Family Discussions for a New School Year
*Scroll down to read DAY 1: Paul & Timothy & Their Letter.
“Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.”
Philippians 2:15,16 (NIV)
Why start the new school year studying Philippians as a family?
My answer: I want my students, my children, to shine like stars as they learn to hold firmly to the word of life!
Like many of you, I desire to seize upon the freshness of the fall routine and reinstate family time around the dinner table and a re-emphasis on the truth, value, & priority of God’s Word. So, let’s go for it!
I titled this family “discussions,” not “devotions,” because I personally associate the latter with… well, snack time, not dinner. Most of what we know as Christian devotionals are snacky — compare them to eating a small packet of gummies between meals: yummy to our tummies, appealing to our appetite for a quick fix, but in reality a short burst of mostly non-nutritional sugar rush that quickly fades. Just as we can’t live on gummies alone, we can’t live our spiritual lives on devotions alone. We need discussions for spiritual growth as families!
If that can happen with all of the family gathered around the dinner table, great! If it happens in the car on the way home from a cross country meet, more power to ya! Listen to the Bible in car line. Discuss and memorize Scripture while you wait for the school bus. Whether it happens in the living room together with the whole fam, or separately with each child in his/her bedroom, the point is to read the Bible with your children and discuss it. That simple, that straightforward… and yes, that hard to prioritize. This, like everything else that’s good for us, takes some self-discipline. [I’m not just talking to you. I’m telling these things to myself first!]
Drop the excuses. Lock your perfectionistic tendencies in a closet and lose the key. Just jump on board! Even if you abandon ship one week in, that is one week of Bible discussion you wouldn’t have had with your children if you had given in to the excuses (which I have already commanded you to drop. 😉 I may have been known as the bossy kid in my family when I was growing up… ).
DAY 1/MONDAY
Philippians 1:1-2
Paul & Timothy & Their Letter
“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)
Who was Paul?
Paul identifies himself here as “a servant of Christ Jesus.” He was an apostle of Christ (Romans 1:1). An apostle is a person who was specifically called by Christ, had seen Jesus in person after He was raised from the dead, helped set up the church under Christ, governed it under Him, and had authority to speak and write the words of God.
Paul is writing this letter, also called an epistle, to the Christian believers who live in Philippi, and his friend, brother-in-Christ, and fellow worker Timothy is with him. The words of the letter are God’s words given to Paul by the Holy Spirit.
He was known by two names: Saul, his Jewish name, and Paul, his Roman name. He was both a Jew and a Roman citizen. (All Jews were not Roman citizens; all Romans were not Jewish.) He will tell us more about himself as we read through Philippians. [See Phil. 3:4-6, for example.]
Who was Timothy?
Fast-forward to Phil. 2:19-23:
“I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, that I also may be cheered when I receive news about you. 20I have no one else like him, who will show genuine concern for your welfare. 21For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22But you know that Timothy has proved himself, because as a son with his father he has served with me in the work of the gospel. 23I hope, therefore, to send him as soon as I see how things go with me.”
Philippians 2:19-23 (NIV)
Timothy helped Paul in his ministry. Tim would give news about the churches to Paul when Paul could not go visit them himself. (Phil. 1:12-19 reveals that Paul was writing this letter while he was in prison!)
Timothy had genuine concern for the welfare of the Philippian Christians, and looked out for the interests of Jesus Christ, not his own interests!
Paul writes that Tim had proved himself by serving with him in the work of the gospel “as a son with his father.” Tim was like a son to Paul, a spiritual son; Paul was his spiritual father. They had a close relationship like father and son but were not actually related to one another.
Though they are very close, Paul is planning to send Timothy to Philippi to check on the Christians there in person for him.
How do we know this letter is real?
I don’t know if anyone else has a kid that seems to question everything he or she can’t see, but I do. This child truly has trouble believing without seeing. Here is a good opportunity to throw these kids a bone and begin preparing the other ones for questions they will likely be asked by their peers at some point!
The following includes four links with some brief info on biblical manuscripts. I have a tendency to dig too deeply and include more detail than necessary when it comes to these topics, so I limited myself to a quick search for our purposes here. If you have a child that wants more, please search for resources beyond these. Ask your church staff for help. Check out reliable apologetics websites (biblethinker.org; Stand to Reason; crossexamined.org; natashacrain.com). Find a trustworthy apologetics or archaeological study Bible (CSB Defend Your Faith Bible for Kids; CSB Apologetics Study Bible for Students). Your kid will not ask a question someone out there hasn’t addressed already, even if you haven’t thought of it. And you can always email me for help! As a big sister and the oldest grandchild in my family on both sides, I still get a thrill from being asked for advice. 😀 [Email me at unpostedlife@gmail.com.]
Where Can We Find the Biblical Manuscripts That Still Exist?
from blueletterbible.org
“There are many thousands of manuscripts that still exist which contain part of the biblical text. For example, thousands of Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament are in existence today. In addition, over 5,500 Greek manuscripts still exist. Add to this over 24,000 copies of versions, or translations, of Scripture are still in existence. These manuscripts can be found in various places around the world including museums, libraries and private collections.”
Ancient Manuscripts of the Bible
from drivethruhistory.com
“For the text of the New Testament, the ancient manuscript copies are even closer to the time of the original writings (than those of the Old Testament) and many more copies exist. At least 17 currently known New Testament manuscripts date to within 150 years of their original composition, with several being only decades from when one of the Apostles penned a Gospel or an Epistle. Papyrus 52, which contains part of John 18, dates to as early as 90 AD, which is probably less than 30 years after John originally wrote the Gospel…
Again, the ancient manuscripts of the Bible (specifically the New Testament) demonstrate how the Biblical books have been preserved over the centuries, and that even 2000 years later we can be confident that we have the exact words as they were originally written.”
Does the original Bible exist today?
from compellingtruth.org
“The Bible is not a single work but rather an anthology of 66 books written by approximately 40 authors over a 1,400-year period that ended nearly 2,000 years ago. As such, the original copies of these works have not lasted to today, though a large number of early copies allow us to reconstruct the text as it stood in its earliest form…
The New Testament includes even more textual evidence to support its accuracy. Its 27 books were composed between the AD 40s-90s. A fragment of the Gospel of John exists from approximately AD 125. More than 5,000 Greek manuscripts exist of New Testament writings, enabling comparison to allow a comprehensive reconstruction of the earliest text. The first complete New Testament, the Codex Sinaiticus, dates to the mid fourth century (325-360) and reveals that the New Testament writings had been in circulation as a group long before this time.
Further, early church leaders frequently quoted the New Testament’s writings in their own works. Clement of Rome, for example, wrote in the late first century and cites many of the Gospels and Paul’s writings. A harmony of the four Gospels existed in the second century.
In summary, while the original manuscripts of Scripture are no longer in existence, ample copies from early times exist to provide confidence that the text that exists today is what was originally composed.”
Take a Look for Yourself
Here’s a link to an actual manuscript page of Philippians 2: codex-sinaiticus.net!
DAY 1/MONDAY Prayer
Father God,
Thank You for Your Word. As we read, study, & discuss it together as a family, Lord, open our hearts & minds to Your truth that we may grow in our knowledge & understanding of You & Your will for each of us.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
*To read Praying Philippians for My Kids, click here.
DAY 1: The apostle Paul & his close friend & helper, Timothy, wrote a letter to fellow Christians in Philippi. We have proof this letter existed because there are many copies of it in existence today.
😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍MOMMY!!!
I love this it helped a lot!😀my hope is getting better I just know it
Amazing