The Prize

Philippians 3:1-16 March 31, 2024 Pastor Chris Oswald

Audio coming soon

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Thesis Because Christ has been raised from the dead, believers must reorient their entire lives around the prize of knowing Him, counting all earthly achievements as loss and embracing suffering as the path to deeper fellowship with the resurrected Lord.

Series

Luke's Gospel

Type

Expository

Tone

pastoraldidacticprophetic

Method

grammatical-historicalredemptive-historicalapplicatory

What's in this sermon

The shape of the argument

19 units across exposition, application, illustration, theological claim, and conclusion. The pastor's argument is built from these moving parts.

Pastoral correction · unit #13

"Direct application of Paul's identity transformation to the congregation's life. Believers often discard or supplement their identity in Christ with human achievements—ethnic heritage, education, careers, sexuality, bank accounts, ministries, families. Paul's perspective exposes these as rubbish and calls believers to rest in Christ's accomplishments rather than competing or striving."

Doctrinal loci· 10 surfaced

Sanctification · 8 Soteriology · 8 Christology · 5 Hamartiology · 3 Anthropology · 2 Bibliology · 2 Ecclesiology · 2 Theology Proper · 2 Doxology / Worship · 1 Pneumatology · 1

Bible citations· 11

Illustrations· 3

Easter Preparation Rituals personal story · unit #2 — Personal anecdote and cultural observation about Easter preparation rituals—special outfits, heightened effort, enthusiastic attendance—establishing the familiar pattern of treating Easter as a special day requiring special preparation.
Military Dress Uniform analogy · unit #7 — Military uniform analogy makes Paul's credentials list vivid and accessible. Just as a general's dress uniform displays a complete career at a glance, Paul's list functions as a comprehensive display of his Jewish accomplishments and righteousness markers.
Easter Versus Resurrection cultural reference · unit #17 — Provocative illustration contrasting trivial Easter customs (ham lunch, egg hunts, outfits) with the life-altering power of resurrection. Challenges the congregation to assess whether they live in light of resurrection power or merely observe Easter rituals.

Theological claims· 6

The resurrection of Christ fundamentally transforms a believer's identity, changing both internal self-understanding and external self-presentation to the world. unit #6
Paul has experienced such a radical identity transformation that all his former impressive Jewish credentials, which once defined him, are now counted as worthless refuse—animal manure. unit #9
At conversion, Christ Jesus takes eternal possession of believers, transferring them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son and replacing their former identity with a new one in Him. unit #11
The resurrection proves that believers are freed from the compulsion to build their own righteousness through human achievement, because Christ gives them an unearned inheritance accessed through faith alone. unit #12
The prize believers should pursue is not worldly achievement or comfort, but knowing God Himself—knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection—because making anything less than God ultimate turns it into an idol. unit #16
To know God as the prize means intimate relational knowledge—loving Him and drinking deeply from His infinite beauty—not merely memorizing Scripture or having correct doctrine. unit #18

Read it

Full transcript

16,028 characters 19 units ~18 min reading time

0 · Establishes the structural context of the sermon, signaling a temporary departure from the ongoing Luke series to focus on a specific Philippians passage for Easter Sunday

We're going to be taking a brief break from our sermon series in Luke's Gospel this morning to turn our attention to the book of Philippians, specifically Philippians 3:1.

1 · Opening prayer invoking the authority of Scripture and the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, asking God to make the text effective in the hearts of the congregation

Before we do that though, let's begin with a word of prayer. Lord, this is your word that we turn our attention to. We sit under its authority and we believe in its power. We believe in its power because this is your word inspired by your Holy Spirit. And so we ask now that you would send that same Spirit to hold sway in our hearts, to move us and to affect us, to take the claim of this text and to bring it home. Lord, we want to sit under your word. And we want to do so joyfully. So we pray now in Jesus' name, revive us, refresh us, renew us, increase our satisfaction in you, in the preaching of your word. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

2 · Personal anecdote and cultural observation about Easter preparation rituals—special outfits, heightened effort, enthusiastic attendance—establishing the familiar pattern of treating Easter as a special day requiring special preparation

Well, this week, as I do most weeks, at some point during the week I end up on Facebook and I kind of check in with the world, so to say, and see how folks are doing. And you've got those TBT— I think it means Throwback Thursday— posts that people put up, right, where they put up old photos and kind of commemorate something that happened in their life. And now Facebook even has a feature where they will actually remind you and make suggestions. So a photo that you put up 5 years ago, Facebook will gently suggest, "Hey, you should repost this so everyone can see it." Well, I was looking on Facebook this weekend and I had a literal laugh-out-loud moment at my computer. What I saw was a friend of mine from high school— you can put up the picture now, Michael— she boldly posted this picture of an '80s Easter celebration with her family. I think the hashtag was #pastel4days, and the comments were just hilarious as we all joked about the massive amounts of lace and and the special pink bling purse that her little sister had, and all the hours it took perming the hair. It's a beautiful, epic reminder of all the work that goes into an Easter Sunday morning. I think it's also fair to say that not all styles come back. That's good, you can take it down. We're reminded though on Easter Sunday, aren't we, that we take special care and special attention. I'm wearing a shirt, I'm not ashamed to admit, that my mom bought me 2 weeks ago. She came down and she said, "I want to take you shopping for an Easter outfit." Her literal words. And so I said, as a good cheap Dutchman, never saying no to something free, "Okay." So I went to Kohl's with my mom and she bought me my Easter outfit. And then we ran into some parents from Case's class and I had to explain that my mom was buying me an Easter outfit. But we get ready for Easter Sunday. We wear special outfits. In some places, maybe the deeper South, we wear special hats. We come ready to worship. We brave 3/4 of an inch of snow on Easter Sunday because we will not be kept away. We want to worship. We're excited to worship. Our hearts are full.

3 · Pivots from Easter preparation customs to the sermon's controlling claim: resurrection should reshape all of life, not just Easter Sunday observance

Where we're going to look this morning in Philippians 3 though, is a reminder from the Apostle Paul that the resurrection and the reality that Christ has been risen from the grave shouldn't just shape the way we dress on one Sunday out of the year. It should shape the way we understand ourselves and approach all of life as those who have died with Christ and who will one day be raised with him.

4 · Public reading of the sermon text establishing the biblical foundation for the entire message

So would you look with me now at Philippians 3:1, we're going to read through verse 16. Hear God's holy and authoritative word. Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you is no trouble to me and is safe for you. Look out for dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision. Who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, though I myself have every reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the 8th day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; As to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him. Not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and may share His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. But those of you who are mature think this way. And if anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. Only let us hold true to what we have attained. The Word of the Lord. May He write His truth upon our hearts.

5 · Sets expectations for the sermon's scope, clarifying that the focus will be on how resurrection specifically reshaped Paul's life perspective rather than exhaustive exposition of the entire passage

That's a long section of Scripture. It's a well-known section of Scripture. It's an inspiring section of Scripture. And all the riches of Philippians 3 aren't going to get unpacked this morning. Our goal isn't to mine all of its depths. Rather, I want to consider the essential way Paul shows us in this passage, the essential way that the resurrection reshaped Paul's outlook on life.

6 · Establishes the first major theological movement of the sermon: resurrection produces fundamental identity transformation

For starters, Paul's view of himself has been fundamentally altered. More than that, not just Paul's view of himself, how Paul presents himself to the world has changed. In Christ, Paul is showing us in Philippians 3, he has taken on a new identity. It's the first thing the resurrection does in reshaping him. The resurrection has given Paul a new identity in Christ.

7 · Military uniform analogy makes Paul's credentials list vivid and accessible

We have in this chapter that famous list of of all of Paul's accomplishments, right? Familiar with that list? It kind of reminds me a little bit of seeing the uniform of a 4-star general. There's lots of impressive things about seeing the uniform of a 4-star general or a 4-star admiral. And part of it is they've got lots of bling on that uniform, right? Like on their chest, on their breast, is that big placard. And it's full of all of their ribbons and their accomplishments and their commendations. If you see someone who's been in the military for a long time, a career military officer, and you see them in their dress uniform, it's an impressive thing. And if you're within the military community and you see someone in one of those uniforms, at a glance, you have a picture of who they are. At a glance, just looking at their chest while they're in their dress uniform, you can identify who the man is. You know, where he served and the nature of his career. If he was ever wounded in combat. What sort of medals for valor he's received. The kinds of foreign wars that he's fought. And all just by looking at his chest. It's on display right there. That's sort of what Paul is doing in Philippians 3. He's putting all of his ribbons, all of his medals, all of his commendations on display for the church in Philippi and for us this morning.

8 · Unpacks the specific content of Paul's pre-conversion credentials: prodigy of Gamaliel, Hebrew of Hebrews, renowned Pharisee, expert in Old Testament law, zealous persecutor of Christians

He lists all of his Jewish decorations, all of his marks of righteousness. These are the things Paul says that made him blameless under the law. This was Paul's identity. These are the things that defined who he was. Before his name was changed, he was known as Saul. He was this famous prodigy of Gamaliel, this famous rabbi. He describes himself as a Hebrew of Hebrews. Right? He's in the Hebrews Hall of Fame is what Paul is saying. He's a renowned Pharisee. He's an expert in the minutia of the Old Testament. Passion? You know how passionate he was? He's a persecutor of this faith. This fledgling Christian sect that follows the Nazarene. Paul's identity within Judaism was complete and it was impeccable. His resume is beyond reproach.

9 · Doctrinal assertion about the radical nature of Paul's identity transformation

Paul sets that in front of us, not to boast in it, but to show us that he no longer has any desire to be known as that man. Saul is in the history books. He's figuratively torn off his Jewish campaign ribbons and he's cast them aside. In fact, he actually says all of those accomplishments, all those markers of identity now for Paul are refuse. The word he uses is actually pretty explicit. They're like animal manure to him.

10 · Narrative exposition of Paul's Damascus Road encounter with the risen Christ

Well, what causes that kind of radical shift in identity? From champion, righteous resume builder to a man willing to suffer in the name of a crucified Nazarene rabbi. Where does that change come from? Well, that change started very simply on the Damascus Road. Saul, leading a fresh crop of Jewish Christians that he'd captured and was delivering to the authorities on that Damascus road, had encountered the risen Christ. Saul came face-to-face with the reality that Jesus, this man the Jewish authorities had successfully maneuvered into being crucified, that that Jesus was no longer dead. That the rumors that He had dispelled as myth, that those rumors were true. Jesus had been raised from the tomb by the power of God. And Saul realized that this could only mean the resurrection validated everything Jesus had said and everything He had done. In short, He was the Lord. He was the Messiah. He really was Christ. Christ hadn't died some needless death on the losing end of a political struggle in Jerusalem. He'd willingly and obediently gone to the cross. He died a death in the place of ruined sinners who were powerless to save themselves. And Jesus had done this, Paul realized, in the utmost confidence that as horrible as the sacrifice was, the sacrifice we commemorate on Good Friday, that God the Father would vindicate him and would raise him back to new life. And on the road to Damascus, Paul came face to face with the resurrected Christ in all His glory. And it completely changed him.

11 · Doctrinal claim about the nature of conversion and its universal application

In fact, Paul writes here, speaking of that conversion, he says conversion is the place, conversion is the time. Moment on the Damascus Road, that moment for all of us when we're transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son, when regeneration happens, it's when Jesus takes eternal possession of us. That's what v. 12 tells us. Christ Jesus had made Paul His very own. And that's what Jesus does to all of us at conversion. Which is another way of saying Jesus replaces our identity.

12 · Soteriological claim about the freedom the resurrection brings

He frees us from the cheap tokens and trinkets of human achievement that we so naturally accumulate. The righteousness that wasn't ours. And He gives us an inheritance we haven't earned. And we access that through faith in Jesus. So as Paul has encountered the resurrected Christ, And as he proclaims to the Philippian church and to Providence and to us this morning, in Christ, because the resurrection is real, there's a freedom from operating in this way that's so natural to all of us. This way of operating that says, "I have to build my resume. I have to impress others. And I also have to try to impress God." Paul says the resurrection proves that's fruitless. It's not necessary.

13 · Direct application of Paul's identity transformation to the congregation's life

As fellow believers, we should have this same shift of mindset, the same shift in identity. I think far too often though, just as easily as we take off our Easter outfits and put them back in the closet, we seem content to discard our newfound identity in Christ. Or at least we try to supplement that identity. Sure, this is all I am in Christ, but I'm still with my other hand trying to accumulate the trinkets. We turn right back to the rat race. We attempt to prop up our self-identity with all kinds of measurable human achievements. And so we return to boasting in our ethnic heritage or our education and our degrees Or our careers and the trajectory of our career path or other accomplishments. Maybe it's our sexuality or our bank accounts or ministries or families. Humans have an unbelievably imaginative way of figuring out new ways to show to the world and oftentimes to prove to ourselves we're worthwhile. The list could go on and on. But Paul sees these things for what they truly are. It's rubbish outside of Christ. It's things fit for the trash heap. Being found in Jesus means we don't have to strive for our own righteousness. It means we don't have to build up and protect our own accomplishments. It means that when we gather as God's people, We don't have to compete with each other. Who sings the best in worship? Who serves the most sacrificially? Right? We don't have to do those sorts of things. Instead, we can joyfully have our identity subsumed under Christ's. We can rest in all that He's accomplished.

14 · Structural pivot from the first major movement (new identity) to the second major movement (new prize/purpose)

So Paul's found a new identity because of the resurrection. But it's also given him a new purpose in life. Specifically, Paul says he's found a new prize to pursue.

15 · Expositional work on verses 13-14, unpacking the language of prize and goal

In verse 13, he says, "One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Let those who are mature think this way." Now that's a complicated sentence. There's a lot loaded into that. The gist of it is though, Paul has a new prize and a new goal that he's living for. Several times in this passage though, Paul also indicates it's not just his prize and his goal. He wants us to have this prize and this goal. In this passage we just read, he writes what? Let those of you who are mature think this way. Mature believers will have this goal. Later on in chapter 3, he says, imitate me. Walk in this way. Do and live the way that I'm living. Prize what I'm prizing.

16 · Doctrinal claim identifying the nature of the prize

Think like what? Prize what? Our prize, Paul says, has shifted. It's no longer a corner office. It's no longer a white picket fence life. It's no longer safety and security or exceeding the average lifespan of our community. And it's not that any of those things are bad in and of themselves. Paul's not saying that at all. But if those become what we strive for, they become the ultimate prize, the ultimate source of our pleasure and happiness, then they become idols. Good things that become ultimate things have displaced God from the throne. So what should we prize? Paul's already told us that in verse 10. That I may know him, Paul says, that is the prize. That I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead. I press on to make it my own because Christ Jesus has made me his own. It's really simple. For Paul, for the mature, what he wants for all of us, the prize is God himself. The prize is Christ Jesus.

17 · Provocative illustration contrasting trivial Easter customs (ham lunch, egg hunts, outfits) with the life-altering power of resurrection

That's what he's pushing us towards. You know how differently Paul thinks of his life and the world around him? The resurrection isn't just some event that signals, hey, we're gonna have a big ham lunch today. I was talking with somebody earlier about the ham. That's not all the resurrection is. It's not Easter egg hunts and new outfits and hats. And I trust that on a certain level we know that. But the question from Philippians 3 and the question for us this morning is, do we live in light of that? The prize. The resurrection shows us the power of the resurrection. This power that raised Jesus from the grave, this, this power that caused Paul and every person in here to be born again to the living hope. The power of the resurrection has to give us a new trajectory in life, Paul says, and the prize is that we would know God.

18 · Theological clarification on the nature of "knowing" God as the prize

And that word "know" is loaded with meaning. Not just that we have a bunch of scriptures memorized, not just that all of our doctrinal ducks would be in a row, but this is an intimate knowledge. That we would know Him and that we would love Him and that we would drink deeply from His infinite beauty.

Where this fits

Recent preaching context

The three sermons immediately preceding this one in the preaching schedule.

Feb 29, 2024

Resurrection Heresies

The enemy's attacks on resurrection doctrine target three interrelated concepts—Christ's historical resurrection, the believer's literal spiritual resurrection, and the future physical resurrection—because corrupting any of these undermines essential Christian realities of power, pattern, and promise, leading to materialism, Arminianism, or Gnosticism respectively.

Mar 17, 2024

Successful Christian Parenting, Part 1

The fundamental goal of Christian parenting is to raise children who continue in what they have learned and firmly believed, accomplished primarily through teaching them the law of God to make them aware of their need for salvation and the gospel of God to bring them relief and joy in Christ.

Mar 24, 2024

Successful Christian Parenting, Part 2

Successful Christian parenting requires parents to possess sincere (non-hypocritical) faith rooted in regular experience of God's grace, supported by deep integration into a local church that provides additional godly influence as children's lives expand beyond what parents alone can guard.

March 31 · This sermon

The Prize

Because Christ has been raised from the dead, believers must reorient their entire lives around the prize of knowing Him, counting all earthly achievements as loss and embracing suffering as the path to deeper fellowship with the resurrected Lord.

Philippians 3:1-16

Take it further

Discuss · apply · pray

Small groups

6 discussion questions

Paul lists his Jewish credentials in Philippians 3:4-6 as things he could boast about, yet he calls them 'rubbish' in verse 8. What shift in…

Daily readings

5-day reading plan

This week we trace how the resurrection of Christ reorients our entire identity, replacing earthly achievement with the prize of knowing God Himself, and empowering us to count all loss as gain.

Prayer

A Prayer for New Identity in Christ

Father, we come before You this Easter season marveling at the power of Christ's resurrection—that it is mighty enough to remake us entirely…

Family table

What Would You Trade?

This prompt invites your family to wrestle with Paul's radical choice to count his greatest earthly achievements as garbage in light of know…

Couples

Reorienting Around the Prize

What achievement or identity marker did you hear the sermon inviting you to release, and what made that convicting or hopeful for you?…

Memorize

Philippians 3:7-8

This verse crystallizes Paul's radical identity transformation and embodies the sermon's central claim: the resurrection reorients believers' entire lives around a new prize—knowing Christ—making all earthly achievements worthless by comparison. It is the hinge on which the sermon turns from Paul's former identity to his new one in Christ.

Small-group discussion

6 questions for your group this week

Paul lists his Jewish credentials in Philippians 3:4-6 as things he could boast about, yet he calls them 'rubbish' in verse 8. What shift in Paul's understanding of his own identity allowed him to view these accomplishments so differently after his encounter with the risen Christ?

Acts 9:1-9

→ When you reflect on achievements or identities you've built your life around—professionally, relationally, spiritually—what would it feel like to recategorize them the way Paul did?
In Philippians 3:7-9, Paul moves from describing what he's lost to describing what he's gained. How does Paul's language shift when he talks about gaining Christ and the righteousness that comes through faith rather than human effort?

Philippians 3:7-9
The sermon emphasizes that believers have been transferred from 'the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son' (Colossians 1:13). How does this radical relocation of our citizenship reshape what we should consider 'winning' or 'losing' in this earthly life?

Colossians 1:13
Paul describes the prize he pursues as 'knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection' (Philippians 3:10). Based on the sermon, what's the difference between knowing *about* Christ and knowing *Christ Himself* as your prize?

Philippians 3:10

→ What does it practically look like this week to pursue intimate relational knowledge of God rather than simply accumulating spiritual information?
In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul describes the Christian life as a disciplined, all-consuming pursuit—like an Olympic athlete—yet he's pursuing something invisible and eternal rather than a visible prize. What shifts in our motivation when we stop chasing earthly recognition and start chasing fellowship with the resurrected Christ?

Philippians 3:12-14
The sermon identifies a fallen condition: believers within the church sometimes supplement their identity in Christ with human achievement, as if Christ's work weren't enough. How does the gospel—the fact that Christ has already accomplished everything and secured your identity—actually free you from the need to compete or prove yourself, even in spiritual community?

Philippians 3:1-16

Draft · pending review

Daily readings · Monday–Friday

5-day reading plan

This week we trace how the resurrection of Christ reorients our entire identity, replacing earthly achievement with the prize of knowing God Himself, and empowering us to count all loss as gain.

Monday Colossians 1:13

Paul declares that God has already done what we could never accomplish: rescued us from darkness and transplanted us into the kingdom of the beloved Son. This transfer is not something we negotiated or earned—it is the sovereign act of God through Christ's resurrection, making our identity no longer rooted in our past, our credentials, or our striving, but entirely in His redemptive power.

Tuesday Acts 9:1-9

On the Damascus road, Paul encountered the risen Christ and everything inverted: the persecutor became the persecuted, the confident rabbi became blind and helpless, the man certain of his righteousness was undone. This collision with the resurrected Lord did not merely adjust Paul's theology—it obliterated his former self-definition and reconstructed his entire identity around Jesus as Lord.

Wednesday Colossians 1:13

Because we have been transferred into a new kingdom under a new King, everything we once grasped as treasure in the old kingdom becomes dung. Paul's boasting in circumcision, law-keeping, and tribal heritage was not merely mistaken—it was spiritually toxic, a substitute for the only true wealth: Christ Himself. In that transfer, he gained everything by losing everything.

Thursday Acts 9:1-9

Paul's blindness on the Damascus road was the moment his eyes were opened to see Christ. His loss of sight was his gain of vision—not the ability to see letters and light, but to perceive the surpassing worth of knowing the risen Lord. True sight, for believers, is the clarified vision that nothing in this world—no credential, achievement, or comfort—compares to the beauty of God Himself made known in Christ.

Friday Colossians 1:13

Because we have been transferred into Christ's kingdom through His power alone—not our merit—we are liberated from the treadmill of self-justification that poisons Christian community. We no longer compete with one another to prove our worth or earn God's favor; we rest together in the accomplished redemption of the resurrected Lord, free to serve one another from a place of security rather than striving.

Draft · pending review

Pray together this week

A Prayer for New Identity in Christ

Father, we come before You this Easter season marveling at the power of Christ's resurrection—that it is mighty enough to remake us entirely, to strip away the false identities we have constructed and to clothe us with a new self rooted in His triumph over death. We confess that we still cling to the credentials we have earned, the accomplishments we have gathered, the reputations we have built. Even within our church family, we compete and strive, uncertain that who we are in Christ is enough, that His finished work and unearned inheritance are truly sufficient for our standing before You (Philippians 3:4-9). We forget that the resurrection has already settled the question of our worthiness.

In the gospel, we are transferred from darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved Son; we are no longer building our own righteousness or proving ourselves through human effort (Colossians 1:13). Christ Jesus has taken eternal possession of us, and His resurrection proves that we are freed forever from the compulsion to earn what He has already given. The prize we are called to pursue is not worldly success or comfort, but the intimate knowledge of God Himself—knowing Christ and the power of His resurrection, drinking deeply from His infinite beauty (Philippians 3:10).

We ask You to grant us the grace to count all earthly achievements as loss, to find our entire identity wrapped up in Him alone, and to reorient our lives around this single, all-consuming prize. Free us from the competitive striving that divides us; teach us to rejoice in suffering as the pathway to deeper fellowship with our risen Lord (Philippians 3:10-11). Give us the discipline of Olympic athletes, but focused on the eternal goal, pressing forward together toward the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

May our entire lives—not just this Easter Sunday—be reshaped by the resurrection. We commit ourselves to this new prize, this new identity, this new way of living. To the risen Christ be all glory and honor forever.

Draft · pending review

Sunday-evening family table

What Would You Trade?

For the parent

This prompt invites your family to wrestle with Paul's radical choice to count his greatest earthly achievements as garbage in light of knowing Christ. Listen for how your children understand what makes something truly valuable—and use their answers to point them toward the infinite worth of Jesus Himself.

Paul had a really impressive résumé—he was educated, respected, successful by every standard. But after meeting the risen Jesus, he said all of it was like trash compared to knowing Him. If you had to give up one thing that makes you feel proud or successful—a talent, an award, a skill—in order to know Jesus better, what would be hardest to let go of? Why?

Works for ages 8+; younger children can listen and share with parental scaffolding

Draft · pending review

Couples · three questions over coffee

Reorienting Around the Prize

What achievement or identity marker did you hear the sermon inviting you to release, and what made that convicting or hopeful for you?
Where do we as a couple still measure ourselves by worldly success rather than by knowing Christ together, and how might the resurrection change that pattern?
What would it look like for us to pursue knowing God—His beauty, His character, His presence—as our shared prize this week, and how can we pray that into each other's lives?

Draft · pending review

Memory verse this week

Philippians 3:7-8

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ.

Why this verse: This verse crystallizes Paul's radical identity transformation and embodies the sermon's central claim: the resurrection reorients believers' entire lives around a new prize—knowing Christ—making all earthly achievements worthless by comparison. It is the hinge on which the sermon turns from Paul's former identity to his new one in Christ.

Draft · pending review

Where this was preached

About the church

Providence Community Church

Lenexa, KS
Sundays · 10:00 AM
About us · What we believe

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# Providence Community Church

A church preaching expository sermons through the books of the Bible.

## Sermons
- [Resurrection Heresies (2024-02-29)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2024/02/resurrection-heresies)
- [Successful Christian Parenting, Part 1 (2024-03-17)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2024/03/successful-christian-parenting-part-1)
- [Successful Christian Parenting, Part 2 (2024-03-24)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2024/03/successful-christian-parenting-part-2)
- [The Prize (Philippians 3:1-16, 2024-03-31)](/ProvidenceLenexa/sermons/2024/03/the-prize)

## About
- [About the church](/about)
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