Sermon (for class): Always Full – Philippians 2:1-11
I preached again! (For class)
For my MIN-601: Christ-Centered Preaching class, I had to preach. I had several people request my message on Philippians 2:1-11.
Below are my primary notes, but I did not strictly stick to them. I pray you enjoy it.
Expositor’s Name: Daniel M. Klem
Sermon Title: Always Full: Poured into to be poured out
Sermon Text: Philippians 2:1-11
Audience: General Sunday morning worship service
Introduction of the Sermon:
[Introductory Thoughts(s)] Say these words with me: splagchna, chesed, ahava, agape.
No, splagchna is not someone having spaghetti lasagna and saying it wrong, and chesed is not bad cheese. Ahava and agape is not a funny idea and standing with your mouth open. Splagchna is the Greek word in verse 1 for “affection,” referring to the feeling in your gut you have for someone,[1] like the butterflies or when you get so worried your stomach hurts. I call it “loving from your spleen” (to remind me of the Greek word.) Chesed is the similar Hebrew word, meaning kindness or loyalty,[2] often used to show God’s faithfulness to his covenants out of his love, that Hebrew word ahava, meaning devoted love.[3] Likewise, agape is that Greek word for devoted love.[4]
What does this all have to do with our message today?
[Main Idea of the Text Statement] Jesus is our example of humble, sacrificial love and affection.
[Main Idea of the Sermon and Purpose Statement] We are to be like Christ: live as a servant to all in the love of God, pouring out the grace he pours into us.
[Transitional Statement] Let us dig deeper into this.
Body of the Sermon
1. [Main Division Statement] We need a deeper affection for each other. (Philippians 2:1-4)
[Explanation Section] This section could be easily used for a moralistic approach to life, making sure we are not ignoring the needs or gifts of others while seeking our own ambitions, rather than what verse 5 reminds us: to be like Christ.[5]
We see the call: find encouragement in Christ, comfort in the agape of God and each other, having splangchna and sympathy for each other by not seeking only our own needs. But what does it look like?
[Illustration Section] Grandpa Loren Brown – Mom (Lorrie/Lorraine) – Lou Gehrig’s Disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis – ALS) – Dad (Tom/Thomas – still dating) eating ice cream, mom’s frustration, then his helping her dad – Mom as a teen and early 20-something caring for her dad.
[Transitional Statement] This is a great picture of what Christ calls us to, as we see in the 6+next several verses in Philippians 2.
2. [Main Division Statement] Christ is our ultimate example. (Philippians 2:5-11)
[Explanation Section] Here is another Greek word: kenosis (ekenosen in the text)[6], not “Ken knows is” but a word that is translated in verse 7 as “emptied himself,” that means to empty or make void.[7] In other words, Jesus demonstrated that as humans we should not try to take God’s place, to be just like God or earn our way to him. This is part of the great lie in the Garden, that we could be like God. A good way to understand the lie of the Serpent is that eating of the TotKoGaE (tot-ko-gay – Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil) was taking moral decision-making from God and claiming that authority for ourselves. This is shown throughout the Bible with kings being able to make moral judgments (2 Samuel 14:7; 1 Kings 3:9) and people not being willing to take that upon themselves (Genesis 24:50; 31:24) or in Isaiah 7-8 when Immanuel is made out to be able to make moral judgments when others cannot.[8]
Now, Immanuel has come, and he shows us that we are to trust God for making these decisions, so even though Jesus is God he lives in a way as though he is not God. He does not give up his power or authority, but he lives like one of us, divesting himself of his place of glory for a time to show us how to live. He had every right to claim worship and obedience from people, but instead he became a servant to all.
Jesus poured out his rights to bring us back into right relationship with God. He left his safe, clean, pure home in the eternal heavens to walk in our sin-stained, violent world, cleaning the waste we put ourselves into off of us by claiming our waste on the cross.
The Creator and Sovereign King of the universe became a servant to criminals.
Now, he is back on the throne, and he pours his Holy Spirit into us. The living water of the Holy Spirit of God flows into us when we believe in this Jesus.
Jesus poured out his rights to be able to pour into us, becoming a servant to raise us up to be royal priests (1 Peter 2). And he pours into us that we might pour out into others, but because he is pouring himself into us we will always be full of the Holy Spirit’s life.
[Illustration and Application Section] Like my dad scarfing ice cream to help his girlfriend’s dad, like my mom spending days as a nurse to clean, clothe, feed, and move her father, Jesus has come to us because of his splagchna, his affection for us. He drank the cup of suffering to remove our eternal suffering. He gave up his freedoms to bring us freedom. He thought less of himself to the point of death on a cross to raise us up in his glory and give us life. Because he loves us.
Likewise, we realize everyone else is like us. We are all made in God’s image, but we deface that image with our sin and violence. In Christ, we are made clean and called to be peacemakers. In Christ, we see that we may have to give up our freedoms and comfort to show others Immanuel and the gospel of grace.
[Transitional Statement] In conclusion …
Conclusion of the Sermon:
[Main Idea of the Text Statement] Jesus is our example of humble, sacrificial love and affection.
The difference is that he is glorified above all as God (Philippians 2:9-11), but he invites us into relationship with him.
[Main Idea of the Sermon and Purpose Statement] We are to be like Christ: live as a servant to all in the love of God, pouring out the grace he pours into us.
Sometimes it may mean being a doormat: walked all over and mistreated. Remember that doormats help clean feet, just like our Lord did on the night he was betrayed (John 13).
Sometimes it may mean being kind to the person who cuts in line, cuts you off in traffic, steals your cookie or your pen or your wallet. It may mean missing a movie or a date night or time with family to help someone in need.
Sometimes it may mean sacrificing money, possessions, and time, even when it costs you something, like a good grade on a paper, a job, or an opportunity for something you have waited your whole life for.
It might require your physical health or even your life.
[Response Statement] Are you ready to live like our Lord? Have you counted the cost of following Jesus? Are you ready to drink the cup of the Lord?
It will mean suffering and denial and loss. It could mean losing friends, having family turn on you, and sacrificing wants, desires, and even needs for the sake of others. We are called to this, because this is what our Lord has done for us. (1 John 3:16)
We do this first for the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, and then for others (John 13:34-35; Galatians 6:10).
Because Jesus had splagchna and agape for us. Let us show our affection and love for God. We are always full of his love and affection, because he pours himself into us that we might pour out into others.
Bibliography
Brown, Francis, Samuel R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Accordance electronic ed., version 1.8. Altamonte Springs: OakTree Software, 2004-2026.
Chapell, Bryan. Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon. 3rd ed. 1994. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018.
Eiselen, Frederick Carl. “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.” The Biblical World 36, no. 2 (1910): 101–12.
OakTree Software, Inc. Accordance 14: Bible Software. 2025.
Thayer, Joseph H. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Accordance electronic ed., version 1.8. Altamonte Springs: OakTree Software, 2004-2026.
[1] Joseph H. Thayer, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, Accordance electronic ed., version 1.8 (Altamonte Springs: OakTree Software, 2004-2026).
[2] Francis Brown, Samuel R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs, Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English Lexicon. Accordance electronic ed., version 1.8 (Altamonte Springs: OakTree Software, 2004-2026).
[3] BDB.
[4] Thayer.
[5] Bryan Chapell, Christ-Centered Preaching: Redeeming the Expository Sermon, 3rd ed. 1994 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2018), 90.
[6] OakTree Software, Inc., Accordance 14: Bible Software, 2025.
[7] Thayer.
[8] Frederick Carl Eiselen, “The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil,” The Biblical World 36, no. 2 (1910): 102-5.
a simple man of God 