A lot of people say that Philippians is their favorite New Testament book, probably because the community was a favorite of Paul’s. There’s a sense of joy that pervades the letter, which is strange because he’s writing from prison. The challenges it poses are as relevant today as they were 2000 years ago: letting our thinking be changed, how to celebrate amid suffering and keeping our eye and heart on something greater than ourselves.

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Tags: Robert Frost, Anais Nin, Koinonia, Fake News, Good News

Winnipeg readers might remember a popular call-in radio show from the ’70’s called “Beefs and Bouquets.” For 30 seconds, callers could air praise or complaints about something going on in the community. In this spirit, Watershed’s teacher/pastor Paul Patterson thought it’d be fun to write to the 1st century writer of Philippians. Paul the Apostle was a gifted writer and visionary, but he could also be a name-caller and a bragger.

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Tags: Philippians 3:1-7, Youth For Christ, Beefs and Bouquets, Gains and Losses

We’ve come to the last Philippians blogpost, and this week our topic is the ‘Christ Hymn’ in chapter 2. During the 10-week course, it has come up several times, and we couldn’t end without circling back to it just one more time. Its poetic description of the gospel story has been described as the center of gravity not just for Philippians but for all of Paul’s theology. Or to use a musical term, it’s like the overture for the whole book.

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Tags: Bugs Bunny, Philippians 2:5-11, Cynthia Bourgeault, Michael J. Gorman