Citizens Together for the Gospel

Sermon 5 in Series
Philippians 1:27-30

27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, 28 and not frightened in anything by your opponents. This is a clear sign to them of their destruction, but of your salvation, and that from God. 29 For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, 30 engaged in the same conflict that you saw I had and now hear that I still have.
 

DEEP SHEET: Sermon Study Questions
1.   What does Paul want the Philippian church to be known for?
2.   Consider the reality that, as Christians, we don’t belong here. How does this reality affect the way you live your everyday life?
3.   What is the relationship between being a citizen and living worthily as a citizen? In other words, what is the relationship between being and doing? If these two are mixed up, how does it distort the message of the gospel?
4.   How do we answer the call to steadfastness and being unafraid?
5.   What does it mean to strive after the gospel? What does it look like for us to raise the flag of the gospel on the battlefield?
6.   How does this text demonstrate that proper citizenship is done in community with others?
7.   How is suffering a gift from God? Have you ever considered grace from this angle? Have you ever seen how suffering well witnesses to the preciousness of the gospel?

References: Eph. 4:1; Col. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:12; Acts 16:21; Phil. 3:20; Eph. 2:1-10; Titus 3:3-8; Col. 1:13; Matt. 10:22; 1 Pt. 4:12; Eph. 6:12; 2 Cor. 5:20-21; 2 Cor. 2:15-16.