Sermon text:  Phillippians 1: 1-14

Philippians 1

Thanksgiving

 1Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons:

 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

 3I thank my God in all my remembrance of you,

 4always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all,

 5in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now.

 6For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

 7For it is only right for me to feel this way about you all, because I have you in my heart, since both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers of grace with me.

 8For God is my witness, how I long for you all with the affection of Christ Jesus.

 9And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in real knowledge and all discernment,

 10so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ;

 11having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.

The Gospel Is Preached

 12Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,

 13so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,

 14and that most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear.