Increasing Joy by Cultivating Unity

Discovering UnExpected Joy
Increasing Joy by Cultivating Unity
Philippians 2:1-5
Application Questions for Week 8

Great movements of God often begin in
seemingly insignificant ways!

1. Any group of Christians will involve people with different perspectives, opinions and personalities. Does genuine, relational unity require eliminating those personal differences? What four shared experiences serve as the right motivation for our exhortation to genuine relational unity?

2. Read verse one and consider this truth: genuine relational unity serves to increase Paul’s experience of joy. How can you cultivate greater joy in others within this congregation?

3. Read Philippians 2:2. What are the three things mentioned that reveal the nature of genuine, relational unity within the local church? What does it mean that the nature of our relational unity is harmony not complete unison? How does this apply to life in our homes as well as in our church?

4. Consider Philippians 2:3-5 again. What is rivalry and conceit? How does “rivalry and conceit” manifest themselves as unity-destroyers? What must be cultivated in our hearts for us to consider others as more important than ourselves? What does it look like to consider others “more significant” and to look out for “the interests of others”? Who is set forth as our model of self sacrifice? Is there a time when we must learn to say no to the demands of others?