PHILIPPIANS 4 FILTERING YOUR THOUGHTS SESSION 8 LEAD IT: COLLEGE AGE GOALS As students experience Philippians 4, they will: be introduced to the cause-and-effect principle of obeying God s instructions and experiencing God s promises. be challenged to develop a Christ-like thought life. build a filter through which they can sift every thought. MATERIALS: Group Whiteboard Colored pencils (at least two colors per student) Optional: A prize for the student who correctly answers the Bonus review question and a prize for the group or student who creates the best sentence in the final Taking It Inward exercise is also optional. MATERIALS: Each Student A Bible A pen Student pages for Session 8 Scripture sheet for Philippians 4 (and Philippians 3 from last week) SESSION INTRO Prayer After the students have gathered, begin with prayer. As you pray, remember that illumination from God is a critical component of any Bible study. Pray that your students will be open to being taught by the Holy Spirit, their resident Teacher. Review Help your students stay connected to the big themes of Philippians by asking: From our last session, what were some of the ways in which Paul wanted to know Christ? Bonus Question: (This one reaches way back.) Who were the people God used as His core group to start the church in Philippi? -Lydia (and household), the jailer (and household), and possibly the slave girl. Open Your group members should already know this maxim of Bible study: Whenever you see a therefore, you should go back and see what it s there for. (By way of reminder, words like therefore are called terms of conclusion. In Scripture, they indicate that the author is getting ready to make a point based on the information he has just communicated.) With the students looking at their Scripture sheets, ask them what the first word in Philippians 4 is. Then ask them what the group s next step should be. DIGGING IN In order to see what the therefore is there for, the group will need to go back to Philippians 3. Have your students read Philippians 3:16 4:1 using their Scripture sheets. As they read, they should use two different colors or symbols to mark: 1. Anything that describes the enemies of the cross (perhaps with a pitchfork ). 2. Anything that describes believers (remind the group to look for pronouns like our and we ). LEARNING TO BE LIKE CHRIST LEAD IT: College Age SESSION 8 1
After most have finished (it s okay if some haven t), ask the group what they found. As they give you the facts of the passage, list them in two columns on the board. The board will begin to look something like this: Enemies of the Cross: -Many live this way. (3:18) -Their destiny is destruction. (3:19) -Their god is their stomach. (3:19) -Their glory is in their shame. (3:19) -Their mind is on earthly things. (3:19) Believers: -Our citizenship is in heaven. (3:20) -We eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, from heaven. (3:20) -Jesus will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body. (3:21) -This is how we are to stand firm in the Lord. (4:1) Once the facts of the passage are on the board, discuss the following questions as a group: Where do we find enemies of the cross today? What are some ways to recognize these people? What will happen to them, according to Philippians? Some of us may be surrounded by enemies of the cross at school or at work. How can the information in the believers column help us in these situations? Now can anyone explain what the therefore is there for in 4:1? TAKING IT INWARD The next set of questions is printed on your students journal pages. Ask them to take a few minutes to write their responses in the space provided and then discuss them as a group. 1. Complete this sentence: Despite the that I am facing right now, (challenging situation, temptation, etc.) I know my citizenship is in heaven and I eagerly await Christ s return. THERFORE, I will! 2. Enemies of the cross are described as having their minds on earthly things. Which do you think about more often: earthly things or a Savior who is coming back for you? Rate yourself on the scale below. Earthly Things A Savior Who s Coming Back 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 After a few minutes, prompt the discussion with the following questions: What are some battles you or college age folks in general are facing right now? How can the fact that your citizenship is in heaven affect how you handle these battles? How did you rate yourself on the scale of earthly things versus a Savior who s coming back? (Ask them to explain why they rated themselves where they did.) 2 LEARNING TO BE LIKE CHRIST LEAD IT: College Age SESSION 8
CROSS CHECKING Share in your own words: In reading these passages, it s easy to tag others as enemies of the cross. A fine toothed comb should be taken over our own motives and actions to make sure that we are not the falling into that category! In the text, the language is colorful enough, but to find the true meaning of each word, let s look closely at the Greek to clarify these specifics. Direct students to their journal pages. As they examine the chart, offer them the Greek definition of each word to give a deeper understanding of the verse. Then ask them to create their own paraphrase of Philippians 3:18-19. Enemies of the Cross Greek Definition -they are enemies of the cross of Christ (3:18) Echthros hostile, hating, and opposing another -Their destiny is destruction. (3:19) Apoleia destroying, utter destruction -Their god is their stomach. (3:19) Koilia to be given up to the pleasures of the palate, to gluttony -Their glory is in their shame. (3:19) Doxa honor from a good opinion -Their mind is on earthly things. (3:19) Phroneo to direct one s mind to a thing, to seek, to strive for Say: Now that we have looked at the smallest elements of this verse, let s draw back into a paraphrased version from The Message. Stick with me, friends. Keep track of those you see running this same course, headed for this same goal. There are many out there taking other paths, choosing other goals, and trying to get you to go along with them. I ve warned you of them many times; sadly, I m having to do it again. All they want is easy street. They hate Christ s Cross. But easy street is a dead-end street. Those who live there make their bellies their gods; belches are their praise; all they can think of is their appetites. Philippians 4:17-19 (MSG) DIGGING DEEPER Ask whether anyone knows what the principle of cause-and-effect is. You can help them out by explaining the principle in terms of the Christian life: The principle of cause-and-effect is this: If this happens (the cause), then this will happen (the effect). For example, in a relationship with God, if we follow His commands, then we will experience His promises. If we disobey His commands, then we will experience trouble (the Bible says destruction ). Share that Paul used this principle in Philippians 4:2 9. Ask your students to read this passage using their Scripture sheets. As they read, they should use two different colors or symbols to mark: 1. Every instruction (the cause ), perhaps with a megaphone. 2. Every promise (the effect ), perhaps with a rainbow. After most have finished, ask the group to tell you what they found. As they give you the facts of the passage, list their responses in two columns on the board. At this point, don t worry about listing the details of verse 8. You ll be dealing with these later. Your board will look something like this list. LEARNING TO BE LIKE CHRIST LEAD IT: College Age SESSION 8 3
Instructions: -Euodia and Syntyche should agree with each other in the Lord. (v. 2) -Rejoice in the Lord always! (v. 4) -Let your gentleness be evident to all. (v. 5) -Don t be anxious about anything. (v. 6) -Present your requests to God with thanksgiving. (v. 6) -Think about good, positive things. (v. 8) -Whatever you ve learned from Paul, put it into practice. (v. 9) Promises: -The Lord will be near. (v. 5) -The peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (v. 7) -The God of peace will be with you. (v. 9) TAKING IT INWARD THOUGHT FILTER After the instructions and promises are on the board, discuss the following questions as a group: Do you see a cause-and-effect relationship between these instructions and promises? If so, what is it? -If we follow these instructions we will experience the peace of God. How well are we doing at following these instructions? How much peace are we experiencing in our lives as a result? There is space on the journal pages for students to write down any of the instructions that they ve had trouble obeying. Take a moment for them to write these now. Then ask students to find the verse that tells us what we re supposed to think about. Have them write these things in the order given in the verse in the first column of the chart on their journal pages. Then ask them to write the first letter of each of these virtues in the second column. You may want to divide your group into smaller groups of two or three for the next exercise. Just as you did in the Prep It, have each group come up with a sentence using words beginning with the first letters of the virtues in Philippians 4:8. This sentence will help trigger them to remember the things Paul tells us to think about. We ve given a few sample sentences below, but don t share them with your students unless they re absolutely stuck! Virtue First Letter Sample Sentences True T Two The Noble N Nerds Nice Right R Really Really Pure P Played Plump Lovely L Like Ladies Admirable A An Always Excellent E Elvis Eat Praiseworthy P Presley Pizza NOTE: These are the virtues as listed in the New International Version (NIV), which is the Bible translation used for the students Scripture sheets. If your students are using a different Bible translation, the words here will be somewhat different. 4 LEARNING TO BE LIKE CHRIST LEAD IT: College Age SESSION 8
After the groups have finished, have some fun having them share their creations. You may want to award a prize for the best or most memorable sentence. Then ask your group: What did Paul tell us to do with these virtues? - Think about such things. You may want to add that other translations say to meditate on these things (New King James) or let your mind dwell on them (New American Standard). What are some ways in which we can help each other follow this instruction? Share with your students that Philippians 4:8 gives them a built-in, ready-access filter through which they can sift every thought. When anything comes to mind that may not be a Christ-like thought, they can ask themselves: Is it true? Is it noble? Is it right? Is it pure? Lovely? Admirable? Excellent? Praiseworthy? As they begin to run their thoughts through this filter, they may be amazed at the number of thoughts they ll want to dismiss. Again, remind the group of the effect in this cause-and-effect proposition: If they obey these instructions then the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard their hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. TAKING IT INWARD THE PEACE OF GOD Invite your students to dive a little deeper in order to experience the peace of God. Ask them to find a place of solitude (perhaps a corner of the room, a hallway, or an empty room nearby) to do the Peace of God exercise printed on their journal pages. Ask them to meditate on the Scriptures and prayerfully respond to the questions provided. We ve printed the exercise below for your reference. On your journal page, write out your fears, your anxieties, your hurts all the things that make you anxious. As you write your list, remember that Paul said to present your requests with thanksgiving to God (Phil. 4:6). Are you still anxious about these things? Now it s time to present your requests to God. Ask Him to replace your anxiety with His peace. Remind yourself of His promises. Look up the following verses, meditate on them for a few moments, then write out a prayer in the space below. Zephaniah 3:17 1 Peter 5:6 7 Colossians 3:15 PUTTING INTO PRACTICE After a few minutes, call the group back together. Ask for volunteers to share about what they experienced. After some have shared, ask the group to come up with a key characteristic of Christ from this session in Philippians. (You may want to mention that all of the virtues in verse 8 add up to a perfect description of Christ.) Invite students to share their key characteristic about Christ and write this on their journal page in the space under What I Learned about Following Christ. LEARNING TO BE LIKE CHRIST LEAD IT: College Age SESSION 8 5