Beacon2Light

Coffee cup commentary Read Philippians 4:10-20 According to Philippians 1:13, Paul was in prison with the location probably being Rome c. AD 60-62.  In Acts 28, we see that Paul was in a rented house, able to receive visitors with a single soldier serving as a guard, probably on a rotating basis. This would be a great place from which to write the Philippians and the house arrest would afford him much time to focus on writing. The passage in Philippians 4 makes it obvious that the Philippians had provided for Paul’s provisions repeatedly (v. 10). This latest generosity on their part was in Paul’s “distress” (v. 14), an apparent reference to his house arrest in Rome which may have included some initial deprivations (vs. 10, 12). However, their giving to Paul and his ministry began much earlier, from the time when he departed Macedonia (15) and again and again while he was spreading the gospel in Thessalonica (16). Evidently, the Philippians were concerned about Paul’s wel...

I am not a fan of this book.  Like many, it had some very helpful advice.  It did remind me of things that I ought to be doing or doing more often.  However, at times, I felt like Robert Morris had something against small churches and their pastors, seeing their size as evidence of lack of fruit and even giftedness or calling.  While not a blatant emphasis, there seemed to be the undercurrent of the health and wealth (a.k.a. prosperity) gospel; that if your church is thriving, then you are doing what God wants and if not, then the reason you are not flourishing lies in your unfaithfulness or lack of stewardship.  I would say that the book is helpful if you are starting a church.  All of the information and teaching on boards and the church’s organizational structure is fine if you are dealing with a ministry start-up or a church that is desperate to turn around.  For everyone else, that whole section is pretty much wishful thinking to get accom...