Today is the day
Stop counting the days until.
Be thankful for now.
- Not natural. Contentment is learned.
- Offer thanks. It’s the secret. ★
- Wherever God has you: your role, your people, what you have.
Did you know?
Our minds wander almost half the time, and we’re less happy when they do (Harvard, 2010).Each morning, write down three specific things you’re thankful for. Nothing else. Pray and thank God for those three. Personal, real, not general.
Set phone reminders for 9:00, 12:00 and 3:00. When they pop up, thank God again.
Adds 15 reminders to your phone’s calendar: three a day, Monday through Friday. Then they stop.
“God, you know what’s going on. You know me. Lead me through today and into tomorrow, doing what I can and not obsessing about what I can’t. Make me content. Give me a thankful heart.”
Contentment is learned. Thankfulness is the secret.
Make a Thanksgiving card
Save it or text it to family.
Tip: press and hold the card to save it to your photos.
Background
Optional. For after the message or this week. Tap a topic.
The story behind the letter
- The church began with Lydia, by a river in Philippi (Acts 16:13–15)
- Paul and Silas jailed, singing at midnight (Acts 16:25)
- Years later: a riot in Jerusalem; a Roman commander rescues Paul (Acts 21:30–32)
- A plot to kill him; 470 soldiers move him out at night (Acts 23:12–24)
- Two years in custody in Caesarea (Acts 24:27)
- He appeals to Caesar (Acts 25:11)
- Shipwreck (Acts 27) and a snakebite he survives (Acts 28:3–6)
- House arrest in Rome, about AD 60–62, where he writes Philippians (Acts 28:30)
- An expert in trouble, and an expert in peace.
Who wrote it, and from where
- Paul, with Timothy (1:1)
- Written under house arrest, chained to a Roman guard (1:13; Acts 28:16, 30)
- Most likely Rome, about AD 60–62
Why Paul wrote it
- To thank them for a gift (4:10–18)
- To send Epaphroditus home after he nearly died (2:25–30)
- To help two women make peace (4:2–3)
- To encourage joy under pressure (1:27–30)
The city of Philippi
- A Roman colony in northern Greece
- Home to many retired Roman soldiers
- Proud of Roman citizenship. Paul: “Our citizenship is in heaven” (3:20)
- Paul’s first church in Europe (Acts 16)
Where our passage fits
- Right after a church conflict (4:2–3)
- Right before Paul’s thank-you note (4:10–20)
- Peace for real people, not just an idea
“Content” in Paul’s world
- Greek autarkēs: “self-sufficient”
- A favorite word of Stoic philosophers
- Paul changes it: sufficient through Christ (4:13)
What 4:13 really means
- Not “I can win anything”
- “All this” = content in need or in plenty (4:12)
Joy in a letter written in chains
- “Joy” and “rejoice” appear about 16 times
- Written in chains
How the church in Philippi began · Acts 16
- Paul sees a vision: “Come over to Macedonia” (16:9)
- Lydia, a businesswoman, is the first to believe (16:14–15)
- A slave girl is set free (16:16–18)
- Paul and Silas are beaten and jailed (16:22–24)
- At midnight they pray and sing hymns (16:25)
- An earthquake, and the jailer’s family believes (16:26–34)
Everything Paul went through · 2 Corinthians 11
- Prison, again and again
- Whipped five times, beaten with rods three times
- Stoned once
- Shipwrecked three times, a night and a day in the open sea
- Hungry, thirsty, cold, without sleep
- Daily worry for all the churches (11:23–28)
📘 For deeper study: Philippians (Christian Standard Commentary) by Richard R. Melick Jr. View on Amazon › Opens in a new tab, so your notes stay open.
Go deeper this week
Monday · This is the day · Psalm 118:24
“The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.”
Tuesday · Tomorrow can wait · Matthew 6:34
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Wednesday · Singing in prison · Acts 16:22–34
How the church in Philippi began: Paul and Silas, beaten and chained, praying and singing hymns at midnight.
Thursday · Give thanks in everything · 1 Thessalonians 5:16–18
“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Friday · God is “I AM” · John 8:58
“Before Abraham was born, I am!”
Not “I was.” “I am.” God meets you in the present.
Saturday · Number your days · Psalm 90:12
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
My notes
Keep your notes
Send yourself all of Pastor Rick’s notes (every point, the Scripture and the main ideas) with your notes included, in one email.
Your notes are saved on this phone only.
🔒 Private by design. Nothing you write is sent to us, kept or used. Your notes stay on your phone, and the email goes only where you send it.