Discussion Questions:

1. Who have you learned from in enduring hardship well? What is it about the way they have endured difficult situation that has had an impact on you?

2. Read Phil 1:12-18a where Paul responds to the Philippians' question about how he is doing in his imprisonment. As you read through this text, are there questions that arise that it would be help to voice, and discuss with your group what you think it is saying?

3. Paul recognised his difficult situation as one that was actually advancing the gospel in his time. How might our current circumstance enable an advancement of the gospel in our time? What might be required of us to see this happen?

4. What does it mean for us to adopt a non-competitive posture in relation to other Christians in our context? You might think together about the way comparison can foster a sense of competition, and the way a secure identity and shared mission dispels it.

5. What impact does a posture/perspective of thankfulness have on the community as a whole? In what ways are Paul's words to the Philippians here instructive to us today?

Practice:

Make thankfulness a habit. If you find identifying what you are thankful for difficult then this is a good thing for you to try (e.g. maybe you don't feel thankful for anything right now, so trying to name something seems disingenuous?). It's interesting that is actually in the attempted articulation of things that we are grateful for that can sometimes help us to experience a feeling of thankfulness.

If you're willing to give it a try, here are a few ideas how you could put this into practice this week:

• As you go on your daily walk, name something to God that you are thankful for today. Rather than naming something general (like 'my work', or 'my friends'), try to be as specific as possible, like a specific experience, or a specific thing about your work or family you are thankful for.

• Ask a trusted friend to ask you once a week; 'What are you thankful for today?' Take your time in answering, and it's okay to need to speak it out before you figure out what you are actually thankful for.

• Send a text, write an email (or a letter!), or make a call to say thank you to someone (for something specific that you are actually thankful to them for). And then add it to your schedule to make a habit of doing this each week as we step through Philippians.

John begins our new series Possessing Our Destiny in the Book of Exodus, by looking at the way this story starts and the situation of Israel in Egypt in a time of oppression.

In this final in our series, on Pentecost Sunday which celebrates the pouring out of God's Spirit on all people, Steve looks at Jesus' commission to his followers as 'witnesses'.

On Ascension Sunday, Steve looks at the meaning of Jesus ascensing to God in the heavens, and the implications of the ascension for our work with God now from the prayer Jesus teaches us to pray.

Russell explores the question 'What will you be doing after you die?' by looking what the Apostle Paul says in Romans 8 and 1 Corinthians 15 about life in the age to come, and then helps us think about what this means for our work now.

John explores the question of calling (or vocation), and how to discern and decide what work is best for us to engage in.

Steve looks at the way we cooperate with God as he aims to form us into the image of his Son through our work.

John explores the question of calling (or vocation), and how to discern and decide what work is best for us to engage in.