The Way Of The Cross.
Week #3: The Goodness Of Giving Yourself Away.
Opening Reflection.
Where have you seen God at work in your life this week?
Share any brief examples and encouragements.
If then there is any encouragement in Christ, any consolation from love, any sharing in the Spirit, any compassion and sympathy, make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests, but to the interests of others. Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:1-8
You might like to watch again the short film, Liberating Fire, about the lives and ministry of Bob and Gracie Ekblad. You can find it using the link: here.
1. How would you define ‘the good life’? You might want to think about it not just in terms of what you enjoy, but also, what gives you meaning? How would you like your life to be remembered?
2. How do you feel about following Jesus on the pathway of kenosis (the Greek word that theologians use to refer to Jesus’s ‘self-emptying’, and which we could interpret as, ‘deliberate intentional downward mobility’)?
3. Read Philippians 2:1-8 again. What do you think your life would look like if you really took this seriously? How might it be different?
4. All of us have probably invested at least some time in considering what it means to live our best lives. How does the Apostle Paul re-define success for followers of Christ?
5. How do we meaningfully ‘look to the interests of others’ without being patronising and annoying?
Pray for one another.
Is there anything you will take away from this study and discussion? What has stood out that you can take into your week ahead?
Pray together (in pairs or small groups) for each other, in response to your answers.
