CONVERSATIONS
In Philippians 1:5 Paul thanks the Philippian church for their partnership in the gospel. The word word translated ‘partnership’ is the Greek word for ‘fellowship.’
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- What is a ‘fellowship’ in this context? (A fellowship is a group of deeply devoted friends whose friendship has flourished through the pursuit of a common cause or goal.)
- How is that definition different from the common understanding of fellowship that most Christians have?
- What are the benefits and costs of being part of a fellowship? The opposite of being part of a fellowship is to approach Christianity from a consumer mindset. What does it mean to have a consumer mindset when it comes to following Jesus? What are the benefits and costs of this approach to following Jesus.
- Read Philippians 1:7 and 29 - 30.
- How can suffering be perceived as experiencing grace? How does suffering together produce strong, deep friendships? Do you have a personal example from your life?
- Read Philippians 1:6.
- Why is this important for a church that is on mission to be reminded of this verse?
- Read Philippians 1:9 - 11. Paul’s prayer for the Philippians was they would love more, know Jesus more and gain more wisdom -- in other words that they would continue to grow spiritually.
- What are some things that would slow or stop someone’s spiritual growth?
- How could a person jumpstart their spiritual growth if they ‘don’t feel like it’ even though they know that they should?
- What would it look like to pray for the spiritual growth of the people in your world that are important to you?
- Recently we have been encouraging you to adopt a new practice, what’s a practice you’ve tried that has brought new growth in your life? (If you aren’t sure - what’s a practice you’d want to try?)
- Rd Philippians: 10-11 What happens if we are not maturing?
