The Blueprint for an Uncommon Church - Life Together | Week 10 | Tim Birdwell

Jun 22, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: An Unlikely Team in an Unlikely Stream

A fashion executive, a freed slave girl, and a jailer met at a riverside prayer gathering. Their differences didn’t disqualify them—they became the founding members of Europe’s first church. God builds His kingdom through mismatched people united by grace. Lydia’s purple fabrics, the slave girl’s deliverance, and the jailer’s sword laid down reveal how Christ rewrites stories. Uncommon churches begin when ordinary people let Jesus make them neighbors. [00:22]

“On the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after she was baptized, and her household as well…” (Acts 16:13–15, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you seen God use someone you’d overlook? What unlikely relationships is He inviting you to invest in for His kingdom?

Day 2: Not Gifts of a Few, Sacrifices of Many

Paul didn’t reach Caesar’s household alone. Epaphroditus delivered funds. Lydia hosted gatherings. The jailer protected the flock. The gospel advances through many hands doing unseen work—meals cooked, prayers whispered, checks written. Churches don’t need superstars but servants who say “I’ll show up.” When members trade spectatorship for skin in the game, prisons shake and palaces hear Christ’s name. [07:53]

“Yet it was kind of you to share in my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again.” (Philippians 4:14–16, ESV)

Reflection: What’s one tangible way—time, skill, or resource—you’re holding back from God’s work? How could offering it change someone’s story?

Day 3: Enduring Joy in Shared Trouble

Paul wrote Philippians from prison, yet 13 times he mentions joy. His secret? Partners like the Philippians who kept sending help decade after decade. Their endurance bred his endurance. When believers lock arms through seasons of lack and abundance, they become living proof that Christ’s strength outlasts circumstances. [11:59]

“I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity.” (Philippians 4:10, ESV)

Reflection: Who has God placed in your life to help you endure? How can you intentionally encourage them this week?

Day 4: Sacrifice That Smells Like Worship

The Philippians gave until it hurt—not from surplus, but poverty. Paul called their gifts “a fragrant offering,” comparing their cash to temple incense. True worship isn’t singing louder but giving till it reshapes budgets and calendars. When believers fund ministries instead of lattes, and send their best workers instead of keeping them, heaven smells the aroma of Christ. [26:34]

“For in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” (2 Corinthians 8:2, ESV)

Reflection: What comfortable expense or “keep” person might God be asking you to sacrifice? What makes that hard?

Day 5: Contentment That Fuels Eternal Ambition

Paul learned contentment not by lowering expectations but by elevating Christ. His “I can do all things” wasn’t about achievement but resilience—thriving in lack or plenty because Jesus was his paycheck. Uncommon churches ditch the rat race to invest in what outlives them. They’re freed from keeping up with Joneses to fund eternal futures. [20:34]

“I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:12–13, ESV)

Reflection: Where does your pursuit of “more” drain energy from eternal work? How might contentment in Christ refocus your ambitions?

Sermon Summary

Acts 16 plants the scene. God stitches together an unlikely core in Philippi, a fashion executive named Lydia, a freed slave girl, and a Roman jailer, and starts a church that keeps showing up for the mission. Philippians 4:10-23 shows why their impact is uncommon. Paul calls their life together an enduring, sacrificial gospel partnership. The text says they “shared in my trouble,” entered “partnership in giving and receiving,” and sent help “once and again.” Their concern did not stay in their heads, it moved through their hands. Through that partnership, God pushes the gospel into Caesar’s household, the White House of their world, not by the gifts of a few but by the sacrifices of many.

Paul’s joy is striking. In prison, he “rejoiced in the Lord greatly” because their revived concern hit him like fresh oxygen. Their continued presence over a decade steadies his endurance. They do not admire from a distance, they participate at cost. That endurance is tethered to contentment. “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” is not a highlight-reel slogan, it is a prison-cell confession. The line lives inside verse 12, where Paul has learned the secret of plenty and hunger, abundance and need. Contentment in Christ is not passive. It is Christ-satisfaction that frees holy ambition. When the heart is not chained to upgrades, approval, or the next zero in the account, it is free to aim everything at Jesus and his mission.

The partnership is sacrificial. They do not send leftovers or lightweights. They send Epaphroditus, a top-shelf leader, and they send tangible gifts. Paul calls their generosity “a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” He also testifies that this church gave from “extreme poverty,” which means the aroma rose from an altar of real cost. That is why their money becomes worship, not mere math. Where treasure goes, the heart follows, so their giving locates their heart in the kingdom. God meets that kind of sacrifice with supply, “according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” The blueprint is clear. God uses ordinary people, enduring relational presence, and sacrificial gifts to advance the gospel far beyond a single room. The result is not a church hobby, it is a church with kingdom impact, where unlikely people become an uncommon people and the next generation learns to write testimonies because someone chose to show up and serve.

Key Takeaways

1. Partnership moves mission, not spectatorship The text ties gospel advance to people who share trouble, send help, and keep doing it once and again. Admiration does not plant churches or sustain missionaries, partnership does. A healthy church sounds less like applause and more like a chorus of yeses to Jesus. That is how the gospel reaches Caesar’s household. [08:22]
2. Contentment fuels focused ambition Paul’s secret is not comfort, it is Christ, which unhooks the soul from chasing more so it can chase what matters. Contentment is not coasting, it is clarity about the only win that lasts. With needs and abundance both surrendered to Jesus, ambition finally runs in the right lane. [20:34]
3. Endurance grows through revived concern Joy flares in a prison cell when brothers and sisters remember and act. Encouragement is not sentimental, it is sustenance that keeps saints from quitting. God often strengthens a weary heart through someone else’s faithful presence. [15:37]
4. Real sacrifice reveals real values The Philippians give a fragrant offering from extreme poverty, which means value, not volume, defines generosity. Sacrifice is where worship becomes visible and math turns into incense. What costs something to give usually forms something in the giver. [27:09]
5. Invest in the next generation now A church becomes uncommon when ordinary saints show up for kids, students, and families week after week. Quiet faithfulness in a classroom can put words in a baptism testimony and steel in a young disciple’s spine. Legacy usually looks like a name most people do not know serving a Savior everyone needs. [37:49]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:22] - An unlikely church is born
[01:18] - Slave girl delivered and added
[01:57] - Jailer saved, core team formed
[03:07] - Joy, thanks, and real partnership
[04:54] - Why an uncommon church matters
[05:44] - Reading Philippians 4:10-23
[07:27] - Gospel partnership in the text
[08:22] - Not gifts of a few, sacrifices of many
[10:28] - Paul’s teammates, not a solo act
[11:34] - Joy revived by their concern
[14:59] - A decade of enduring support
[17:49] - What Philippians 4:13 really means
[19:49] - Contentment that frees ambition
[24:12] - Sacrificial sending and Epaphroditus
[27:46] - Money, tithing, and true worship
[30:03] - Starbucks, tipping, and priorities
[32:21] - Grace, effort, and costly following
[33:20] - A practical step to the right
[37:49] - Marina, testimonies, and generational impact
[39:20] - Prayer and commission

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
Philippians 4:10-23 (ESV)
10 I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. 11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. 12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. 13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me. 14 Yet it was kind of you to share my trouble. 15 And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. 16 Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. 17 Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. 18 I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. 19 And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Observation questions

What specific actions does Paul highlight about the Philippians’ partnership with him (vv. 14-16)?
How does Paul describe the source of his contentment in verses 11-13, and what does he contrast it with?
In verse 18, what language does Paul use to describe the Philippians’ gifts, and how does 2 Corinthians 8:2 (referenced in the sermon) deepen this description? [27:09]
What surprising result of the Philippians’ partnership does Paul mention in verse 22?

Interpretation questions

Why does Paul emphasize that the Philippians’ partnership was unique compared to other churches (v. 15)? What might this reveal about their priorities?
How does the context of Paul’s imprisonment reshape the meaning of “I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (v. 13)? [19:49]
Paul calls the Philippians’ gifts a “fragrant offering” (v. 18). Why might sacrificial giving be described as worship rather than charity?
The sermon claims contentment “frees holy ambition.” How does Paul’s example in verses 11-12 support this idea? [20:34]

Application questions

In what area of life (time, relationships, finances) do you find it hardest to move from admiration of God’s mission to active partnership? What one step could you take this week to engage?
Where do you most struggle to say, “I have learned to be content” (v. 11)? How might surrendering that area to Christ free you to pursue His mission more fully?
The Philippians gave sacrificially from “extreme poverty” (2 Corinthians 8:2). What would it look like to give something that costs you—not just financially—to support gospel work? [27:46]
The sermon shared a story about a child writing her baptism testimony after being influenced by a faithful volunteer. Who in your life (child, coworker, neighbor) could be impacted by your consistent, enduring presence? [37:49]
How does your current approach to money (budgeting, spending, giving) reflect what you value most? What one adjustment would align it more clearly with eternal priorities? [30:03]
Paul says the Philippians’ concern for him “revived” his joy (v. 10). Who in your circle needs encouragement to endure? How could you tangibly show them “revived concern” this week?

Sermon Clips

28s

#SacrificesOfMany

“Verse 21, he says, greet every saint in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me greet you. All the saints greet you. In verse 22, You can write this down. The church moves forward. Do you know how? Not by the gifts of a few, but by the sacrifices of many. The church always moves forward in this day, in our day, for all time, not by the gifts of a few, but the sacrifices many.”

26s

#StrengthInChristAndChurch

“freeing yourself from that worldly gain, not so you can take a nap, not so you can just go to the beach, but so you can have all your ambition focused on Jesus and his mission. Do you see the difference? That's the kind of contentment that Paul had, that's the kind of contentment the Philippian church helped him have as they came alongside them. Let me ask you a question, when was the last time that you had enough?”

47s

#WholeLifeGiving

“and that's not what we learned from second Corinthians eight verse two. Listen to what Paul says about this same church, the Philippian church, that's what he's talking about. He says, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on that part. That should make you laugh because that is a dichotomy. Their severe affliction, their extreme poverty overflowing in a wealth of generosity, how's that work? It works with sacrifice. It works with sacrificially giving of their resources, their money, their time, their talent, their treasure, all of it. They gave sacrificially, not of the excess that they had.”

35s

#SendYourBest

“And so he does all these sacrifices. Why? It's worth it. See, here's the reality. We will always sacrifice for what we value the most. You know how to do that. You do it for working out, You do it for baking. You do it for Amazon. You do it for something. You do it for your kids. You will always sacrifice for what you actually value the most. And so I believe in grace. Right? Paul ends this letter, grace and peace. We believe in grace. But we've said it over and over. The gospel is not anti earning. Oh, the gospel is anti earning, but it's not anti effort.”

43s

#IntentionalSupport

“Listen, it's not that just like God set it up this way. It's not that just we should equip the saints for ministry as we should. It's that we cannot reach a lost and dying city or world without I can preach my lungs out every Sunday and videos can go viral, but unless you use your gifts and partner for the sake of the kingdom of God, there will be people who die and go to hell without the gospel of Jesus Christ. They just got up here, Croatia, point 4% Christian. If we don't send people there, if we don't raise up indigenous people there to share the gospel of Jesus Christ, what happens?”

35s

#PartnershipRevivesJoy

“He's talking about there was intention always. They always had good feelings for Paul, but now they put them into action. Verse 16, he said, you sent me help for my needs once and again. Verse 18, he said, they sent one of their best leaders, Epaphroditus. They didn't just send, like, the extra guys who didn't have anything going on. Epaphroditus was a leader in the Philippian church. It would be like this. Jordan was up here. We just hired him as our youth pastor, doing a great job. Amen? Parents of youth, he's doing a great job, really excited about youth and where that's headed. And”

33s

#CostlyGrace

“This relationship is not a flash in the pan. This has been going on for over ten years. Paul showed up Acts 16, planted the church. You see Lydia, the jailer, the demonized slave girl. And then you see this church is continuing. He writes this letter ten years later, and they're seeing gospel fruit happen. It wasn't just because they showed up once a month or 1.6 times a month, I think is the average right now in our society. It was they they kept coming. They kept giving, and and they didn't hop around, when the pastor said something they didn't like.”

28s

#FreedForMission

“that grace, like, it's free to us, but it cost Jesus his very life on a cross. And so following Jesus, listen to me, if following Jesus doesn't cost you anything, there's no sacrifice, you can't think of a way, your time, talent, treasure, that that leads to you sacrificing for the greater gospel, then we're doing something off. We're not reflecting the cross of Christ because it cost him his life. It should cost us something.”

32s

#InvestEternally

“So it can't be my loss. I win no matter what because my focus, my fulfillment, my meaning in life, my satisfaction in life, my peace in life doesn't come from the things of this world, it comes from Christ alone and being a part of his mission. How freeing would that be? Would you just take a nap? Would you just phone it in for the rest of your life on the mission of God? No. I think you'd go after the mission of God. You'd be freed up from all the other stuff. You'd give all your time, talent, treasure to glorify God.”

33s

#UncommonChurch

“We felt like we were generous people until we looked at our bank account. And we thought like, hey, we love Jesus, we value Jesus. And then we looked at our bank account and we realized we loved the Chick fil A sandwich. Like, felt generous, but we weren't. And so we had to do this. We had to pull out a calculator, we just had to say, hey. We're gonna and that day, we didn't give online. We gave through something. You might have heard of it. It's called the check. And so we started writing checks, we'd bring them to church. And I was a pastor. I worked there, but it just we didn't see that in our lives.”

41s

#LiveThePartnership

“And so we wanna be an uncommon church that has a heart for Jesus Christ alone, for his kingdom, that sees a difference in our generation, that sees kids growing up, following Jesus, getting baptized, going out on the mission field in Jesus' name, given the stiff arm to all the lies of the enemy and the lesser battles they can fight in choosing the kingdom of God. Do you want that? Do you want that for the youth that are running around this campus? Do you want that for the youth that are riding their e bikes around this campus? Pray for those guys. One of them is my son. I want them to know Jesus. I want them to love him, live like him, and lead those to him. Do you want that?”

37s

#NextGenDiscipleship

“I think we all want that. Are we living that out with a sacrificial enduring gospel partnership? Last story and we'll close. My daughter came home last week. It was just me and her, and she's writing in her little journal. And for all I know, she's writing about the babysitter's club that she read the day before or a TikTok video or YouTube short on how to do her nails. And she's like, dad, do you wanna see what I wrote? And I'm like, yes. Let's see the nail salon that you've devised in your journal. That's what I'm expecting. And she said, dad, no. I wrote like when I get baptized, I wrote my testimony, so I'm ready. We don't have a date yet, but the girl's writing her testimony.”

32s

#MinistryIsTeamwork

“But I wasn't in prison, but I can tell you I greatly rejoiced, not just because of Jesus, but by someone else who is willing to be used by Jesus. I endured not just because of Jesus, but by an actual tangible expression of Jesus in another person named David Nance. And I can honestly tell you, Phoenix Bible Church would not be here without David Nance. He helped me endure. He helped me endure like the Philippians helped Paul endure with this enduring relationship with God. Look at the text again with me.”

45s

#CollaborativeMission

“And this guy, you start to realize, like, man, we're complaining about a bus, it took us a few hours. It took days over and over, and you're like, how did this guy you start to see, how did he get so many different places? And sometimes we can do it in the Christian church. What we do today is make Paul a celebrity pastor. We're like, well, God's anointing was on him. He had a, like, a Holy Spirit cape flapping in the wind. Paul was just he was otherworldly. Paul was human. Like Billy Graham was human. Whoever your favorite YouTube or TikTok preacher is human. How did Paul make it to all those places? It wasn't just Paul.”

44s

#UncommonImpact

“Paul had Luke, the gospel writer who wrote the gospel of Luke, also wrote Acts. As you see some of that story playing out in Acts, a lot of times Luke starts to use like the personal pronoun, like he was a part of this missionary journey as well. Luke, this medical doctor, was partnering, giving of himself and his gifts to this ministry. You see Silas, Paul and Silas, that that amazing story where the prison cells are flung open. It's not just Paul in prison being this great martyr. Like it's Paul and Silas. You see, this whole crew, this whole team, you see Lydia, the demonized slave girl, the jailer, and throughout every Pauline epistle, you see Paul shouting out people”

30s

#EnduringInChrist

“That's a tip. Right? I didn't write that out. I didn't pray about it. I didn't consider the impact of it. I just said, you need something. I feel bad. Here you go. That's that's not what we see in scripture. We see from the Philippian church, hey, we're gonna decide on the front end to give our first and best because we believe in this gospel ministry. We believe that God gave everything to and we're gonna give out of our our limited supply back to him to make a difference. That's what we see.”

38s

#ServantsFromAfar

“Have you ever had that person that helps you endure in the faith of Jesus Christ? Have you ever had that person who comes alongside in a moment where you you are in a predicament? Paul's in prison, but that other person's faith encourages your faith. I know when we started Phoenix Bible Church, we did it with a lot of obstacles. And there was a lot of times, we got evicted one time with six weeks to move. We didn't have much money in the bank. We didn't have a great budget. We didn't have AC that was working half the time at the school we met in July, not today, Satan.”

42s

#PurposeNotPerformance

“And there were people who came along and encouraged your pastor, encouraged people in the church and helped me endure, not quit. There's a guy named David Nance who doesn't even live here, he's in Amarillo, Texas. And he came from Amarillo, Texas to bring a group of 80 high school students to put on a spring break VBS with us, and they've done it every year since, I think, like eight years running. And that guy, he's just a subcontractor. He does drywall in Amarillo, Texas, but God told them that he should be part of a work in Phoenix and he brought his whole church, First Baptist Amarillo, to serve alongside with us. You're like, why does that happen? I don't know, the Holy Spirit.”

41s

#StoriesOfRedemption

“I don't have any interest in that. Like who's playing on the World Cup today? I'd rather do that. I'd rather play golf and I don't even like golf. But if we're just doing all this so we can have another church in Phoenix, That's a lame hobby. I want a church that has kingdom impact for years and years to come. I want a church that actually sees people who are lost become found, dead become alive. Do you? We need to ask this question, how do we become? How do we grow? How does love move us to continue to be that kind of church and not just another building on a corner at 7th Avenue and Bethany home?”

33s

#HospitalityStartsMovements

“And then Paul goes on, and he encounters this little demonized slave girl who's on the opposite end of the spectrum from Lydia. She has nothing. In fact, she's being oppressed by other men who are using her as a little bit of like a fortune teller. And Paul comes along, heals her. Now she's part of the early church in Europe and Philippi, this little demonized slave girl, Lydia, this fashionista executive. And then they add to their team, they search far and wide for for the excellent varsity players in jail.”

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