UPDATE: You can now get the Philippians Community Commentary, enhanced with additional Bible study tools, on Kindle!

It’s likely that the first time the Gospel was preached in all of Europe, it was done by Paul in Philippi. And that was an interesting trip (see Acts 16)…

After being “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia,” Paul and his entourage arrived in Philippi to convert Lydia, get arrested for casting out demons, and subsequently convert the jailer after an earthquake flung open the doors to the prison cells. So the European church was born!

And it was to this church that Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians.

In this online group study on the epistle, we’ll be working through the entire book one passage at a time. Bloggers and writers from various backgrounds will lead us through the discussion as if we were sitting in someone’s living room together talking through this amazing piece of Scripture.

Here’s our posting schedule:

• Introduction to Philippians – Mark Lafler

• 1:1-11 [Greeting, Thanksgiving and Prayer] – Rachel Slough
• 1:12-18a [The Advance of the Gospel] – Lyla Lindquist
• 1:18b-30 [To Live Is Christ] – Dave Moser

• 2:1-11 [Christ’s Example of Humility] – Ryan Tate
• 2:12-18 [Lights in the World] – Diana Trautwein
• 2:19-30 [Timothy and Epaphroditus] – Joshua Gillies

• 3:1-11 [Righteousness Through Faith in Christ] – Ayomide Akinkugbe
• 3:12-21 [Straining Toward the Goal] – Eric Swalberg

• 4:1-9 [Exhortation, Encouragement, and Prayer] – Sheila Lagrand
• 4:10-20 [God’s Provision] – Ashley Pichea
• 4:21-23 [Final Greetings] – Evan Dawson

So stay tuned for some great discussion, and please feel free to jump into the comments and share your thoughts! In the meantime, here are a few things that you can do right now…

• Read the Epistle to the Philippians in it’s entiretyseveral times. In order to best understand individual statements in Paul’s writing, it helps to get a good feel for the the tone of the whole book. I recommend  that you read it at least three times, once in each of the different styles of translations:
  • Literal (word-for-word) translation like ESV
  • Dynamic equivalent (thought-for-thought) translation like NIV
  • Paraphrase (free) translation like The Message
• Subscribe to updates. Get the latest posts in this series in your email inbox or favorite feed reader. This is the best way to keep up with everything!
• Tweet it up! Follow @bibledude and retweet updates from this event. If you want to share your own tweets, make sure that you use the #philippians hashtag.
• Check out our amazing team of contributors:
  • Mark Lafler – READ Editor at BibleDude.net
  • Rachel Slough (@rslough)
    
  • Lyla Lindquist (@lwlindquist) – Blogger at A Different Story
  • Dave Moser (@arm_theology) – Blogger at Armchair Theology
  • Ryan Tate (@taterhouse) – Blogger at The Compelling Parade
  • Diana Trautwein – Blogger at DRGT / Just Wondering…
  • Josh Gillies (@whitefrozen) – Blogger at The Outpost
  • Ayomide Akinkugbe (@ayostephens) – Blogger at The Voice
  • Eric Swalberg (@EricSwalberg) – Blogger at Journey of Words
  • Sheila Lagrand – Blogger at Godspotting with Sheila
  • Ashley Pichea (@apichea) – Blogger at L.I.F.E. by Ashley Pichea
  • Evan Dawson (@thirdoptionmen) – Blogger at Third Option Men