Prison Guide, John Parker, takes us into Week Two — Philippians: Paul’s Happiest Letter of All
This week’s passage:
I. By Faith, Your Life is Famous for Jesus—Be Influential
12 I want you to know, my friends, that the things that have happened to me have really helped the progress of the gospel. 13 As a result, the whole palace guard and all the others here know that I am in prison because I am a servant of Christ.
II. By Faith, Your Life Inspires—Be Inspirational
14 And my being in prison has given most of the brothers and sisters more confidence in the Lord, so that they grow bolder all the time to preach the message fearlessly.
III. By Faith, Your Life is Praiseworthy—Be Grateful
15 Of course some of them preach Christ because they are jealous and quarrelsome, but others from genuine goodwill. 16 These do so from love, because they know that God has given me the work of defending the gospel. 17 The others do not proclaim Christ sincerely, but from a spirit of selfish ambition; they think that they will make more trouble for me while I am in prison. 18 It does not matter! I am happy about it—so long as Christ is preached in every way possible, whether from wrong or right motives. And I will continue to be happy,
-(Philippians 1:12–18 GNB)
| Fearless Lows are Ministry Highs Philippians 1:12 |
| Marketing the Gospel during Ministry Setbacks Philippians 1:13 |
| Inspiring Boldness by Prison Service Philippians 1:14 |
| Sheeping the Wolves who are Gaming the system. Philippians 1:15-17 |
| Winning the Game! All the time! Philippians 1:18 |
Help grow this teaching. Please, share your encouraging comment or word below.
John and the “Giv’m Heaven” Team! (CHT)*
I’ve been reading a lot of FB postings of people lamenting of this Canadian Pastor being sent to jail for preaching during Covid season. It seems to me, God may be arranging this with the totalitarian government. His time in jail may be far more reproductive than in his pulpit building. jail ministry is a fruitful place. In church, the saints can’t remember what he said by Monday. Paul’s testimony is proof of what God can do in jail. There are no stories in the Bible of believers facing a pulpit and how they were “fed” by a hired man with a Bible degree and a title. I’m not trying to be rude. That is just the way it is in the Bible and how tradition has led us to do the opposite. Paul wants us to imitate his example in ministry “free of charge”.