Philippians 2:1–11 (NIV)

¹ 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, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴ not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,

  did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;

⁷ rather, he made himself nothing

  by taking the very nature of a servant,

  being made in human likeness.

⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,

  he humbled himself

  by becoming obedient to death—

    even death on a cross!

⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place

  and gave him the name that is above every name,

¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,

  in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,

  to the glory of God the Father.

• “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…” 
• What is unity? What isn’t unity?  
• Motivation for unity, inner life of unity, practical application of unity (N.T. Wright)

• “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus” 
• Humility 
• Mark 8:34-35, Mark 9:35, Mark 10:14-15, Mark 10:45

• The Mystery of the Incarnation 
• Hymn of Christ
• The Self-giving God 
• The final proclamation: “Jesus is Lord”
• The hymn “puts such claims in poetic verse, to be sung in each believer’s heart” (The Story of God Bible Commentary: Philippians)

“The importance of knowing who Christ is cannot be underestimated but it can be underutilized. The grand words of mystery and praise can become the stuff of idle theory rather than deep reflection. We must ask not only what these words meant, but also what such words would have done in the first-century Roman empire...”       

–The Story of God Bible Commentary: Philippians

“Christianity is not a set of beliefs or doctrines one believes in order to be a Christian, but rather Christianity is to have one’s body shaped, one’s habits determined, in such a way that the worship of God is unavoidable.” 

–Stanley Hauerwas 

As needed, refer to the Order of Worship and Resources for sermon video, message notes, and small group questions print version.

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER 

Enter into your small group time with an ice breaker question: Can you share a time this week where something (an interaction, a moment, a thing) sparked joy within you?

CONNECT WITH GOD

(Select one of the below practices or choose a practice from the previous week)

• Prayer of Examen: During these next 5-10 minutes, you will practice a version of the Daily Examen of St. Ignatius, a contemplative prayer practice “led by memory.” Follow the five steps below and reflect in silent prayer or journaling. 
• Thanksgiving: Recognize God’s presence right now.
• What are you especially grateful for today? 
• Petition: Ask the love of God to be with you as you review your day.  
• Review: Recognize any sources of joy, love, and hope from your day and then recognize sources of trouble, darkness, or loss in your day. 
• Have you noticed the presence of God in any of this? 
• Respond: What is my response to God as I remember and review my day? 
• Look with hope for a new tomorrow.
• How do I want to wake up tomorrow? 

• Prayers of Intercession: “I look at God, I look at you, and I keep looking at God.” -Julian of Norwich
• Alone: As you sit in stillness in God’s presence, be attentive to who the Holy Spirit is bringing into your heart and mind. As they come to mind, pray for them. It’s okay if you don’t know what to pray for. It is enough to hold that person in love before God, trusting in God’s care for them. 
• Journal: If needed, journal your prayers, thoughts, or feelings as you pray for others. 

CONNECT WITH EACH OTHER

• Begin with prayer before reading the passage this week.

• Together: Read Philippians 2:1-11. Read three times: First, read it silently. Second, read it silently and in a different version (try the Message or the NLT). Then, after some quiet reflection, read it a third time as a group together in the NIV version once more.

• Alone: Reflect/Journal on one of the prompts below:
• What connections have you made this week between this passage and the world today?
• What speaks to you most personally in this passage? Why?

• All together or in smaller pairs: Share with one another. 

CONNECT WITH SCRIPTURE 

If needed, read the passage again. Then select the best questions or customize the questions for your group.  

• Review the main points from the sermon notes. 
• Explore the cultural values of honor and power in the context of Philippians. 
• “How does the comfort and encouragement of unity motivate us toward unity with each other in Christ? (2:1)” (N.T. Wright, Philippians for Everyone)
• What is unity? What is not unity? 
• What are some tangible and practical ways to “value others above yourselves”? 
• Consider verses 6-8. In what ways did Jesus humble himself? 
• How does the poem/hymn end in 9-11? Why? 
• How is Paul’s “hymn of Christ” counter-cultural to the world of his day? Today? 
• How might humility bring you more freedom? More room in your life for love? 
• How does the ‘Christ hymn’ fit with and highlight the message Paul shares in verses 1–5?
• How does our unity with Christ shape our regard for one another and call us into a different way of life?

ENGAGE AND EXPLORE 

Together: explore the quote below, in connection with the passage this week. You may hold this question alongside it: How do these words from Joan Chittister help me to understand the shape of humility in my own life and in our life together?

“Humility, Benedict teaches, treads tenderly upon the life around it. When we know our place in the universe, we can afford to value the place of others. We need them, in fact, to make up what is wanting in us. We stand in the face of others without having to take up all the space. We don’t have to dominate conversations or consume all the time or call the attention to ourselves. There is room, humility knows, for all of us in life. We are each an ember of the mind of God and we are each sent to illumine the other through the dark places of life to sanctuaries of truth and peace where God can be God for us because we have relieved ourselves of the ordeal of being god ourselves.”  -Joan Chittister, The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Cent

PRAYER 

Close your time in prayer for one another and by praying the Lord’s Prayer together.