Suffering and Unity

(Sermons I’ve stolen from other thieves)

Good morning Cornerstone, Jason is out this week at the elder’s retreat, discussing the matters of the church and spending some time in prayer for our church body. Let’s take a moment to lift them up in prayer as they wrap up their weekend.

OR

Good morning Cornerstone, before we get started, I’d like for us to take a moment in prayer for opportunities this week for us to be a faithful witness for Christ. Pray for someone you can be that witness too and pray for ways we can do this better.

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PRAY ___________________

I had one of those moments this week where I was debating changing the message for this morning.

One of the advantages of filling in when Jason’s out of town is whoever is filling in usually has the option of picking up where he left off or do a one-off message. Since I had already done the first part of Philippians 1, I had planned on finishing up chapter one.

Then, Wednesday morning at the Men’s Prayer group, Bill Elliott had the devotional for the morning and when he told the group that he would be looking at Philippians 1:21, I got this lump in my throat. It was like one of those times in class when you are given a presentation assignment and somebody in the class was doing the same one…and possibly much better… So, I started thinking of what else I would preach on this morning. He gave a great devotional but what was I to teach on now?

Later that day, I was praying over a time of preparation and the good Lord, in his mercy and gentleness, reminded me that maybe some of us are bull-headed enough/stubborn enough that we need to hear it twice in the one week.

This morning, we are going to pick up in Philippians where we left off a couple weeks ago. So, if you have your Bibles, go ahead and open to Philippians 1:18-30.

While you flip to Philippians 1, I want you to take a moment and think of something you get excited about.

For some of you, it’s...

Your families

Your job

Your vacations

Your hobbies

Politics

We have so many options of what we can be excited about…and we’re not necessarily confined to just one thing.

I know this because I have things that I enjoy and get excited about.

I love learning so that I can teaching and equip others.

That being said, in the years prior to joining the staff here, I had two other jobs, the latest was 10 years in consumer and business banking and for five years prior to banking, I was in restaurant management. From 2002-2006 I worked at Tia’s Tex-Mex and became one of the managers. During my time there, Tia’s was owned by three different companies before closing. The last company that owned them had a very particular SOP-Standard of Operations. While I wasn’t very passionate about being a restaurant manager, there was one thing that has stuck with me over the years.

J.I.T. Job instructional training.

Richard H. Pfau, Ph.D. with the Workforce Training Group of Mansfield, Connecticut wrote a paper in 1999 about J.I.T. and outlined its history and its technique. In this 23-page document, He writes in his overview that this is “a relatively simple, one-to-one training technique consisting of” five steps.

One of the JIT slogans is “If the learner hasn’t learned, the teacher hasn’t taught.”

My district manager taught all of the managers how to do this J.I.T. , except he made it four steps.

Tell, show, do, review.

This process was applied to almost everything that was procedural in the restaurant, from mopping floors to making food. Tell, show, do, review. However, what I learned was this is really only effective if you’re passionate about what you do.

If not, you’ll find shortcuts, skip steps, or not follow-up. I wasn’t particularly passionate about my job but I tried to do it with excellence. However, some of my employees only did what was taught when they absolutely had to…Their passion was definitely not J.I.T.

I can’t help but think about Paul’s passion for seeing the gospel advance. When he travelled and planted churches, I can’t help but think that he had some J.I.T. along the way.

As Paul writes to the Philippians, or, really any of the letters, his deepest desire is to see the gospel advance, to see his audience and readers live out this same passion for the gospel. This desire comes from his conversion, his faith, his witness to Christ, his calling, and that consumes every bit of him. This is what he knows deep down in his soul and wants others to have that same drive. A drive that is so consuming that the natural outflowing is to tell others about Christ.

He wants his life to reflect Christ in every aspect and to everyone he encounters. We saw at the beginning of his letter that it had, that his witness had permeated the soldiers and the ranks. Even if they didn’t profess Christ as their Lord and Savior, they knew that something was so different that it couldn't be ignored. We saw that whenever the name of Christ is proclaimed, “whether in pretense or truth”, the gospel will advance.

Paul proclaims in verse 21 that “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

For Paul to “live is Christ” was to endure suffering, with abundant joy, with courage, for community and toward spiritual maturity. To those watching and reading, his life was a living Job Instructional Manual to live consumed with the concerns of Christ, endure suffering in joy, with courage to build community and draw closer to spiritual maturity.

This morning, this question that will be our take away is this:

What is it that you live for? How would you finish the the statement, “For to me to live is BLANK?”

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So, if you would please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word from Philippians 1: 18-30.

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Philippians 1:18b–30 ESV

18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. 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. 27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

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PRAY ___________________

“For me to live is Christ...”

—A consuming passion—

This morning, we will look at this in two different sections: The first is Paul’s position, the second will be Paul’s calling (or review) to Philippians

When your passionate about something, you want everyone to know. You don’t even realize or care how much you talk about it because you want others to be passionate about it also. There is a myriad of things we can be passionate about.

The history of the spread of Christianity is incredible, particularly those pioneers that went in the First Era where they didn’t know what the outcome would be. There are so many stories of men and women that are so consumed with the love of Christ, they take, what some would consider, extreme measures to share this love.

Count Nicolas Ludwig von Zinzendorf, an evangelical Lutheran nobleman in the 17th & into the 18th century had a consuming passion for Christ from an early age.

It’s noted that “[a]t age six, young Nikolaus would often write love letters to Jesus. He would then climb to the castle tower and toss them out the window, where they scattered around the courtyard like innocent prayers.

During The Great Northern War, Swedish soldiers overran Saxony in 1706. It is said that they entered the room where young Nickolas just happened to be conducting his customary devotions. The soldiers were incredibly moved by the boy's prayer.”

Years later, Zinzendorf provided shelter, which became a settlement, for a German-speaking refugee group called the Moravians. He and others went on to become the leaders of the Moravian renewal, which is described as one of the purest moves of the Spirit in church history.” Zinzendorf’s life reflected his statement, “I have one passion, and it is Him, only Him.” This “deep, ongoing passion and love for Christ” had led him to start a 24-7 prayer meeting that continued non-stop for 100 years, it would also lead him go overseas in the interest of the gospel, send others out as missionaries, and would prompt him to write some 2,000 hymns.

This is just one out of many of the zealous believers in history.

It is evidenced throughout scripture that Paul lived with a continual zeal for the concerns of Christ.

John Piper noted this:

“It seems clear from this text that in everything — absolutely everything he does — he is passionate that Christ might be magnified, exalted, honored, and shown to be magnificent...Paul loved Christ. He loved Christ like very few people have ever loved him.

(Philippians 3:8) “Whatever gain I had I counted as loss. I count everything as loss for the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord!” Whenever something is of tremendous value to you, whenever you cherish something because of its uniqueness or its power or its beauty, there is an inevitable longing that you draw others’ attention to it so that they can share your high regard for it.

Paul states in v. 21:

21 For to me to live is Christ,

Paul lived the Christ-life. Paul writes in Galatians 2:20,

Galatians 2:20 ESV

20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Paul needed Christ’s empowering for every aspect of his life (Philippians 4:13). He lived “by” Christ.

Paul also lived to serve Christ—that is, he lived “for” Christ. If Jesus gave Paul time on earth, he would use it to glorify Christ by serving his church and proclaiming the gospel.

Harold W. Hoehner, Philip W. Comfort, and Peter H. Davids, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, Philemon., vol. 16 (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2008), 162–163.

...and to die is gain.

Paul, likely looked at death as a relief of suffering and an eternal reunion with Christ.

Death releases a person from the burdens and woes of this life. Using similar language (especially the notion of “gain”), Antigone said, “Whoever has had to live in as much suffering as I have, how is it not a gain to die?” (Sophocles, Antigone 463–464).

The divine life that Christians receive at the time of regeneration does not cease at death; it is eternal, so they never really die (cf. John 5:24; 11:25–26).

Romans 8:38-39

Paul knew that nothing, not threats, not suffering, not even death, could separate him from Christ.

Harold W. Hoehner, Philip W. Comfort, and Peter H. Davids, Cornerstone Biblical Commentary: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, Philemon., vol. 16 (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2008), 162–163.

But Paul knew that his life was in the hands of God and relinquishes those plans accordingly.

In saying that “to live is Christ and to die is gain,” Paul demonstrates a Christ-centered single-mindedness that has characterized millions of Christians through the ages that have stood firmly against all else.

Consider Martin Luther King, Jr. From the time he got involved in the Montgomery bus boycott, his life was continually in danger. On April 3, 1968, he flew to Memphis to address a crowd at Mason Temple. He almost didn’t get there, because his plane was delayed by a bomb threat. He alluded to that threat in his speech that evening, saying:

“Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop. And I don’t mind.

Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people will get to the promised land.

And I’m happy, tonight. I’m not worried about anything. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.”

The next day, April 4, King was felled by an assassin’s bullet.

“For me to live is Christ...”

—source of confidence

(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,

When Paul turns from his report of his present circumstances to a report of his future expectations, he expresses joyful confidence. He indicates both a transition to a new perspective and a continuation of his joyful attitude… whether the outcome of his trial will be life or death.

G. Walter Hansen, The Letter to the Philippians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 77.

It’s this confidence that kept him optimistic. He knew others were praying as intercessors and that he had divine assistance through the Holy Spirit. Paul’s dependence was in the two working together, man’s prayer and the presence of the Holy Spirit.

(v. 19) Paul remained optimistic. Paul hoped for prayers, the “human intercession” side, and help, divine assistance. God answers prayers with help, either something the Holy Spirit provides (a resource), or the presence of the Holy Spirit (the “Comforter”). The grammar of this verse joins “prayers” and “help,” indicating Paul’s dependence on both working together.

Richard R. Melick Jr., “Philippians,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1884.

“For me to live is Christ...”

—magnifies Christ

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.

Piper noted that … “that’s why Paul’s all-consuming goal in life was that people magnify Christ, because Christ was of infinite value to Paul. He wanted other people very much to appreciate and magnify Christ with him. That’s what it means to magnify Christ: to show the magnitude of his value.”

(v. 20) Ashamed implies cowering, running from battle, or embarrassment. Paul expected that Christ would be highly honored in his body. The physical body symbolizes earthly life. On earth, if Christ is not glorified in the body, he is not glorified at all. Further, Paul hoped Christ would also be glorified in his death.

Richard R. Melick Jr., “Philippians,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1885.

Whether he lives or dies, whether he is executed or released, Paul is determined to rejoice. The prospect of his trial drove him to prayer, but it did not drive him to despair. His joy did not depend on the prospect of keeping his life, but on honoring Christ, whether by life or by death.

G. Walter Hansen, The Letter to the Philippians, The Pillar New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI; Nottingham, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009), 77.

Paul was not stranger to suffering for the sake of Christ. While he didn’t know what was to come of his imprisonment, he was determined that Christ be honored and glorified. It was his priority.

(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.

If Paul continues his ministry, he is certain that he will see more Gentiles come to believe the gospel and be transformed by God’s Spirit. If he remained alive, he knew it would be better for his churches.

John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Php 1:22–23.

(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.

Because Paul knew his work, even among the Philippians, was unfinished, he was convinced that he would be released and be able to return to Philippi again.

Richard R. Melick Jr., “Philippians,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1885.

Paul now turns his attention from his current condition to give the Philippians their “marching orders.”

These verses convey Paul’s main reason for writing to the Philippians—to urge them to stand together for the gospel in the face of persecution and suffering

John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016).

This is that J.I.T. in action; Tell, Show, Do, Review

His example “For to me to live is Christ...”

—provides confidence

—provides unity

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ,

Paul is literally saying “conduct yourselves as citizens in the Kingdom of God.” They have a higher citizenship than their current earthly position.Paul knows that the way Christians live is important to their witness for the gospel.

Acts 23:1 ESV

1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.”

so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit (literally “same soul”), with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel,

Not just individually, but together, “side by side” striving, and standing firm.

The picture that Paul is painting for the Philippians is a familiar one. Roman armies stood ready for combat regardless of the enemy’s level of strength and preparedness or the distracting enticements of culture. The church must manifest the same readiness. We must manifest the same readiness.

Harmony, not individualism, achieves God’s purposes.

Richard R. Melick Jr., “Philippians,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1885.

In Philippians 1:28, Paul acknowledges the genuine opposition the Philippians faced. To address this issue, he presents a Christ-based theology of suffering in Phil 1:29–30.

Derek R. Brown, Philippians, ed. Douglas Mangum, Lexham Research Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013), Php 1:27–2:30.

“For me to live is Christ...”

—provides courage

28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God.

Standing firm together will strengthen the believers and give them confidence. Standing also involves not being frightened … by your opponents.

Soldiers used “frightened” to describe horses that might easily be startled. Paul calls on believers to remain faithful to the gospel message through word and deed.

Richard R. Melick Jr., “Philippians,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1885.

The Philippians’ fearlessness is evidence that God will rule against their adversaries and God’s ultimate act of deliverance for those who put faith in Him

John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016)

“For to me to live is Christ...”

—is to gain mature growth

— is to endure suffering

(29) For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, (30) engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.

People in the Graeco-Roman world who became Christians would have faced all kinds of persecution. The problem people had with Christians was not so much that they were following Christ, but that they were failing to properly worship the community’s gods—especially the emperor.

Dishonoring the gods was thought to invite disaster upon the community, and those who abandoned pagan and imperial worship practices would have been treated with suspicion. In a strongly Roman city like Philippi (see note on v. 1), the decision to follow Christ could have brought severe social, economic, and legal consequences. Family and friends might cut ties with believers, employers might fire them, and clients might take their business elsewhere. Personal conflicts could easily end up in court, with Christians facing harsh punishment as troublemakers or traitors. The precarious situation likely confronting the church at Philippi shapes much of what Paul says in this letter. (Acts 16:20-24)

John D. Barry et al., Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2016), Php 1:29.

The ESV Literary Study Bible The Perfect Example (1:27–2:11)

Paul exhorts his missionary partners to live worthy of the gospel of Christ, which means standing as one, fighting with courage, suffering with patience, and loving one another with complete humility and total unity. In short, the Philippians are to share the mind of Christ.

Many of the first Era Missionaries, including the Moravians- packed their belongings in coffins because their desire to see the advance of the gospel was greater than their desire to return home alive, and the likelihood of them returning was a very small margin.

William Wilberforce, the great evangelical English social reformer, wrote of the Moravians:

They are a body who have perhaps excelled all mankind in solid and unequivocal proofs of the love of Christ and ardent, active seal in his service. It is a seal tempered with prudence, softened with meekness and supported by a courage which no danger can intimidate and a quiet certainty no hardship can exhaust.

As believers, professing Christians, knowing Christ should be our first and deepest desire.

Spouse and family second. Not sports, not politics, not food, or our house or car, cat or dog or anything but Christ first and foremost.

Living a Christ-centered life will provide confidence in Him and the calling he’s given each of you. It will bring joy and courage, provide strength in suffering, and grow you spiritually, and bring unity into our faith communities. You have the choice to make. And as a reminder: It’s unlikely that you’ll fulfill God’s calling in your life while you are in your comfort zone.

We are walking through some of the minor prophets on Wednesday nights at ONE and I shared this on Wednesday while we were looking at Jonah 1. Rick Warren wrote, “God always uses imperfect people in imperfect situations to accomplish His perfect will.”

You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to be obedient to the one you call Lord.

Let me leave you with this: Colin Grant writes in the book Perspectives of the World Christian Movement:

“If there is no passionate love for Christ at the center of everything, we will only jingle and jangle our way across the world, merely making a noise as we go.”

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PRAY & DISMISS _____________________________________

Almost every Wednesday at ONE SM, I go through a very brief, but concise presentation of the gospel, part of which is from David Platt at this past year’s Secret Church. I typically read it verbatim so that the students hear the same presentation and can digest the brevity of it while grasping the gravity of it.

It goes like this:

The gospel is the good news that God, the loving Creator, sovereign King, and holy Judge of all, has looked upon men and women wonderfully and uniquely made in His image who have rebelled against Him, are separated from Him, and deserve death before Him, and He has sent His Son, Jesus, God in the flesh, the long-awaited King, to live a perfect and powerful life, to die a sacrificial and substitutionary death, and to rise from the grave in victory over sin, Satan, and death. The gospel is a summons from God for all people in all nations to repent and believe in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, turning from all idols to declare allegiance to Jesus alone as King and trust in Jesus alone as Lord. All who turn from Jesus will experience everlasting, horrifying suffering in hell, while all who trust in Jesus will experience everlasting, satisfying communion with God in heaven. (Secret Church 2020, David Platt, Radical.net) For now, Jesus remains in heaven, changing the world one person at a time, but one day he will return and judge the world in righteousness. He will remove from this world all sin and all causes of sin and he will restore the cosmos to a state of peace, prosperity and flourishing and all those who have received him as their Lord and Savior will participate in his rule and enjoy his goodness forever.

This is a great reminder for me also. See, while I want nothing more than to see each and every person know and have an intimate relationship with Jesus, I also need that myself. But without someone to teach us, without wisdom being poured out, without a passion to see Christ proclaimed, we can become lost, confused, and dishearten by what the world pours out.

Writing from prison, he tells them that “I will rejoice...” not “ I rejoiced.” Paul is setting the stage in this section, telling those in Philippi what to do and what to expect. His

By example, his deepest desire is to advance the gospel. When we looked at the previous verses, Paul was encouraging his audience that “whether in pretense or truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. Paul wants his readers to feel that passion, that desire to see Christ exalted and the gospel advance.

We would never fathom sending our kids off to their death. It’s a hard concept to grasp. particularly because we are not persecuted for our faith here in the comforts of the United States.

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As a parent of four boy/ young men, I want, more than anything, for them to have a heart for God, a desire to see others know him, and to live their lives for him, first and foremost. Yes, of course I want them to have great careers, a loving family, and be an example to all they encounter. I don’t want them to go through the hardships that I went through in my life. I’d love for them to have seen what not to do and then not make those mistakes. And maybe they will, but they will make their own mistakes.

We’ve been blessed as parents, though, as others have poured into our boys. Some of you have helped shape who they are today, and who they will become tomorrow. I learned a long time ago that while children may listen to their parents out of obligation, they listen to others out of a desire to learn. Please don’t hear me say that my kids don’t listen to me because, I know they do. We have great conversations where I get to learn from them and they learn from me, at least I think so anyway on the latter.

Likewise, I’ve learned from many of you things that I didn’t hear my parents telling me when I was younger. Thinking back to my childhood and young adulthood now, I hear their voices of wisdom calling out, their concerns expressed, and advice unfurled. I listen much more now than I ever had before. I know that I’m getting older and some of my youthful stubbornness has dissipated in exchange for some tenured counsel. That’s a scary thought.

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A couple weeks ago, we looked a Paul’s letter to the church of Philippi. This morning, we’ll be looking at the rest of Philippians 1. Paul had a very special and deep relationship with the Philippians. It was, after all, the first church plant of Paul, and the first Christian church in Europe. We see this in Acts 15:36-16:40. We know that Paul had some issues there also, as he was jailed there along side of Silas.

Yet, while Paul is writing this letter to the Philippians from jail, he still desires the best for them, but more than that, he has a deep desire to see the gospel advance as we discussed a couple weeks ago.

He knows from first hand experience and perception that there will be a degree of suffering that will come because of their profession of faith. But when Christ is proclaimed, the gospel advances. Paul’s joy and courage in the midst of difficult circumstances is from Christ’s name being made known and he encourages the Philippians to draw on that same joy and push forward in community, growing in maturity for the sake of Christ being proclaimed.

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What we would never think about, as loving parents, would be sending our children off to their death. We attempt to teach them to be selfless, compassionate, humble, loving, and kind.

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Goals:

To Live is Christ

— is a consuming passion

consuming

Know him and make his name known

— provides confidence

—magnifies Christ

— in suffering

~~Being stretched (an athlete’s sore muscles-ripping and repairing to be stronger)

— in joy

— in courage

— in community

— in maturity

Advancing the gospel should be our deepest desire.

Goals:

- investigate Paul’s deepest desire: to see the Gospel advance (Advancing the Gospel should be our deepest desire) - explore the centrality and inevitability of suffering with/for Jesus (Advancing the Gospel will bring suffering) - discuss the source of Paul’s joy and courage in the midst of very difficult circumstances (Advancing the Gospel will bring joy and provide courage) - explore the role of community in advancing the Gospel, and in growing mature in Christ (Advancing the gospel is a community effort)