The Wesleyan Way

Philippians 2:6-11 is a poem that reveals the heart of this letter. The poem tells the story of Jesus, the servant (see Isaiah 40-55), Adam, and God. verse 6 tells us Jesus is divine. But unlike Alexander the Great or Caesar, he doesn't exploit his power. "servant" is an important word in verse 7. Jesus is modeling a different way of being human. the reversal of Adam's curse is in verse 8. Jesus was obedient to God even to the point of death. Why?  To rescue humanity. This Jesus way is the way to be genuinely human. Bishop Wright makes a powerful point: "On the cross, the God who made the world comes to the place of shame, suffering, and death to take its full force upon himself in order to rescue the world. This is the heart of the gospel." And this is what the church has to learn to think through as it struggles to be the people of God in the face of the pagan world.

Now, we come to the heart of the matter. Paul has been talking about unity. Now he shares a poem. Then he'll transition to talking about holiness. His point is that unity and holiness comes together in the story of Jesus. Notes on Phil. 2:5-8 Verses 6-11 are a poem This poem tells the story of Jesus, of who Jesus was before he was born, and of the choice he made. This poem tells the story of the servant, as it echoes Isaiah chapters 40-55. That section of scripture is a collection of poems which describes Israel as a servant, then someone comes and does for them (and for the world) what they never could do. This poem tells the story of how Jesus is reversing the story of Adam. Who else could verse 6 be referring to? This poem tells the story of God.  Jesus revealed God (and what it meant to be God in person). Jesus redefines God. So we have to refocus our ideas about who God is around Jesus. Have you ever had to do this? This poem is helping Paul make the point that

We're back for another short devotional over Philippians 1:27-2:4. This section begins the real heart of the letter--unity. Paul doesn't see Christianity as a set of beliefs. He sees faith as something we do. He tells us that we must live out this new way of being human. This new way of being human is modeled on Jesus. Paul also acknowledges there is suffering involved. Suffering is struggle--the struggle of going towards God's new world while the pagan world around us is going in the opposite direction. If we follow the way of unity, we'll see there's a way through.

Welcome back! Thank you for joining us on this path through Philippians. Today we're going to share notes on Philippians 1:18-25. These notes are from N.T. Wright's online course. Here are my notes Here is Paul's intimate reflection about the question of death Paul is in prison and could face death Paul is saying, There would be gain in dying but there's more work to be done He's wrestled with this  He quotes Job 13:16 "... this will turn out for my deliverance"  This word 'deliverance' can also be translated as salvation. Literally, it means "rescue." If you're also doing the course with N.T. Wright, you heard him say "inverted commas"--that's a British expression for quotation marks. Also, Bishop Wright encourages us to look at the context when Paul quotes a verse--to see what's going on--so that we can try to figure out the point Paul is trying to make. Salvation can sum up the entire blessing of

Welcome back! We're continuing our path through Philippians and we're glad you've decided to join us. Let's start with a question: How did you first come to know about Jesus? Who were the key people in your life who told you about Jesus?   For me, I'm not sure when I first heard about Jesus. But I do remember when the story of Jesus became personal for me. I was a teenager, going to Sweetwater UMC in Pearson. Brother Randy had just started preaching there. There was something in the way he told the story that made it come alive. And I fell in love with the story of Scripture.  The next time we're together, I want to hear your stories. If you're also doing the video class, please watch "Phil 1:12-18 with Prof. N.T. Wright." Here are my notes Paul challenges us to think differently and to look at situations and circumstances through the lens of the Good News. Paul is in prison, maybe in Ephesus?  Proclaiming Jesus as Lord is what m

Hey church! Tonight we're going to start our online small group. We're going to work our way through Philippians. If you haven't already, go to Udemy.com and sign up for Paul and His Letter to the Philippians: Small Group Edition. The discount code is NTWRIGHT-GIFT-PHIL (this code is valid until midnight on March 19th). Let's get started with a question:  Who are you thankful for?   With so much going on in our world, it's so easy to focus on other feelings--fear, anxiety, worry. But as Christians, we should be people who are characterized as being thankful. I'm thankful for you, my family, and some close friends. Here are the notes I took on Phil. 1:1-11  Grace sums up the movement of the Gospel. Grace is God's gift. "the day of the Lord" is an Old Testament passage that's divided into two parts: A) the time of Jesus--of his inaugurating God's Kingdom through his death and resurrection--and because of him the world has be

Good evening church! The Coronavirus and social distancing make it impossible for us to meet this week, but we can still chat. So instead of our weekly Bible study in person, let's try this. Follow this link and create an account at Udemy. This course is free if you enroll by tomorrow, March 19th.  Watch the 3 minute course Overview video with Jennifer Loop. She'll explain how this course is put together. . Then view the 3 minute Introduction to the Letter by N.T. Wright.  Bishop Wright mentions Philippians as one of the prison letters. The prison letters are Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Do you have a favorite letter of Paul? I love the little book of Philemon. It's a personal letter, short, and tells a beautiful story. I think the whole of Paul's theology can be seen there--Reconciliation is the heart of what it means to be part of the family of Jesus. What about you? Do you have a favorite letter by Paul? Is there some question