Philippians 1:12-18

What would Satan love more than anything? He would love for the gospel of Jesus Christ to be chained. Why? Because the gospel is Satan’s undoing. Truly, he is a defeated foe. But in his defeat, our enemy still schemes. And if Satan can hinder the advance of the gospel—he will try. If he can use difficult circumstances in our lives—he will. If he can use the fetters of fear—he will do so. If he can use the bonds of sinful motives—he will do it. But what Paul wants the Philippians to see is this—there ain’t no chains gonna hold the gospel down. Ultimately, nothing will stop the gospel’s advance. In this we can rejoice. Main Idea—A church bound together by the gospel rejoices that the gospel cannot be chained.

Philippians 1:9-11

Philippians 1:3-8

Paul’s aim is not merely to show that joy begins in the gospel. He wants to also unpack how the joy we have in Jesus works itself out in everyday life. Wasting no time, Paul moves to how a gospel-bound church is marked by specific elements of joy. Christians are not against pleasure and satisfaction. We simply believe lasting joy is found in a different source—the inexhaustible treasures of our Savior. This is where Paul’s alien-like joy is grounded. So as Paul begins his outburst of joyful thanksgiving, it is as if he wants us to ask ourselves as a church—“What are the elements of joy that bind a gospel-formed people together?” Main Idea—A church bound together by the gospel finds joy in prayerful partnership and in God’s finishing work.

Acts 16.11-34, Phil. 1.1-2

Hearing the gospel. Believing in Jesus. This is the way of salvation. And it’s they way we see when the gospel of Jesus first crashes upon the shores of Europe at Philippi. Paul received a vision to preach the gospel in Macedonia. And it was this preached gospel that the Lord was going to empower so that spiritually lost, sin-blind sinners could be found and see the way of salvation in Jesus Christ alone. Over the past two weeks we established that the path of life is fullness of joy in God. But this begs the question—“Where does the journey of enjoying God begin?” With no hesitation, the believers at Philippi shout—“The journey of joy begins in the gospel.” All we have to do is look at the transformed lives of a religious woman, a slave girl, and a jailer at Philippi.

2 Peter 1:3-11

Psalm 16:1-11

This sermon kicks off our series into Philippians. But before we get there we need to ponder who we are as everyday disciples. As such we are created to enjoy God and from that place of joy progress in the faith. Paul will specifically highlight this in Philippians. So to set the stage for this beautiful relationship we begin with one of the most glorious places where we see joy in God on display—Psalm 16. From this text we learned this main idea—When I believe there is no good apart from the LORD and trust him as my all-satisfying portion, I discover the fullness of joy in the LORD.

Psalm 28:1-9

Have you ever felt like God was not hearing your prayer? That's a devastating feeling? But lave you ever felt like God was not hearing your prayer while you were obeying His command to wait on Him? That makes the silence even harder? If you've ever been here, then you already understand why Psalm 28 follows Psalm 27. Psalm 27 ends with one of the Bible's clearest commands—“wait for the LORD!” But when Psalm 28 opens, David cries—"O LORD, my Rock, do not turn a deaf ear to me." Apparently David has been waiting. And he’s been waiting long enough that it now feels as though God has gone silent. The question is—What do you do when it feels like God is silent while you faithfully wait? When God seems silent in times of waiting, I can trust He still hears my prayers.

Psalm 27:1-14

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Many of us have heard this phrase before. And in one way or another, many of us may have even counseled someone along these lines. But while there is a measure of truth in this phrase, what if there is a better path forward when the going gets tough.

In a nutshell, this phrase is basically saying—“When life gets hard, the answer is to become stronger.” The subtle implication is that the strength you need is found within you. But along comes Psalm 27 calling us down an entirely different path. Forsake self-confidence and rest in God-confidence. Main Idea—When my confidence is grounded in who the LORD is, I can take courage in my troubles and wait for the LORD to act.

Psalm 127

1 Peter 5:1-5

If we go back to the first sermon we preached in this series we declared that Christ is the Head of His church. He has one, gospel-created, global people who gather visibly in local churches. But the Bible says Jesus isn’t merely the Head of His church. As 1 Peter 5 makes abundantly clear, Jesus is also the Chief Shepherd of His church. This raises an important question—How exactly does Jesus shepherd His people? Or to put it another way—How does the shepherding care of Jesus become visible in the life of the local church?

Answer—Christ makes His shepherding care visible through faithful elders in the local church. Main Idea—Christ shepherds His church through qualified elders who serve under the Chief Shepherd.