Claimed, gathered and sent

This is the sermon I preached at St. Timothy Lutheran Church on Sunday, 8/12. The text was Philippians 2:1-13 . As we look at the example of Christ in Philippians 2, we need to know that Paul loved these people. He was instrumental in starting the church in Philippi. Their relationship brought Paul great joy, but if we read closely, something was up. There was something that created division, but we don’t know exactly what it was. Whatever the matter, the people of Philippi needed instruction. So, Paul is very emphatic right from the beginning of this passage. I’ll share with you how the Greek is much more dynamic in this first verse. Rather than the one “if,” which would be better understood as “since,” there are four. Translated literally it would read, “Since there is encouragement in Christ, since there is consolation from love”…etc. Paul does not mince his words. It is because of all these things in Christ, that Paul can continue with his instruction. The four “since”...

This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, 10/1/17 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church and St. Mark Lutheran Church. The scripture text is Philippians 2:1-13 .  Paul ’ s letter to the Philippians is one of my favorites. It is full of positive, uplifting theology, like “ Rejoice in the Lord always ; again I will say, Rejoice (Phil. 4: 4 ) . It ’ s a feel-good kind of letter. Today ’ s passage from Philippians is chock full of great stuff and I could get at least 10 sermons out of it, however I will settle on one.   The first four verses, in which Paul piles up the ifs, are one long conditional sentence in Greek. When we hear if , we think then . We are much more linear in our thinking than were the early Christians. If could be translated since. Another way to look at these verses is “ If you ’ ve gotten anything at all out of following Christ (and you have), if his love has made any difference in your life (and it has) and so forth. This makes for a more per...