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Intro<\/h3>\nIntro<\/h3>\nPhilippi was the first European church ever established, which makes it the oldest church in Europe. It was named after Philip II of Macedon, who was the father of Alexander the Great.<\/p>\n
It was later conquered by the Romans and among its distinctive characteristics was the fact that many Roman soldiers made it the place where they retired.<\/p>\n
Among the first converts to Christianity in Philippi were a slave (Acts 16:16-18), a woman (Acts 16:14), and a Roman (Acts 16:30). This is significant given the traditional prayer (Birkot Hashachar)<\/a> said by Jewish men in the morning when they thanked God for being neither a slave, a woman, nor a Gentile.<\/p>\n Paul would address that dynamic specifically in Galatians 3:28.<\/p>\n Philippi was a special situation. Not only was it the scene were some significant people got save, but it was also here that Paul and Silas were arrested and thrown in prison after witnessing to the slave girl in Acts 16:16-18.<\/p>\n Paul had a special connection to this church and you can hear it in his letter. It\u2019s been a decade since he had been there, but you can tell by the way he opens his letter, that those memories still bring a smile to his face.<\/p>\n In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray\u00a0with joy\u00a05\u00a0<\/sup>because of your partnership\u00a0in the gospel from the first day\u00a0until now,\u00a0 (Phil 1:4)<\/strong><\/p>\n It\u2019s significant that Paul is \u201cjoyful,\u201d given the fact that he was under house arrest.<\/p>\n “Spiritual joy \u2026 is not an attitude dependent on chance or circumstances. It is a deep and abiding confidence that, regardless of one\u2019s circumstances in life, all is well between the believer and the Lord. No matter what difficulty, pain, disappointment, failure, rejection, or other challenge one is facing, genuine joy remains because of that eternal well-being established by God\u2019s grace in salvation. Thus, Scripture makes it clear that the fullest, most lasting, and satisfying joy is derived from a true relationship with God (John MacArthur)<\/em><\/p>\n We share a bond in the context of our relationship with Christ.<\/p>\n During this time, anyone who would not declare Caesar as Lord was, by default, at odds with the Roman Empire. So, while the date of Paul\u2019s letter to the Philippian church is before Nero\u2019s widespread persecution of Christianity, being a Christian during this time made you an enemy of both Rome and the Jewish church.<\/p>\n 9\u00a0<\/sup>And this is my prayer: that your love\u00a0may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,\u00a010\u00a0<\/sup>so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,\u00a011\u00a0<\/sup>filled with the fruit of righteousness\u00a0that comes through Jesus Christ\u2014to the glory and praise of God. (Phil 1:9-11)<\/strong><\/p>\n 1 Jn 4:1 says:<\/p>\n Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but\u00a0test\u00a0the\u00a0spirits\u00a0to see whether\u00a0they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into\u00a0the\u00a0world. (1 Jn 4:1)<\/strong><\/p>\n A record number<\/a> of Muslim American candidates have won their 2026 primary contests and are advancing to November\u2019s midterm elections, a shift that has moved the community from the political margins toward the center of several closely watched races \u2014 even as candidates face intensifying anti-Muslim attacks. (<\/p>\n There are 1.2 billion Muslims in the world. The radicals are estimated to be between 16% and 25% according to most of the intelligence around the world. That means you have between\u00a0180 and 300 million<\/a>\u00a0people dedicated to the destruction of Western civilization. Just to give you some perspective, the number of people in the US is\u00a0320 million<\/a>.\u00a0Connect the dots and you have the equivalent to an entire nation determined to see the US cease to exist. That by itself\u00a0should be\u00a0enough to give decision makers pause.<\/p>\n How can you tell if the Muslim that\u2019s running for office is a militant?<\/p>\n You can\u2019t.<\/p>\n Militant Muslims have terrorized Western Civilization and America in particular for centuries. Moderates are conflicted in their ability to denounce it because it\u2019s not a political dispute that fuels the militant\u2019s resolve. It is a religious zeal that has targeted America since the 18th<\/sup> century (Shores of Tripoli<\/a>).<\/p>\n There is a dangerous disposition on the part of those who are currently with the current administration to support a doctrine that is fundamentally evil.<\/p>\n You\u2019re not being Christlike by being indifferent, nor are you loving your neighbor by enabling their evil resolve.<\/p>\nJoy<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What\u2019s a time in your life when you can remember feeling \u201cjoyful,\u201d even though you had every reason to be either disappointed or frustrated?<\/div>\n\u00a0<\/em>Partnership<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What is it about being in the company of another believer that often translates into an easy rapport?<\/div>\nWhat is it about having to deal with a crisis together that creates a bond between people?<\/div>\nInsight<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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