One reason the Christian faith is so satisfying is that it incorporates all of our being. It asks for whole person engagement. It is a call to our affections, a call to our reasoning, and a call to our actions. Back in verse 4, Paul tells the Philippians that he is always praying with thanksgiving for them. Here in these passages we see he prays for their faith to grow in every way. He prays for their love to grow.   Read More

What happens on a given Sunday morning when you go to church? The consumer-driven culture that we live in (this product or place is just here to serve me) can easily lead us to think only of "what we're getting" on Sundays, rather than what we can give to others. What I mean is this...What happens on Sunday mornings is way more than the liturgy and elements of our public worship. ...  Read More

By Kevin Baird "Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons." - Philippians 1:1It is easy to forget that the letters in the New Testament were originally just that, letters. Of course, God guided their authors and the Holy Spirit revealed to the Church their efficacy and power as scripture, but they were also le...  Read More

When you open up the bible, you’re not opening up a textbook; you’re opening up a storybook. After all, the bible starts off with, “In the beginning.” A beginning presupposes that there’s an ending. And if you have a beginning and an ending, then you have a story, but the bible isn’t just any story; it’s the story behind all your favorite stories. It’s the true fairy tale. C.S. Lewis was right whe...  Read More

God loves stories. In fact, most of the Bible is made up of stories. So what’s the purpose of all these stories? Are they just interesting Sunday-School lessons for children? Of course not. The stories in the Bible were written for you. This is what the Apostle Paul refers to when he says, “For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through ...  Read More

It’s easy to become discouraged in life. When the car breaks down again, when you’re worn out from work and its only Tuesday, when you’re struggling with the same sin, when people are difficult to work with, when your health is failing, when you continually hear of tragic events in the news; it seems like discouragement is just a normal part of life. But it’s not meant to be. Discouragement does n...  Read More

Prayer is difficult. Prayer doesn’t come easy. Thankfully, Jesus knows this, and like any good friend or mentor, Jesus steps in to help. When his disciples were finding prayer hard, Jesus taught them a way to pray that has become known as “The Lord’s Prayer” (not because Jesus prayed it himself, but because it’s the prayer he taught his disciples to pray). It’s a prayer that has been loved and mem...  Read More