Sermon Series: the Book of Philippians

When I first arrived at New Life back in 2004, I began to preach through the book of Genesis. After reaching chapter 21, we decided to switch gears and move to a New Testament book. By God’s grace, we were then able to begin and complete a study of all 28 chapters of the book of Acts. From there, we moved to the book of John, and spent many months going through the 21 chapters of that Gospel.

Since the completion of the series on John in February of this year, we have been spending time in a number of topical sermon series, including apologetics, the fruit of the Spirit, our annual Q&A series, and the church. So, I think it’s high time we get back into a study of a book of the Bible. Since we have not given any extended attention to any of Paul’s epistles, the elders have given approval for me to begin a series on the book of Philippians. We will start in verse 1 and work our way, one passage at a time, through the entire book.

By the way, let me comment briefly on both kinds of sermons (book studies and topical studies). Book studies are good because they allow us to chew on certain passages within the context of the broader flow of an entire book; they force us to tackle passages we might not otherwise consider; and because we know that all of God’s

Word is inspired by the Spirit and therefore useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness.

But topical studies are valuable too, because they allow us to get a more thorough understanding of a specific Biblical or theological topic by moving our focus beyond one Bible book to consider the teaching of the whole counsel of God on the topic in question.

Thank you for your attention to the topical series on the church. If this has sparked any interest in you for further study, I would highly recommend that you visit our Book Table in the foyer and pick up a copy of Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion.

I encourage you to be reading through this book on your own so that together we can sit at the feet of Jesus and be encouraged by His Word.

My love to you
In Christ,
Bob