Tackling disunity and anxiety – Philippians E5

How can we be unified as Christians? How do we find true peace? Are we intentional about what we consume?

Today we discuss Philippians 4.1–9. We explore Paul's call for unity within the church and the importance of focusing on Christ and our citizenship in heaven. We also discuss Paul's advice on not being anxious and the peace that comes from presenting our requests to God. We finish by looking at the need to fill our minds with the right things and how what we consume shapes us.
Timestamps

• (00:00) - Intro
• (01:10) - Stand firm for the sake of the gospel
• (02:40) - Unity in the Church
• (10:14) - Thanksgiving, anxiety and the peace of God
• (18:35) - Our focus must be on God – Christianity and Stoicism
• (23:30) - Send us your questions!
• (24:17) - What do we fill our minds with?
• (28:22) - Choosing to do good
• (32:02) - The challenge for us today

Send us your questions!
We'd love to hear from you. We'll be compiling some questions for the final episode of the series which will be a Q and A.
Submit your question

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Creators & Guests

Host

Esther King

Esther is part of Bible Society's Communications team.

Host

Mark Woods

Mark is a Baptist minister and sometime journalist, who now heads up Bible Society's comms team.

Guest

Jack Morris

Jack works with digital content all across Bible Society.

What is The Rooted Podcast?

Listen to The Rooted Podcast for in-depth conversations about the Bible and how we can apply it to our lives. Join the team behind Rooted, Bible Society's devotional journal, as we dig deeper into a theme or book of the Bible in each series and explore its message for us today.

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You're listening to The Rooted Podcast from Bible Society, a Christian organization that invites people to discover the life -giving power of the Bible. In each series, we dig deeper into a theme or book of the Bible and explore its message for us today. This is series two, Philippians. Welcome back to The Rooted Podcast. I'm Jack. I'm standing in for Noel today who can't be with us. I work with Mark and Esther in the comms team at Bible Society.

I'm usually editing the podcast, but today it is my honor to be behind the mic. Very much looking forward to it. So Mark and Esther, how are you guys doing? Yeah, not too bad. Yeah, very well. Looking forward to this. Thanks for stepping in, Jen. Great. Yeah, no worries. So today we're going to be looking at Philippians chapter four, verses one through to nine. We've got plenty to cover. We'll take a look at Paul's call for unity in light of what he's been speaking about so far. His famous verse on...

praying and everything and not worrying, but bringing our requests to Christ, the peace of God that transcends all understanding. And we'll finish by looking at what Paul commands us to think about and how what we consume really can shape us. So, Esther, do you want to kick us off with verses one to three? Yes. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends.

I plead with you, Euodia, and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co -workers, whose names are in the book of life. Something that's interesting here that we've picked up on before, I think Noelle looked at it in maybe the last episode, is that word therefore? That word means we've got to look back a little bit and see what...

why he's saying this. At the end of chapter 3, we've got Paul talking about our heavenly citizenship and being aware of those whose lives are, their living lives as enemies of the cross of Christ and who focus on earthy things. But Paul is reminding us that we should be setting our eyes on Christ, our heavenly citizenship and that upward call of Christ that he mentions. So, in light of what we've already attained as he says in verse 16.

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and where our citizenship truly is. And also despite the people around the Philippians who are kind of setting their eyes on other things, we are to stand firm for the sake of the gospel, for the glory of God essentially. So that's, yeah, such a good start from Paul here. And then he goes on Mark in verses two and three to, and just calls out these women, Euodia and Syntyche. I wonder if you could give us a bit of context on this, what the situation is. And it's just fascinating really that he just.

suddenly calls out these two people. So yeah, what's going on there? Yeah. Why, why these two people in particular? I'll just give a bit of context to sort of life in Philippi, which might be interesting to people. So back in 42 BC, there was a big battle at Philippi and it was part of the Roman civil wars. And it was fought between Mark Antony and Octavian, who was to become the emperor Augustus on the one side.

and Brutus and Cassius on the other side. They were the ones who killed Julius Caesar, so it's all part of that very horrible time, actually. So when the battle was over, they left a lot of the soldiers there. So they founded a Roman colony in Philippi. So it was a Macedonian area, sort of Greek area, but this bit of Rome plonked in the middle of it.

So that would have been what, 80 years before Paul was there. So it would have been the children and the grandchildren of those Roman soldiers who were still there. But they were still very, very conscious of being Roman. You know, it was a Roman city in the middle of Macedonia, part of Greece. So that's some of the sort of social background here. So you wonder why is it that he picks on these people? So there are a couple of things here. Firstly, they are

to women. Now, it was a very patriarchal society, you know, and just the fact that he names women and says, look, you've got to try and get on with each other, I think is really interesting. It's really significant, because for most men of the time, the women just would not have been significant. It would have been the men that he was writing to, the men that he was interested in. But no, he really cares that these women get on with each other. So that's one thing.

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The other thing is that the likelihood is, according to the wise commentators, that he singles them out because they were actually church leaders. You know, these were female leaders of a church. You know, maybe they owned houses where the early Christians met. Maybe they just had, you know, formal leadership roles in the church. And it's particularly important that they get on because they were affecting the rest of the church. So there's a lot going on there.

It's so interesting to get that insight from commentaries that you can't necessarily see that there in the passage. It takes that wider knowledge of the time, the place, the history and everything. What I take from what he's actually put in the letter and the fact that he doesn't go into the details, well firstly I guess the Philippian church, they would have been well aware. I think his main point is look, this division, this divisiveness is not good. It's taking the focus off.

contending for, laboring for, working for the gospel, which is what the church is about and its main goal. And it is also, he names these two women, but he is also giving a message to the believers in that church as well. There's not really anything in the commentaries that I've looked at anyway, or in my study Bible about who this my true companion might be.

But it does suggest that either Paul is speaking to someone specific or he's pointing out the role of the church here. Instead of getting involved in the conflict, instead of taking a side, your job is to come together and help these women to reconcile. So I think that's a really interesting message. I'm sure we can probably think of situations in our own churches where we're not necessarily, I think, talking about some kind of big doctrinal issue.

It's just that these women have fallen out and, you know, he doesn't go into who's more right, who's more wrong, any of that. He's just saying, look, you need to reconcile, you need to come together. And actually, church, get on board with that. We all need to be unified. Yeah, I was going to pick up on that actually. I think it's fascinating how Paul, as you say, doesn't kind of pick up on a doctrinal issue, but it's this relationship. And all throughout this letter, he's speaking about the unity of the church, chapter one, verse 27.

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only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I may hear that you are standing firm in one spirit, in one mind, that unity that he's mentioned to them so many times. And actually, that's what he's focusing on here, isn't it? That the church needs to be unified. I thought it was interesting where he actually says, I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche.

to agree with each other in the Lord. So it's not just agree with each other as though you can both think the same about whatever it is that's happened, but agree in the Lord. So it is this question of relationships, isn't it, founded in their shared faith in God. It's not pretending that they think the same about something. It's just that their faith kind of overrides that.

in a sense, and they can sort of park that because there are things that are more important. Well, and there is a lovely contrast, perhaps like a subtle point that he's making, the kind of language that he uses writing about the believers in Philippi, you know, my brothers, my sisters. And when we're divided, when we're having a falling out, you sort of, that affection for each other and that value of each other could be lost. But he's saying, look, in Christ, we're brothers and sisters.

and it's like he's reminding them and modeling it in his own language. Yeah, he sort of gives us like the picture, I guess a picture of what Christianity and the church is that no matter, I guess, where you come from or your background or individual beliefs about other things that through Christ, we are unified and that's the most important thing. But also, I guess that mention of the Book of Life as well, that really makes you think of

Christ's return, Judgment Day, Heaven, the new Heaven and the new Earth. There's not any division in Heaven, is there? It's this picture of perfection, perfect relationship with God and each other. So he's sort of reminding them as well of their unity for eternity in Christ. And that book of life reference is really interesting as well, because that picks up the idea of citizenship as well.

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in heaven because back then there would have been a literal book where the names of everybody who counted as a Roman citizen would have been written. So that, it is suggested, is what he's referring to there. You know, they would have been very well aware of a literal book with names written in it, which give you a particular status. Only the status here is not your status as a Roman citizen, but your status as

a citizen of the kingdom of heaven. And I guess that perfectly kind of sums that up with the therefore at the start as well. Yeah. Therefore, as we are citizens of heaven, be united, stand firm. Exactly. Yeah, let's keep going. So verses four to seven, Mark, you're okay to read those? So this is the New International Version, as I say. Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. That's lovely, isn't it? Yeah, so good. Paul's outlook on life is just incredible, I think. I love how he starts this section, rejoice in the Lord always. We see that.

so many times. There's almost this little motif that comes back around and around. I think it's in every single chapter and it's such a great reminder of us that that should be our outlook as well. But Esther, I wonder what you think about this. What have you experienced of this, I guess, in your life? Presenting everything to God, not worrying, that kind of thing. What are your thoughts on this? Not worrying. Being quite an anxious person worrying about things, it is something that I tend to do.

So reading a passage like this is a challenge, but it's also an encouragement and a really good reminder. You know, we're not going to necessarily be able to avoid ever being anxious. And I don't think he's there, you know, punishing us for ever having anxiety about anything. But he's saying, when you feel anxious in light of these things, in light of God, in light of Christ, here's what you can actually confidently do with that.

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something that's more than a platitude. It's not just saying, just don't worry about it. Just let go of your worries. It makes me think of the Lion King, Hakuna Matata. What a wonderful phrase. You know, it's my problem -free philosophy. It's not something like that that just says, well, just don't think about those things. It actually gives you something really encouraging to do. It tells you, well, whatever the situation is, pray. Ask the

God of heaven from whom all good gifts come and who cares for you and loves you so deeply. Thank him for all the things that you do have to thank him for, like refocus, present your requests to him. So yeah, I wouldn't say you asked my experience of this, definitely not perfect, but this passage is a really good reminder to me when I am panicking, worrying.

There's something you can do and it's not just a nice, empty, magical idea. And it does lead to true peace. Yeah, I agree. And I think we just need to be careful to read this in the right way, don't we? You know, do not be anxious about anything. Well, you know, sometimes it's absolutely right to be anxious because we're facing really difficult situations and we wouldn't be human if we didn't feel anxiety. Well, tell me if I'm right.

Is it talking more about the sort of day -to -day anxieties, the worries about not being able to cope with stuff rather than the huge life -changing threats that we sometimes face? Because that's a different level of anxiety, isn't it? And maybe that just requires a different level of response. But this is how we live day by day, just in...

quiet trust in God, is that right, do you think? But it does say in every situation. So in verse 5, where it's talking about, well, what should people be able to see from us apart from us rejoicing and all things? It says, let your gentleness or the ESV says your reasonableness, it translates that, be evident to all. The Lord is near. And you could sort of insert a so into that so. Don't be anxious about anything.

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And I think that idea of the Lord being near is worth unpacking, isn't it, then? Because is this talking, you know, at the time, I guess, perhaps they expected Christ to return, you know, in their lifetime. And we're sort of encouraged to live that way too, you know, expecting Christ's return. And it's not just that moment of His return, but it is eternity.

So from that perspective, whatever you're anxious about now, even if it is something quite extreme, it puts a different spin on it. And it's not just a New Testament idea even, because I think it might be Psalm 118. There's a bit where the psalmist is saying, you know, what can man do to me? Well, it kind of is that idea that, you know, even your worst enemy, like they're nothing compared to God.

But even if your enemy kills you physically, they can't kill you in eternity. I mean, that would be a very anxiety -inducing situation when it to be surrounded by enemies, you're thinking, well, this is it. But he's like, but actually, even the worst thing that a man can do to me doesn't undo what I have in Christ. So I think it still could be not just those more general daily anxieties, but it's

I do believe it when it says, in every situation, there is a point in praying and asking for peace that surpasses all and transcends all understanding, as it says. No matter what. I think there's something else here that I came across, actually, and that's the idea of peace and the peace that passes understanding. Just to underline that this is Paul speaking as a Jew,

So from his point of view, the peace is shalom. That's the Hebrew original, which would have been in his mind because he was an educated man. It's not just an inner sense of peace. You know, when we talk about peace, we tend to think about feeling peaceful. But the word shalom is much more about relationships. It's about how people are with each other. So it's got a sort of social dimension as well. So the peace,

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of God, also the peace with God, and it just means everything being alright with everybody. So it's something slightly different from what we might automatically think of it. That's really interesting because I was reading a commentary as well which spoke about, so I guess if you're saying, yeah, it's this relational thing, the commentary is kind of getting on the lines of going back to the first few verses, like what the church looks like on the outside when we are personally

right with God, I guess, and bringing everything to him. And we have that piece that then, when all the individuals inside the church have that, obviously that then shapes the church and how it looks from the outside, which I thought was really interesting. And I guess if we have that Shalom, our relationships are peaceful. And then maybe, pure speculation, maybe if Euodia and Synthyche had this Shalom, we speak of this relational piece as well, maybe that...

maybe Paul wouldn't have even had to have called them out on it. Well, no, I think that's a really good thought and that's really interesting because we, I mean, certainly I have always taken that as, you know, the peace of God which transcends all understanding, you know, that's something for me and that's great. But if you look at it again, it's plural, will guard your hearts, plural, and your minds. So it is addressed to them as a group, isn't it? It's addressed to the church.

It is such a great image as well of actually a guard around your hearts, that, you know, protecting you against the kind of the attack. Just this idea that there's something you as an individual, but also as a church family can do to protect yourselves and to remain at peace, no matter what is being thrown at you. I mean, the main thing for me though in this, if you took the mention of God and if you took the mention of Jesus,

out of this passage, it becomes empty. This is completely, you know, we can only live this kind of way because we have a good God that we can come to with our needs and our requests and all of that. And it's only in Christ Jesus that, you know, like ultimately our hearts and minds are protected in what, you know, what we have through Him.

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I think for me that's what I always need to remember because it's so easy to sort of take this and take it out of context. Yeah, like you say, if you take God out of that, with thanksgiving let your request be known to who, but like to God who created the earth, created us, who sent Jesus to live with us and die for us has such a profound impact, doesn't it? And I've often heard it be said that we so often need this like a holy reordering.

of our perspective. And when we come again to Jesus and present our requests to Him with thanksgiving, I think that's such a key part in this that when we can frame our prayers with thanksgiving first to remember what He's done and who He is, that often helps with that reordering in our mindset to think, okay, this is the creator of the universe that I'm in a relationship here with. And that can often, yeah, I guess, remind ourselves of that.

can often give us that peace, can't it? Yeah. I think that focus on God, that focus on Jesus is really important here. One of the big philosophies of the time, which has made a comeback today actually, Stoicism, and very popular philosophy. And there are websites today devoted to Stoicism because people really resonate with it. And the idea is that you get

peace through basically becoming indifferent to what happens to you. It's all about clear thinking and reason. That's what helps you deal with stuff. But that's not what this is about, is it? It's not that kind of peace at all. It's not a peace which is generated from within you. It's a peace which is given to you. And I think that's really important.

I think verse five is really interesting. It says, let your gentleness be evident to all. And that word gentleness is really interesting because it's been translated in different ways. I mean, sometimes it's patience or forbearance. So it's kind of tricky. But the very famous Greek philosopher Aristotle actually commented on that word. And so he said a gentle person is, quote,

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the one who by choice and habit does what is fair and does not stand on his rights unduly, but is content to receive a smaller share although he has the law on his side." So the gentle person, as it is in the NIV, is somebody who deliberately lays down their own rights for the sake of other people. And again, I just think that's such a brilliant

image of how we ought to be in churches as Christians. You know, we shouldn't be fighting for precedence. We shouldn't be out for what we can get or out to dominate other people. It's about giving up. It's not about getting. It links nicely back to rejoice in the Lord always. I'll say it again, rejoice, because not every situation we're in is going to naturally lead to rejoicing. But if you've laid down your rights, if you're not always after what more you've

could squeeze out something or what you deserved that you didn't get, you are sort of freer to rejoice in what you have. And then going on in that thing, it frees you up from being anxious too about a lot of things because you're not thinking, well, what if this happens or, you know, how am I, what am I going to do about that? Because again, you're much more content and satisfied in what you have, yet you're satisfied in Christ and in God. Yeah, it all hangs together beautifully, doesn't it?

Yeah, you can take it back even further to chapter two. And I think this could almost be translated as let your Christ -likeness be known to everyone. Because if we're talking about laying down rights and not taking what we could have had, Jesus in the Christ -Hymn gives us that perfect example of the living sacrifice of giving up everything, basically. Great point, Mark. That was really interesting.

Yeah, just before we go into the final few verses, verses eight and nine, just a reminder that we will be having a Q &A at the end of this series. So if you've got questions about anything in this episode or any other episodes, anything to do with Philippians, we'd love to hear your questions. We will get to as many of them as we can and you can send them in at biblesociety .org .uk forward slash rooted questions. So we'll finish with verses eight and nine. This is from the ESV. Finally, brothers, whatever is true,

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Whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you.

What a challenge. Fill our minds with things that I guess is what Christ would fill his mind with, essentially. It reminded me of Matthew 4 when Jesus is tempted in the wilderness and he's basically given the opportunity to have everything, but the first thing that is in his mind is Scripture. I think that's such a challenge for me to fill my mind with the right things because what we consume shapes us.

Yeah, what have you guys taken from this? Well, I mean, I agree with you that it is a challenge. But for me, the challenge actually is in just how straightforward and in a way annoyingly simple and practical this advice is. Because when I'm feeling troubled, for example, very often I don't want the common sense thing. I'm too busy fixating on whatever my problem is and thinking, well, if you think that that can solve my problem, then you clearly don't understand the magnitude of it.

And I guess it makes me regress a little bit as I remember being a teenager and I would be moaning to my mom about whatever it was that was going on. And invariably her advice to me was like, what you need is an early night. And I'd be like, you know, I didn't want to hear that advice at all, but she probably was right. I mean, she's right about most things, to be honest, just in case she's listening. Yeah, this advice.

If you think about it, even in a small way, so often, for example, I'll be bored or stressed about something and I'll have a bit of time. What do I do? I open up Twitter or X and I'll spend a bit of time looking at that and I can feel my blood pressure rising. I can feel the anxiety rising because that is not a place where there's lots of noble...

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pure, lovely, honourable and admirable things happening. It's actually a place where you see the worst of how humans relate to each other and where the stuff that does well on the algorithm is all the bad things that are happening in the world. It's people being absolutely outrageous towards each other. It's things that you're like, how can anyone believe that? But these people seem to believe it and it just, it catastrophises everything.

Now, a very easy thing that I could do would just be to delete Twitter, delete that and never go on there. Not because I don't want to be aware of what's happening in the world, but because that app is deliberately focusing on things that are happening in the world in a horrible way. And it's magnifying all of that. And it does not lead to peace. Have I deleted that app yet? I've thought about it so many times and I haven't deleted it and I still go on there.

And it has this predictable impact on how I feel about the world. You know, it makes me anxious and depressed. So sometimes like the most obvious and easiest advice that we could do, like, why don't I spend that time reading my Bible instead or praying like we've just been discussing? And yet that's not what I do. Yeah, it's interesting, isn't it? I was in the same position as you actually, Esther. I had in a previous job, I needed to be on Twitter all the time and I had a couple of thousand followers. And

When I came to Bible Society, I thought, well, I don't need these anymore, really. And I did delete the app and I lost all my followers because it was having the same effect on me as it has on you. And personally, I felt much better for it. Professionally, I think probably I should have kept it because it would probably be useful to me nowadays. But, you know, it's certainly been much better for my peace of mind. And I think it just, you know, for me, it just illustrates how

we can sometimes take control of our surroundings by choosing where to look and choosing who to talk to and how to have conversations, you know. And you can choose good things rather than bad things. It's original sin, isn't it? We've got this twist towards doing bad things rather than good things. And I think that's just true of any of us. And we face temptations and we give into temptations. And so,

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I think Paul is just telling us here, look, you know what's good and you know what's bad. Steer yourself towards the good. And I think if we choose to do that, and then we choose to do it again and again and again and again, we can build up the sort of habits which will shape us in really good and positive ways. And we can do the other thing as well. We can choose to do things that are damaging and harmful, and that shapes us in the other direction as well. So I think...

with God's help, you know, with this power of the spirit within us, we can make better choices than we often do. And I think that's what Paul is talking about. Yeah, and that's the challenge he gives us, isn't it? To actually listen to what he's, or in our case, read what he's written and put it into practice. And that's where the rubber really hits the road, not just reading it and letting it just bounce back, but actually how do we implement that into our lives? How do we actually do that? I think a challenge for me is that,

You can consume stuff that might not even be that bad. I spend far too much time watching sport, for example, in itself isn't bad. But if that's the main thing I consume, if I do that 10 times more than I read my Bible or pray, then again, that's an issue, isn't it? And just wasting time is a thing as well, isn't it? I mean, I don't watch very much sport, but I do do other things that I think, you know, what has anybody gained from this? You know, I could at least have been reading a book which has some meaning to it.

rather than, I don't know, some, you know, watching Facebook reels or something like that. But I mean, there is another part to this as well, because he's got the, OK, focus on these things, think about these things, free yourself from these other things, which aren't good. But he also says, whatever you've learned or received or heard from me or seen in me. So he's talking about himself as an example to the Philippians, put it into practice. So it's not just.

a thought thing, content in, it's also about doing stuff as well that is, I guess, all those same words, righteous, noble, admirable, etc. This is very practical advice. That's quite a thing to say, isn't it, actually? He's really stepping up and stepping into this role as spiritual teacher, spiritual guide, spiritual father.

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with some confidence, isn't he? Well, at the same time, we know from his other letters, he's deeply conscious of being a sinner. But here he's saying, look, take me as a pattern, which is quite a thing. I mean, would I have that confidence to be able to say to a congregation, if you really want to be Christ -like, just look at me, you know, do what I do. I really don't think so. But I think in a way, he's sort of holding himself to a really high standard.

So it's not spiritual arrogance here. I think it's an acceptance of responsibility. That's how I read it. Yeah, it's been such an interesting conversation and a really helpful conversation, I think. There's a lot we can take away from this. There's a lot of challenges for ourselves and anyone listening really. Where can we seek out unity, reconciliation within our relationships in the church instead of worrying? Where can we, with thanksgiving and rejoicing, bring our requests to God?

remembering where our focus should be. And yeah, as Paul finishes, where can we focus on the right thing and not get distracted by the world? If you've loved listening to this episode, please do share it with your friends, with your family, anyone who you think would benefit from listening to this. Another reminder, if you have any questions, we'd love to hear them. You can send those into biblesociety .org .uk forward slash rooted questions.

And we'll be back again next week for our sixth episode on Philippians. See you then.