For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the compassion of Christ Jesus. And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you to determine what is best, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.
Philippians 1: 8-11
Let us go back again to one of the places where the Christian church began—Philippi, in Greece. In his message to the people at Philippi, the apostle Paul has much to say to the new Christians who are a part of this faith community. Paul’s message was of love. Yet, Paul was not always welcome in Philippi and was a prisoner of the Romans on at least one occasion.
Would you (or your family) have been “outsiders” at Philippi? The Advent story has introduced centuries of people—“insiders” and “outsiders”—to the Christian community. Through the church many people have recognized God’s grace through God’s Son. Is there someone in your community of friends, co-workers, or neighbors who might need to hear or hear again the Advent story?
