Love Holds Us Together

Love Holds Us Together-Study Questions

1. Talk about a time in your life when you felt real togetherness (e.g. a sports team, a club, a workplace, etc.) What was it about that time that made you feel that sense of togetherness?
2. In Philippians 1:1-2, Paul addresses this church differently than he does any other church in other letters; he includes the whole church…church leaders and all church members and makes an identity statement…they are “in Christ”. Why do you think that is significant?
3. Why do you think it was important for the Philippians to remember that God brought them together?
4. Paul remembers the Philippians from the first day he met them and certainly remembers experiences with them that cause him to have joy and thankfulness. Whom are the people in the church you have had experiences with that have made you joyful and thankful and why do you feel that way about them?
5. Why do you think it is important that those memories drove Paul to pray for the Philippians?
6. Read Philippians 1:5 and Philippians 1:7, what do you think it means to be a partner in the gospel and partaker in grace and how should that impact our view of the church today?
7. Why do you think it is important to note that Paul doesn’t say it is “his love” that he has for the Philippians, it is the affection of Christ that he has for them?
8. Considering what was preached, what do you see as the significance of Philippians 1:6 at the heart of the passage and the claim that love holds us together?
9. Is there anything the Holy Spirit is prompting you to do as a result of this study?
10. Spend some time in prayer for each other using Philippians 1:9-11 for different aspects of your life (e.g., family, personal relationships, individuals, your church).