Unity ARP Church - Sermons

Striving Together for the Faith

PHILIPPIANS 1:27-30 08/05/07

The apostle Paul, in the previous verses, sought to relieve the Philippians’ fears about what had happened to him. He had been arrested and put into prison, but he assured them that he would remain to help them in their faith. Paul was putting them on notice that he was coming to make another visit. Of course this would have been good news to this young church. At the same time, it would have caused them to consider their ways. After the letter was read to the church I can imagine some of them saying, “Praise the Lord! Paul is OK and he’s coming back to visit! Oh, oh, we better straighten up before he gets here!” You know how it is when the preacher comes by – some people might try to straighten up and give a good impression, I don’t know. But Paul wanted them to know that “whatever happened”, whether he came to see them or was absent, he wanted them to live worthy of the gospel and to stand together for the faith of the gospel.

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A Wonderful Dilemma

PHILIPPIANS 1:21-26 07/29/07

We are all faced with dilemmas of one kind or another every day. A dilemma, according to Webster’s, is “A situation that requires a choice between two evenly balanced alternatives both of which are usually unpleasant.” I believe that the current conflict in Iraq is a true dilemma. If we leave our troops there, we know that more of them will die. If we bring them all home now, we know that evil forces will have a better opportunity to collaborate to do our nation more harm. This dilemma should cause us to pray fervently for our troops, our president and for congress. But not all dilemmas are negative. The apostle Paul, even though he was in prison and chained to a Roman soldier, in his thinking faced a very wonderful dilemma. His decision was between two balanced alternatives, both of which were positive and profitable. It was a classic “win/win” situation.

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