LO G O S

P H I L I P P I A N S S T U D Y O N E

A Perspective from Prison

C H A P T E R O V E R V I E W
PHILIPPIANS 1:1-26 B A C K G R O U N D
PaulÕs Heart
for His Disciples 1:1-11 Author: Paul PaulÕs contemporaries couldnÕt believe their
ears when they heard the news. Prison! Paul has become a
PaulÕs Heart
for the Gospel 1:12-19 Christian and now heÕs in prison. Who would have ever
imagined? He was more of a ÒMost Likely to SucceedÓ kind of
PaulÕs Heart
for Christ 1:20-26 guy than a prisoner. After all, he came from a great Roman family
and had the best of educationsÐeven personal schooling with the famous teacher,
Gamaliel. He was devoutly religious, and the other Jews looked to him for
leadership. He followed the rules to a Òt.Ó Everyone respected Paul and his zealous
drive to silence anyone who tried to discount the Jewish faith. Paul
hated the thought that so-called Christians were trying to convince
people that a man named Jesus was the Messiah; he hated it so much
PHILIPPI
u Locate Philippi on a map
in your Bible. Note that
that he even endorsed their persecution.

And now, he was in prison for preaching Christ!

Philippi was a bustling, commer-
cial city. The 250,000 inhabitants Little did they know that he was a changed man. Everything that was a big deal
enjoyed up-scale living. They
to him then had now become nothing in comparison. He became a Christian and
boasted of their theater, highway
system, gold mine, and the first was now a missionary leader to the first churches.
European church. Everyone passed
through Philippi One church that held a special place in PaulÕs heart was the church in Philippi.
on their way to He had known them for nine years and had visited them with a few friendsÐSilas,
anywhere, and
the Philippians Timothy and Luke.
were proud of it. In
fact they were a lot
like Texans, proud of
Philippians Paul wrote this letter to the church at Philippi to thank and
their citizenship but encourage them. He was grateful for their gifts and concern for him
sometimes forgetful
while he was in prison when they were also suffering. In the midst
of the big picture.
Paul had to remind the church of some rotten circumstances, he learned how to endure trials
people what was most important. from a Christian perspective and passed on what heÕd
learned to them. Paul encourages them to live in
unity and experience a life filled with joy.
A Perspective from Prison STORY OF A DISCIPLER

Reflect and discuss: Think of someone in your past whoÕs really Ògiven their heart My life was changed
to youÓ (i.e., Òtaken you under their wingÓ). It could be a discipler, mentor, coach,
family member, relative, friend or teacher. How would you describe them? dramatically my junior year
When Jerry, a senior, invited me to
be in his discipleship group, it was a
major step forward in my maturity
Ask: How did their belief in you make you feel? both personally and spiritually. Jerry
taught me how to share my faith by
taking me with him, modeling how
to do it, and eventually letting me
do it myself.

Paul’s Heart for His Disciples Read 1:1-11 Jerry’s discipleship flowed out of his
deep, personal love relationship with
What statements reveal PaulÕs heart for his disciples?
Christ. When he taught God’s Word in
our group, it was always insightful,
thoughtful and flowed from his walk
HOW WOULD MOST STUDENTS ON CAMPUS with God. It was not rote or canned.
What do these teach you about a disciplerÕs heart?
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING PHRASE? His example motivated me to find a
group of guys and begin to disciple
“FOR ME TO LIVE IS them.
_____________.” Jerry was my friend.
He encouraged me. I
Paul’s Heart for the Gospel Read 1:12-19 could tell he prayed
Discuss the insights these verses give about PaulÕs heart for sharing the gospel. for me. He helped
me develop my
gifts and abilities
like no one ever
had before, like
What do his actions tell you about his attitude?
when he asked me
to speak at our
large group
weekly meeting.

Paul’s Heart for Christ Read 1:20-26 He believed in me and gave me many
opportunities to step out in faith. I’ll
What do you learn about PaulÕs heart for Christ? never forget being scared to the
point of shaking when speaking at an
evangelistic meeting Jerry had set up.
My life was never the same after the
What might your life look like if it was truly described by the phrase, year he spent discipling me. He
Òfor me to live is ChristÓ? certainly gave me a piece of his heart.

L I F E C H A N G E
How can a person develop a heart like Paul?

What steps do I need to take?

tWHAT IS MOST ON YOUR LIPS
IS FIRST IN YOUR HEART.

ÒFor out of the overflow of the heart

the mouth speaks.Ó Matthew 12:34b

ISBN 1-885702-36-1 ©1996 WSN Press; Campus Crusade for Christ, Inc. 741-055S Distributed by Integrated Resources 1-800-729-4351