Former prisoner Paul writes the Bible's most joyful letter from a Roman jail cell, revealing how gratitude, generosity, and partnership can transform even our worst circumstances. Jenny Mariner unpacks Philippians to show how contentment isn't about getting life sorted, but about finding security in what can't be taken away. Discover practical ways to choose joy when life doesn't go to plan.
01Talk notes
Ever met someone who radiates joy even when everything's going wrong? The kind of person who makes you think, "What do they know that I don't?"
This week at Crowd Church, Jenny Mariner introduced us to one of history's most remarkable examples of this - the apostle Paul, writing from a Roman prison cell with chains around his wrists, penning what might be the most joyful letter in the entire Bible. His letter to the Philippians isn't just ancient wisdom; it's a masterclass in finding contentment when life doesn't go to plan.
02When Everything Goes Wrong
Before we jump into Paul's secrets for joy, let's be honest about where most of us actually live. We're juggling work stress, family pressures, financial worries, and that nagging feeling that everyone else has figured out something we haven't. Then someone quotes Philippians 4:4 - "Rejoice in the Lord always" - and it can feel like being told to smile whilst standing in the wreckage of your plans.
But here's what Jenny helped us see: Paul wasn't writing from a beach resort with a piña colada in hand. He was writing from prison, facing possible execution, having been beaten, whipped, and shipwrecked more times than most of us have had bad Mondays. Yet his letter overflows with gratitude, partnership, and genuine joy.
The difference wasn't his circumstances - it was his perspective.
03The Gratitude Revolution
Paul starts his letter by thanking the Philippians for their partnership in the gospel. Not just their money (though they'd supported him financially), but their friendship, their prayers, and their shared mission. Even from prison, he chooses to focus on what he's grateful for rather than what's gone wrong.
As Jenny pointed out, "Paul had every right to be bitter. It says in 2 Corinthians he'd been whipped five times, each with 39 lashes, that he'd been beaten with rods three times... But Paul shows us that a life lived with Jesus can be one of joy."
This isn't about positive thinking or pretending everything's fine. It's about training ourselves to notice what we might otherwise miss. Paul found reasons to be thankful for his imprisonment because it meant other people were hearing about Jesus who never would have otherwise. He turned his worst situation into something worth celebrating.
04Generosity That Costs Something
The Philippians weren't wealthy people. They were ordinary folks in an ordinary city who chose extraordinary generosity. They supported Paul not just with money but with friendship, prayers, and partnership. They understood something profound: generosity isn't about having loads to give away - it's about choosing to give when it actually costs you something.
Jenny challenged us with this question: "What are you holding onto that God might be asking you to let go of?" Maybe it's not money. Maybe it's time, space in your home, or the comfort of keeping your life predictable and manageable.
True generosity requires letting go. And letting go is terrifying because it means trusting that God will provide what we need when we need it.
05The Art of Laying Down Your Life
Here's where Paul's message gets really challenging. He talks about "a life laid down" - following Jesus' example of humility and service. Sharon Edmundson put it perfectly during our conversation: "The Christian life's not about just adding God on to make life fabulous. It is that life laid down."
This means asking different questions:
- Instead of "How can I get what I want?" asking "How can I serve?"
- Instead of "What's in this for me?" asking "How can this help others?"
- Instead of "How do I protect myself?" asking "How do I love like Jesus?"
It doesn't mean becoming a doormat or ignoring your own needs. It means reordering your priorities around what actually lasts.
06Community Changes Everything
One thing that struck us about Paul's letter is how much it centres on relationship. He mentions specific people by name, celebrates their partnership, and acknowledges that he couldn't do any of this alone.
As Jenny said, "A life done with others is better than a life done on our own, us with God and us with one another."
We're not designed to figure life out solo. We need people who'll celebrate our victories, sit with us in our struggles, and remind us of God's faithfulness when we forget. The Philippians weren't just Paul's supporters - they were his partners, sharing in both the costs and the joy of following Jesus.
07Contentment in the Chaos
Perhaps most remarkably, Paul writes about contentment. Not the kind that comes from getting everything sorted, but contentment that exists regardless of circumstances. He's learned to be content whether he has plenty or whether he's in need.
This isn't about lowering your expectations or giving up on dreams. It's about finding your security in something that can't be taken away. Paul had discovered that his relationship with God provided a foundation that prison walls, physical pain, and uncertain futures couldn't shake.
08Making It Real This Week
So how do we actually live this out? Here are some practical ways to start:
Practice specific gratitude - Instead of generic "thankfulness," try writing down three specific things you're grateful for each day. Not just "my family" but "the way my daughter laughed at her own joke this morning."
Start small with generosity - Look for one way this week to be generous with something other than money. Maybe it's your time, your attention, or simply letting someone go ahead of you in traffic.
Choose partnership over isolation - Reach out to someone who might be struggling. Not to fix their problems, but to let them know they're not alone.
Reframe one difficult situation - Ask yourself: "If Paul could find something to be grateful for in prison, what might I be missing in my current challenge?"
09The Corrie ten Boom Connection
Jenny shared the powerful story of Corrie ten Boom, who learned gratitude even in a Nazi concentration camp. When her sister Betsie thanked God for the fleas in their barracks, Corrie thought she'd gone too far. Later they discovered the fleas kept the guards away, allowing them to hold Bible studies that brought hope to hundreds of women.
Sometimes what looks like our worst circumstance might be protecting or preparing us in ways we can't see. That doesn't make the pain less real, but it does open up the possibility that God's working even when we can't see it.
10The Bigger Picture
Paul's letter to the Philippians isn't ultimately about positive thinking or life hacks. It's about discovering that following Jesus offers a different way to be human. A way that finds joy in service, contentment in surrender, and strength in vulnerability.
It's about learning that a life lived in partnership with God and others can be genuinely joyful, even when - especially when - it doesn't look anything like what you planned.
11Your Next Step
What if this week, instead of waiting for circumstances to improve before you can be grateful, you started looking for reasons to be thankful right where you are? Not because everything's perfect, but because even in imperfect situations, God's still present, still working, still loving you exactly as you are.
Paul discovered joy in a prison cell. Where might you discover it in your life today?
Topics in this talk
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(00:14) that's a little bit strange so welcome to crowd Church great that you're here with us uh if you're joining us online my name is Matt Edmonson beside me is my beautiful wife I'm Sharon hi welcome everyone it's great to be with you and of course we are in person as well here in Liverpool this is the second week we have done this uh we got a few more Tech issues this week not going to lie so the fact we're going out live is a beautiful thing so but it's good to be here right it's very good to be here yeah yes this (00:44) is the second time I've been to church today making me really holy very very holy yeah yeah absolutely uh so today uh we are going to have a talk in just a few minutes Jen marinina is going to be sharing with us uh we are going to be introducing the buck of Philippians we've got nine weeks uh going on in the book of Philippians uh oh we got someone in the comments great so we know we're live we know it's working which is a wonderful thing um so hey Miriam how you doing so yeah make sure you say how in the how's it in the comments come say hi write your questions write your thoughts (01:18) anything you've got going on write that down in the comments below as Jan's going through a talk Shar and I are going to be back after the talk we're going to do conversation Street yes when we answer your questions your uh questions that you put in the comments we're going to answer those and the people in person as well get to ask their questions so i' say it's not just questions as well because I think um lots of people have got lots that they can add to the conversation lots of experience um yeah so add those as well (01:47) be great yes share your thoughts and share your stories uh we really like stories I'm just trying to get YouTube on my phone I'm not it's not working okay Nicola is in the comments uh good evening Nicola great to see uh so yes that's what's going to happen uh Jen I saw youd run into the tech Booth is everything right okay did you get the clicker no there is Dan don't Dan's lying to you there's a clicker is he GNA forward the slides Okay so we've got it sort anyway so we've got Jen coming joining us in just a few seconds like I say intro and Philippians do uh visit (02:23) the website which will come up on your screen hopefully at some point soon um do visit the website if you've got any questions or you can find us on social media the website is www.c crow. you can find us on social media Crow church and of course there's also a WhatsApp number which you can also use as well so yes uh do reach out to us any prayer requests anything going on we would love to know we would love to pray for you we had a bunch of people connect with us this week asking for prayer whether that was for healing whether it was for their families um yeah we had uh we had some (02:56) good prayer requests this we good pray I don't know if you can judge them that one's good we had prayer requests leave it at that yeah we'll just leave it at that they we won't we won't grade them that's not what we do um so yes do uh do send those in as well so hopefully we are good to go uh he says are we good to go on the talk good okay run VT and then we have got Jen and then Sharon and I will be back [Music] good evening everyone it is an absolute pleasure to be here this do you know it's so long since I shared at crowd I'm (04:01) just going to say this is my first time ever sharing at crowd um and it's absolute pleasure my name is Jenny I'm one of the leaders here at Frontline Church if you're in Liverpool and want to come down and be with us in person those who are with us in person it is absolutely lovely to see you and it is my privilege this evening to do an introduction to the book of Philippians we're going to be looking at Philippians uh from this week all the way through until Christmas really getting into some of the richness of what's in there so I'm going to do this an intro and I'm (04:29) going to start by reading just the first 11 verses for us then I'll unpack a little bit kind of overall what the book even is and then some of the key themes in the book I hope that sounds okay so if you want to follow along I'm in Philippians 1 and I'm just going to do verses 1 to1 it says this is a letter from Paul and Timothy slaves of Christ Jesus I'm writing to All God's holy people in Philippi who belong to Christ Jesus including the church leaders and deacons may God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you Grace and peace (05:07) every time I think of you I give thanks to my God whenever I pray I make requests for all of you with joy for you have been my partners in spreading the good news about Christ from the time you first heard until now and I'm certain that God who began the good work within you will continue his work until it's finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns so it is right that I should feel as I do about you for you have a special place in my heart you share with me the special favor of God both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the good (05:39) news God knows how much I love you and long for you with tender compassion of Christ Jesus I pray that your love will overflow more and more that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding for I want you to understand what really matters so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return and you may always be filled with the fruit of your salvation the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ for this will bring much glory and praise to God so there you have it those are the first 11 verses of the book of (06:14) Philippians but if this is your first time ever looking at a new testament letter I just thought I would cover some of the basics of what that even is before we get into what those verses say so I imagine that most people will have heard of a guy called Paul as in St Paul's Cathedral in London um it's pretty famous he was a guy who became a Christian just after Jesus died and we know about we know quite a lot about him because he wrote quite a lot of the New Testament but one thing we know is he was a really really passionate guy so (06:47) one of the things he started doing um before he becomes a follower of Jesus he actually persecuted Christians he was really passionate about tracking down Christians and sometimes he even had them stoned to death because he didn't believe that Jesus was the son of God and then one day he's on a journey and there's a bright light he's blinded there's a voice from heaven and basically in the next few days his entire life is transformed and turned around completely and he becomes a follower of Jesus and from that day he (07:17) believes that Jesus is the son of God and all that effort and energy that he had put into tracking down Christians he now puts in to spreading the good news about Jesus um and as part of that that Paul travels all around the Mediterranean and he plants new churches or new groups of Jesus followers all around the Mediterranean and then when he wasn't with those groups sometimes he wrote them letters to kind of teach them and encourage them and hence you get these letters in uh the New Testament there (07:50) are about um 21 letters in the Bible and it's worth remembering that they are both like as Christians we believe these are absolutely God inspired letters that's why they're in the Bible we believe that the truths in them are from God it's worth remembering when you read them that they are also letters so you get intros like is this going to work we have a little intro I don't know you get um intros like oh no I didn't put this on the slide sorry that was my poor oh no I did look there we go sorry I should have made better notes of what I had put on the slide um so it says to all God's (08:26) people uh in Philippi together with the overseers and the Deacons part of this is just an intro we can learn stuff from it about who was there it's also like if I was writing Matt a birthday card and wrote Dear Matt that's what it is and they have um greetings at the end of them because they're letters um and it's one thing someone said to me about the letters which I find really really helpful so this is my last nugget of thought before we get into the letter to share with you is it's kind of like listening to one (08:56) side of a phone call it's worth remembering that these people had an ongoing relationship so Paul had spent some time with these people actually talking to them and then he's written a letter to them in response to something so although there is they are rich with wisdom and that's why we're studying one because it's rich with wisdom it's also like listening in on somebody else's phone call it's a letter written 2,000 years ago by someone who lived 2,000 years ago to another group of people that lived 2,000 years ago so don't expect them to answer all of your 21st (09:29) Century questions I guess that's what I'm saying we have to kind of understand what it is that we're reading and then there's loads of richness that we can pull out of it hopefully that makes some sense um so let's get on and have a little look then about what some of the things we can get out of this letter so it's written by Paul and it's written towards the end of his life and he's writing from Rome and he's in prison at this point and he's than the Philippians they sent him a gift potentially a gift of money or resources to help him while he's in prison and he's sharing his (10:08) Reflections about how to live life well if you think if anyone's got a Granddad I didn't have a granddad but I had a great uncle so you know think of the same thing right sat back but not in a cozy armchair because he's in prison but he's thinking reflecting on life and thinking how do you live life well he's sharing from his wisdom he's sharing from his hindsight of a life lived and I would sum up what Paul has to say um is that it's all about Jesus so whatever happens live laid live your life laid down like Christ for Christ that's what I think the main thing that (10:48) Philippians is saying is Well what does that mean so if you look at Philippians 2: 6- 11 there is a poem about Jesus it's beautiful and Rich and it's going to be unpacked in a couple of weeks but a couple of things it says it says that Jesus made himself Nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death even death on the cross so if Paul's talking about living a life laid down that's what Jesus did Jesus could have stayed in heaven as God (11:27) but he came to Earth and died on a cross for us so if the language of laying down doesn't work for you you could think about what it means to make yourself nothing what does that mean to you or another image Paul uses in uh chapter 2 verse 17 is being poured out what what does it mean to pour yourself out Paul is absolutely captivated by Jesus and the main thing he's saying in this letter is if if you're not a follower of Jesus well you should be he is worth following because he died for you so so that you can live forever in relationship with God and if you are a (12:03) follower of Jesus or give up or lay everything down because that is where you will find life now and for eternity I think that's quite an emotional thing isn't it if you actually think about what that means for you personally to lay everything down that is quite a massive thing that he's talking about and he unpacks it in all kinds of different ways through the letter if you look at some of those opening verses again as a bit of an example he says I pray that your love will overflow more and more that you (12:34) will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding if I want you to understand what really matters so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ's return that you may be filled with the fruit of your salvation if it's slightly odd or complicated old fashion language think about um if I rephrase it something like love will overflow more and more there's an idea that something is growing isn't there like sometimes you can think about becoming a Christian as like now I'm a Christian and off I keep going on the journey I was on but that's not really (13:07) what Paul's talking about he gives us the idea of something that is growing that is changing you over time he talks about understanding what really matters as in some things matter and some things don't matter and are you prioritizing the right things in your life he talks about being filled with fruit which is one of those ideas you get in Scripture that I love because it means it's not just all about you working hard all the time but that God is actually growing something in you if you let him if you give him the space to do that that he (13:38) will fill your life with fruit that it's all about Jesus Paul is saying don't cling on to the things that you think matter I don't know what that is to you I don't know if that's money I don't know if it's power self-preservation Comfort security but lay your life down follow Jesus in every way and then you can live right with God and I just think that's the main message that runs right through the thread of the book lay your live your life laid down like Christ modeled to us for Christ and sometimes people say this letter is about contentment because it's (14:16) written by an old man who's had a really tough life he's sat in this prison cell like I've said he's facing potential death but this letter is full of joy and happiness because Paul knows that Jesus is what matters and there's a number of other themes I'm going to unpack in a minute themes like gratitude like generosity like partnership and I find it interesting that if even as you start to dig into those things to be grateful well that involves letting go of things doesn't it involves accepting that other people have done something for you generosity involves giving partnership (14:55) involves not just being totally about yourself all these things are about l laying yourself down so if I start with generosity no not generosity gratitude I'm going to start with gratitude sorry two G's and I can't do there's a guy in our church who loves words that begin with the same letter I can't cope with words that begin with the same letter I just muddle them up so I'm going to start with gratitude um Paul had every reason to be bitter right like we all know old people some of them are filled with life and joy and some of them are bitter because life has thrown them a hand but has been (15:37) tough Paul had every right to be bitter it says in two Corinthians I don't know if we've got the list on a slide that he had been whipped five times each with 39 lashes they had been beaten with rods three times he had been stoned at least once and I mean like throwing stones not any other kind of stone he'd been Shipwrecked three times he'd been on long and dangerous Journeys he'd had sleepless nights hunger and thirst cold and exposure he'd been in prison a number of times if you look at that list (16:08) you could understand why Paul had every right and now he's in prison so he could have been a grumpy old man that he'd have had every right to be so but Paul shows us that a life live for Jesus can be one of Joy he's full of joy and gratitude in those verses we've already said already read he's grateful as he prays for the Philippians he's grateful for their friendship and support he's grateful Because he believes that God is moving through his own life and through the lives of the Philippians he's even says he's grateful about being in prison (16:40) because people in the prison and the guards in the prison have become Christians he's full of gratitude it's worth thinking isn't it about how we choose to Foster that attitude for I'm honest when I was a teenager I was a bit grumpy I think like I um I'm one of those people that can see how to improve things like I'd say it's like a gift that I have it's like oh you could do this you could do this you could do this but when I was a teenager it just came out as like and I see it now in my son sometimes and I'm like oh no you've got that for me but I would say you can (17:15) absolutely choose to Foster that attitude of being grateful for things even if you can see what sucks and even if you can see what could be better you can still choose can't you like we often do it around the dinner table as a family to choose to say okay what's been tough in the day let's acknowledge that but now let's think about what's been good in the day and let's choose to Foster that sense of gratitude because there is always something to be grateful for And So It Goes On do you know in this four chapter book the word Joy or (17:47) Rejoice appears 11 times Paul talks about thinking about things that are good and true and lovely because he's obviously learned to do that in his own life despite everything else and it flows right through the book another theme the other G that doesn't work for me but it's there is generosity Paul is grateful for the generosity of the Philippians like I said he's given them or they've given him a gift he's grateful for the gift that um that they've given him and being generous takes generosity of spirit doesn't it (18:26) like you can be generous with money I that takes a bit of sacrifice sometimes depending on how much money you've got you can also be generous with things like your time you could be generous with your home you can be generous with your stuff it takes a little bit of Letting Go Again doesn't it like if you come to my house right I am quite happy to be generous with my space I don't mind people coming to my space I don't mind people breaking stuff me not intentionally don't come and Break Stuff intentionally but if something happens (18:56) by accident I'm all right with that I don't mind it getting a bit dirty I promise you somewhere in my house there is a stack of chocolate that I will absolutely not be generous with it will be hidden in a Cupboard and will not be for you it's worth thinking isn't it about what you find easy to be generous with and what you don't find so easy to be generous with but Paul is encouraging us to like give give away give of yourself don't just hold it all up and it's interesting that like I think the more you do that I I think generosity is (19:25) almost like a muscle that you can exercise if you find that difficult if you think no I need all my stuff I need all my peace and quiet time I need all my money I need it all for me then it's worth thinking okay what what's a little something that I can do to begin to let go of that Paul encourages us towards the end of Philippians that if we are generous we won't lose out not practically not emotionally not spiritually because God is a generous God it says he supplies all of our needs out of his glorious riches he's the god (19:58) of Heaven and he can meet your needs you don't need to hoard it in a Cupboard even the chocolate I don't really need to hoard it in a Cupboard one day one day you know we're all work in progress aren't we and one of the other themes in the book is partnership because a life done with others is better than a life done on our own us with God and us with one another Paul talks about how precious the Philippians are to him because they are his Partners in sharing the good news and there's a sense that it's not just a business agreement that he has with them but it's a bond it's a (20:33) relationship they have a shared aim or a shared goal and towards the end of the book He's encouraging two women that have fallen out to make amends like he understands arguments happen but can you partner with one another again can you figure it out one of the interesting things in a lot of these letters if you read the New Testament in Greek I don't read Greek but I read books by people who read Greek and apparently it's written in like a plural which we don't really have the English language but you get a little bit in Liverpool that like 's or if you're in like the south of (21:04) America like that y like it's not written to you as an individual it's written to use as a collective because Paul's saying Community that's how we do things working together there's a famous kind of proverb or saying it's not in the Bible but just a famous saying that if you want to run fast run alone but if you want to run far run together and that's what Paul's getting at you don't like life will be better done together with God and with others and he wants Paul wants us to live life well with others and for others in Partnership again not (21:42) that clinging to well I just need to meet my agenda and that's my priority but let's do it with others again it involves that sense of laying down doesn't it but that's Paul's message you want contentment well AB actually let everything go but Jesus J you want joy okay but don't build your own happiness Embrace Jesus yes you have needs but actually if you are selfless then God will provide for you if you want life then don't actually go pursuing life pursue God and he will give you life I think it's a little bit (22:19) like this I uh I've borrowed my daughter's backpack because it was smaller to hold up to the camera as a visual aid right if you go on a holiday if anyone has been on an airplane recently and you've only taken carry on you can really only take a certain amount of stuff can't you and I think Life's a little bit like that you can only take so much stuff with you only so much stuff will fit in the bag and I guess what I feel like Paul's saying I didn't think about the fact I'd be holding the microphone for this but I feel like what Paul's saying (22:48) is actually you need to take out the stuff you filled your life with whatever random things you think you might need to get through life actually you need to let some of them go and then when you've kind of let some of that go and emptied that out your life will not actually be empty like your logic might think well then I'll have nothing but actually what God does is he comes and fills it with his way of doing life with the fullness of relationship with God and he gives you fullness of life it might feel (23:26) counterintuitive that that is what Paul is saying that God does for us so I'm praying for us as we journey through this letter that God will open our hearts that the Holy Spirit would teach us about the richness of life that can be found only in Jesus and that's me so I'm G to hand us back over to Matt and Sharon e (24:57) e e e e (26:57) e e but they're not the ultimate things yeah it's super powerful isn't it and I think the thing that we learned from Paul and the thing that which journy bought out which I really like is the fact that you choose how you respond (28:07) don't you to how those things that happen and he chose to respond with gratitude with generosity um he had people around him with the partnership that's just totally inspiring whichever way you look at I mean you you can't get around it right yeah I I did that bit about him being grateful for the stuff in prison about people coming to know Christ it reminded me of a story from Cory tboom and I I don't know if you're aware of her for those who don't know she was a Dutch lady who lived in the leadup to the (28:38) second world war and during and her and her family hid uh some Jewish people in their house and event they did this for quite a while and eventually they got found out and she got sent with her sister and other members of the family to a concentration camp and her sister sounds like this amazing person who I think just seem to have this much more godly perspective all the time she could see beyond the current circumstances and um she so the sister Betsy was always encouraging Cory to be thankful and Cory's like we're in a concentration camp we've not got enough (29:16) food we're being mistreated and they were in a Barracks that had fleas in it and um Betsy was saying oh let's thank God for the fleas and Curry's like you got to be Ser you know you got to be joking seriously thanking God for fleas um but they did it and a while after so they used to have these little meetings within their little Barracks at night um and they had times of prayer and worship together and they always wondered why the guards didn't bother them because that's the sort of thing that would normally get shut down and they discovered later it was because of the (29:50) fleas so and that does lead you know I have so many more questions that it's like you know you could go why did God allow them to go there's all of that as well but there is something powerful about being thankful in those situations that we find difficult I think yeah very much so J actually someone's written in the comments here if we are generous we won't lose out great quote Jen um and I I think that's if we're I think gratitude is an act of generosity towards God in if if that makes sense in the sense that gratitude is is praise sort of is (30:31) generous praise towards God isn't it it's just like and being generous with this um the the laying down of your life the humility so she's in the in the jail there are fleas putting away that decision to be really angry but just be generous with our praise that's well that's gratitude and action isn't it and I think it's a really interesting idea that um that comes out in the book of Philippians I mean we mentioned it last week uh I think Anna and I when we were hosting last week that the jail that Paul was in (31:04) you and I have stood in right yeah when he was writing this letter yeah yeah in Rome it's quite hard to find even even though we knew kind of what we were looking for and had a vague idea yeah it's still quite tricky tricky because it's tiny tiny little place tiny little cell that I could barely stand up in you could definitely not um swing a cat not that I would obviously Advocate swinging a cat in a prison cell but but um you definitely couldn't do that in there and and yet it was in that place that he wrote all of these things and I find it deeply challenging (31:37) because with the way we are in the in the west with the way that we are in our attitude this belief that we're entitled to everything um but responsible for nothing it's quite it's quite opposite to the to what we read in this book and what Paul's teaching us and I find that deeply challenging that kind of sort of links with something else that I've written here there's a prayer that was in the passage where Paul prayed for um the Philippians and his prayers were that their love would overflow more and more that they'd grow in knowledge and understanding that they'd live pure and blameless that (32:17) they'd be filled with the fruit of their salvation um that was produced by Jesus and I I was just thinking that's like quite often if we ask for prayer requests the prayers are all about um I need help in this situation and that situation which I Al I totally think is valid as well but the stuff that he's praying for these people is not that everything's going to be easy it's much more about what's happening in them and about their relationship with God and that yeah that life of growth in relationship with God so yeah again I was quite that's quite challenging yeah (32:56) it is and I think one of the things um I mean someone uh has put here how do you Foster this because or how do you how do you actually do it on a practical basis because we talk about it a lot we talk about it in church we talk about it in our services we hear sermons about it and actually we S I mean we sing songs about it and it's something that we think is true until the bad stuff happens to us right and that's when the rubber really hits a road and that's why I think of people like um some really good friends of ours Tony and Annie CH has been on crowd and has been on crowd (33:30) actually she did a what's the story where she tells her story of breast cancer and the stuff that she went through but in that they drew closer to God right and so you come you the bad stuff happened to them and all of a sudden it's not just something that they mentally Ascend to it's not just something they say Amen they've actually got to face it and they've got to make a choice and I find those types of people like Tony and Annie I'm thinking rich and Michelle people that we know are some of the most inspiring people around (34:00) because they didn't just say yes at church when everything else you know I'm I'm saying yes it can get really bad is I'm driving around in my Volvo my 2.4 kids and living in myi detached house you know hiding chocolate in cupboard so no one can find it um but it's one of those things where actually when these things really do happen to you you find out what kind of Faith you have you know what I mean yeah I I think on the flip side of that I think being thankful doesn't mean you can't say God why is this happening and (34:33) actually I feel quite angry about this I I don't think it's an either or situation I think we can not at all we can do that pouring out our hearts because I think the bible really encourages that and to pray about everything and if we look at the Psalms there um there a book where there's loads of songs a lot of them are about the anguish of the writer and just pouring out his heart and all the emotion to God so I don't think it's like oh you've got to pretend that you feel fine I think you can do both yeah (35:01) it's not denial is it no it's not the sort of happy clappy I'm not going to bury my head in the sand not think about it not feel anything not do anything but I think in spite of that you still come back with this gratitude so the question is how do you Foster gratitude good that is yeah that's a good question um I know in the past if I've tried to build up habits in myself um it's more I think the Habit that I really had was to do with renewing my mind where my mind would want to go in One Direction but actually the things (35:34) that God was saying was in a completely different direction and that was um for me was meditating on scripture almost taking it like medicine like three times a day just uh spending time during that just go okay brain brain is saying this but actually my brain's just off I choose to believe what God says and just speaking those things over myself so I think maybe with gratitude it's the same kind of thing like purposefully maybe putting those times in three times a day like medicine and just going okay I'm going to have some focused time of thinking about what things am I (36:13) grateful for and then starting to build it as a habit yeah yeah very good I wonder if other people have got suggestions on what was yeah right in the comments how do you Foster gratitude we'd love to hear your thoughts and your stories what's one of the things that you do I think for me one of the things that I try and I'm not don't get me wrong I'm not 100% of this if I'm over 50% I'm doing well right but it's that what was the last thing I complained about what can I find in that to be the to to be grateful not for but you know necessarily in in there what can I be grateful for and I (36:50) think the biggest things that CAU you know those things that called the biggest amount of negativity in our lives the things that we Grumble about the things that we complain about I would start there because you know going at the deep end why not you know just take off way more than you can chew I think it's partly about a different perspective isn't it because we have our own little perspective but I think if we can get above that and see you know God what's your perspective on that I think that gives it a different angle and helps us to see the things we can be (37:22) grateful for in that yeah yeah in coaching terms they call it reframing don't they how can I get you to reframe this or uh look at it a different way and I think that's good that's a good start but I think sometimes you just need the power of the Holy Spirit to help you do that um because it's hard to reframe being in jail um you know I I I think it's hard to reframe being beaten for the sake of the Gospel uh in many ways but that's what Paul did and I think that's because of the power of the holy spirit in him and just because of the Revelation that he had yeah yeah that kind of Segways into what Jenny (37:59) talked about about living a life laid down for Christ like Christ so it's like um God's not like this um if we see like Earthly rulers quite often people it all becomes about them and it feeding their own needs but in God we don't see obviously I mean he's created everything um how awesome is that and I but he's not someone who's just like telling us oh you have to do this you have to do this you have to do what I want you to do it's like he's came to Earth as a servant laid his life down that's quite incredible I think and um yeah so the (38:47) Christian life's not about just adding God on to make life fabulous it's it is that life laid down but it reminded me of there's a passage in Matthew 13 which talks about a man who um I think discovered treasure in a field so went out sold everything he could to buy that field so he had to he gave up something for something that was worth more and it also talks about a merchant looking for fine pearls and again sold everything had so that he could buy these pearls and um yeah it's like in spite of these difficulties God is worth the relationship with him is worth worth so much more if we could (39:29) just grasp that and sometimes I don't always grasp that in my own life and I can forget but yeah when we come back to that I think that's yeah amazing so uh soone put here one of the things they do is notice and write down three things you're grateful for every day in a journal um I read 10,000 gifts by an Vos camp and it really inspired me to do that it's a great book actually yeah yeah and vosen is just a Legend um in what ways have you emptied your lives out to serve God do you have any practical examples of how this looks and another question what do you do when you (40:06) have used your generosity on others and not Jesus oh which question do you want I'm just think I need time to think about that second one what was the first one again uh so the first question in what ways have you emptied your lives out to serve God do you have any practical examples of how that works um um the thing I think the things that come to mind are the biggest things which are not all the everyday things so I think for me the biggest one was actually moving to Liverpool because and i' sorry for those who've heard this before um I'd properly given my life to (40:46) God when I was 15 but between then and my early 20s my faith just wasn't working I try and get close to God feel like my mind was going bananas get really angry with God because it's like I'm trying to get close to you why are you making this hard and I just got to the point I was fed up and I was like okay God you've got one last chance either you make this faing work or I'm move I'm going to just ditch you kind of thing so I started looking around at year team like Christian discipleship years um ended up coming to Liverpool um (41:22) to look around at the church we're part of did one at the time and um as soon as I came to Liverpool as I drove in I was like I totally know what this is where God wants me to be and at the time I wasn't even sure that God existed but I was sure that the God I didn't know existed wanted me here and so I ended up coming to do this year team but to to do that I basically had to sell all that I had which wasn't a whole lot of the time to be honest so not sure how big a sacrifice it was I think it was mostly (41:55) my car that was of any value um so I sold that that to pay my fees still didn't have enough but I left I moved so where I didn't know anyone left everything behind was as a last itch effort to go God you you can have all of me if you can sort it out but this needs to work better and I do totally think God took me seriously in that and during that year was probably one of the worst of my life but also one of the best because God took out all those things where I'd over the years I you know i' got so much anger that I'd kept here so much unforgiveness there were so many things that i' like wrong (42:35) thinking like the foundations were just bad so yeah i' would say that was my most powerful example but obviously that's a long time ago probably need to think of something more recent that was good uh well let's move on to the other question because of time um what do you do when you've used your generosity on others and not Jesus I think what they're asking in that question is you know like um I suppose if you've got a Time Talent treasure that you've used rather than to be generous towards god with you've used it to be generous towards other people I I that's how I'm (43:12) interpreting that question yeah I yeah I feel like there's a lot more behind that question um I'm not sure how to answer it do you no again I think there's a lot more behind it I think there is a there is a thing where um in Church you we like to be generous as Christians right so we like to be generous people so let's talk about money because everybody loves to talk about money um so we like to be you know we like to talk about generosity with your money so do you give to church and a lot of people in church will give (43:46) money to church whether you agree with that whether you don't a lot of people do um and I suppose one thing you could say with this question or one way to interpret is I didn't give the money to church I give the money to somebody else um this gets into the much deeper question about giving and tithing and should you tithe or give a percentage of your income should you give that to church or should you give it into Christian Ministries um I that's way too much to get say I we're running out of time so um I would say that just be generous (44:22) start there and see where God takes you yeah I wonder as well cuz I I think um ideally we're meant to be connected to God receiving from him and giving out from that and sometimes I think I know in my own life I can miss the connection with God and just give out and then get worn out I'm not sure if that's something behind the question um yeah especially if you give your time to people and you're not taking time to connect with god um then that actually can have a very detrimental effect yeah the other thing I think is that sometimes we can give to people and they can just like slam it in our face and or (45:04) not act how we want to and I think in those situations it's like who why am I giving am I giving out of love for God and just pouring out this and it so in a sense am I giving to God yeah so it doesn't matter what reaction I get from people or am I giving for other reasons y I'm not sure whether we've actually no pinpointed the the question is but um so if you want to write more in the comments mind you we're running out of time so uh just to close that's gold Sharon definitely the relationship with (45:34) God is better than anything else someone said I'm sorry yes well thank you for your questions thank you for your comments um I enjoyed that conversation stre yeah I enjoyed that talk as well Jen Legend I'm still going to tightly find that chocolate though uh but thank you so much for joining us now make sure you obviously like subscribe and do all of that sort of good stuff because we live stream (45:58) every Sunday 700 p.m. here from Liverpool and if in Liverpool come join us come join us uh in the building go to the website you'll find all the information there hopefully that's going to appear on screen uh somebody Dan maybe uh if you want to find out more go to the website www.c crow. Church uh or you can find us on social media at crowd Church on the website is also a WhatsApp number which will come up on your screen you can reach out to us on WhatsApp especially with your prayer requests that's where most people contact us uh with their prayer requests is through (46:26) WhatsApp so we would love to hear from you and connect with you um but yeah that's it from us here at crowd in the live stream uh we're going to end the live stream now um if you would like to join us in online small groups I think Matt's going to post the comment again I think it's going to come up on your screen so you can grab that um if any of you would like to join us online you're more than welcome we'll see you there in about 13 minutes time but we're going to end it uh on the live stream thank you so much for joining us have a fantastic week wherever you are in the world we (46:58) pray that God just blesses you insanely and enormous enormously that's a new word y all right that's it from us bless you guys bye for now bye [Music] [Music]
