Philippians 4:4-9

...the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus...

Read Philippians 4:4-7

• Discuss each of these key words from these verses

Rejoice

Gentleness

Prayer & Petition

Thanksgiving

Peace of God

• What is the value of each thing to you?

  • Do you have any stories that illustrate how important this thing is?

• How do we pursue more of each thing...

  • In our personal walk with Jesus?

  • As a community?

• How does joy, gentleness, prayer and thanksgiving help us with our worries and anxieties? Do you seek these things out when you feel worried/anxious, or do you have other responses to those things?

• How does God's peace guard our hearts and minds? Why do you think Paul uses that word in particular?

Paul offers still further instruction for experiencing God's peace in all circumstances:

Read Philippians 4:8-9

• What sorts of things does Paul think we should occupy our minds with? [1]

  • Are these the things you usually occupy your mind with? What have you observed happens in your heart and mind when you spend time thinking or talking about these sorts of things?

  • Social Media and the news are full of things that are, as Tom Wright puts it, "untrue, unholy, unjust, impure, ugly, of ill repute, vicious and blameworthy". Why do you think our attention is so often drawn to those things?

  • What are some practical steps you can take to continually refocus your attention on things that reflect God's goodness - things that we can 'rejoice' about?

• How does thinking this way help us to better experience the transcendent peace of God?

Spend some time rejoicing together - brainstorm as many things as you can think of that are reflective of the words in verse 8, and thank God for them together.

Then, bring your prayers and petitions before God and invite His peace to dwell among you.

[1] for a deeper understanding of what each of the attributes Paul lists in verse 8, it's can be helpful to examine the original Greek words, and consider the range of other possible meanings for each one:

NIV word	Original Greek	Other English Words
True	alethes	true, truthful, unhidden
Noble	semnos	noble, venerable, honourable, honest, dignified
Right	dikaios	right, righteous, equitable, fair, just
Pure	hagnos	pure, clean, innocent, modest, perfect
Lovely	prosphiles	lovely, friendly towards, acceptable
Admirable	euphemos	admirable, well spoken of, reputable
Excellent	arete	excellent, proper, virtuous
Praiseworthy	epainos	praiseworthy, commendable, laudable