Philippians Introduction

The apostles Paul visited Philippi on his second missionary journey sometime around 50-51 A.D. After proclaiming the gospel to some women gathered at the river, Lydia, a merchant of Thyatira and worshipper of God, received Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Soon after, her home became the first church to be established in the region of Macedonia. A decade later, Paul, imprisoned in Rome, pens this letter of encouragement to the Philippian believers. Paul reminds them that even though he is in chains, the gospel is not. Regardless of his (or their) circumstances they should "rejoice in the Lord always." We begin our study as always with an introduction of Philippians asking "who, what, when, where and why."