Many in the crowd on Palm Sunday were hailing Jesus as King and Messiah. But, how many of them had really made Him King of their lives? No doubt it was easy to join in with the crowd saying "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!" However, it's likely that just a few days later, many who had called Jesus "King" were yelling out "Crucify Him!" Is Jesus your King? That's a question each of us must answer.

The Scripture is not silent about our mind or our thoughts. We are called to love God "with all our mind." So, does your thought life matter? Evidently, Paul believed so, as we see him instructing the believers in Philippi concerning the things they were to think about. The things we think about and how we think plays a major role in how we live. My thoughts about myself, others and God, impacts my response to each. What kinds of things do you think about? True?

Noble? Right? Pure? Lovely? Admirable?

Have you ever known someone who doesn't "beat around the bush," but goes directly to the point? The Apostle Paul can be that way. As he is approaching the end of his letter to the Philippian believers, he gives a handful of commands which are short and to the point. Rejoice. Be gentle. Don't worry. Pray! Sometimes we are best served when the information we receive is very direct. Philippians 4:4-7, is one of those instances where we are very clearly instructed on how kingdom citizens are to live.

My guess is that everyone who reads this has disagreed with someone somewhere along the way. Maybe it was just a minor differing of opinion, or maybe it was a pretty serious disagreement. How do you handle times of disagreement? What happens if there is a major disagreement within the church? The Apostle Paul speaks to this issue, which the Philippian church was dealing with. There is something we can learn from how he handled it.

Paul taught a transformational message...the Gospel of Jesus Christ message. He also taught that one day, our physcial bodies will be transformed into a "glorious body." This will take place at the return of Christ. But in the meantie, we are to live godly lives. And God gives us examples to follow to help us know what that looks like. Paul said to these believers, "Follow me." Would you be comfortable in saying that? We can and should!

Have you ever been tempted to quit? Quit a job? Quit a hobby? Quit a relationship? Quit following Jesus? The Apostle Paul seems like the kind of guy that had no "quit" in him. He had been through a lot in his journey of faith, but quitting was not something that was in his vocabulary. In this section of Scripture, we will see that Paul was "pressing on." Let's be people like Paul: people who press on!

What do you rejoice in? It's not difficult to rejoice when life is going up roses. But what about when life stinks? Do you...can you rejoice then? Paul instructs the Philippians believers to "Rejoice in the Lord!" There are many reasons we can rejoice in the Lord. Even in the midst of hardship. A key to being able to rejoice in the Lord is to know Christ. Join us as we dig into Paul's letter to the Philippians.

How important are friends on the journey toward Christlikeness? This week we will look at two fellow workers with Paul in advancing the Gospel; Timothy and Epaphroditus. We will look at who they were and how Paul was comforted by these two agents of the Kingdom. The hope is that you too will add a few comforting agents to your life, as you advance the Kingdom.

When we enter into disagreements or arguments with others, what is our main goal we want to accomplish? Are we aware of the positive and negative consequences that can result from our discussion with others? The Apostle Paul is writing to the Philippians and he begins by offering encouragement and praise of their work while he is away. He implores the Philippians to be blameless and to also be like the stars and shine. In Sunday's message we will study how to handle arguments with all people, walk blamelessly and shine for Him, and finally encourage and celebrate the work of fellow believers.

When you see pride or arrogance in others, how does that hit you? What do people think when they see pride or arrogance in you? Pride tends to be a major factor in disagreements and division. Could it be the Bible gives us insight into how to remedy or solve division? The Apostle Paul addresses this in Philippians 2. Join us Sunday to discover the remedy for division.