If you’re sporty you probably love the athletic metaphors in the Bible, if you’re not you may feel more discouraged than inspired by them. Yet in one simple analogy this passage challenges our whole view of the Christian faith and our turns the spotlight on our deepest motivations for how we live it.

Many of are wary of dangers and try to keep ourselves and others safe. Paul warns us here of a subtle danger that can be so harmful to our relationship with God or even coming to know him in the first place.

Edi & Artina, our church partners in Albania, shared stories of what God is doing in their country, items for prayer and a message of how we can all live under the power of the Holy Spirit in everyday life.

What kind of people does God love to use extend his kingdom? Do I have to be incredibly gifted, dynamic and talented to be useful to him? Through the examples of two of Paul’s companions we discover what God is actually looking for.

How can we grow and make progress towards being the people God wants us to be. Work hard, or relax and let God do it all? How does the Bible say we are to work together with God towards growth?

At the high point of Paul's letter we find a magnificent song of Christ as the ultimate revelation. As we see the mind of the Servant King we learn the key to our unity and discover that the way up is down!

What we ultimately want most shapes our whole life. However sometimes what we think we want or think we should want is not what we actually want the most. Does this matter and if so how do we handle it?

Working together in partnership to share the good news of Jesus sounds great, but we're not always together and sometimes there are big obstacles. It was just like this for Paul and Christians in Philippi. He encourages them to help one another see things from God's perspective and he encourages us to do the same.

Following Jesus is never easy so it makes sense to take advantage of all the help available. And it turns out that not only is serving God easier alongside others, we often find that we do better as well.