The apostle Paul was an extraordinary individual by any measure. From the moment he was introduced to Jesus by name in a blinding flash of light to his final days chained like an animal in a Roman dungeon, he relentlessly pursued Christ and preached the gospel entrusted to him. Paul's fervor could not be starved, smothered, nor drowned. No slander nor accusation could sideline him. No beating with rods could silence the melody of his midnight song. The power of the Holy Spirit that first came gently to Europe in a riverside prayer-gathering soon burgeoned into an earthquake beneath a jailhouse, loosing the chains of every prisoner and dousing a jailer and his household in the waters of baptism. What kind of mindset makes a person like Paul--unstoppable in love, faith, and good works even in a steady flow of frustration, conflict, and opposition? What keeps a person from becoming cynical when people are notoriously exploiting the gospel and preaching Christ out of selfish ambition? Paul's brief letter to the saints in Philippi may well capture the mindset that set him apart like no other piece of correspondence from his pen. The book of Philippians is exhortation driven by unabashed affection, inviting the reader to join in imitating his joyful, single-minded pursuit of Jesus. Come along with Beth and Melissa in this four-week, five-session study of Philippians. By the power of the same Holy Spirit who took the gospel to Europe by way of Philippi, discover what Paul magnificently called The Surpassing Value of Knowing Christ.
