Day Nine: Philippi

Philippi. A field strewn with sunflowers. A bubbling brook. A flurry of many colored butterflies. A canopy of breezy shade.

Lydia, a God-fearer, gathered at this very scene to hear Paul speak. The Lord opens her heart and she and her whole household are baptized. It is through this woman that the church flourishes in Philippi.

A demon-possessed girl roams the Philippian marketplace, cursing Paul and his message. Today we stand in this same marketplace, the place where the power of God prevails over the power of darkness.

A prison. A powerful earthquake. A Philippian jailor who dies to sin as he encounters Christ. He and his entire household believe and are baptized.

This city is rich with spiritual history. The vibrancy of the gospel shone forth from Philippi, a gospel of peace and freedom. A gospel for the Jew and for the Greek. A gospel for the man and the woman, for the young and the old, the rich and the poor. A gospel of transformation and salvation.

From Philippi we continued to retrace Paul’s second missionary journey along the Ignatia Road to Thessaloniki. Paul preached the gospel in this city, making sure to emphasize the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, a scandal to the pagan world. Amidst this pagan city, replete with the worship of false gods and ancient hero’s, the Christian church is born. Later, as Paul writes letters to this church he encourages them for turning away from idols and embracing the living God.

Troas: where Paul heard the Macedonian call.

The river outside the walls of Philippi where Lydia first believed.