Jan 31 – Philippians 2:5-11 – The Mind of Christ

welcome

As followers of Jesus, we are to think and live differently than the culture.
As followers of Jesus, we can point people to joy, confidence, hope and life.
As followers of Jesus, we are salt and light in this world – primarily online and via phone right now.
As followers of Jesus, we grow in Christ, individually and together, in koinōnia – that shared life in the Spirit that includes:

  • reading and thinking through Scripture,
  • prayer – both praying for and praying with,
  • serving the community – both the OCC community and the bigger community around us,
  • and caring for each other in love.

If you don’t really know Jesus, we trust and pray that as you connect, read, watch, you will be drawn into a relationship with Jesus.

If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, we pray that you will honestly seek and ask questions… watch for and sign up for online ALPHA this spring.

We encourage you to take a few minutes as you prepare to watch the video

  • sit still,
  • breathe in, breath out a couple of times
  • invite the Lord to make himself present with you as you watch – he is with you – it’s just that a lot of the time we are not aware that he is.
  • prepare your heart to listen and receive
  • Read Philippians 2 as you enter into our time together.

teaching

Here is the service for Sunday 31 January.
Coates lead us in worship today.
Pastor Mike’s message is from Philippians 2:5-11The Mind of Christ

The study notes and all the other messages in this series can be found on our sermon page.

OCCkids is meeting online at @9:30am

There is also an OCCYouth zoom class lead by Neil & Barb Fox @9:30am

prayer

Sunday nights @ 6:30pm
zoom prayer https://zoom.us/j/99544541247?pwd=cU9idG1RNzB3bjdZS3RUdThOalQydz09
Meeting ID: 995 4454 1247
Passcode: 4LKzLR

LIFEGroup

Get connected to a LIFEGroup – it’s one of the best ways to grow in Christ.
The details are here.

giving

In this new way of being the church, we don’t practice giving by placing our offering in a basket as it is passed. OCCers are generous people. Thank you for your gifts.

  • Some of you give when you attend a service (there is an offering box)
  • Many give online – etransfer or paypal
  • Others mail or drop off cheques

You can find all the ways you can give here.

Jan 31

As we end praying through the Fruit of the Spirit…

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law Galatians 5:22-23

Reflect on all that God has done and is doing in giving us life through his Spirit

And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. Romans 8:11

Jan 30

These areas that we call the Fruit of the Spirit, are all integrated. It’s not a matter of chose which one you want to produce. God’s plan is that all of these become evident in our lives.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law Galatians 5:22-23

So let’s pray for one another that we walk by the Spirit

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16

 

Jan 29

As we are praying through the Fruit of the Spirit…

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law Galatians 5:22-23

Remember that…

You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. Galatians 5:13

 

Jan 28

Pray that we will people who are learning to put on Jesus Christ and live lives that produce fruit…

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law Galatians 5:22-23

…and not give into the desires of the flesh

Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh. Romans 13:14

Jan 27

Paul wrote that in the last days, difficult times will come, in part because many individuals will not have self-control

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power. 2 Timothy 3:1-4

Pray that we will people who are dead to selfish desires and will walk under the influence of the Spirit of Christ

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law Galatians 5:22-23

Jan 26

We are praying through the fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

Pray that we will be so aware of Jesus’ presence in us – that he is Lord of our lives – and so we will always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks them to give an account for the hope that is in them, with gentleness and reverence.

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect 1 Peter 3:15

Jan 25

We are praying through the fruit of the Spirit

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23

In Matthew 23:23-24, Jesus pronounced woe on the scribes and Pharisees because they tithed mint, dill, and cumin, but neglected justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.

Pray that today, we as individuals and the church would be faithful in doing everything that pleases God.

ordinary time

In the liturgical church calendar, there are two seasons of what is called “Ordinary Time

  • The first is after Epiphany, January 6. Scripture readings during this season focus on the life and ministry of Jesus and invite us into the journey and maturity of faith.
  • The second is after Pentecost, which occurs 50 days after Easter. This is the longest season in the liturgical year. In this second season of Ordinary Time, we celebrate our role as the church in the ongoing life and work of Christ in the world, guided by the companionship and inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

The word ordinary here has two meanings.

  • First, it connects to the word ordinal, which has to do with counted time. Both seasons of Ordinary Time, mark out the weeks between the seasons of the church year.
  • The second meaning of ordinary relates to the contrast between the ordinary flavor of this season with the extraordinary life of the other seasons in the church year—seasons that are pinned to the lived experience of Jesus coming into and living through his time on earth before his return to heaven.

In Ordinary Time, the life of Jesus is lived through us, both individually and as the church, as we give faithful attention to our formation, devotion, ministry, and mission on a daily basis. Are we underestimating our ordinary days?

Sometimes someone will ask how my week was. And there are times when I go blank while I try to think about it. I’m grasping for something that happened that was a big deal, an event, or something with some element of excitement to it. But a lot of the time there was nothing that was unique or unusual – it was all the ordinary activities and involvement of ministry.

Most of our lives are ordinary, not terribly special or exciting. Yes there are special events from time to time: the big and exciting things of life – new babies, weddings, family vacations, or a big birthday party [do you remember those!]. Those are Instagram moments.

We get tired of monotony. Unless you are a 3 year old singing “Baby Shark” over and over again. Repetition is built into creation. While repetition has a way of blurring our days together, and can make everything feel colourless and faded. But I wonder if we are underestimating ordinary days?

God created repetition. Think about our world for a moment. Every day the sun rises and sets; every day the moon waxes or wanes; and every day these acts praise their Creator. In his book Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton describes how the repetition of the sun’s rising might not be due to lifelessness, but due to the rush of life. He compares the repetition found in nature to a child’s enjoyment in repeating the same games and songs. He says this is because children have “fierce and free spirits”; their joy in repetition is due to excess of life, not absence. Chesterton then says,

“For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony. It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them. It may be that he has the eternal appetite of infancy… The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore.”

The act of repetition can be a thing of beauty. For example, we’re called to repeat the Lord’s Supper as a church body (1 Corinthians 11:23-25), and as we repeat this act it becomes imprinted upon us – informing us about Jesus and about ourselves. As we know from watching our children, things must be repeated if they are to be learned. So, we come again and again to the communion table – and to worship, prayer, and God’s Word – if we are to become more like Jesus.

Someday we will be more fully like God and no longer grow tired of repetition. We will have the “eternal appetite of infancy,” as Chesterton put it, and will exult in the joyful monotony of worship. We’ll cry, “Encore!” every time we worship the Lamb of God who was slain for our sins.

It’s the little things we are called to. The day in and day out. The minute by minute. It’s the little things that add up to big things. Even when those little moments can feel so monotonous. There is glory found in the mundane. I pray that we would be mindful of the Spirit’s work in these seemingly insignificant moments.

Philippians 2:1-4

Philippians 2:1-4

“Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”

Because of who we are because of Jesus… 2 don’ts and 2 do’s to transform relationships.

Live this out.