Christ How these assurances a ect the believer’s aims and aspirations? V THEME, KEY WORDS AND VERSES Write a list of key words and phrases that best represent Paul’s emphases in this letter Then identify a theme, and choose a key verse that reflects that theme Chart 86 shows 1:21 as a key verse One writer has commented on this verse: “This outlook on life transformed misery into melody, prisons into palaces, and Roman soldiers into souls to be won for Christ.”7 VI APPLICATIONS Have you ever wondered what the author of a New Testament book was thinking about during the minutes after he nished writing? Here is how one writer has reconstructed the scene in Paul’s prison quarters after the apostle had nished dictating his Philippian letter: The voice is silent; the pen is laid aside In due time the papyrus roll, inestimable manuscript, is made ready for its journey And perhaps a s it now lies drying, the Missionary and his brethren turn to further conversation on the beloved Philippian Church, and recall many a scene in the days that are over … and they speak again of the brightness of the Philippian Christian life, and the shadows that lie on it here and there; and then, while the Praetorian sentinel looks on in wonder, or perhaps joins in as a believer, they pray together for Philippi, and pour out their praises to the Father and the Son, and anticipate the day of glory.8 That was almost two thousand years ago Only God knows how many lives the letter has touched since Like all Scripture, it is always new, always contemporary Has it spoken to your heart? Write a list of applications that you have derived from the letter in the course of your survey What does Philippians teach about these experiences and areas of Christian living: joy in Christ sufficiency in Christ industry and rewards justifiable motives? VII REVIEW QUESTIONS What made the geographical location of Philippi a strategic one? How would you describe a typical citizen of this Macedonian city? What was Paul’s rst contact in Philippi? What picture you have of the Philippian congregation when Paul wrote the epistle? How many years had intervened between the rst conversions at Philippi and the writing of the letter? What was Luke’s interest and ministry in Philippi? Where was Paul when he wrote Philippians? What persecution had he experienced in Philippi on his rst visit to the city? Relate these two observations to the keynote of joy in the epistle What were Paul’s purposes in writing ... drying, the Missionary and his brethren turn to further conversation on the beloved Philippian Church, and recall many a scene in the days that are over … and they speak again of the brightness of the. .. and the shadows that lie on it here and there; and then, while the Praetorian sentinel looks on in wonder, or perhaps joins in as a believer, they pray together for Philippi, and pour out their... your heart? Write a list of applications that you have derived from the letter in the course of your survey What does Philippians teach about these experiences and areas of Christian living: joy