Phil 3:17–21
Sermon Preview
We are all imitators. From infancy, we look at those around us and learn how to speak, how to walk, and even what to think. No one needs to tell us to imitate others, because God has created us this way. God created us to bear his image as we imitate his creative work by fulfilling the creation mandate (Gen 1:27–28). The burden on Paul’s mind, then—when he wrote his letter to the Philippians—was not that they would learn to be imitators, but that they would imitate the right people. This is the theme of Philippians 3:17–21, our text for this coming Sunday.
Paul writes, “Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us” (Phil 3:17). Paul has a certain pattern of life in mind when he says this. Since the end of chapter one, Paul has been holding up the pattern of life formed around Jesus and his cross-work, and calling the Philippians and us to follow that pattern. This weekend, we’ll look at this pattern of life once again and see the danger that comes not in rejecting the doctrines of the cross, but in rejecting a way of life conformed to the cross. Join us this Sunday at 10 am at the Skyline Plaza.