Winning the Race

Philippians 3

Have you ever won a prize before?
Have you ever come first place at something?
Are you really good at something and often get lots of praise for it?

So was Paul!

Paul was brilliant at many things in his life. He was very popular, lived in a great area, had plenty of money and life was good. But… he didn’t believe in Jesus. In fact, he was really nasty about Jesus and said and did horrible things to people who did believe in him.

Thankfully, one day God spoke to Paul and blinded him for 3 DAYS!! But after 3 days, Paul saw the light. The light of day and the light of Jesus.

From then on, Paul decided to spend as much time as he possibly could with God. He wanted to understand Him. So he fasted, prayed, and listened – sometimes all night long!!

Once Paul knew God he wanted to tell everyone!!!

His friends, his family, people on the street, and even people he’d never met before. He would travel around as many places as he could and write as many letters as he could. He also made sure he told people who didn’t want to hear about it- brave move!

People got annoyed at Paul for talking about Jesus ALL the time—so they threw him in jail! Instead of moaning and grumbling or feeling sad, Paul saw it as a brilliant opportunity to tell more people about Jesus and rejoiced in this blessing!

They even threw rocks at him! But he was so focussed on Gods calling in his life he forgave them and carried on.

It’s nice to be good at something and get lots of praise, isn’t it? We all like it when someone says well done or notices when we do something well. It’s really important to encourage one another.

God gave us our talents and dreams, he wants us to thrive and always try our best. But he also wants us to remember that He is our prize. Our greatest aim and ambition is to please and love our God. Our biggest need is a fully restored relationship with God. Paul really understood this which is why he found joy when he was thrown in prison.

Chat

Think of all the things you are good at.
Think of things your friends and family are good at.

God blesses us with our gifts and talents and we must celebrate them.
Sometimes we can get carried away and become too focused on the things we are good at and forget about God. Sometimes we can boast about ourselves and how good we are instead of boasting about God.

What do you think humble means?
This is something Paul was very good at. As we know, Paul was good at many many things but he never boasted about it. Humble means not boasting and showing off about the things we are good at.

Pray

Help us to celebrate our gifts our talents but also to stay humble and only boast about you God.
Thank you for sending Paul to teach us that the prize only worth winning is you.
Help us to keep our eyes fixed on you and to keep focused on Gods calling in our lives.

Play

Why not play prisons and guards this week? you might like to build a big prison with pillows and blankets in your living room. Take it in turns to be Paul and the prison guard.
If you are Paul then talk about Jesus NONE STOP…without taking a breath! And remember Paul was probably overly joyful.

If you’re the prison guard then you could say ‘Sshhh’, roll your eyes, or make grumbling noises! You might also be confused why there’s such a happy man in prison?
Use your imagination and have fun!

Shine like Stars

In Philippians 2 Paul is telling us what it means to live like Christ. He writes a letter to the Philippians and tells them about Jesus’ humility.

What do you think humility means? Some of you will know and understand this word but others might find it a little tricky. That’s okay- have a go anyway.

Humility means putting others before yourself and giving things up for other people.

Jesus was humble and obeyed God completely. In fact, he made himself nothing and took on the nature of a servant! That means always putting others before yourself. And when we put our trust and hope in Jesus we also have to love others first.

How can we look after others and put others first?

Staying home from school is putting others first!
If you’re still in school, then washing your hands and keeping your distance is putting others first!
Not seeing your friends and family in lockdown is also putting others first!

But hang on…
What about when Covid disappears and things go back to normal again?

What can we do to value others more than ourselves then?

Maybe you could show humility by sharing your toys? Opening the door for someone and letting them go first? Saving the last biscuit for your brother or sister?

In v 14 it says we need to do all this Without grumbling or arguing!!!
Now, this is a tricky one! Not just for children but for adults too!

Mainly because our hearts are telling us we want to do something else. We want things to go OUR way and we think everything is about us. When actually, it’s about Jesus. We need to pray to Jesus and ask for his help. And through him, we can shine like stars in the sky. V15

Isn’t that lovely? Through Jesus, we can shine like stars in the sky!

Take some time now to be quiet.
Get comfy
You might like to Close your eyes to help you relax.

Think about the whole universe,
The Planets dotted around the darkness.

Think about the stars, so bright and beautiful- full of light.

Imagine God at the center of it all. Controlling everything.
God, the creator of all heaven and earth.

Sometimes we try and put ourselves at the center. Sorry God.

Our tiny little planet seems so small when we think about how big the universe is.

But Jesus loves our tiny planet and everyone on it. He wants us to shine like the stars in the sky.

Remember last week? We remembered how much Jesus loves us from the birds singing in the trees. Now it’s time to love others as Jesus loves us.

How can you love like Jesus? What can you do to put others before yourself?