Philippians 1:1-11

...he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion...

Read Philippians 1:1-8

• Paul opens his letter by sharing about his prayers of thanks for the Philippians. What do you think has made Paul so thankful?

• Do you want to pray these same sorts of prayers of thanks for anyone in your life? Who are your 'partners in the Gospel' (v5) and 'partners in God's grace' (v7)?

  • If you can't think of anyone, how and where could you form those partnerships?

  • Take a minute to pray quietly now, that God would bring these partners alongside you.

  • And if you can think of people, take a minute to thank God for them!

• Look more closely at verse 6:

  • What sort of work has God begun in you?

  • How do you feel about Paul's 'confidence' that this work will be completed? [1]

  • Are there any ways you have recently seen or sensed God's continuing work in you?

  • What are you particularly looking forward to being completed in you on the day Jesus returns?

• Have someone pray for the group, that God would keep working on these things in you.

Read Philippians 1:9-11 (and then read it again if you feel you need to - it's a very dense paragraph!)

• Which word or phrase most stood out to you, and why?

• Which of these elements of Christian growth do you feel most drawn to in this season of your life, and why?

  • abounding love

  • knowledge and depth of insight

  • discernment / approving of what is best

  • purity of heart

  • blameless behaviour

  • looking forward to the day of Christ

  • the fruit of right living that comes through Jesus Christ

  • the glory and praise of God

• Do you feel that any of these are blind-spots for you in your growth? Why do you think that is so?

• How can we more fully engage with the processes of growth that Paul is describing here?

• Spend some time in prayer for one another (maybe this time in 2s or 3s) praying into the things you've shared.

[1] Tom Wright says about Paul's confidence:

He knows that when the gospel message of King Jesus does its life-changing work in people’s hearts this isn’t just a flash-in-the-pan ‘religious experience’ that might then fade away with the passing of time. If there is genuine faith in the risen Jesus, genuine loyalty to him as king, this can only be because the living God has worked, through the gospel, within people’s hearts; and what God begins, he always finishes. This, of course, doesn’t mean there aren’t problems along the way; several of Paul’s other letters, particularly 1 Corinthians, grapple with these. But Paul remains confident in the grace of God.