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Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.
Phil. 2:5, ESV Apart from the words of Christ Himself, the beautiful Christ Hymn in Phil. 2:5-11 is the best and most concise explanation of Jesus Christ. All true humility will find its source from Him and in response to Him. This begs the question, are you willing to do the hard work of wrestling with your pride to see where pockets of infected pride pus have developed? I used this example on Sunday about President James Garfield, and I'll revisit it again. He was shot but didn't die from the assassin's gun. He died because his doctor arrogantly refused to use antiseptic measures, enabling infection to rampantly spread throughout his body. Are you willing to dig deeply into your life to root out any infection from pride? It’s painful but necessary work, not only for our healing but also for our closeness to the heart of Jesus and so that we can walk in obedience to Him. Walking under the scalpel of the Holy Spirit with you, Andy Please read Phil. 2:12-18 for Sunday. Questions for Reflection and Discussion:
Above all, you must live as citizens of Heaven,
conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Phil. 1:27, NLT Warm Greetings to you, NewLife Family, Thank you to those of you who were able to join us for our Saturday service! We had a great time of worship, study and fellowship. I’m grateful that we were able to adjust so quickly in view of the impending storm. Saturday’s service was also a reminder to each of us from Phil. 1:27 that we’re citizens of Heaven and exiles on Earth. Paul taught the Philippian believers of this because they already knew the privileges of being citizens of Rome’s kingdom. Roman citizenship was a point of pride and honor for them. It would have formed much of their identity as well as their reliance on the protection of their Roman government. The apostle Paul was orienting them to their true citizenship (in Heaven) and their true identity (in Christ). How easily we misalign our priorities. Even in our faith, we sometimes claim things to be important when they are merely side issues! As citizens of Heaven, our King is Christ! Even while we’re here, dwelling in the kingdom of this Earth, we’re living to please Him and to live in ways that are worthy of Him. Paul challenged the Philippian believers not to rely on Mother Rome for life and help and provision, pointing them instead to King Jesus. Though we’re not citizens of the Roman Empire, we must not look to our U.S. government as our savior, but only to Jesus who is our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King! Blessings! Pastor Andy Please read Philippians 2:1-11 for Sunday Questions for Reflection and Discussion:
Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long. Ps. 25:4-5, NIV In the conversation about sanctification, one thing is often not mentioned. While we talk about the results of our sanctification in making us more like Christ and how Jesus is our Sanctifier as much as He is our Savior, we neglect to recognize or acknowledge that we often don’t like the vessel Jesus uses to sanctify us. Consistently, He’ll use someone or circumstances that are not what we want Him to use or how we would like to be sanctified. This in itself is part of His sanctifying process within us! Part of this whole journey of the Christ-life within us (sometimes called the "Deeper Life") is our submitting consciously to Jesus daily in moment by moment obedience. Obedience requires entrusting ourselves to Jesus, knowing that He is all knowing- that He knows where He is taking us and how to get us there. In short, it means we give up control of our lives to Him. It is an intentional humbling of ourselves with the attitude that David expresses so beautifully in Ps. 25 (above). We ask to know His ways because His ways are higher than our ways and we ask Him to teach us His paths because our vision for our own lives is much too small compared to what He intends for us as His children. After all, if we trust Him for salvation, we can trust Him for sanctification- even if it includes crises at points, because these times show us that we only have hope in Jesus. On this sanctification journey with Jesus with you, Pastor Andy Please read Philippians 1:27-30 for Sunday. Questions for Reflection and Discussion:
Hello and welcome to the “Clinic on Handling Difficulty”. I'm the Apostle Paul and this is a brief introduction to what you’ll need as you walk through this life as a follower of Jesus. While these may seem as to be simple concepts, they are born from the many trials I have walked through with Jesus, His Presence ever being with me.
I want you to know that Jesus is already preparing you for the things that you are going to encounter in your life as a disciple of His. When I first met Him, He told me the things that I would suffer for His sake (Acts 9:16). However, I have found that He doesn’t always share that with everyone. But what He does share is that He’s working in our lives already and won’t stop making us ready in Christ (Phil. 1:6). You see, I know Him and because of this, I am confident! I know He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for His return (2 Tim. 1:12). This is the basis of walking forward with Him. My encouragement to you is to get to know Him better and better and you will see for yourself that the theology books are correct: He is loving, faithful, holy and true. As this profound knowledge becomes more deeply engrained by your experiences, you'll gradually shift to His kingdom's perspective- that it’s about His gospel going forth and not necessarily about what happens to each of us individually. (Phil. 1:12). That’s my goal and my calling! Though sometimes I struggle, He remains the main thing in my life. And because of this, I view my imprisonment as for Him (Phil. 1:13). So when I heard the Good News is spreading because of brothers and sisters preaching the gospel (some out of love and some out malintent, Phil. 1:14-17), I rejoiced. Though I am set aside in this season of my life, the Gospel of Jesus is not set aside. It must keep going forward because the Gospel is far too wondrous for any one person to be the only proclaimer. So, you must learn to rejoice with me in Him (Phil. 1:18) and His victory. Please read Philippians 1:18-26 for Sunday. Questions for reflection and discussion:
Prayer is a privilege purchased for believers by Jesus on the cross. In giving Himself sacrificially, He paid our debt, cleansed us of our sins and presented us to the Father. Furthermore, we have the privilege of intercessory prayer (praying for others) because Jesus lives to intercede for us (Heb. 7:25) and it’s through Him and His ministry that we are able to approach the throne boldly (Heb. 4:16).
From our study in Philippians 1:7-11 on Sunday, we saw several observations about intercessory prayer:
So then, let’s continue to seek the face of Jesus on behalf of others! Pastor Andy Questions:
Dear NewLife Family,
As we walk into the new year of 2026 with Jesus and one another, here are some ways to keep our eyes on Him, based on Philippians 1:1-6:
Pastor Andy See Y’all Next Year!! 
I wonder if it was a starry night when the angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds. I wonder if the shepherds were tired or hungry or ready for a break. I’m sure they had many things on their minds and were especially ready for daylight. If you’ve ever had to keep an overnight vigil for any reason, you know how sunlight can change the atmosphere. Then suddenly, light broke into the night when the angel appeared with the best news ever!
He announced that Light had pierced the darkness, that hope had invaded the world and peace now entered the chaos. After hearing the message, the shepherds made a dash to Bethlehem to see this baby. I don’t know if this is accurate but I like to think that the shepherds’ wives comforted and cared for Mary after having given birth to her first born. Maybe I like that idea because I know I would be nervous if I was Joseph and it comforts me to think about that for his sake! Regardless of what these answers might be, one thing is clear. The Wonderful Counselor, God Almighty, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace was born that night. So, whether your Christmas celebrations are filled with fun and food and family or your Christmas celebrations feel dysfunctional (which might still include food and family), at the center of all those things is Jesus. As blessed as this is for us, if we’re being honest with ourselves- if I’m being honest with myself- the challenge is to keep Him at the center of all things in our lives, whether it’s Christmas season or not. Let’s hear the angel’s announcement and hasten to the manger to see the little Messiah, the One who exchanged His seat in Heaven for a manger. Merry Christmas! Pastor Andy 
Take out the papers and the trash…
The Coasters The prophetic names of Jesus that Isaiah preaches in Isaiah 9:6 are like the many sides of a diamond with the whole being extremely valuable. Isaiah gives these names so that we can know Jesus - know who He is and what He does. This week we studied the name “Everlasting Father”. This name Father is not to be confused with God the Father. Rather, its meaning is more along the lines of a king or ruler who is kind and benevolent, One who cares for His flock of people eternally. Not surprisingly, this fits Jesus perfectly because that is exactly who He is and what He does as the Good Shepherd (see John 10). This is Good News because we live in very troubled times, as we have seen in incidents such as the terrorist attack on Jewish people celebrating Hanukkah in Australia, a famous movie director and his wife being murdered in their home, and the list goes on, seemingly endlessly. All of this is on top of whatever personal obstacles you’re facing. We need someone who will care for us now and for all times, who is genuinely concerned about our lives and has the power to act. That’s what we’ll find in the child who is born for us, Jesus, the Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting God and, as we’ll see this coming week, the Prince of Peace. In the meantime, through the power of the Holy Spirit we need to clear out the lies, the junk of the world, anything that is our “head trash” and to take it to the trash, as we did on Sunday before communion. All of us need His help in doing this. We personally need the Good Shepherd in our lives and in our hearts, Who by the power of His voice and name, cut through the trash that has built up in our lives. That is a gift from Jesus that is far more valuable than any earthly diamond. Let’s be thankful for the Name of Jesus as we celebrate Him at Christmas this year! Pastor Andy 
If we travel back to the time of Isaiah – the Israelites wanted a Savior. They were afraid! War was around them and they desired for God to send someone to lead them. Isaiah spoke of a baby being born who would be called Wonderful Counselor & Prince of Peace. These names reminded them of the type of human leader they wanted, one with great wisdom which leads toward peace. That baby would also be called Mighty God and Everlasting Father – two names that resonate more with the divine than with humanity, a powerful Deity and an undying Father.
We can see how Isaiah is prophesying about Jesus, the fully God, fully man (incarnate God) who was sent to save humanity from the punishment of death due to sin. The Israelites, when they heard Isaiah 400 years before the incarnation, would have longed for peace from Assyria and Babylon and hoped that when the child was grown, they would be victorious over their enemies. Fast forward 700 years after Isaiah. The Israelites were under the rule of the Roman government and longed once again for a savior - a man to come and set them free, to defeat their enemies and allow Israel’s true king to rule over them. In both situations they were disappointed. Isaiah’s words were spoken four centuries before Christ arrived on earth. That’s a long time to wait, a long time to endure the struggles, especially when you thought prophecy would be fulfilled and those struggles would be conquered. When Jesus arrived, the Israelites were expecting a mighty warrior to defeat the Roman army. Instead, Jesus spoke peace and was killed by the very government the people thought he was there to overthrow. Today we know the story, right? We know in a short-condensed version that Isaiah prophesied, Jesus came, Jesus fulfilled what was spoken, died and was raised from the dead. Instead of 700 years... it is just a handful of pages between events. We don't feel the weight of their WAIT. We too can find ourselves disappointed. We are still struggling with – fill in the blank – and we have been told that one day all will be better, that one day all will be healed, that one day all wrong will be made right again. Now, we feel the weight of the wait. We pray and we wait. Our struggles continue. We say painful goodbyes to people we love. We see a world in desperate need of Jesus, of His love and power. May we remember Isaiah’s words are still true today. Jesus is our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace. Jesus proclaims that the Holy Spirit will be with us until Jesus, Himself, returns. God is faithful to His promises. We truly can trust Him. That doesn’t make life easy, but when we put our trust in God’s Word, He walks with us until the day of Christ’s return. Jesus the Mighty God will return for His children and all will be better, all will be healed, and all wrong will be made right again. Until that day comes - as we wait - we prepare! We share the Good News and we hold tightly to the hope written in Hebrews 9:27-28: “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” Blessings, Pastor Kyle 
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