DISCOVERY QUESTIONS

Series: Thrive
Sermon: Training Our Minds
Passage: Philippians 4:10-20

Main Idea: Jesus offers genuine contentment in all situations at all times

Leader GuidePDF Version (Participant)PDF Version (Leader)

GROUP DISCUSSION

Lean In

Purpose: Introduce topic and get the group talking.

1. Where is your happy place (the place where you feel at ease, no stress, and relaxed)?


Look Down

Purpose: Observe the passage and interact with the text

2. Read Philippians 4:10-20. Paul states that he has learned to be content in every situation, whether “living in plenty or in want”. Describe Paul’s view of contentment.

3. In verse 13, Paul says that he can “do all this through him who gives me strength” (other translations say “all things through him who gives me strength”). Describe the context of this verse. What does “this” refer to specifically?


Look Out

Purpose: Connect observations in God’s Word with observations in our world today.

4. How does Paul’s view of contentment compare to our modern world’s view of contentment?


Look In

Purpose: Internalize God’s Word and apply the truth to your personal life.

5. How have you experienced contentment while still being in need? What barriers to contentment are you struggling with right now?


Live It Out

Purpose: Spend time listening for God’s for direction and guidance as you seek to live out the truths of this passage in your everyday life.

6. Talk with God about what you, personally, can do (or release or give up) in order to experience contentment in the midst of need.

Play “I Shall Not Want” as you take individual time to respond to the following prompts (feel free to write down your thoughts/prayers).

7. Share your experience in prayer with the group. How did God meet you? What did you sense Him asking you to do or release to experience deeper contentment in him?

LEADER GUIDE

Lean In

Purpose: Introduce topic and get the group talking.

1. Where is your happy place (the place where you feel at ease, no stress, and relaxed)?


Look Down

Purpose: Observe the passage and interact with the text

2. Read Philippians 4:10-20. Paul states that he has learned to be content in every situation, whether “living in plenty or in want”. Describe Paul’s view of contentment.

For further study, read the following passages about Paul’s experience of learning to be content through hardship: 2 Cor. 1:8-10; 2 Cor. 11:23-28; 2 Cor. 12:8-10; 1 Tim. 6:6-8.

Paul wrote this letter from prison. He had endured great suffering throughout his ministry. Contentment, for Paul, was not based on physical comforts. Rather, it was based on continually abiding in the life-giving presence of Jesus.

The term “content” was used by Stoic philosophers of the day to mean “self-sufficient”, and it was their most desired internal posture. Like Paul, they didn’t consider physical deprivation the biggest setback, nor did they prize physical comforts. But, the big difference between Paul and these Stoic philosophers was that Paul did not find the resources for this internal posture in himself. They came through his connection to Jesus.

Additionally, Paul didn’t need certainty to be content. He lived with many questions and uncertainties – even to the point of being uncertain about his own life. God did not always provide him with certainty, and yet Paul was still able to be content.

Finally, Paul didn’t need to be in control to be content. There’s a great temptation to only feel content when we’re in control of things. But, things spun out of Paul’s control constantly. Yet, he could still be content.

3. In verse 13, Paul says that he can “do all this through him who gives me strength” (other translations say “all things through him who gives me strength”). Describe the context of this verse. What does “this” refer to specifically?

It’s really easy to take this passage out of context and use it to broaden Paul’s definition of “this” or “all things”. By saying, “I can do all things through him who gives me strength”, Paul is NOT saying that we can achieve a certain income level, a certain social status, a certain educational or competitive goal… He isn’t talking about accomplishments or achievements in the way that we might think. Rather, he is talking specifically about enduring hardship, struggles, and deprivation.

The whole context of this passage is about Paul finding what he needs most in Jesus, regardless of his external circumstances.


Look Out

Purpose: Connect observations in God’s Word with observations in our world today.

4. How does Paul’s view of contentment compare to our modern world’s view of contentment?

We’re trained by our world to equate contentment with things like material possessions, physical comforts, financial gain, and social status. We think, “If I could just have or attain X, then I would be content”. The unfortunate reality, though, is that “the grass is NOT always greener on the other side”. Whatever we attain in the worldly sense will never be enough. It’s an endless cycle of needing more. Paul has not simply trained himself to curb his desires, rather, through Jesus, he has experienced the fulfillment of his deepest desires in such a way that worldly gain is simply seen as a counterfeit. It doesn’t deliver on its promise.


Look In

Purpose: Internalize God’s Word and apply the truth to your personal life.

5. How have you experienced contentment while still being in need? What barriers to contentment are you struggling with right now?


Live It Out

Purpose: Spend time listening for God’s direction and guidance as you seek to live out the truths of this passage in your everyday life.

6. Talk with God about what you, personally, can do (or release or give up) in order to experience contentment in the midst of need.

Play “I Shall Not Want” as you take individual time to respond to the following prompts (feel free to write down your thoughts/prayers).

The goal here is simply to allow God some space to reveal, uncover, guide, direct, and care for us. Do your best not to rush through this part.

7. Share your experience in prayer with the group. How did God meet you? What did you sense Him asking you to do or release to experience deeper contentment in him?

Close in prayer for each other.