Lesson Plan for Philippians-Colossians

BACKGROUND-PHILIPPIANS

Very tender and uplifting in tone.

The Philippians held a special place in Paul’s heart. They had cared for him financially in his missionary journey and were among his most ardent supporters.

Written while Paul was imprisoned in Rome.

ICEBREAKER-PARABLE OF THE ROOM

I’d like to start out with a little mental exercise that I remember my father doing with me that reminds me of the message of Philippians. He said, imagine yourself in a room, a very dark room with only a small amount of light visible. Just enough to make out the outlines of some furniture and the walls around you. You can tell the room is in disarray. There is a couch haphazardly shoved into a corner with the cushions spread everywhere on the floor. Two chairs are overturned  and a table with some legs missing is lying upside down in the middle of the room. A floor lamp with it’s shade missing is propped diagonally against the wall. As you survey this scene, you hear a voice. And the voice says “clean the room”. So you get to work. You slide the couch against the wall and gather and replace all of its cushions. You set the chairs on their legs and move them to the other corners. You find the lamp shade and place it on the floor lamp and set it upright. You determine that the table is unrepairable and throw it out of the room. Now as you look around the room, you determine that it’s clean. So you call out to the voice saying “The room is clean!” The voice responds saying. “Well done, thou good and faithful servant, your rewardI is more light, clean the room again”. And with that, the room becomes a bit brighter. Now with the added light, you can see things that you couldn’t see before. You notice that there is a lot of trash and paper on the floor. There was a picture upside down in the corner that you missed before, and the end of a rolled up rug is poking out from under the couch. So you clean up the trash, hang the picture on the wall, and roll the rug out in the middle of the room and you say to yourself, well there, the room is clean. Then you hear the voice which says: Well done though good and faithful servant, your reward, is more light, clean the room again”. And with that, more light brightens up the room. With the added light, you notice that the floor is covered in dirt, the chairs and couch are dusty, and the picture is hanging a little slanted on the wall. So you straighten the picture, sweep the floor and dust all the furniture. Now you look around and say to yourself, surely now the room is clean. The voice responds, well done, thou good and faithful servant. Your reward, is more light, clean the room again.  The lights come on even brighter than before. Now you start to think about what more you could do. You think to yourself, well I could mop the floor and really make it shine. Those walls have a lot of smudges and dark spots on them, I’ll repaint them. I could vacuum the rug and perhaps I could reupholster the couch and repaint the chairs to match. So you do all those things, and you call out to the voice: “The room is clean!” To which you hear the voice say “Well done thou good and faithful servant, your reward is more light, go and clean again. Now you wonder what more you can do, but then a though strikes you. I could get a new table, those other walls could use some beautiful pictures, perhaps I could add a vase with flowers and perhaps some new chairs. And on and on this could go. Every time you report, you are given more light and told to clean again.  Pretty soon your knocking out walls, and adding wood floors, and upgrading the rug and furniture. You are filled with a vision of what the room could someday be and you find fulfillment and purpose in adding to and improving it. 

This is the parable of the room, and I believe it is a good representation of what our Father in Heaven wants for us in this life. He is always inviting us to move higher, to become better and to move forward in the world. And every time we are obedient, he blesses us and increases our light and understanding. We have an even greater capacity and freedom to act and improve. We should never plateau, become complacent in our discipleship, or feel we have arrived. If Jesus Christ is our standard, then we all have a lot of work to do. We should not be satisfied with good enough. It’s not about just becoming good people, but becoming Gods. 

C.S. LEWIS QUOTE

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

D&C 50:24

24 That which is of God is light; and he that receiveth light, and continueth in God, receiveth more light; and that light groweth brighter and brighter until the perfect day.

READ

1:6

You’ve started your journey, but you haven’t arrived. But that good work will just continue in you until you have completed  or accomplished it. If you look at the footnotes, that’s what the word “perform” means in this instance. Right now, we are not complete, but one day we will be, until then, keep striving forward.

1:9-11

Key Phrase: Abound yet more and more in knowledge and judgment. Remember the room, the more righteous we are, the more knowledge and light and judgment we receive, until we become “without offense”  or pure and spotless, like the footnotes suggest. Then one day we will be completely filled with the fruits of righteousness. Right now we are in the planting stage, we are working and growing and nourishing until one day we will eat fully of the fruit of the tree of life. “Unto the glory and the praise of God. 

SEARCH ACTIVITY

Assign a verse to each student

Instructions:

1. Read your assigned verses at least 3x

2. Be able to explain the meaning of the verse in your own words

3. Be prepared to explain how a person could live that truth today

4. Create a “Mormonad” out of your verses. Illustrate the truth taught with a picture and text.

Pass out a half piece of white paper and give your students time to draw and color their own Mormonad. Then you invite them to share with the rest of the class what they learned and how their picture illustrates that truth. 

COMMENTARY

1:27 

Upgrade your language

One thing a joyful disciple can do is to purify their language. Now hopefully, at a bare minimum, our language is free of expletives and obscenities. But can we do better,  can we take our language to the next level? To speak as it becometh the gospel of Christ and not just be satisfied with having clean language. What could we eliminate from our communication, and what could we add. Some suggestions. We could eliminate lying, backbiting, gossip. Maybe we could rid our conversations of sarcasm (that’s one that I struggle with sometimes).  I don’t imagine Christ ever being sarcastic. Most humor these days in movies and television is all about sarcasm, making fun of others, and clever put downs. Can we learn to have a sense of humor without resorting to these baser tactics? We could stop interrupting people, blaming, and boasting.

And what could we add to our conversation? How about more encouragement, honesty, positivity, and compliments. We could build people up rather than tear them down. Jesus always did this. He gave people positive nicknames and compliments, like Peter “the Rock”, John “the Beloved”, he called James and John the Sons of thunder, he told Nathanael that he was “without guile”. He was always building people. It’s amazing what a sincere compliment can do for somebody. I still remember a compliment that an elder on my mission gave me. I still get mileage out of that compliment. He saw something positive in me, and I still want to reflect that. 

2:3 

The Platinum Rule: Treat others better than yourself

So we all know the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. But remember, Philippians is about going higher, taking it to the next level. Cleaning the room even more.  Paul says to treat each other better than you would even treat yourself. Maybe we could call this the Platinum rule. Esteeming others better than ourselves would definitely help to keep us humble, a characteristic essential to our spiritual growth. Now, I don’t think Paul means we should de-value ourselves or have low self worth and think that everybody is better than us. There is a difference between humility and being a doormat. Humility recognizes the infinite worth that all souls have, and they treat them as they can and should be, in the hopes that they become as they can and should be. 

2:4

Work for the good of others, not just yourself

In a nation where the standard rule is “look out for number 1”, dog eat dog, survival of the fittest, I’ve gotta get mine, me first, your problems are your problems. Paul comes at us with this refreshing approach. To not only look after our own things but also the things of others. Make the needs of others your concern. As hard as this is to do, because we are all naturally self interested, it is a higher form of discipleship. I love the line in Charles Dickens “A Christmas Carol” where Ebenezer Scrooge tells the Ghost of Jacob Marley that he was always a good man of business. Marley responds with `Business!' cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. `Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!’

Are we about the business of mankind? Or are we too wrapped up in our own business to see the good that we could do in the world? Think of some of the greatest people you know. I bet you that most are people that have sacrificed self and put the good of others before their own. 

2:14

Stop complaining!

It’s one thing to do the right things, it’s completely another to do the right things with the right attitude. To do them without murmuring or complaining. Remember Laman and Lemuel, they ended up doing most of the things that Nephi did. Right, they left Jerusalem, they went back for the plates, they helped build the boat, they traveled to the promised land, so why weren’t they blessed like Nephi? Because of their attitude. They murmured the whole way and eventually turned their back on God and the gospel.  What good does complaining really do anyway? It makes you miserable. It makes the people around you miserable. It changes nothing. There is no vision in complaining, no plan to overcome, no recognition of God’s blessings. Complaining has to be one of the most useless uses of your time.  And sadly enough I know way too many people that complain about their blessings. It’s one thing to complain about your trials, but it’s absolute insanity to complain about your blessings. People complain about what is set before them for dinner, oh I wanted stake not this. Do you realize that half of the population of this world is either malnourished or starving to death? Your garbage disposal probably eats better than most of the people on this planet. My kids complain about school and I think, is having the opportunity to gain an education a trial. No! It’s a blessing. There are millions of people on the planet that would love to be able to get an education. Maybe we complain that our home isn’t bigger, our cars nicer, our phone the newest model. We turn our blessings into curses. I’ve been able to travel to a lot of places in this world, I lived in some of the poorest neighborhoods in Brazil on my mission, and if my life has only taught me one thing thus far, it is that I have no right to complain, about anything. I’ve been too blessed. How dare I snub my nose at God by complaining about my circumstances, even if they could be more ideal. If you want to be a more joyful disciple, stop complaining.

3:7-8  

A quick introduction before we read these verses. When Paul became a Christian, he gave up a lot. He had a pretty easy life and a bright future as a Pharisee. He was a Roman citizen, he had a decent income as a tentmaker, and knowing his ambition and intelligence, he really could have made a name for himself in the Jewish hierarchy. Instead, he gave up all of that to do what. Criss-cross the ancient world, teaching the gospel, facing persecution, hardship, physical pain, and wallow in prison after prison. He had an incredibly difficult life. Remember him listing all his hardships back in 2 Corinthians 11? One might ask him how he felt about losing the money, the prestige, the ease of life, and success to face such hardship. How did he see it?

How did he view all that? As mere dung. Poop. To know Christ, to work for Christ, to represent Christ, to suffer for Christ,  was a far more valuable thing to him than all that earthly gain.  A joyful disciple looks at all the possessions, honors, achievements, and worldly success as just so much manure.  Where everyone is running around trying to gain more than others, more money, more recognition, more fame, what are they accumulating? Just more dung. Some people have more dung than others.

They remind me of one of the most disgusting animals on earth. The dung beetle. Now what dung beetles do is they gather the dung (or poop) of other animals into a round ball and roll it behind them. What do they do with it? They eat it, and lay their eggs in it. You might think it would be quicker and easier to get around without lugging a giant, stinky piece of dung behind your rear right? They don’t seem to see it that way. I think a lot of people are like the dung beetle. They are burdening themselves with the cares and the achievements, and the baggage of the world. Paul by example shows us what is most important. Faith, family, service, work, and Christ. 

3:12-14

Put your PAST behind you (both bad and good) and press forward toward the prize.

This is one of my favorites. Here we get Paul’s philosophy on living the gospel. It’s so good. He recognizes the fact that he is not perfect. He hasn’t “ATTAINED” or “APPREHENDED” or arrived at perfection. He hasn’t reached the level of discipleship that he would like to. He’s not content to just be a good man. He wants to be like Christ in every way. But how does he do it. He doesn’t look to the past. He forgets those things which are behind and reaches forth to the future. He’s not going to dwell on the past. That’s some wise council for us. Don’t look backward. Keep your eye single to the glory of God. And you could see that in two ways. Don’t dwell on the bad things in your past. Now yes, we should always seek to learn from our mistakes, but if we get too wrapped up in what happened yesterday, or last week, or last year, we may get discouraged, or beat ourselves up, or feel that we will never measure up. On the other hand, we shouldn’t dwell on all the good things we’ve done in our past either. If we dwell too much on those, we may be tempted to grow content in our progress. To feel like we’ve done enough, to rest on our laurels. Instead, Paul, presses forward toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. He never gives up, he just keeps pushing forward, he keeps trying, he’s determined, and relentless in his pursuit of Christlike perfection. It reminds me of this verse in the Doctrine and Covenants 67:13 13 Ye are not able to abide the presence of God now, neither the ministering of angels; wherefore, continue in patience until ye are perfected. That was Paul’s motto. He always continued in patience. Patience with God, patience with others, but perhaps most importantly, patience with himself. One day we will be perfected by the perfect atonement of Christ, until then, reach forth, press toward the mark for the prize and one day, you will attain and apprehend it. Remember, on a car, you have a huge windshield, and a tiny rear view mirror. Why? Because what’s ahead of you is 10 times more important than what’s behind you.

4:4-6 

You could probably summarize these verses in one pithy statement. 

Don’t worry, be happy.

Paul was a happy man. I love how he tells them twice to rejoice. I don’t think we are as happy sometimes as God intends us to be. He wants us to be happy. I love the footnote for 6a that tells us another translation for the phrase “Be careful for nothing”. It means “Don’t be unduly concerned about anything”. Stop worrying so much. By worrying too much about the possible problems that might come tomorrow, we sap today of it’s potential joy. Today has enough of it’s own concerns and problems, focus on those. Why add tomorrows concerns to the load? Plus, if we add all our past problems to our worry, no wonder we get so depressed and miserable. We aren’t meant to deal with yesterday’s, today’s, and tomorrow’s problems all at once. Live your life one day at a time. And rejoice in it. Worrying, like complaining, is an complete waste of our energy and time. We have been given an amazing gift from our Father in Heaven. AGENCY! That’s more than just the ability to choose what we do, it’s also the freedom to choose how we will feel. We can choose to be controlled by what happens to us, or we can choose to control our response to it. It is possible to be happy regardless of our circumstances. We just need to stop worrying and start living. 

4:8  

Follow the Admonition of Paul:  Seek for the Best in all things 

Now that should sound familiar to you. Where have you heard that before? Yep, the 13th article of faith. Remember how it says in that declaration that “Indeed we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul”. Well this is the verse that it is referring to. This is the admonition of Paul.  Here is what a joyful disciple seeks for. Life is not just for enduring, it’s for enjoying. And what is the greatest source of enjoyment. Spending our lives seeking for things that are pure, lovely, praiseworthy, and of good report.Think of the last movie you watched, book you read, music you listened to. Would it fit this description? If not, maybe you should raise your standards a little. There is so much out there in this world that we can enjoy that does fit that description. Don’t waste your time with the garbage. Don’t just read any book, read the best books that are of good report, don’t just watch any movie, seek for the ones that are praise worthy, don’t just listen to any music, listen to the ones that are virtuous. And with the experiences you seek, hobbies you engage in, relationships you develop, make sure they are lift you closer to heaven and not the world. 

4:11 

This one coincides well with some of the statements we have already spoken about but  we need to learn to be content with what we have and where we are. It is not our circumstances and environment that should control our attitude. We can choose to be content no matter what the circumstances. I once read a book called “Man’s Search for Meaning”, by Victor Frankl. It’s about a man that was a holocaust survivor who found that he could still choose contentment and meaning even amidst the most horrific of circumstances. It’s the one thing the Nazi’s could not take from him, his response to his circumstances. He could choose them, no matter what.  I like this quote from Elder Uchtdorf, "Could I suggest that we see gratitude as a disposition, a way of life that stands independent of our current situation? In other words, I’m suggesting that instead of being thankful for things, we focus on being thankful in our circumstances—whatever they may be.”  (Conference Report, April 2014, Grateful in any Circumstances”). I love that thought, I always used to think that gratitude was about being grateful “for” things, but more importantly, gratitude is about being grateful “In” all things, even trial, pain, and suffering. Just think of Paul as he’s writing those words, he’s in prison for heaven’s sake. And yet the whole letter radiates with gratitude and joy. 

4:13 

I love this one. What a powerful final statement. Paul has great confidence in what he can do, in what he is able to accomplish. But it’s not a selfish, ambitious, self confidence that drives him. It’s a recognition of where his true power comes from. From Christ. So, we can obey that difficult commandment, we can endure that grueling trial, we can serve in that overwhelming calling, we can bear up under enormous responsibility.  How? By our own efforts and abilities? No, we do not have the power to do it on our own, we can only do it through Christ. Christ can give us the strength that we need. If we turn to him in prayer, scripture study, worship, and service, he will help us do all things that God has placed in our path. We can do it! You can do it! Just turn to Christ. 

CONCLUSION

I encourage you to lift yourself in some way to the next level of discipleship. It’s time for an upgrade. Choose just one of these things to work on and watch your life improve. Stop looking at your discipleship as a checklist of rules and regulations. See it as the grand quest of your lifetime. To always strive upward. To press forward for the prize, finding joy in the journey, and strength through Christ. It’s the only way to live. 

COLOSSIANS:BACKGROUND

Paul didn’t establish the church in Collosae and to our knowledge, never visited it.

He wrote it after he was visited by a man named Epaphras, a leader of the church in Colossae who told him some of the church’s problems in that city.

The church was coming under the influence of false teachers.

The people in Colossae were blending different religions with Christianity.

ICEBREAKER

Based on what you know about these cities and what is at their center, what would you say is important to the people in them?

Washington DC. Politics and Government

Manhattan.   Business/Money

Las Vegas.  Gambling/Sin

Salt Lake.  The temple 

Rio De Janeiro.  I love the statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio. Even though I would say that Rio is not the most righteous of cities, it’s a nice thought, that a reminder of the Savior is always visible to them. 

SEARCH

Q: Can you find the word in Colossians 1:15-18 which means the same  thing as “Most Important” or “Superior”

A:  Preeminence. To have preeminence means to have supremacy or priority in things. That’s the major theme of Colossians in my mind. We need to learn to put Christ at the center of our lives. To give him priority, or preeminence. 

Make a label with caption: How to give Christ the Preeminence in your life

COLOSSIANS CROSSWORD

Across

1. put on ____________ (3:14)      charity

3. Let the _________ of God rule in your hearts (3:15)  peace

4. Don't let this spoil you. _______ deceit (2:8). Vain

7. being ________ together in love (2:2) knit

8. Don't let this spoil you. ___________ of the world (2:8) rudiments

11. _______ in the faith, grounded and settled (1:23) continue

12. Giving __________ unto the Father (1:12) thanks

13. _________ ye in him (2:6) walk

14. Walk _________ of the Lord unto all pleasing (1:10) worthy

15. Forbearing one another, _____________ one another (3:13) forgiving

Down

2. Don't let this spoil you. ___________ of men (2:8) tradition

5. Don't let this spoil you (2:8). Philosophy 

6. whatsoever ye do, do it ____________ (3:23) heartily 

9. Let the word of Christ _______ in you (3:16) dwell

10. ____________ with grace in your hearts (3:16) singing

APPLY

Q: Have you let any of the following things take preeminence in your life? The ideas in 2:8

A: 2:8 philosophy, vain deceit, tradition of men, and the rudiments of the world. 

Q: If your life were represented by a city, what would be at its center. Like Rio, If there was a giant statue in the middle of your city, what would it be of? What takes preeminence in your life? What takes priority over all other things? For some it might be a giant statue of a dollar bill, or maybe a football, perhaps a social media app, your office, or a 250 ft statue of yourself? If you are in your youth, perhaps a giant Xbox, a skateboard, your friends, the opposite sex, or some music group or celebrity?  Have you allowed the rudiments of this world take center stage?

Q: What can and will you do about that?

CONCLUSION

Colossians 3:1-4

1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.

2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.

3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

That is my prayer for each of you as well. That you will seek for things above and not below, and if we do I look forward to the day when we can all appear with Him in glory.