Letting Go Journal week 2

WEEK 2: LETTING GO… OF SELF & FINDING LIFE

Philippians 3:12-16

READ Each week as we read through the book of Philippians we will read a different translation. This week we will be reading the Common English Bible (CEB). You can find different translations through the YouVersion Bible App (www.bible.com).

Day 1 - Read Chapter 1 Day 2 - Read Chapter 2 Day 3 - Read Chapter 3 Day 4 - Read Chapter 4 Day 5 - Listen to this hymn, “Take My Life and Let It Be” (https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=lQ93HVuYd5Y). As you do, think about setting aside your own wants and desires for the wants and desires of God. Take my life and let it be hymn MEMORIZE This week we are memorizing Philippians 3:14 “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Jesus Christ.”

As you write the verse in your journal this week consider doing something different with the verse. Maybe insert pictures in place of words sometimes. Don’t worry about what the picture looks like – this is only for you to see. Let your pictures help you recall the verse each day until you have it fixed in your memory.

REFLECT As you go about your daily life, do you find that many of your thoughts are focused on yourself, how you will make it through the day or the week?

In your conversations with people do you practice good listening skills, or do you find your thoughts drifting off with concerns about your own life?

It is natural for our human souls to drift to self-preservation and selfconcern. But Jesus asks us to resist this drift. In our scripture reading this week we find Paul telling the Philippians that he has one goal, and that is the prize of the “heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.” He tells them that he is forgetting his past and only looking forward, to what lies ahead. In essence, Paul is taking his eyes off himself and only focusing on the call of Jesus, which means being more concerned with the greater good of the community than with himself.

What does this look like for you? How can you, when you are in the midst of difficult days, press on toward the prize that is the call of Jesus? How can you intentionally take your eyes off of yourself and be more concerned with the greater good of the community, the church?

SPIRITUAL HABIT As you reflect on that last question, prepare to practice our spiritual habit that was introduced in this week’s sermon. Use this podcast to guide you through the practice this week: https://imbetween.org/mini4/