Written to thank Christians at Philippi for their generous gift to him, Paul gives hearty utterance in the letter to the Gospel of Christ Jesus: his thanksgiving to God for the Philippians’ “partnership” in his ministry (1:5), his being torn between going on and living in the body or departing to be with Christ (1:21-24), his “joy” amid the imprisonment (throughout), the Christ hymn (2:5-11), and the nature of their gift itself and its implications for their life together (4:14-19).  The present course covers all these themes and then some, and relates them to practical considerations in the parish and ministry. (3.0 CEU)