Do any of you have friends who have an in-home camera? You can buy some of them that connect to an app on your phone. I want you to imagine for a moment that on Black Friday you purchased the SpaceTime 2000 NestCam with a crystal clear picture and audio feed. You install it in the ceiling-corner of your dining room. It works great, but one day when you tune to check in on Fido, you see a different scene.

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There seems to be a glitch because the camera app is now showing you a live-video stream of the Last Supper. You know it’s the Last Supper because the app’s clock says AD 30~, it’s clearly a middle-eastern house, the long-wooden table is low to the ground, and Jesus and his 12 disciples are sitting on only one side of the table. As you listen in, you see Jesus take the bread and cup with his disciples, Judas leave, and you see what you would expect to see from the Gospel accounts.

After dinner, Jesus lifts up his eyes to heaven and prays. Just like our sermon series in John 17, he opens his prayer by focusing on his Father in heaven. Once he prays for his father to be glorified, he prays for his disciples. You even see him glance around at Peter, James, John, and the others. But once he finishes praying for them, he looks up to the top corner of the dining room directly at you. The 4th wall is broken. He is now praying for you. In fact, he addresses you by name, “I pray for Diana, for Bruce, for Kathy…”

This is what is happening in John 17. First Jesus prayed for his Father’s glory, then he prayed for his disciples, and now he is pray for all believers after his disciples, including us today.

John 17:20 “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, (NIV®)

Last week I talked about what Jesus prayed for his disciples, and so might be praying for us today. Today I’m talking about what he definitely prayed for us. Do you want to know what Jesus prayed for you?

Jesus prays for our union. (John 17:21-26)

Jesus prays for our union. What is union?

Union: A relationship that binds people together in love, togetherness, mind, and purpose.

Who can we experience union with? Jesus prays for our…

Union with other believers. (v. 21a, 22b, 23b)

Jesus fills this portion of his prayer with repetition and parallel words, but our modern English translations don’t do a great job of showing it. Of the ones I looked at, I thought the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) did the best job.

21 May they all be one,

as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You.

May they also be one in Us,

so the world may believe You sent Me.

22 I have given them the glory You have given Me.

May they be one as We are one.

23  I am in them and You are in Me.

May they be made completely one,

so the world may know You have sent Me

and have loved them as You have loved Me.

Jesus wants us to be “one”—to be unified, to love each other, fellowship, share the same mind and purpose.

Jesus’ first call, and repeated call, is for horizontal unity among believers. We picture this as a horizontal arrow demonstrating a connection between believers in the local church, but also believers in the universal church. The type of unity Jesus is calling for is global (“may they all be one!”). In the Nicene Creed, we say, “We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic church.” What does that mean? Holy means set apart. Catholic means universal. Apostolic means built on the teachings of the Apostles (NT).

In our Cornerstone Playbook, we say how we try to do this as a church.

We believe that like-minded local churches can help promote the cause of Jesus Christ by cooperating with one another by prioritizing fellowship, mutual accountability, and a unified witness.

We desire to work with “like-minded local churches” who believe the gospel, who want to promote the message of Jesus Christ. Jesus prays for us to be

One of the things Monica and I encourage engaged couples to do when we’re going through pre-marital counseling with them is to make a last will and testament after they get married. Now that’s kind of morbid, right? You’re about to get married! But you also may die… We’re not saying they should see a lawyer on their Honeymoon, but for sure in the first 2-3 years of marriage.

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Why do we make last wills and testaments? If you die, it can make a difficult time much easier on your family. You create a will because you don’t want the bank to be in charge of dividing up your assets. And you do want good things to happen. You want your children to receive your money or home so they can use those assets to help their families.

Last week I told you John 17 is one of Jesus’ last prayers before his crucifixion and death. This is kind of like Jesus’ last will and testament. In it, we see him saying what he wants for his disciples. He doesn’t leave them his carpentry business or say who can have his cloak and staff. Instead he asks three things (three petitions) for his disciples. Jesus prays that his disciples would be:

1. Not at odds, but as one.

John 17:11b …Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. (NIV®)

2. Not of it, but in it.

John 17:15 My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. (NIV®)

3. Not swept away, but set apart.

John 17:17 Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. (NIV®)

There is so much in John 17 I’m narrowing our message down to these three things Jesus specifically prays for his disciples. Now why should you care about what Jesus prayed for his disciples? The Bible says Jesus is our intercessor (Rom 8:34). So if Jesus prayed this 2,000 years ago for his disciples back then, he’s probably praying something very similar for you 2,000 years later right now. What is Jesus praying? First, Jesus prays for us to be…

Not at odds, but as one.

John 17:11b …Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. (NIV®)

Jesus prays the Father would protect their unity—“so that they may be one as we are one.” How are the Father and Son unified? Earlier Jesus described his relationship with his Father.

John 14:10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. (NIV®)

Jesus is spiritually unified with his father. They’re distinct persons but one God. His Father lives in him and he lives in his Father. Now he’s praying for a similar unity for them. “Father, may they be one as we are one? Would you live in them and do your work through them?” It’s as we are with our heavenly Father in relationship with him that we become unified with believers who are also with him. The key word is “with.” That’s what Christianity is, going through life day by day with Jesus and the Father.

This is why Jesus prays, “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me…” It’s God’s true name that unites us with each other and the Father. Earlier in verse 6 when Jesus says, “I have revealed you” in the original Greek it’s, “I have revealed your name.” Why does God’s name matter? When God reveals his name, he reveals his identity, which means we can know him (Ex 33:19).

The right name can both reveal and unify. I have a lot of friends who are pregnant right now. They tell us about naming their babies. The story can go like this. “If we have a boy, I want to name him Jackson, but my husband wants to name him… Lancelot.” This is important because a name can shape the direction of a child’s future. Will he be the popular cool kid, Jackson? Or will he get made fun of and attacked

Tonight we’re starting a three-week sermon series called How He Prayed. We’re looking at how Jesus prayed in John chapter 17 as a model for how we can pray. John 17 is known as the High Priestly Prayer of Jesus. A priest is someone who acts as an intermediary between God and people. So as Jesus prays this passage, we can also learn how to go before God on behalf of ourselves and others.

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I chose this series because our general theme for this year is Prayer & Discipleship and because I thought focusing on Jesus would make for a nice Christmas series. After thinking about it, since Jesus prayed this prayer after the last supper the night before he was crucified, it would also make a nice Easter series. Since it’s first a prayer series, let’s start there.

Father, show us your glory. Father, show me your glory. Father, would we not hear this sermon series on prayer and walk away prayer-less. Father, would you change us into a church known for praying, for depending, for crying out to you for the sake of knowing you. Father, would your Holy Spirit fill this place so that we encounter your life-giving presence and the life-giving presence of your Son Jesus Christ. In the name of Jesus we pray, amen.

If you knew you were going to die tomorrow, what would you pray for? For a longer life? For more time with those you love? When Jesus prayed this prayer, he knew he was going to die tomorrow.

John 17:1a After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come…

The hour has come. The hour of his passion, his trial, his scourging, his crucifixion, his rejection, his execution. I feel like many Pastor’s favorite movie for illustrations is Braveheart. Braveheart is the story of William Wallace (played by Mel Gibson), who rallies the Scottish against their English oppressors. At the end of the movie, he’s been betrayed and is awaiting his execution in an English prison when his love interest comes to him and gives him a sedative to drink so that his death will be easier.

She makes him drink it, kisses him goodbye, and when she leaves he spits it out. He wants to face his trial fully aware so that he won’t betray Scotland in a moment of weakness. Jesus could pray here for a sedative, “Father, make it hurt less. Father, make it go fast. Father, save me.” But instead he prays…

John 17:1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. (NIV®)

Jesus doesn’t pray for Tylenol, but for glory. He first prays for glory for himself so that he can glorify his Father. Does this remind you of any other prayer Jesus taught us to pray?

Matthew 6:9b …“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, (NIV®)

To “hallow” something means to “make it holy.” So here in Matthew 6 and John 17 we see two examples of Jesus praying. And in both examples he starts his prayer by focusing on honoring and glorifying his Father. So when we pray:

1. We can begin with glory. (John 17:1)

What is glory? What is Jesus praying for? Glory means “to honor or praise.” But it’s not just applause. It’s recognizing the worth or character of something. The movie Glory is based on the true story of the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry regiment, which was a military unit made up mostly of African-Americans. It’s the story of their humiliation and disrespect, and ends with their heroic charge on Fort Wagner. To glorify something is to reveal its honor. They were pressed down by racism, but they broke through as they broke the fort’s wall, revealing their inherent courage, bravery, and valor. Likewise…

Glory is God’s presence revealed. (Exodus 33:14, 18-19)

So when Jesus prays, “Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you” he is praying to reveal the honor of the Son so that the Son may reveal the honor of the Father. Do you all know the stor

Instructions for the Rich | 1 Timothy 6:17-19

One of the great things about getting the opportunity to preach occasionally is that you all get to know a little more about me. So, I want to establish one thing right up front before I get too far into this sermon that you should know about me. I’m rich. Seriously; I am extremely wealthy. I know you may not be able to tell by looking at me or my clothes or inspecting the car I drove here today in all its Gorilla-taped glory. In fact, I think the Gorilla tape has 100,000 miles on it. Or, my house; I don’t think visitors getting this view will be impressed with my wealth. But, nevertheless, I am filthy rich. You see, I went to globalrichlist.com and plugged in my annual income and found out I was in the top 0.05% of the world. For those of you who maybe aren’t as good at math, you know, for Jonathan when he listens to the sermon later, picture grabbing 10,000 people at random from around the world, I would be the 5th wealthiest person in that group. I am pretty sure that is the only thing I am in the top 0.05% in the world. You can use that website from an asset point of view as well, which for me didn’t make me as wealthy, but if you are retired, have a house that is paid for and a big 401K, even with no real income, you could be considered one of the wealthiest people in the world.

This website didn’t take into account how many people are in my family, but I went back in and plugged in the Massachusetts poverty line income for my family and found out I would still be in the top less than 1% of the world’s wealthiest people. You know what? That leads me to believe that I have some really good news for you this morning. It is highly likely that you are also rich! I mean really rich.

If I haven’t made my point, let’s look at a couple photos.

Since we just finished a sermon series, Jonathan told me I could preach on whatever I wanted. We will have to see if that ever happens again!

You might be starting to wonder what this has to do with our Scripture passage. You see, 2 Timothy 6:17-19 follows a section starting in verse 3 that warns against having a love for money. Verse 10 is very famous (and often misquoted), it says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” This is the context under which Paul writes the text we are focusing on this evening. It is important to look at a short passage like this in context, and it is important to me that you feel the passage is written for you. In your Bible, you may have a heading over this text that says something like, “Instructions for the Rich”. It is really easy for me, and probably all of us, to think this passage is not for me, I am not rich. But, hopefully, everyone here now is thinking that maybe Paul is speaking to them and not just other people. Please turn to 1 Timothy 6:17-19 as I would like to read it again. “17Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”

God wants us to place our hope in Him, rather than money. (V 17)

“Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” Here Paul provides us with a very practical reason not to put our hope in riches. They are uncertain.

In the Financial Crash of 2008 the average person lost 1/4 of their retirement savings (talk about a problem only rich people have), house values plummeted, people lost their jobs, ho

Have you ever finished reading a book and wondered, what did I just read? I have lots of books on my bookshelf that I know I’ve read, but I have trouble remembering what they are about. To try to solve this, I’ve become a lot more interactive with my books. Now when I read, I underline and try to paraphrase points in the margins, writing down a word or two that will remind me what it’s about.

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Today we’re wrapping up our sermon series in the book of Philippians, Discipleship 101, and maybe you’re wondering, what was this series about? Today I want to give us the opportunity to review and take some notes to help us remember the book of Philippians and what we learned.

Our last verses, Philippians 4:10-23, serve as the conclusion of our letter. In them, like you would expect in books we read today, Paul wraps up his message by re-emphasizing some of the main themes of his letter. One of the themes we find throughout Philippians, and hinted at here, is suffering in service to Christ.

We are suffering servants. (Phil 4:11-13)

How did Paul open his letter to the church at Philippi?

Philippians 1:1a Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus… (NIV®)

And then just a few verses Paul mentions he is in “chains” (1:7, 13, 17). He’s under house arrest in Rome because of his service to Christ. Suffering in service to Christ runs throughout this whole letter.

Philippians 1:29 For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, (NIV®)

Philippians 2:17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. (NIV®)

This extends not only to Paul, but to two examples of suffering servants, Timothy and Epaphroditus. Paul says Timothy has served with him and Epaphroditus got sick and almost died to serve Paul (Phil 2:22, 30). You would think that Paul, Timothy, and Epaphroditus would all be alienated, and not want to be disciples anymore. But in our passage today, Paul says God has taught him to be content no matter what.

Philippians 4:11b-13 …for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. (NIV®)

Paul has learned the secret whether he has nothing or more than he needs, whether in happy service or suffering service. He can do it as Jesus Christ gives him power. The word for strength is “endynamoō”—which one commentator said is where we get our word for “dynamite.” The town I grew up in once had to replace the sewage line in our yard, and to do so, they used explosives to literally blow up half of our yard. The blast was so powerful they had to cover the dynamite with blankets of tires.

Do you realize what kind of power lives in you? If you know Jesus, the power of God, who created dynamite, lives in you. God gives us his power to persevere and keep on doing good in the face of adversity, persecution, and suffering. We will suffer as servant-disciples of Christ.

There is no more clear and recent example of servants of Christ suffering for him than First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas. I hate it that a man broken by sin let it become master over him and he murdered 26 innocent people (Gen 4:7). But I am so in awe of Farida Brown, 73 years old, who was a member of the church for a decade, and was shot four times in her legs. And as she lay hiding in the back of the sanctuary, she held another woman’s hand, “assuring her that it would be over soon, that she was headed for heaven.” Do you believe that God granted to Farida to not only believe in Christ, but also to suffer for him?

On Wednesday ni

I worked on a ranch for a summer. While I was there I helped brand cows, run cattle through chutes, and even tagged one cow’s ear. I’m not much of an animal person, but I do know that in a cattle herd the health of one cow can affect the health of the whole herd. Sickness and disease can spread quickly, so you want to make sure each cow is healthy. If one cow becomes stressed, it can get sick, and that sickness can spread.

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We see this same principle in lots of places. When one animal or fish becomes stressed, it can become sick, and that sickness can spread. When one child at school gets exhausted, she gets sick, then teachers, parents, and classmates get sick too. This is true of our church as well. When one of us gets anxious or fearful or upset, we can spread our anxiety, fear, and emotions to the whole church.

In Philippians, Paul writes to a church that is only about a decade old. It’s a young church and it’s susceptible to anxiety and worry.  And so, Paul writes them a letter explaining the connection between individual anxiety and corporate peace. None of us want to be anxious, and hopefully we don’t want to spread that anxiety to others, so let’s hear what Paul has to say. In Philippians 4:2-9, Paul gives us…

Seven connections between my peace and our peace:

Paul doesn’t say, here are seven connections, but as we read the passage, we see the principles.

1. Two people in conflict can drag a whole church into conflict. (v. 2)

As we’ve gone throughout this letter, we’ve seen Paul implying conflict within the church:

conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel (1:27a)

stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one (1:27b)

in humility value others above yourselves (2:3)

do everything without grumbling or arguing (2:14)

everyone looks out for their own interests (2:21)

He’s been writing to them as a church body, and now he writes to two individuals within that church body. He personally admonishes them in verse 2, “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.” Paul has worked backward, first addressing the big-picture conflict before addressing what could be one of its causes—two women who can’t get along.

The lesson for us is simple. When I’m upset with someone, if I don’t deal with that with the Lord and (if needed) with them, it’s like an undressed wound that can become infected. Pretty sound that infection spreads, either killing the whole church body or leading to an amputation, when a church splits or believers leave. #1 Two people in conflict can drag a whole church into conflict. So what’s the cure?

2. One peace-making disciple can create a culture of peace. (v. 3)

The next verse says, “Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women…” We don’t know who Paul is addressing, but he calls on him to act as a mediator (a peace-maker) to help Euodia and Syntyche get along. Some other versions of the Bible translate “companion” as “yokefellow.” He is someone who can help these two women who are pulling in opposite directions pull in the same direction.

Thierry preached here in August. He told me that when they were starting their church plant in France, their team was split. One side wanted to focus on evangelism, and the other side on discipleship. So he rented a crew-length rowboat and had his whole team get in. He told them to just go. And so they all started rowing and they couldn’t get anywhere because they were each pulling in their own direction. So he stopped them, told them to listen to his voice, and this time, row together. When they all worked together, they went somewhere. Thierry said this outing transformed their team from pulling in opposite directions to working together. Thierry is a yokefellow, a peace-maker.

One peace-maker can help a whole church have peace. How can you tell if you’re a yokefellow? Have you e

Have you ever gotten sucked into one of those cheap magazine or buzzfeed quizzes that tries to tell you something about yourself? You answer a dozen questions and it categorizes you as a certain type of person (introvert, extrovert, shy, outgoing, etc.) or as a character from one of your favorite movies or books.

I took a “Which Harry Potter Character Are You” quiz and got Severus Snape. Severus Snape is pretty much the bad guy for most of Harry Potter. The quiz said I’m cold, calculating, sarcastic, and am an emotional wreck on the inside. To balance it out, I took a Lord of the Rings quiz and got Legolas. I am calm, collected, a warrior, and love my friends. Be grateful if you’ve never taken one of these quizzes.

In our sermon series, we’re talking about disciples. Disciple means “learner” or “student” and in general we define a disciple at Cornerstone as someone who follows Jesus. That means someone who is seeking to love Jesus, learn his teachings, and put them into practice. But are there different types of disciples? If so, what type of disciple are you?

Paul, after he tells the church of Philippi how to live—humbly, unified, joyful—gives three examples of disciples, Timothy, Epaphroditus, and himself who are trying to put the teachings of Christ into practice. So as we look at them, we can ask, “Am I this type of disciple?” Let’s look at Timothy first.

Timothy: A disciple who serves (Phil 2:19-24)

Here are a few things we know about Timothy.

We first meet Timothy on Paul’s second missionary journey in Acts 16 at Lystra, which is southern Asia Minor in Bible times and Turkey in modern times.

Timothy’s grandmother and mother were both Christians who raised him to love the Lord (2 Tim 1:5), but his father is a Greek and likely not a believer, so initially he wasn’t circumcised. Circumcision is a medical procedure the Jews performed on every male as a sign they (as a people) belonged to God.

Timothy has a great reputation in the church, so Paul chooses him to join him on his journey. Because Paul wants to reach the Jews in the region, he circumcises Timothy.

Timothy became a church-planting Pastor, helping assist Paul with much of his ministry. Paul wrote 1-2 Timothy to him to explain how to organize and oversee local churches (Cornerstone is a local church).

Timothy is a disciple who has served Paul and the church for many years. Paul says this in v20-22, “I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel.”

He serves others humbly.

Remember how Paul opened the letter? By calling Timothy a servant. “Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus” (Phil 1:1). Timothy has a servant’s heart. He genuinely cares about the other people in the church. Remember what Paul called for in chapter 2 verse 3?

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

As disciples, we’re also called to serve others humbly. Humble service can take the form of making a meal for a friend, volunteering at an outreach event, or using your gifting to serve the church, like in worship, finances, preaching, or elsewhere. We don’t serve to win “likes” but because we genuinely care.

He serves the gospel faithfully.

Timothy is humble because he’s serving Christ. Verses 21-22 says he puts the interests of Jesus Christ first and he serves with Paul in the work of the gospel. Timothy serves because he’s been touched by Christ and the gospel message. The gospel is the good news that all who repent and believe in Jesus receive eternal life and a real relationship with God through Jesus. Timothy is a disciple who serves Christ and the gospel humbly. Are you this kind of disciple? Do you want t

For the last month or so we have been looking at what it means to be a disciple. We discovered that being a disciple means to be a student. And in our scripture text for today Paul says that He wants to know Christ. Paul was not satisfied just to know about Jesus. He wanted to know and to experience everything about Him.

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Jesus and the 12 disciples walk into a restaurant and Jesus says to the hostess, “Table for 26 please.” So she says to him, “But there’s only 13 of you?” Jesus says, “Yes, but we all want to sit on one side.” Is it okay to tell jokes in church? Is it okay to laugh? I think so. But what if I were to tell you that the Bible actually encourages us to be joyful and happy as a church.

In his letter to the Philippians Paul not only says in 2:14, “Do everything without grumbling or arguing” he says the opposite, positive command in verse 18, “So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.” Paul doesn’t just not want churches full of complainers. He wants churches full of happy, joyful, laughing people.

In fact, I believe one of the ways we obey God is by being joyful. In Philippians 1:27 Paul says, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.” The last two weeks we’ve learned two ways we, the church, can live worthy of the life-transforming world changing good news of Jesus Christ.

Live worthy of the gospel through unity. (1:27-30)

Live worthy of the gospel through humility. (2:1-11)

This week we’re finishing Paul’s explanation of how to live worthy of the gospel, and how do we?

Live worthy of the gospel through joy. (2:12-18)

Today we are returning to this big theme of what it means to live lives worthy of the gospel.

Live worthy of the gospel. (2:12-13)

How do we know when Paul is speaking of not grumbling and being joyful that it ties all the way back into chapter one verse 27? Philippians 1:27-2:18 is full of connecting words like “therefore” that string together his message, it’s full of imperatives (or commands) telling the church to act a certain way, and it shares a common theme, Christ—living in light of Christ, with the mindset of Christ, and the day of Christ.

In today’s verses we also notice a pattern similar to the text from last week. Before Paul told the Philippians to be humble (2:3-11), he reminded them of what they already have in Jesus (2:1-2). He offered grace before obedience. Now before Paul tells us to stop grumbling, he reminds us of God’s grace in our lives. In verses 12-13 Paul calls us to obey, but he also gives us a confidence that we will obey.

“12 Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” So first we hear a…

Call — Work out our salvation. (v. 12)

Paul begins his final urge to live worthy of the gospel by calling them to work out their salvation. By “salvation” Paul doesn’t mean their individual salvation. He means corporate salvation (ya’ll’s salvation—you plural—our salvation). In other words, the church together, is supposed to figure out day by day what it means to be saved by Jesus and to be his followers. How does the message of Jesus impact our personal lives, but also us as a church? And when Paul says, “not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence”—he’s saying, “I’m not always going to be there. Keep striving at your faith.

Since my parents are here tonight I thought I’d tell about how my brothers and I would act differently when my parents weren’t at home. Sometimes we would sneak television when my mom ran errands. We would sit on the top corner of our couch so we could see through the window for when our green van pulled into our driveway. And as soon as it did, it was like a code red lockdown with sirens. Everyone ran for their books and tried to look like we weren’t just watching Judge Judy. Paul is saying to the Philippians, “Don’t be like the Romig boys! Act like you’re saved whether I’m home or not.”

Paul knows there is someone more important than him who is always present, so he adds, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” Does he want the Philippians to be afraid of him? No! He wants them to fear God. The

Have you ever heard of a humble brag? A humble brag is a display of false modesty. People do this on Twitter all the time, and thankfully, one user has compiled some of the most humble humble brags.

“Can we start a media campaign to question how I got into Columbia, too? Still scratching my head about how I got accepted & demand answers!” – Annie

“I just did something very selfless. But more importantly, it was genuine & I know it means a lot to the person in the long run. #soworthit” – Cheryl

“@jimmykimmel Hi, I’m 16 and I’m publishing 3 books and an album this year. Do you have advice on how to handle it best?” – Josh

“It’s an evening with the Hoff! Britain’s got talent followed by my life story on Piers Morgan. Hopefully you won’t get sick of me!” – David

“I’m truly humbled you follow my tweets. I pray they enrich your life & strengthen your ministry. God bless all 200,000 of you!” – Rick

To be fair, I’d never heard of a humble brag until this summer when my older brother told me that was what I was doing every time I posted pictures of myself doing CrossFit to Facebook. Here’s one more…

“May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” – Paul

The Apostle Paul understood humility and why it matters (Gal 6:14). In our text today, he calls all disciples, all followers of Jesus, to be humble. Last week we learned the first way to live worthy of the gospel, through unity, and this week we’re going to learn the second way, through humility. So although we’re starting in Philippians 2:1, we’re continuing to discover the answer to Paul’s command in Philippians 1:27 to “Conduct yourselves in a manner worth of the gospel of Christ.” So what’s the second way to live worthy?

Live worthy of the gospel through humility. (Phil 2:1-11)

“Therefore if you have any encouragement…” When we run into a “therefore,” we need to ask, “What’s it there for?” Our “therefore” acts as a connecting word between Paul’s call to unity (chapter 1) and his call to humility (chapter 2). But there’s an interruption. Our passage doesn’t begin by talking about humility. That starts in verse 3. Instead, Paul begins by telling us why we should unify and be humble. So why should we?

Why? Because we have God’s grace. (v. 1-2)

“1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”

Every time verse one says “if” we can translate it as “since.” Paul is saying, “Since you’re united with Christ, since he loves you, since you have the Holy Spirit…” Since you have grace… Be unified and humble. When we realize how much we don’t deserve God’s love, and yet he gives it to us anyways, it humbles us.

Each of us is more sinful than we know. We constantly disobey God. And yet, we’re loved more than we can ever imagine. Because we know God loves us despite our sins, we can unify as Christians and humble ourselves no matter what. If I do wrong things, but God still loves me, why can’t I love that person despite their sin? We humble ourselves because we have God’s grace. But what exactly is humility?

What? Humility is valuing others above ourselves. (v. 3-4)

“3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Paul is writing to the church in Philippi, and right here he is laying the groundwork for something he is going to say in chapter four. The church at Philippi just sent Epaphroditus to Rome to encourage Paul in prison. When he came he must have given Paul a verbal report of everything going on. One of the things he told Paul was about the two women in the church who are fighting. So in chapter 4 Paul says this:

Philippians 4:2 I pl