The Script

⁷ I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. ⁸ Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ ⁹ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith. ¹⁰ I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. I want to suffer with him, sharing in his death, ¹¹ so that one way or another I will experience the resurrection from the dead! _{Philippians 3:7-11}

The Plot

Paul’s life was a study in contrasts. He committed his whole life into everything he did. When he was a practicing Jew, he was the best Jew that there was. He followed all of the rules and regulations. Nobody could hold a candle to Paul when it came to following the law. Then one day, Paul experienced something that would forever change his life. Paul was so impacted by the reality of Jesus’ resurrection – not only did God vindicate Jesus by raising him from the dead, but He also recreated the whole way of living. In that simple, miraculous act, that we celebrate on Easter, the old way was ended and a new way was born.

Paul experienced his own Easter moment on the Damascus Road. His encounter with the risen Lord made him rethink everything that he had previously thought. The “old” Paul died there on the road. The “new” Paul threw his entire being into spreading the testimony of Jesus’ resurrection. As Paul said in his second letter to the church in Corinth, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.” 2 Cor 5:17-18

The Walk Through

1. How do you compare your knowledge of Christ with all the other things in your life?
2. The law of Moses cannot make us right with God. What is the way to get a right relationship with Christ?
3. Do you have an “Easter” moment?

Ad Lib

Speaking of contrasts…..

His name is Bill. He has wild hair, wears a T-shirt with holes in it, jeans and no shoes. This was literally his wardrobe for his entire four years of college. He is brilliant. Kinda esoteric and very, very bright. He became a Christian while attending college.

Across the street from the campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. They want to develop a ministry to the students, but are not sure how to go about it. One day Bill decides to go there. He walks in with no shoes, jeans, his T-shirt, and wild hair. The service has already started and so Bill starts down the aisle looking for a seat.

The church is completely packed and he can’t find a seat. By now people are looking a bit uncomfortable, but no one says anything. Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit and when he realizes there are no seats, he just squats down right on the carpet. (Although perfectly acceptable behavior at a college fellowship, trust me, this had never happened in this church before!) By now the people are really uptight, and the tension in the air is thick.

About this time, the minister realizes that from way at the back of the church, a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill. Now the deacon is in his eighties, has silver-gray hair, a three-piece suit, and a pocket watch. A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly. He walks with a cane and as he starts walking toward this boy, everyone is saying to themselves, You can’t blame him for what he’s going to do. How can you expect a man of his age and of his background to understand some college kid on the floor?

It takes a long time for the man to reach the boy. The church is utterly silent except for the clicking of the man’s cane. All eyes are focused on him. You can’t even hear anyone breathing. The people are thinking, The minister can’t even preach the sermon until the deacon does what he has to do. And now they see this elderly man drops his cane on the floor.

With great difficulty he lowers himself and sits down next to Bill and worships alongside him so he won’t be alone. Everyone chokes up with emotion. There seems to not be a dry eye in the entire congregation.

When the minister finally gains control he says, “What I’m about to preach, you will never remember. What you have just seen, you will never forget.”

The Script

⁵ I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. ⁶ I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. _{Philippians 3:5-6}

The Plot

The 19th-century Danish theologian Soren Kierkegaard identified two kinds of religions – Religion A and Religion B. The first is “faith” in name only _{(2 Tim. 3:5)}. It’s the practice of attending church without genuine faith in the living Lord.

Religion B, on the other hand, is a life-transforming, destiny-changing experience. It’s a definite commitment to the crucified and risen Savior, which establishes an ongoing personal relationship between a forgiven sinner and a gracious God.

This difference explains why for many years British author C. S. Lewis had such great difficulty in becoming a Christian. Religion A had blinded him to Religion B. According to his brother Warren, his conversion was “no sudden plunge into a new life, but rather a slow, steady convalescence from a deep-seated spiritual illness – an illness that had its origins in our childhood, in the dry husks of religion offered by the semi-political churchgoing of Ulster, and the similar dull emptiness of compulsory church during our school days.”

Sometimes, we can get so caught up in doing church that we forget why we are doing church. There are many people around us, sometimes even us, that have this same deep-seated spiritual illness. An illness that denies the grace that is ours through Jesus Christ in favor of a religion full of rules and regulations.

The Walk Through

1. If you know these facts about Paul, how can it help you?
2. In what ways was Paul very good at the Jewish religion?
3. Are there area’s in your life that you favor Religion A instead of Religion B?

Ad Lib

In the book “Gaily The Troubadour,” published in 1936, Arthur Guiterman wrote the following poem. Reading this, you might think that he wrote it about today.

First dentistry was painless;
Then bicycles were chainless
And carriages were horseless
And many laws, enforceless.

Next, cookery was fireless,
Telegraphy was wireless,
Cigars were nicotineless
And coffee, caffeinless.

Soon oranges were seedless,
The putting green was weedless,
The college boy hatless,
The proper diet, fatless.

Now motor roads are dustless,
The latest steel is rustless,
Our tennis courts are sodless,
Our new religions, godless.

The Script

¹ Whatever happens, my dear brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord. I never get tired of telling you these things, and I do it to safeguard your faith.

² Watch out for those dogs, those people who do evil, those mutilators who say you must be circumcised to be saved. ³ For we who worship by the Spirit of God are the ones who are truly circumcised. We rely on what Christ Jesus has done for us. We put no confidence in human effort, ⁴ though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! _{Philippians 3:1-4}

The Plot

I wish I knew who said the following, “When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life so that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice.”

I could imagine that someone like Paul said that. We read in verse 1 above that Paul lived life in continual rejoicing for what Christ Jesus did for him. For Paul, it was a way of life. He lived life with an attitude of gratitude. We too should model the example of Paul and live our life always rejoicing for what Christ has done for us.

The Walk Through

1. What is it that Paul never gets tired of saying?
2. What human effort is required of us for salvation?
3. What kind of attitude do you model to others?

Ad Lib

You can complain because roses have thorns, or you can rejoice because thorns have roses.

The Script

²⁸So I am all the more anxious to send him back to you, for I know you will be glad to see him, and then I will not be so worried about you. ²⁹Welcome him with Christian love and with great joy, and give him the honor that people like him deserve. ³⁰For he risked his life for the work of Christ, and he was at the point of death while doing for me what you couldn’t do from far away. _{Philippians 2:28-30}

The Plot

Leonidas, King of Sparta, was preparing to make a stand with his Greek troops against the Persian army in 480 B.C. when a Persian envoy arrived. The man urged on Leonidas the futility of trying to resist the advance of the huge Persian army. “Our archers are so numerous,” said the envoy, “that the flight of their arrows darkens the sun.”

“So much the better,” replied Leonidas, “for we shall fight them in the shade.” Leonidas made his stand, and died with his 300 troops.

Even in death, King Leonidas’ bravery sparked a resistance that ultimately conquered the Persian army.

As brave as those 300 men were, Paul teaches us that the real heroes are those who serve Christ – even to their death. Paul lived and taught that we should honor those who give their lives for the sake of Christ.

The Walk Through

1. Who did Paul teach us to honor?
2. Who are some modern day examples of men and women we should honor?
3. How can you show honor to others who serve Christ, sacrificially?

Ad Lib

Show me the man you honor and I will know what kind of man you are. _{Thomas Carlyle}

The Script

²⁵ Meanwhile, I thought I should send Epaphroditus back to you. He is a true brother, co-worker, and fellow soldier. And he was your messenger to help me in my need. ²⁶ I am sending him because he has been longing to see you, and he was very distressed that you heard he was ill. ²⁷ And he certainly was ill; in fact, he almost died. But God had mercy on him—and also on me, so that I would not have one sorrow after another. _{Philippians 2:25-27}

The Plot

Dr. David Livingstone is regarded as one of the first medical missionaries to Africa. He is credited with being the first European to see Victoria Falls. When asked about his African missions he said,“People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa. Can that be called a sacrifice which is simply acknowledging a great debt we owe to our God, which we can never repay? Is that a sacrifice which brings its own reward in healthful activity, the consciousness of doing good, peace of mind, and a bright hope of a glorious destiny? It is emphatically no sacrifice. Rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, danger, foregoing the common conveniences of this life,these may make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing compared with the glory which shall later be revealed in and through us. I never made a sacrifice. Of this we ought not to talk, when we remember the great sacrifice which He made who left His Father’s throne on high to give Himself for us.”

Dr. Livingstone knew what Epaphroditus knew. Serving others without complaining is living like Christ. Any hardship we experience here on earth is only temporary when compared to our ultimate reward in heaven.

The Walk Through

1. Is Epaphroditus mentioned anywhere else in the Bible?
2. What Christ-like quality did Epaphroditus model for us?
3. Why is it important to serve others without complaining?

Ad Lib

A monk joined a monastery and took a vow of silence. After the first 10 years his superior called him in and asked, “Do you have anything to say?” The monk replied, “Food bad.” After another 10 years the monk again had opportunity to voice his thoughts. He said, “Bed hard.” Another 10 years went by and again he was called in before his superior. When asked if he had anything to say, he responded, “I quit.” “It doesn’t surprise me a bit. You’ve done nothing but complain ever since you got here.”

The Script

¹⁹ If the Lord Jesus is willing, I hope to send Timothy to you soon for a visit. Then he can cheer me up by telling me how you are getting along. ²⁰ I have no one else like Timothy, who genuinely cares about your welfare. ²¹ All the others care only for themselves and not for what matters to Jesus Christ. ²² But you know how Timothy has proved himself. Like a son with his father, he has served with me in preaching the Good News. ²³ I hope to send him to you just as soon as I find out what is going to happen to me here. ²⁴ And I have confidence from the Lord that I myself will come to see you soon. _{Philippians 2:19-24}

The Plot

In Paul’s day, it was common for fathers to train their sons in the family business. Timothy, in effect, became like a son to Paul and learned how to lead by serving Paul. Just as a skilled workman trains an apprentice, Paul was preparing Timothy to carry on the ministry that Paul had started.

Paul observed that most believers are too preoccupied with their own needs to spend time working for Christ. Paul expected younger Christians to learn from and serve the elder Christians and then to lead. He also expected the elder Christians to teach and mentor the younger Christians and then turn over leadership to them.

The Walk Through

1. How much do we know about Timothy?
2. Why is it important to have a mentor in our life?
3. Do you have a mentor? If not, think of someone who you would like to learn from and ask them if they would be your mentor.

Ad Lib

In Everyday Discipleship for Ordinary People, Stuart Briscoe wrote, “One of my young colleagues was officiating at the funeral of a war veteran. The dead man’s military friends wished to have a part in the service at the funeral home, so they requested the pastor to lead them down to the casket, stand with them for a solemn moment of remembrance, and then lead them out through the side door. This he proceeded to do, but unfortunately the effect was somewhat marred when he picked the wrong door. The result was that they marched with military precision into a broom closet, in full view of the mourners, and had to beat a hasty retreat covered with confusion.”

“This true story illustrates a cardinal rule or two. First, if you’re going to lead, make sure you know where you’re going. Second, if you’re going to follow, make sure that you are following someone who knows what he is doing!”

The Script

¹⁴ Do everything without complaining and arguing, ¹⁵ so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. ¹⁶ Hold firmly to the word of life; then, on the day of Christ’s return, I will be proud that I did not run the race in vain and that my work was not useless. ¹⁷ But I will rejoice even if I lose my life, pouring it out like a liquid offering to God, just like your faithful service is an offering to God. And I want all of you to share that joy. ¹⁸ Yes, you should rejoice, and I will share your joy. _{Philippians 2:14-18}

The Plot

Paul is saying that our service in the kingdom of God, our relationships with people, our personalities, our dispositions, our demeanor, our words, and our actions are to be without complaining or arguing.

When Jesus went to the cross, no where do we read that He said, “Crosses are so dirty. Those miserable Jews are so unenlightened. The disciples are such wimps. The Romans are so cruel. The way the people are dressed at this crucifixion is so casual. The people I have to die for are such s-s-sinners. And everyone lacks any gratitude for what I’m about to do!”

Instead, we read in Isaiah, “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” [Isa 53:7]

The Walk Through

1. What is a drink (liquid) offering?
2. Why is it important that we not complain?
3. How can we be like bright lights in our world?

Ad Lib

Don’t complain and talk about all your problems — 80 percent of people don’t care; the other 20 percent will think you deserve them. – Mark Twain