Acts 16:9 KJV 1900

And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.

Paul understood God must have given him the vision of the Macedonian requesting his help. His missionary team immediately made plans to take the gospel to Macedonia.

Paul counted on common sense and general understanding to make many of his decisions, but

When the Holy Spirit interrupted his plans and asked him to do things that didn't always make sense, Paul was ready to obey.

He knew God's leading is more trustworthy than one's own understanding.

Paul's heart was aligned with God's heart to take the gospel where it would bear fruit.

ASK: How active is the Holy Spirit in directing us to meet unbelievers today? The Holy Spirit still works in believers to direct their lives to meet people who need Christ.

Connection to a Religious Businesswoman

Picture of Paul’s Missionary Journey.

Use the map to trace Paul's travels from Troas to Philippi.

Paul's team set sail for Macedonia, eventually settling at Philippi, a Roman colony and the largest city in the area. After a few days of getting his bearings and observing the people's habits, Paul noticed that a group of women left the city to gather by the river for prayer on the Sabbath.

Acts 16:13 KJV 1900

And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither.

One of these women was named Lydia, a notable woman from Thyatira whose work as a seller of purple earned her wealth and prestige.

The rich businesswoman worshiped God but without a true relationship with Him. God burdened Paul to approach Lydia with the gospel.

Acts 16:14 KJV 1900

And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.

God had been working in Lydia's heart prior to Paul's arrival. The Holy Spirit opened her heart to receive the news that Jesus had died for her sins. When Paul and Lydia ended up on the same riverbank that Sabbath day, she heard the truth about salvation through Jesus Christ. Lydia gladly believed the gospel and became the first recorded European convert to Christianity. Before long, the members of her household also chose to trust Christ as their Savior, and Lydia and her household were baptized.

Acts 16:15 KJV 1900

And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

Connection to a Possessed Slave

Acts 16:16–18 KJV 1900

And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.

Though Paul's witness had an immediate effect, trouble soon followed. A demon-possessed slave girl who made predictions about the future began following Paul and his companions. She cried out that the men were servants of the most high God and that they were preaching salvation (16:17).

While the missionaries were indeed servants of the most high God, those listening to this girl's message would not necessarily have known which "god" she was referring to. Also, like Jesus, Paul refused the testimony of demons (Luke 4:41).

After several days, Paul grew greatly annoyed by the continued proclamation and cast the demon out of the girl (Acts 16:18). What happened to the girl is unknown. Certainly the missionaries or some of their converts ministered to her. It seems likely she would have responded positively to the gospel. God obviously worked to connect her with Paul and Silas.

The slave girl's owners were irate. They had used the little girl to make money from her fortune telling. With the demon gone, she stopped making her predictions and became useless to them (16:19). The girl's masters seized Paul and Silas and dragged them to the city magistrates.

Before the judges, the owners brought two charges: Paul and Silas stirred up trouble in the city, and they taught non-Roman customs, These charges had series consequences in a Roman colony.

The trouble Paul and Silas faced testifies to how deeply God valued the girl.

Connection to a Shaken Jailer

Acts 16:22–25 KJV 1900

And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.

When the crowd heard the charges against Paul and Silas, they revolted against the two men. The magistrates responded to the crowd's frenzy by stripping Paul and Silas and commanding that they be beaten. Paul and Silas were then thrown into prison, being placed in the innermost chamber with their feet secured in wooden stocks.

ASK: What might be considered a normal reaction to such unjust treatment? Anger or a sense of helplessness.

Paul and Silas trusted God with all their hearts. They spent their night in prison singing praises to God and praying.

The prisoners around them heard their joy, and the gospel light shone unexpectedly.

ASK: How could Paul and Silas remain joyful while suffering in prison? They had a deep love for Christ; they counted it an honor to suffer for the sake of the gospel.

As Paul and Silas were singing and praying, an earthquake suddenly shook the prison doors open and loosed the prisoners' chains from the walls. When the jailer awoke, he panicked. Thinking the prisoners had fled, he drew his sword to kill himself. Paul called out to him to stop, for none of the prisoners had fled.

The missionaries knew running out of the prison wasn't God's will. They waited instead for the "aftershock. " For the God Who shook the jail also shook the jailer.

The jailer trembled and fell down before the missionaries, asking how he might be freed from his captivity to sin.

Acts 16:28–30 KJV 1900

But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved?

ASK: What did the jailer learn from the missionaries' refusal to flee? That they cared for his spiritual condition and wanted to share with him the freedom of trusting in Jesus for salvation.

Paul and Silas told the man to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The jailer and his household eagerly placed their faith in Jesus as Savior (16:29-32)

ASK: Do teens have enemies? Who are they?

ASK: What should be our goal in relation to our "enemies"? To share the gospel with them and build a relationship with them through Christ.

Christ Strengthened Connections

By His leaders

The next day the magistrates decided to release Paul and Silas. They sent the same officers who had beaten the missionaries the previous day. The jailer told Paul and Silas they were free to go in peace. But the missionaries, being Roman citizens, had been beaten and imprisoned illegally. So Paul and Silas demanded the magistrates come and escort them from prison. When the magistrates heard Paul and Silas were Romans, they readily agreed to be present to keep the situation from escalating (16:35-39).

Paul's insistence on being treated like a Roman citizen no doubt caused the magistrates to exercise caution when dealing with the Philippian believers in the future. His boldness must have also challenged the believers to be bold when serving God and sharing the gospel.

Acts 16:40 KJV 1900

And they went out of the prison, and entered into the house of Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted them, and departed.

ASK: How do you think the missionaries' troubles in Philippi affected their relationships with the Philippian believers?

The missionaries returned to Lydia's house, the birthplace of the Philippian church, and ministered to the new believers. The verb used to describe the missionaries' ministry comes from the word used to describe the comforting ministry of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is "called alongside" believers to help them live for God. That's what the missionaries did for the new believers.

The missionaries and new Philippian believers were all in Christ and all under the control of the Holy Spirit. Their spiritual connections as believers continued to build and strengthen even as the missionaries left to take the gospel to Thessalonica. Paul's love for the believers is obvious in his letter to them.

By His love

Paul kept in contact with the Philippian believers over the years. The Philippian church even sent him financial help when he was in Thessalonica (Phil. 4: 16).

Philippians 1:1–2 KJV 1900

Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul began his letter with his traditional greeting, naming Timothy as a fellow servant of Christ and expressing his desire for the Philippians to know God grace and peace.

Philippians 1:3–5 KJV 1900

I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy, For your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now;

ASK: How did Paul continue to build his spiritual connection to the Philippians? By thanking God for them and praying for them.

ASK: How has praying for others helped develop your spiritual connection to them?

Philippians 1:6 KJV 1900

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Paul expressed his confidence in God's continued work in each of the Philippian believers. The Lord Who saved the Philippians—and Who saves us—would complete the work He had begun (salvation) by teaching them to be like His Son (sanctification) and finally transforming them to live with Him forever in Heaven (glorification). Christians are God's "work in progress" now. One day He will complete His work in us.

Philippians 1:7–8 KJV 1900

Even as it is meet for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace. For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.

Paul was imprisoned while writing Philippians. His defense of the gospel would help the Philippian believers in their interaction with the Roman government. Paul counted on God's grace to endure as he waited to give his defense. God's grace also sustained the Philippians in their daily trials.

Paul had the Philippians on his mind and in his heart, and he longed for them earnestly. Paul's love for the Philippians came from Christ in him.

ASK: What are some characteristics of Christ's love? It is sacrificial, genuine, selfless, and action oriented.

Paul called on God as his witness to the genuineness of his love for the Philippians. We are to have the same love for others.

There was nothing fake or superficial about it. We are to have the same Christ-originating, God-verifying love for others.