Dying
Today in our 1030 online service Johnny explores how we can have confidence despite the pain of death in the fifth part of our 'Defiant Joy' series. Emma-Jane is sharing an all age segment with additional resources here for youth and children, with Pete Gower sharing his honest story of faith even in the face of the loss of his wife earlier this year.
Defiant joy in defeated death: Philippians 1:19-21
Which way are you going?
Paul’s really saying, here’s what I’m living for!
Charles Spurgeon said: “Christ’s resurrection not only gives you hope for the future; it gives you hope to handle your scars right now!”
Every Christian should aim at being able to say truthfully, “For me, to live is Christ.”
What death means as a Christian - v23s
Death is a promotion!
Death is a doorway!
The greatest joy of a Christian is Christ
Paul says death is superior to living: for that is very much better!
The advantage of LIVING as a Christian
Deciding to give up personal DESIRE and to live for others v25-26
To live for the GROWTH of others
To live so others experience JOY in Christ
Joy is the by-product of living fully in the kingdom of God…
To live for others to BOAST about Christ
The believer’s longing for HEAVEN is to be balanced with faithful ministry now
Cry out for mercy – Christ is our only sure hope!
Because of Christ's death, there need be no more fear of death!
Is Christ our purpose, partnership, priority, passion & pattern?
When Christ is our focus, joy is the side-effect!
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus!"
Resources for personal and lifegroup use
Defiant Joy in the face of defeated death – Philippians 1 v 19-21
1. Read this scripture in at least two different versions and sit quietly with it for a few minutes to hear what God is saying. What strikes you from these verses?
2. What comes to mind when you think back to Sundays preach?
3. V 19 Paul had confidence in his prison cell that Christ would work it out for his deliverance whether that was freedom or death – how is our trust?
4. In these verses Paul reflects on two competing desires – to serve God and bring others to Him through his life and witness but also to leave suffering behind and be with God in eternity. What is Pauls’ conclusion? What is yours and mine?
5. Being confident in our own salvation and therefore eternal destiny is one thing but being confident about our prodigals or those who do not yet know Jesus is another. How do we manage this?
6. What five ways do you daily, “live for Christ!”
7. What is your testimony of ‘Defiant Joy in the face of defeated death’?
8. What is your one big take away from today?
Quoteable quotes:
‘He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose’. Jim Elliott
‘Grief cleanses the anguish from our souls and sets us back upon the path of life so we can dance. Grieving is the process God uses to bring us to a place of wholeness. Grieving is His great gift to us. It is a fierce, yet holy pilgrimage. It is a necessary part of our journey. Healing’.
‘Grief is not a disorder, disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve’. Earl Grollman.
‘God has not been trying an experiment on my faith or love in order to find out their quality. He knew it already. It was I who didn’t. In this trial He makes us occupy the dock, the witness box and then bench all at once. He always knew that my temple was a house of cards. His only way of making me realise the fact was to knock it down’. C S Lewis
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