Philippians
Family Bible Studies 2020
These Bible Studies were written during the COVID19 crisis in 2020 for distribution among members of my church, who were in various kinds of isolation or lockdown.
Because of this sense of social isolation and widespread fear and anxiety, I chose to make a study on Philippians.
This book was written by Paul in prison – and yet its most common word is Rejoice. At this time, we all needed a healthy dose of rejoicing, or reminding about how to do it.
I prepared them for a wide range of audiences: a group study perhaps conducted online, an individual or private study, for husbands and wives, and for families sitting down together around a family devotion.
It may be helpful to have some kind of a journal to write your thoughts in.
This could be a paper-and-pen journal or a digital one – whatever suits you best.
My daughter, Anna-Mieke Mulholland has kindly provided a simple colouring-in exercise for children who can thus join in with a family discussion that might be above their heads.
I’ve only allocated a short Bible reading each time to allow for deep reflection – and for the limited attention spans of younger children.
With each passage I’ve given a brief commentary, and then posed some questions for either personal reflection or group discussion.
Because the participants’ age ranges might be considerable, I’ve tried to keep the level of language complexity down to what I hope is a very wide audience.
This is not intended to be a scholarly study – just one that families can do together. But what I hope is that these reflections will be useful for the ordinary people who sit in the pews – or who used to when churches were allowed to be open.
Whoever thought we would be saying that in 2020!?!
My heart and ministry has always been for the ordinary person, because that’s who I am.
I hope that I approach the Bible with a scholar’s mind – I certainly try to.
I am always conscious of audience, of genre and the life-setting in which the passage has been written.
I try to help people to get behind all those things, to see what the Spirt of God is saying to us down through the ages.
It is my deep prayer that they will help you to live more nearly with the Holy Spirit, to love more dearly the Lord Jesus Christ, and to understand more clearly the beauty and holiness of the Father – the triune God, who has revealed himself to us truly as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Please see below for the weekly studies, published each Friday morning and click on the one you are up to.
The Weekly Bible Studies
Areas of Interest
theology
Theology is simply thinking about God. God wouldn't need to think about himself - it is a mark of our createdness that we think about him.
One of the beliefs of Judaism and of Christianity is that God has not left us completely in the dark when it comes to thinking about him.
He has helped us in several ways. He has communicated to us already through scripture, through prophets, the created 'natural' world, and finally, through his Son, Jesus. And he communicates with us, through our prayer to him, and through his Spirit to our spirits in ways that will always be mysterious.
family and society
I am passionate about family. I am utterly convinced that without strong family structures, any society will crumble and decay.
What makes for strong families is a debate that is often acrimonious, but always fascinating.
My own family consists of a wife to whom I was married in 1971, three children, and nine grandchildren. I consider myself to have been deeply blessed.
education
I have spent most of my life at school: I went to school; I went to university; I became a teacher; I served as Principal for 25 years.
Now, in retirement, I've gone back to school and earnt a Doctorate and now teach university students about Theology and English Literature.
I've always been something of a maverick in Education. I think that most of the experts get it wrong when it comes to education. I also think that there is a massive chasm between the concept of Education and the notion of schooling.
Devotional studies
I love to write about the Bible. This book has been my guide all of my life. I love it.
I have learned to read it much better in my mature years,and much differently from when I was younger. Many people don't quite know what to look for when they open the Bible.
I love to help ordinary people to read it and to understand it, and to help them see how it can speak to them.
governance and leadership
My interest in these topics arises from my work in Education.
I've been members of many Boards, both in Australia and internationally, and have served as a CEO in two independent schools.
Most people don't appreciate that an independent school is a business. In my last school, we had an annual budget of over 20 million dollars, employed about 220 people, had a client base of over 3000 people, interacted with all levels of government, constructed over 50 million dollars worth of buildings, and had export earnings through overseas students of about a half million dollars.
e-books
Some things take more space to write than others. When I have felt that I have written something that needs a longer exploration, I have turned it either into a printed book or an e-book.
Some of these e-books are (or soon will be) available on this site - on all kinds of topics.
COMING SOON
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Well, this is the final study in our reflections on Philippians. Thanks for staying with us through this little book. I’ve learned lots – I hope you have, too. Just as we are reaching the end of our study, most Australian States are starting to reduce COVID lockdown restrictions. Perhaps we’ve served our time and done our duty.