Philippians Challenge – A Short Break

We have come to the end of Philippians.

For four weeks we have walked through this letter together. We have talked about joy in hard places, about unity when it would be easier to divide, about anxiety and prayer, about contentment that has to be learned. And through all of it, we kept coming back to the same place — Jesus. Not as an idea, but as the steady center.

I will be away from June 30 through July 8, so there won’t be any blog posts during that time. After spending these weeks thinking and writing through Philippians, it feels like a good time to step back for a few days. The church app reading plan will press on to the end of chapter four - for those of you working on memorizing the letter.

I am looking forward to some rest and time with family in the town where I grew up - Satellite Beach, Florida.

But - before I go quiet for a week, I want to circle back to something we mentioned at the very beginning of this series. We started with a memory challenge. Some of you may have jumped in. Some of you probably meant to and then life got busy. That’s usually how it goes.

So let me suggest something simple while I’m gone. Instead of trying to remember large sections, choose just a few verses from Philippians and carry them with you. Not as a task to check off, but as something to sit with.  You can find them in the reading plan across the various days... you'll need to look.

Maybe try Philippians 1:6 — the reminder that God finishes what he starts. Maybe 1:21 — to live is Christ. Maybe 2:3–4 — the quiet call to humility. Maybe 3:13–14 — pressing on instead of living in the past. Or 4:6–7 — the words about anxiety and the peace of God that guards us. Even 4:13 — read in context — can remind you that the strength Paul speaks of is about faithfulness, not achievement.

Pick two or three. Read them slowly. Repeat them when you need to. Let them stay in front of you over the next week.

We are done with Philippians for now, but I hope it is not done with us.

The secret we talked about has a name. His name is Jesus. And he will still be at work — in you and in me — while I am away.

I’ll see you after the 8th.  Happy Fourth of July!
Grace and peace - For His glory!

Rev. D!