The book of Philippians is actually a letter written by Paul to the Christians who lived in a city called Philippi, in Macedonia. We can read about Paul's visit to the Philippians in Acts 16:11-40.
Four KEY EVENTS that happened during Paul’s visit to Philippi:
1. Lydia (a businesswoman) was the first one to convert to Christianity. She provided a place for Paul and Silas to stay.
2. Paul and Silas cast a demon out of a young slave girl. Because of this, they were mobbed, beaten, and thrown into prison.
3. Paul and Silas were miraculously freed from prison, which caused the jailor and his entire family to believe in Christ.
4. City officials begged Paul and Silas to leave the city in order to avoid more trouble, so they went to the city of Thessalonica instead.
A summary of their trip to Philippi? In his letter to the Thessalonians, Paul writes, "You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there" (1 Thessalonians 2:2). Yet it was still one of Paul's favorite cities, and he was able to stop by again a little bit later (Acts 20:6; see also 1 Corinthians 16:5-6 and 2 Corinthians 7:5).
It wasn't long before Paul was placed in a Roman prison. While he was there, the Philippians sent a man named Epaphroditus to visit him and give him some basic necessities and supplies. Even though the Philippians were generally poor, they were generous in their gifts and were actually the only church to send supplies to Paul during his imprisonment. After receiving these supplies, Paul writes a letter to send back to them.
That letter is what we know as the book of Philippians.
Go ahead and read through Acts 16:11-40 to get a grasp of Paul's trip to Philippi and his relationship to the believers there.
Questions:
1. How would you describe the Philippian believers?
2. How are you like the Philippian believers? How are you different?
3. What do you think about how Paul and Silas responded to being mobbed and attacked (i.e., singing while sitting in prison)?
4. How do you respond when others “attack” you for the things that you do?
5. What can we learn about God from this passage?
Challenge: Read through Acts 16:11-40 every day this week. Each day, try to read it from a different person’s perspective: Paul, Lydia, the slave girl/fortune-teller, the men who owned the slave girl, and the jailer. Imagine what it must have been like for each individual to go through that experience.
(Feel free to comment and discuss this passage of Scripture by clicking on the “comments” link below.)
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
As I was reading through the passage again tonight, I found myself asking, "If I were in a similar situation today, what type of song would I sing?"
Would I sing a hymn that I've known since I was a child... something expressing my CONFIDENCE in God's strength and power, like "How Great Thou Art"? Or would I find myself singing "Oh no, You never let go through the rain and through the storm..." to REMIND myself that He would never leave me?
Perhaps it would be more of a "Suddenly I feel Your hand in mine" song... or maybe even "I cry out for mercy."
I'm not sure. What song would you sing?
Post a Comment