Philippians: Shine Like Stars – DAY 5
Family Discussions for a New School Year
[It took me less than 7 min. to read this aloud. This info is for those of you out there like me who feel like you don’t have time to read a whole anything aloud to your family. I know I’m not the only one… 😉 ]
**This is DAY 5. For WEEK 1 discussions, click here.
DAY 5/MONDAY
Philippians 1:1-2
God Our Father & the Lord Jesus Christ
“Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,
To all God’s holy people in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
2Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Philippians 1:1-2 (NIV)
What does it mean that God is our Father?
After salvation, our relationship with God is similar to that of a loving father with His children. He so loves us that He disciplines us when we need it, but He also provides for all our needs, comforts us, protects us, and blesses us with good things we don’t need. We are to respect and obey Him as the One in utmost authority over us, as well as love Him as our confidante, the One we can ask anything and tell anything and trust with everything.
Adopted as Children
“But then the chosen time came. God sent His Son (Jesus). A woman (Mary) gave birth to Him. He was born under the authority of the law. 5He came to set free those who were under the authority of the law. He wanted us to be adopted as children with all the rights children have. 6Because you are His children, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. He is the Holy Spirit. By His power we call God ‘Abba.’ ‘Abba’ means Father. 7So you aren’t a slave any longer. You are God’s child. Because you are His child, God gives you the rights of those who are His children.”
Galatians 4:4-7 (NIrV)
*To read these verses in the NIV, NLT, & ESV, click here.
In our culture, it is popular to say “We are all God’s children.” This is not what the Bible says. God created everyone, but only those who trust in Jesus as their Lord & Savior become His children.
Children of God
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
I John 3:1-2 (NIV)
“The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.” John the apostle writes in his gospel that “The Word (Jesus) was in the world. And the world was made through Him. But the world did not recognize Him” (John 1:10, NIrV); however…
“Some people did accept Him (Jesus) and did believe in His name. He gave them the right to become children of God. 13To be a child of God has nothing to do with human parents. Children of God are not born because of human choice or because a husband wants them to be born. They are born because of what God does.”
John 1:12-13 (NIrV)
Those of us who accept Jesus Christ as God’s Son and believe in Him as our Savior & Lord are the only ones who have “the right to become children of God.”
*For more on this topic, click here to read People Can Miss the Obvious.
“Some people did accept Him and did believe in His name. He gave them the right to become children of God.”
John 1:12 (NIrV)
The world is blind to the good news about God & Jesus.
Paul, like John in the verses we read above, wrote about the world not knowing Christ as Lord.
“The god of this world has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They can’t see the light of the good news that makes Christ’s glory clear. Christ is the likeness of God. 5The message we (the apostles) preach is not about ourselves. Our message is about Jesus Christ. We say that He is Lord. And we say that we serve you because of Jesus.”
II Corinthians 4:4-5 (NIrV)
Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “We say He is Lord.” This leads to our next question…
What does it mean that Jesus Christ is Lord?
“What a friend we have in Jesus” — that’s true. But Jesus is also our Master, our Commander, the One we serve. He said:
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14You are My friends if you do what I command. 15I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you. 16You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in My name the Father will give you. 17This is my command: Love each other.”
John 15:12-17 (NIV)
We are servants that our Master, Jesus, calls “friends”… if we do what our Lord commands: “Love each other.” (We will get more specific about this when we study Philippians 2.)
We have a new Master.
“Don’t give any part of yourself to serve sin. Don’t let any part of yourself be used to do evil. Instead, give yourselves to God. You have been brought from death to life. So give every part of yourself to God to do what is right. 14Sin will no longer control you like a master. That’s because the law does not rule you. God’s grace has set you free.”
Romans 6:13-14 (NIrV)
God’s grace has set us free from slavery to sin. We don’t have to let sin control us anymore!
Slaves to right living
“If you are slaves of sin, then you will die. But if you are slaves who obey God, then you will live a godly life. 17You used to be slaves of sin. But thank God that with your whole heart you obeyed the teachings you were given! 18You have been set free from sin. You have become slaves to right living.”
Romans 6:16-18 (NIrV)
If we obey God, we can now live a godly life.
Eternal life instead of death
“You have been set free from sin. God has made you His slaves. The benefit you gain leads to holy living. And the end result is eternal life. 23When you sin, the pay you get is death. But God gives you the gift of eternal life. That’s because of what Christ Jesus our Lord has done.”
Romans 6:22-23 (NIrV)
- Serving sin leads to death.
- Serving God leads to life — eternal life!
All praise to Christ Jesus our Lord for making it possible for us to be free from sin’s control!!!
“Our message is about Jesus Christ. We say that He is Lord.”
II Corinthians 4:5 (NIrV)
Our Relational God
The God of the Bible, the One & Only God, is a relational God. He wants to adopt us into His family so He can be our heavenly Father. Jesus wants to free us from our slavery to sin so He can be our Lord & Master, our Boss who is also our Best Friend… if we do what He commands: Love each other.
DAY 5/MONDAY Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for Your Word; “You have the words of eternal life!” (John 6:68).
The fact that You want to be our Father, to adopt us into Your eternal family as sons & daughters, overwhelms us with awe! Thank You for lavishing Your great love on us that we may be called the children of God (I John 3:1).
Jesus, You are the Boss of us now; You are our Lord. Help us to obey You each & every day by loving each other, starting with those right here with us in our family.
In Your name,
Amen.
*To read Praying Philippians for My Kids, click here.
**To read WEEK 1 family discussions, click here.
DAY 5: The God of the Bible, the One & Only God, is a relational God. He wants to adopt us into His family so He can be our heavenly Father. Jesus wants to free us from our slavery to sin so He can be our Lord & Master, our Boss who is also our Best Friend… if we do what He commands: Love each other.