Philippians 7: Two of a kind

Philippians 2:19-30

Ready for Impact (10 minutes)

Catch up on how things have been over the past week. Then ask group members: who were your heroes growing up?

Ask for a volunteer to read Philippians 2:19-30 to the group, praying that you’d be deeply impacted by God’s word and then impact others in Jesus’ name.

Watch

If you’re not gathered in person, the leader should project the video for the group through sharing their screen

Impacted by the Word (15 minutes)

Here are some suggested questions to help your discussion:

• What are your initial responses to Philippians 2:19-30? What strikes you?
• How do you see echoes of Jesus’ own attitude in Timothy and Epaphroditus? (see especially 2:5-11)
• How do they display the behaviour Paul has been calling the Philippians to throughout his letter? (see especially 1:27-2:5, 2:14-16)
• How do you respond to the idea that friendship and mission always go together? (Back up your thoughts with other parts of Philippians if you can).
• Paul emphasises that genuine interest in others should characterise Jesus’ people. If we make friends just to share the gospel with them, is our interest genuine?

Impacting Our Hearts (10 minutes)

Discuss which of the three hallmarks Paul commends in Timothy and Epaphroditus – genuine interest in others, commitment to serving alongside others, and a willingness to take risks for others – is the most counter-cultural today. Pray that you’d display these qualities in your CU Impact Group.

Pray too for the local churches in your city. You might use this as a prompt to ask new students how they’ve got on so far finding a new local church community to settle into.

Impacting the University (15 minutes)

In Philippians 2, we meet two men sold out on the hope of the gospel of Christ. This gospel claims to be the key that truly fits the lock of reality. It’s a story that begins with God’s creation of the universe from nothing.

• Some friends object the Christian account of creation, such as on scientific grounds. Where have you come across these objections? How have you sought to answer them?
• There are various ways we can communicate the relevance of the creation account to our friends. How might you live and speak in such a way that your friends see the beauty of the Christian story through you?

Share any recent encouragements you’ve had recently as you’ve sought to love your mates, living and speaking for Jesus amongst them. Pray by name for those who seem spiritually open, or who for any reason are having a tough time.

For more on this theme, see Chapter 6 of Becky Pippert’s Stay Salt.

Confirm the time you’ll meet together next week, and pray to close.