Philippians 4

We've come to the end to this little book. It's small but mighty.

Philippians 4

• v 1 tells us to stand firm!
• v 4 again tells us to rejoice. Chapter 3 has already told us the sort of things we should be rejoicing in.
• v 6-7 tells us how we should be continuously praying rather than getting anxious. Then we will receive the peace of God!
• v 8 is a real tricky one. We need to think about good things. I don’t think this verse is thinking about pretty dresses and cupcakes. Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us we need to focus on Jesus, so perhaps it’s more about that.
• Get on with it! v 9 tells us to put into practice what we have learnt.

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like.
(James 1:22-24)

• Sometimes it’s hard to be happy with what we have. Paul has learnt to in v 11-13

Implications for Mosaic

• We can encourage one another in standing firm (Hebrews 3:13)
• We need to rejoice together. Give each other things to give thanks for and tell each other what God is doing so we can praise him for it.
• We need to encourage one another to put what we learn into practice

Summary

• Love one another! Romans 12:10 tells us we need to “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honour one another above yourselves.” Sorry, all those commitment-phobes out there!
• Loving one another keeps us pure and righteous. Have a look at what Jesus says in John 15:1-17. Loving one another seems the way to get and remain plugged into Jesus.
• Jesus is our confidence and reason to rejoice.
• Rejoice some more.
• Get on with it! Paul constantly reminds us to put what we know into practice. 

Quick Questions

• Don't you just love Philippians?
• What do you do to avoid being anxious? (I have a prayer book, so when I'm worried I write it all down in there)
• Do you feel like your life is missing something or are you happy with what you have?

Whac-a-thought

We are told in Philippians 4:8 to control our thoughts:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Now, this always seemed a bit of a tricky deal. I know random thoughts seem to pop in my head and if a psychiatrist knew about them I'd probably get locked up. You know the ones: "What would it actually be like to get run over by this bus?" or "How hard is it to steal candy from a baby?" or "If my annoying brother is going to be with Jesus when he dies, surely murdering him isn't that wrong?" (Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about). I'm pretty sure thoughts about petty theft or a blatant disregard for my or my brother's longevity probably do not come under any of the categories mentioned in Philippians.

Martin Luther was attributed with saying something along the lines of "you can't stop birds flying over your head, but you can stop them from making a nest." He meant that you cannot stop these random thoughts from popping into your mind, but you can stop them taking hold.

Sometimes, especially when tired or stressed, it feels like I'm playing a constant game of Whac-a-Mole in my mind. One negative thought pops up, I manage to bop it on the head and then along comes another one. Soon the (somewhat extended) metaphorical hammer is discarded on the floor and these evil moles are appearing telling me lies about myself, my friends and the rest of the world.

I think, perhaps, we have to get in the culture of actively thinking about positive things. We should try and minimise space for these negative thoughts to appear in. Here are some ideas of how I'm going to try and do this:

• write down 3 things everyday that I want to thank God for. They have to be different from any other days. This was done in a scientific study about positive thinking habits and apparently it works.
• if I am thinking resentful thoughts about someone I'll write ten things I respect about that person (hopefully, this will calm my urge to murder poor Stephen).
• memorise helpful Bible passages to think over.
• write down negative thoughts on a piece of paper and write down why they're stupid, unhelpful or unbiblical.
• and (my fail safe youth worker answer) pray about it.

Quick Question

1. What tips do you have? 
2. Do you think I need professional help?

  

New Life

Today is Easter Sunday. It is the focus of the Christian Calendar. Although more seems to happen in the run up to Christmas, Easter is the show stopper. It is what changes everything.

1 Peter 1:3-4 says:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade.

We believe that Jesus conquered death, and because of this we are given the chance of new life. This is what Easter celebrates. It is a time of victory, joy and fresh starts.

New life is something that is very relevant in Mosaic at the moment. The Bemrose family have just had a new addition: baby Maisie. This gorgeous little girl is so full of hope and potential and new beginnings. She has yet to say her first word, make her first step, reach her first birthday. There is so much for life to offer her.

What is amazing is that we are offered this same newness of life through Jesus. We are offered potential, hope and fresh starts. Jesus came to give life and life to the full.

I pray that you get to experience this new life. A life to the full. I pray you receive this inheritance that does not perish, spoil or fade. I pray this for baby Maisie. I pray that she grows up to know Jesus as her friend, her Lord, her Saviour. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thought for Monday

One thing I love in the Bible is how it often refers to God as "God of my ancestors". It really speaks of the eternal nature of God.

It's easy for me to appreciate because I have Christian parents. But even if you don't there are older people of faith that have probably influenced you. We also have a rich cultural heritage of inspiring Christians, such as the Wesleys, William Wilberforce, and Smith Wigglesworth (not all them have surnames starting with W).

Consider who has influenced you in your faith, whether they are people who have been directly involved, or those in the past.

Thought for Monday

Today is Nelson Mandela's 93rd birthday. He was an anti-apartheid activist as well as the first fully democratically elected President of South Africa. In 1993 he won the Nobel Peace Prize.

In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, he wrote:

A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.

Pray for God to give you wisdom and compassion, especially in issues surrounding injustice.

Thought for Monday

For many people, Monday is the start of the working week. Spend some time thinking about how you are serving God in your job. Re:jesus has a list of Celtic Blessings for various occassions (from driving in your car, to washing).

One is for working:

May my work be faithful
May my work be honest
May my work be blessed
May my work bless others
May my work bless you.

Have a good week.

Thought for Monday

From the 'Being Untouchable' Exhibition, by Markus Perkins, in St Paul's Cathedral.

This week the 'Being Untouchable' Photography Exhibition that has been in St Paul's Cathedral is coming to a close. It shows images of Indian Dalits who are thought of as being 'untouchable': so lowly that you should avoid contact with them.

Jesus touched the untouchables of his day. In Mark 1:40-41 he touches a leper, people deemed unclean.

Who are the untouchables of our society? Who should we be reaching out to?

Hung on the cross

Yesterday I wrote a post about Creative Prayer. As last night was a creative prayer session, I thought I'd go into more depth.

We watched the video below about the crucifixion and then read Isaiah 53.Some of the teenagers were really surprised by the fact that this was written hundreds of years before Jesus' death.

We then wrote confessions and put them into envelopes, so no one could read them, and hung them onto the peg cross. It was a really nice way to visually recognise how our sin was dealt with at the cross.

The evening went really well and it was really beneficial to have a space to reflect on the significance of the cross and what it means to us. It's so easy to forget the sacrifice that Jesus went through for us.

Creative Prayer

What I like about teenagers is their willingness to try new things. They don't get embarrassed or dismiss it as pointless as quickly as adults do. This has meant that I've had quite a few opportunities for praying creatively.

We've had prayer tents, we've used wooden blocks to pray about our part in God's Temple, we've shredded worries. Tonight we're going to hang our sins on the cross. We're going to write prayers of confession and hang them on a cross made of pegs and string.

What inspires you to pray?