Big Idea: We can have great joy and love for our family of believers, and pray for and encourage each other as we grow to be more like Jesus.

Bible Passage: Philippians 1:1-11

Parent Prep: As we begin our new series in Philippians, it is helpful to know a little about the city of Philippi. It was a prominent city of Macedonia in its day. Paul was on his missionary journey when he has a dream about a man in Philippi saying, "Come to Macedonia and help us." (Acts 16:9). Paul listens, and so they go. There he goes by the river to meet some people praying, where he meets Lydia. She becomes a believer, and is baptised, as is her whole household. Then after Paul and Silas are met with opposition for preaching, they are beaten and thrown in prison. There we read the story of the earthquake- the jail crumbles around them, and the jailer in charge of Paul and Silas becomes a believer, too. His household members also are baptised and follow Jesus. Shortly after, Paul and Silas are ushered out of town. They are only there a few days, yet a small number of people believe in Jesus, and from there, an apparent flourishing church grows – we read about how proud Paul is of his brothers and sisters throughout the book of Philippians – the letter he wrote to them. To learn more about the book of Philippians, consider watching this Bible Project video.

Read Philippians 1:1-11 together in a children's Bible, or this easy-to-read version here.

Talk

In a Bible with a map, or on Google Maps here, find where Philippi is together. Have a look at a map of Paul's Missionary Journey either in a Bible, or here. Watch what happened to Paul and Silas while they were in Philippi, here, and here. Lots of hard and bad things happened to Paul in Philippi! Yet when we read his letter to the church there, he says he cares for them, thinks of them with great joy and prays for them as often as he remembers them! 

1) Highlight or underline "I thank my God every time I remember you." Even though Paul had such a hard time visiting Philippi, he remembers his time and the people there with joy. Why is that? Look for the answer in verse 5. "Because of your help/partnership witin the gospel/good news."  He remembers his time with the believers in Philippi as a joyful time, because they celebrated the gospel together. He could have remembered the hard times and the bad things that happened, but he chooses to celebrate the joy of the people coming to know Jesus. They are now his special forever friends!

2) Highlight or underline together in your Bibles, the words "In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy." in verse 4. Paul prays for his special friends in Philippi. He cares for them, so he prays for them as much as he can – even though he is in jail facing his own troubles!

3) Highlight or underline "And this is my prayer. That your love will grow more and more, and that you will have knowledge and understanding with your love." Paul prays that the people's love for Jesus and each other will keep on growing. And he prays that people would grow to know more and more about Jesus and His ways. He is confident and brave in His prayer, because he knows that "The work that God began, He will continue it until it is complete on the day when Jesus Christ comes again." God promises to help keep growing us to be more like Him.

Listen

1) Who are we thankful for? Who is in our church family that encourage us and support us to be worshipping Jesus? Have you travelled through hard times with these people? Can you think of a time it was hard, but God used it to grow you closer to Him and others in your church family?

2) Do we pray for these people? Do we care about them and serving them as much as we care about ourselves? Do our own worries keep us from praying for other people in our church family? How can we be praying for another family in our church? Who in our church needs help this week?

3) God promises to grow and grow our love. We can pray this for others. We can also ask it for each other. God promises to grow our love and knowledge of Him through our reading His Word, and worshipping Him with others in our church family. Which families can we pray for this week that God would grow and grow their love for God, and help them know Him better?

Do

Ask another family in the church for a family photo, or print one off of social media. Consider giving that family a photo of your family and asking them to do this activity with you. Stick the photo on the fridge, and this week, as often as you think of them, or see the photo, pray that God would grow and grow their love, and help them know Him more through His word and their worship of Him.

See you Sunday!