It’s difficult to exaggerate the value of affirming the Spirit’s work in a person through the gospel. This kind of biblical encouragement goes a long way toward moving fellow believers forward as they grow in Christlikeness. If done right, biblical exposition should accomplish this both for the hearers and the preacher himself.
That’s what happened as I preached through Philippians; the task spurred on my growth as much as it did our congregation’s (Ezra 7:10). Let me encourage you to preach through Philippians for five reasons.
1. Philippians will help your congregation to appreciate the power of biblical encouragement.
As Christians, we tend to be light on commendation and heavy on criticism. We sometimes get the strange idea that if we praise a person too much they’ll become proud. Perhaps. But the apostle Paul didn’t think that way. Instead, he sought out the praiseworthy. To be sure, he wasn’t afraid to rebuke when it was necessary (4:2–3), but he habitually looked for evidence of grace in others.
In this brief letter, the apostle commends the recipients no less than seven times. Paul praised them for:
their partnership in the gospel (1:5) God’s sanctifying work in them (1:6) being partakers
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