22 May 2022 (am) – Philippians 3:13-4:1

Andy Bruins preaching from Philippians on Sunday 22nd May 2022.

The dominating picture in this passage is that of an athlete running a race. This is used as a picture of the Christian life and how it is that we make progress towards that which should be the goal of our lives; to know Christ and to become as like Him as possible. Paul’s advice for running this race is that we should forget what is behind (v13), strain towards the goal (v14), follow good examples (v17) and remember that we are citizens of heaven (v20).

Q What is the trickiest new skill that you have ever learned? How long did it take you?
Q Read v13-16. What is it that Paul hasn’t yet taken hold of? (What is his goal?) How is he planning to try and win this prize? What does this tell us about making progress in the Christian life?
Q Read v17-19. Have you followed any good examples in your life? What makes someone worth following? How is this very different from those described in v18-19?
Q Read v20-21. How does it help us to remember that our citizenship is in heaven?
Q If the Christian life requires hard work and effort, how do we stop ourselves from putting our confidence in ourselves rather than Christ (v3)?
Q Why do you think that sometimes we find it so hard to make progress in Christlikeness? How does this passage help us?