Our last time together we discussed the need for corporate conflict resolution. Paul called the entire church to help two women that were in conflict because within the Body of Christ conflict among us affects all of us, as I Corinthians 12:26 says “if one part of the body suffers, every part suffers with it.” Tonight’s text, unfortunately is usually read stand alone, with no context of how it fits in the letter to the Philippian church. I want us to take the time tonight to see not just what it says but how it fits, how it would have been heard by the original readers and then we can hear and apply it to our context. I don’t believe Paul was done addressing the conflict in Philippi, I don’t believe that he simply called for the church to “help these women”, gave no instruction of what help would look like and then moved on to some closing bullet points. If we look closely and carefully I believe we will see that these verses we read tonight were Paul’s explanation of what “help” to those in conflict looks like. The call to rejoice, be gentle, pray and give thanks was not just Paul’s concluding thoughts that he threw in at the end, this is how conflict in the church can be ministered to when it appears and avoided before it arises. Tonight, I pray that we will see that when we choose joy, gentleness and prayer, that peace isn’t simply a feeling given to us by God, it flows from within us. I pray that we will see that the peace that passes understanding is as much chosen as it is given.