There are two things that every human being has to face from the moment they are born. That is life and death. I don’t believe you are ready to live until you are ready to die. I also don’t believe you are ready to die until you are ready to live. I believe that Jesus is the only one who can truly get you ready for both. When Paul was in prison, he had to go to sleep every night ready to die the next morning. But even in this terrible set of circumstances, he continued to rejoice because he recognized that his life was in Christ, and to die was gain. In this message, I want to walk through the different things we gain when we die, so that we can live our lives unafraid of death.
Topics: Death, Eternal Life
Philippi was an ancient city in Northern Greece that, in its day, was a bustling metropolitan city with a strong industrial base and a great economy. Paul visited there around 50 A.D. and founded the first church in Europe there. In the book of Philippians in the New Testament, Paul is writing to this church from prison ten years later. If Paul had a favorite church, this might have been it. And as we study this letter to the church at Philippi, you will find out why. This church was overflowing with joy, and there is a lot we can learn about to live our lives joyfully as we read Paul’s words to the Philippians. In this series, we are going to take a closer look at Paul’s words of encouragement to this church, and in doing so, I believe we will be encouraged as well to find joy, capture joy, and spread joy as we follow Christ.
