Stu Quackenbush // Rockford Campus // July 14, 2024

 

A Cross Shaped Life

SMALL GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE

 

REMINDERS

Praise in the Park will be on Sunday, August, from 6:00 pm – 7:30 pm at the Garden Club Park in Downtown Rockford. Come and lift your praise in this gathering with friends and neighbors in the heart of our community! Please bring a lawn chair or blanket.

Kids entering grades 3 and 4 are invited to WILD Wednesday on July 24, 31 and August 7, 6:30-8:30pm. Join us for crazy fun, swimming, water games, snacks, friends and learning about our great God. More details in the Events section online.

 

TOGETHER IN LIFE

Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a letter of joy. What is bringing you joy right now? Take some time to give praise to God for that. If you’re meeting as a group, share with one another.

 

TOGETHER IN THE WORD

THIS WEEK’S KEY PASSAGE: Philippians 1 | A Cross Shaped Life

Note: If you are meeting and discussing as a group, we encourage you to read the entire text together out loud.

 

Read Philippians 1:1-18.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians is a letter of rejoicing, despite the fact that it was written under painful circumstances. As we reflect on Sunday’s sermon, we’ll keep this front of mind.

 

SERVANTS AND SAINTS

Look at the opening verses, 1-2. Paul and Timothy identify themselves as “servants of Christ Jesus.” In the first century, servants often belonged to their masters for life. A good servant would be both highly committed and highly usable.

• What are Paul and Timothy communicating about themselves by identifying as servants of Christ Jesus?
• Do you think of yourself as a servant of Christ Jesus in this way? Why or why not?
• How does this shape your view of your life’s purpose?

Now look at how Paul and Timothy describe their audience in the second part of verse one. To be a “saint” was to be set apart for holiness. Everyone who identified as a follower of Jesus was considered a saint. To follow Jesus was to agree to be set apart from the culture and to grow in Christlikeness for His service.

• Do you see this as being true of you as well? Why or why not?

 

WHOLEHEARTED LOVE

Seeing ourselves as servants and saints will affect our view of our life and our purpose. In the sermon, Stu noted that when we love Christ wholeheartedly, our attitude each day is not dependent on getting the life we want or think we deserve. We release our own desires for a good life and instead define a good life as one fully committed to Christ.

Yet our culture often sends us the opposite message. As a result, walking in the joy of fellowship with Jesus requires a daily setting of our focus.

Take a moment to reflect on your typical daily routine.

• What are the first few things you do each morning and how does this serve to set your focus for the day? Is there anything you would like to change?
• Do joyful or painful circumstances tend to affect your mood for the day?
• How does Stu’s statement about loving Christ wholeheartedly speak to you or challenge you?

 

WE PRAY FOR THE THINGS THAT WE LOVE

In verses 3 through 11 we get a glimpse into Paul’s deep love for the Philippian church.

• What were his greatest desires for them, as expressed in his prayer?

Take a moment to carefully reflect on your own prayer life.

• What are the things that you most often pray for or about? What does this reveal about what you love or the deepest desires of your heart?
• Does Paul’s prayer reflect your own prayers for your family, your church family, and the people in your life?

 

THE ADVANCE OF THE GOSPEL

In verses 12-18, Paul tells the Philippians how the gospel is advancing in spite of his imprisonment.

• How was God using Paul’s painful circumstances to reach people who may not have otherwise been reached at that time with the good news of Jesus Christ?
• Has there ever been a time in your life or the life of someone you know when God has used painful circumstances to advance the gospel or bring someone else to salvation? How did this affect you?

 

REJOICING IN TRIALS

It’s clear from this first section of his letter to the Philippians that Paul was rejoicing even in his trials. Either by yourself or with your group, take some time to prayerfully think about why Paul was full of joy even as his own comfort, freedom, and social standing were taken away.

Wrap up by reading verses 19-25.

• How did Paul’s singular focus on the full gospel (Christ’s death, resurrection, our new birth into Christ, and the promise of eternity with Him) help him when he was facing the possibility of death?
• Does this resonate with you? Or challenge you? Or both?
• What if your circumstances right now are comfortable and joyful? How can you still apply Paul’s outlook and attitude to your daily life?

 

TOGETHER IN ACTION

Our next steps as a church this week are to:

• Consider how the gospel allows you to rest from your striving for comfort and a good reputation and instead refocus on how Christ is calling you to live?
• Pray for our church this week using Philippians 1:9-11 as a guide. Pray that as a church we would grow in love for Christ and one another.

 

TOGETHER IN PRAYER

“And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” – Philippians 1:9-11

Pray the passage above, asking God to grow in each of us:

• a greater focus on Jesus and the gospel message,
• so that we would rightly fix our hearts and minds on our true purpose and live in a way that is fruitful and pleasing to Him,
• advancing the gospel message in all of our circumstances
• as we joyfully wait for eternity with Him.