Month: August 2026

Sermon text: Philippians 3:17-21; Philippians 4:1
Paul opens this section of Philippians with a call that reaches back through the whole letter: “Join in following my example, and note those who so walk as you have us for a pattern.” The word behind “following” carries an interesting linguistic history — it shares a root with the English words “mimic” and “mime.” This is distinct from our word “imitate,” which is used instead of “follow” in some translations and elsewhere (such 1 Corinthians 11:1). This alternate word traces to a Latin root meaning “image.” The difference matters: imitation is about appearance, taking on the shape of something, while mimicry is about action, actually reproducing the behavior. Paul isn’t asking for surface resemblance to a godly life. He’s calling for the real thing — a life that does what it appears to do, not one that merely looks the part while functioning differently underneath.

Sermon text: Philippians 3:12-16
Paul writes to the Philippians from a place of remarkable honesty: even after decades in ministry, he had not arrived. “Not that I have already attained or am already perfected,” he tells them, “but I press on.” Twice in these verses Paul repeats this same confession—he hasn’t attained, he hasn’t apprehended—and then pushes it further, revealing a pattern of Hebrew poetry called parallelism, where an idea is stated and restated to drive home its weight. Paul wanted his readers to stop and truly absorb what he was saying.

Sermon text: Philippians 3:1-11
Paul opens this section of Philippians with a word that can feel like a signal he’s wrapping up his letter, but “finally” here doesn’t mean the end is near — it’s more of a transition marker. What he says next matters more than the word itself: “Rejoice in the Lord.” He tells the Philippians that repeating this instruction isn’t tedious for him, and it’s necessary for them. Writing from house arrest in Rome, likely chained to a Roman guard, Paul draws much of his own joy from the spiritual progress of this church, and he knows that what they’re about to face will test that joy. People rarely absorb something important the first time they hear it — distraction, busyness, and life in general get in the way — so Paul returns to a theme he’s raised before because it’s too important to leave unsaid.