The life Jesus invites us into when we follow him is one of sacrifice. But does sacrificial living mean the Christian life should be riddled with sorrow? Paul answers that question in his letter to the Philippians with a resounding no. Paul, and the Philippians with him, lived joyfully in the midst of persecution, prison, and poverty. In this eight-session series, Jo Saxton takes us through Philippians to encourage us to follow Jesus no matter what life throws at us. Through Paul’s words and example, learn how joy and sacrifice can go hand-in-hand.
This Study Guide is a tool that helps you unpack the book of Philippians. But it can be more than that.
We’re giving you a document full of possibility. Our goal is to provide you with more than enough content to create life-changing reflection and, if you’re using it with a group, discussion. So feel free to select only those parts or questions that you feel will best help your study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians.
With that in mind, let’s preview the guide. The main body of the Study Guide is written as a conversation. We’ll offer questions for reflection or discussion in bold type. Many of the questions are open-ended. We want you to wrestle with what the Bible is saying to us today. In addition, each session has particular sections:
Session Goals
This is the point of each session—the big idea and what we hope those who participate in the study walk away knowing, feeling, and doing differently as a result of the material. All of the teaching, questions, and reflections ultimately point back to these goals. They’re there primarily to help structure your study.
Open
This is an icebreaker aimed primarily at group discussion. If you’d like, you can use it as something to ease into the theme of the session and get the reflective juices flowing.
Read & Watch
We often rush into the interpretation of a Bible passage without really hearing what it says. For this study, we urge you to read the text slowly before you begin the analysis. Drink in the words and images for yourself. Then the video teaching from Jo Saxton will make more sense. You’ll be able to compare it with your own impressions of the text. Keep your ears and eyes open while watching the video so you can answer the “things to look for” questions.
Discuss
Here’s the meat of the Bible study: questions about the meaning of the text. The section usually starts with some “easy-answer” questions that review what the Scripture actually says. But then there are tougher questions about the whys and hows.
Last Word
This is an opportunity for you to do something with what you’ve learned. Many of us are very good at internal responses in which we treasure the lessons we just learned. But actually talking with a neighbor? Actually helping someone in need? Keep moving toward the more challenging responses.
Go Deeper
The Go Deeper section has two potential functions. It can supplement a group discussion by providing extra material for study. We’ve highlighted a place where each of the segments could fit in the Discuss section of the Study Guide.
But you can also use these challenges as short devotionals to carry you through the week as you dive even deeper into the text of Philippians. Consider reading one section a day to deepen your study of the book.
The audio and the transcripts are also included.