Philippians 1:9-11: Only One Thing Can Be the Main Thing
I’m one of those people who likes to know exactly where I’m going and how to get there before I put the car in gear. Frankly, this drives my wife crazy. Being from the Midwest and driving in New England, where there are no straight roads and therefore a five-minute penalty for every missed turn, complicates matters further. (Thankfully a GPS is cheaper than marital counseling.) But knowing where you’re going is generally a wise thing (even if some of us are unnecessarily preoccupied with it). And just as necessary is having the right navigation system to get you there.
If this is true for traveling through the MetroWest suburbs, it’s all the more true for the Church as we navigate our lives as a community on mission. Where are we going, and what is the primary thing that will keep us on course? This is what Paul prays for God to show the Philippian church in 1:9-11. Read more…
What is the Gospel? Part One: News
Note: From September 9–11, a large chunk of Westgate Church traveled up to Lake Winnipesauke in New Hampshire for our annual Sandy Island retreat. The focus of our time was “What is the Gospel?” Since not all were able to attend (and not every reader attends Westgate), I’m posting the sessions here—one per day for the next four days.
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WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? PART ONE: NEWS
Defining the Term
As is often noted, the word “gospel” simply means “good news.” It is in its essence an announcement, a message, news.
But good news about what? Read more…
Philippians 1:3-8: The Beauty of Gospel Partnership
It’s a proven fact that staring at a plant won’t make it grow any faster. We confirmed this ourselves a couple Easters ago when we gave our children some seeds to plant in order to illustrate John 12:24. Days . . . weeks went by. We checked the seeds often, and had a few false alarms by way of weeds popping up. Soon we began to conclude that our illustration was a failure, for the seeds were simply not growing. But then to our surprise one day, a sprout finally broke through the surface.
I wish I could say that within weeks the little pots on the window sill of our third story apartment in downtown Wheaton were filled with beautiful, blooming flowers. But alas our family has the black thumb of death when it comes to house plants. But this story does illustrate the subtle tension underneath the opening part of Paul’s prayer for the Philippian church in 1:3-8: the temptation to think that we’re wasting our time in ministry by waiting on the gospel to bear fruit.
According to Design: Exploring God’s Vision for Life in Genesis 1-2
In many ways, Genesis 1-2 is like a blueprint for life. Here we have God’s design for his creation—his plan for how he envisioned life to be lived on his earth. And at the heart of this little story, we have God’s design for humanity, made in his own image and invited to live in his presence and under his rule, so as to make much of him and enjoy his blessing forever. If we want to know how to live as God’s people in this world, we need to familiarize ourselves with this plan. What does God envision for relationship with him? For relationship with others? What does he think about work? Marriage? Sex? Knowledge? Good and evil? How we treat his earth? What is our ultimate purpose in life according to God’s design?
Philippians 1:1-2: Gospel Mission, Gospel Community
Mission and community are part of the basic fabric of what it means to be people in general and God’s people in particular. We were made for mission—it’s part of our DNA as humans made in the image of God and designed to be God’s servants in bringing the whole earth under God’s rule and blessing (Gen. 1:26-28). But you don’t have to be a Christian to feel this; just look at all the different forms of activism today. People want to know they’re living for a purpose, trying to make a difference.
Similarly, we were made for community. Just as the eternal God has community within himself as Trinity—one God, three persons, who enjoy eternal communion with one another in knowledge, glory, and love—so those who bear his image were made for community. We want to know and be known, to love and be loved. We want to know that we’re not alone in this world, and not alone in our mission.
So what is it that ought to hold God’s people together and move us forward in mission and community? According to Paul’s vision for the church in Philippians, only one thing ought to stand at the center of our community and mission—only the gospel of Jesus Christ. Read more…
The Gospel: A Gateway or a Pathway?
Dane Ortlund offers a vivid description of two different ways to approach the gospel in life, which touches on some of what we discussed this past weekend: the temptation to treat the gospel as just for non-Christians, as though we outgrow it or move on from it. Enjoy the read.
‘Who do people say that I am?’
To get conversation going at our recent all-church retreat for Westgate Church, Kyle Allen, Eric Campos, and I did a little word-on-the-street investigation in downtown Boston, asking people two questions: What is the Gospel? and Who is Jesus? A special thank you to those who were willing to share their answers with us. We’ve posted the video here. In addition, I share my own thoughts on the question at the conclusion of the video. Enjoy!
Book Review: What Is the Gospel? by Greg Gilbert
Greg Gilbert, What is the Gospel? (9Marks; Wheaton: Crossway, 2010), 128 pp.
Last week we began a series of posts looking at the trouble with evangelism—that is, why we so often have a hard time bearing witness to Christ. There I suggested that one of the common reasons is confusion about the content of the gospel message—what it is, what it isn’t, and why it matters. Westgate’s all-church retreat this weekend will focus on this subject, not merely to bolster our energy in evangelism, but to help us center all of life on the transforming message of the gospel—the good news of what God has done to establish his kingdom and deal with our sin through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As part of this conversation I want to draw your attention to a book written by Greg Gilbert, formerly on staff at Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington D.C., now the senior pastor at Third Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. Gilbert has produced this book with the specific intention of clearing away some of this confusion.
Paul’s letter to the Philippians is perhaps best known for its emphasis on joy. “Complete my joy by being of the same mind…” (2:2). “Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord” (3:1). “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice” (4:4). Variations on the word joy occur some 14 times in the book. But the reason Philippians is so full of joy, is because it’s so full of Jesus.
Psalms Series: Audio and Text Available
For those who may have missed a Sunday this summer, or want to review, or perhaps live or worship elsewhere (even some place far from Boston), the audio for our summer series at Westgate Church, “Walking with God in the Meantime: The Christian Life through the Lens of the Psalms,” is available here. Unfortunately, there were a handful of weeks where we experienced technological woes, and so a few of the sermons are missing. I have however uploaded a copy of the manuscript for each sermon from the series (whether there is accompanying audio or not). Most of these can be found at the bottom of their respective blog post (follow the links below). Otherwise, you can find the manuscripts below (those marked with an * are available in text only).
in the meantime 