09/29/2019 DAB Transcript

Isaiah 57:15-59:21, Philippians 1:1-26, Psalms 71:1-24, Proverbs 24:9-10

Today is the 29th day of September. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is great to be here with you as we walk into a new week together. And, obviously, it’s the 29th of the month. So, before this week is out, we’ll be in a new month together. And on top of all of that, we’re beginning a new week, but also beginning a new book, actually a new letter in the New Testament, the letter to the Philippians and we’ll talk about that when we get there, but first we’re continuing our journey through the book of Isaiah. And this week we’ll read from the Christian Standard Bible. Today, Isaiah chapter 57 verse 15 through 59 verse 21.

Introduction to the book of Philippians:

Okay. So, as promised, we’re gonna begin a new letter today, now that we’ve reached the New Testament portion of our time together. So, we finished Paul’s letter, his epic, short but epic letter to the Ephesians, which brings us to Philippians. And with Philippians there’s very little debate among biblical scholars about Paul’s authorship of this letter, and there’s not much debate about Paul’s incarceration when he wrote this letter. Most would agree that Philippians was written somewhere around 61 A.D. from Rome while Paul was awaiting trial before the Emperor. And, so, with this in mind, we realize that were again reading another very early Christian writing that predates the Gospels and for that matter the book of Acts. So, Philippi was a city and its inhabitants were noticed Philippians and it was a Roman colony in Macedonia, which is now like northern Greece and even though Philippi itself was a prosperous city, the church that was planted, those people were not particularly wealthy but they loved, they were rich in love and rich in their concern for the apostle Paul. And, so, in part, this letter to the Philippians is a thank you. Knowing that Paul had been imprisoned in Rome the church at Philippi sent a person named Epaphroditus who was a member of the congregation all the way to Rome to see how he was doing to just like to bring him a gift from the congregation and to lift his spirits. And, so, obviously, Paul was overjoyed. Obviously, he took comfort in that. And Epaphroditus stayed for long time just helping, serving, caring for Paul’s needs. He’s is imprisoned so his mobility is limited, but Epaphroditus got really sick, just about died. And, so, when he was restored to health. Again, Paul was determined to send him back to Philippi and he sent them back with this letter, which shares of his circumstances. So, that gives us a little bit of context but Philippians this is quite a bit more than just a mission’s update, like a newsletter. In Philippians Paul gives language to the joy that we find in our salvation more than any of his other letters, he talks about this and encourages us to persevere, knowing that we actually can do all things through Christ who strengthens us, which is one of the most famous verses in the Scriptures, and it’s found in the letter to the Philippians so we’ll encounter it. I mean joy…joy like actual pure joy…that’s in kind of in short supply around the world. And in these kind of times Philippians is like a light house, like a beacon leading us back to where true hope and joy can actually be found, which is in Christ alone. So, we begin. Philippians chapter 1 verses through 26 today.

Prayer:

Father we thank You for Your word and we thank You for its guidance in our lives, that it is a lamp to our feet, a light to our path. And, so, Father as we begin this letter to the Philippians and continue our journey through Isaiah, as we look forward into the new month we invite Your Holy Spirit to continue to guide us forward, guide us in our thoughts, and our words, and our deeds as we greet this new week, we pray. In Jesus’ name we ask. Amen.

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