A book designed to help you teach the key themes of Philippians. The church at Philippi, in ancient Macedonia, is one of the model churches of the New Testament. Paul wrote of them in 2 Corinthians 8 that ‘in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.’ So we might say of the church in Philippi that it is a gem of a church. A showcase church.

Paul, for one, is full of thanks for them. If this were a report at a shareholders meeting we might be asking ourselves whether the Chairman really has got this right? Is something being hidden? It seems too good to be true! If this were an athlete we might be asking ourselves whether there has been some performance enhancing substance in the diet! And if this were an end of term report we might be asking ourselves if the teacher had got the right child!But there’s no doubting that Paul has the right church. This is Philippi. Perched on the edge of Southern Greece, the first city to hear the Christian message in mainland Europe. Paul is writing to all the Christians there and he is joyfully and confidently grateful for every single one of them.

I would like to suggest, then, that these studies in this letter to the Philippians will be wonderfully refreshing for any church and any individual Christian to engage in. The instruction we are going to receive is almost entirely positive. Therefore we will be able to hold this letter up as a plumb line against our own church and our own personal discipleship as we ask ourselves: do we match up?