Dock
Resource Kit
Sunday sermon, 19 April 2026
Summary
Phil continues our LOVE HAS WON series, exploring Philippians 2 and the surprising way Jesus wins. Not by climbing up or grasping for power, but by going down in humility and self-giving love. As Jesus moves down, down, down to the cross, God lifts him up, up, up in victory. The cross is not defeat, but the very moment love has won, and it reshapes how we live, lead, and relate to one another.
Key Points & Takeways
We instinctively try to win
In everyday moments, we grasp for control, wanting to come out on top.
There are two kinds of power
The world runs on hierarchy, but Jesus reveals the power of humility.Jesus goes down
He does not grasp, but steps down, down, down into humanity, servanthood, and to the cross.The cross is the victory
Jesus defeats sin and evil not by force, but by absorbing it in self-giving love.God lifts him up
The one who humbles himself is raised up, up, up and given all authority.We are called to follow
The question shifts from how do I win, to how do I win like Jesus.This reshapes our life together
Love has won, so we don’t need to grasp, we can serve one another.
Dock Discussion Questions
Where do you feel the strongest pull to “win” or stay in control at the moment?
What does that look like in your everyday life?What stood out to you about the way Jesus uses power in Philippians 2?
How is it different from what we see around us?Where might Jesus be inviting you to step down rather than climb up?
What could that look like in a specific situation this week?How can we, as a community, choose humility over hierarchy?
What would it look like for us to “win together like Jesus”?
Long-form, edited transcript
LOVE HAS WON.
The Way Down Is The Way Up
Philippians 2:5-11
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death –
even death on a cross!9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
The Way We Try to Win
Many of you will know I’m coming back from my fairly significant knee injuries, and this week I thought I’d ease myself back in with a new exercise class.
It was called Body Max.
I turned up… and it was me and five ladies.
And so immediately I’m thinking, right… I’ve got to hold my own here. Not just hold my own. I’m thinking, I need to win this.
We get through the warm-up, and then we hit that exercise where you’re up against the wall, legs bent, holding yourself there while your thighs start burning. You know the one.
And as soon as we start, I’m thinking, there is no way I am stopping before anyone else.
So I’m holding it. And it’s burning. And I start shaking. And I’m glancing sideways, just checking… how’s everyone else doing?
We’re getting nearer to a minute, and now I’m really shaking, and then suddenly I feel this pressure in my head, like something blows. I get this splitting headache, and I’m not even sure if I’m going to be able to carry on with the class.
Needless to say, I did. I wasn’t going to quit. But i had to go easy and it was still pretty uncomfortable. And I had a massive headache for the next 36 hours. I think I’m ok now, but the doctors among you might be worried and might want to come and see me later.
But if I’m honest, even while I was in considerable discomfort for the rest of the class, part of me was thinking… I’ve got to win this. The other part was going this is ridiculous. What am I doing? Why does this matter so much? Why do I feel like I need to win?
And it struck me how strong that instinct is.
To stay in control. To come out on top. To make sure I’m not the one who gives in first. Even in something that doesn’t matter at all.
And the truth is, I don’t think that’s just me.
I think that’s somewhere in all of us.
Because this is the air we breathe.
We live in a world that runs on winning. Win the deal. Win the argument. Win the promotion. Win the best looking or best behaved baby competition.
Whether you walk through Canary Wharf, or scroll through social media, so much of what we see, so much of life is about perceived performance, about staying ahead, about presenting the version of ourselves that looks like we’re winning.
We rarely show the moments we struggled, or backed down, or got it wrong.
We’re shaped by a culture that says hold your ground. Protect your position. Don’t let anyone get ahead of you.
And in many ways that makes sense. Life can be hard. People can be difficult. Systems can be unfair. So we learn to push back, to stay strong, to make sure we don’t lose. And then we come into church, and we say something completely different.
We say LOVE HAS WON.
We say that through Jesus, it’s done. Already won. Sin has been defeated, death has been broken, the powers of evil have been disarmed. LOVE HAS WON. So we don’t need to fight, to struggle to win.
But if we’re honest, there’s often a gap. Because we still live like control wins. Like power comes from holding on, from asserting ourselves.
And if we’re really honest, that’s not just out there. It can sometimes be in here too. In our relationships. In our conversations. In how we respond when things don’t go our way. In how we carry responsibility for one another. In how we handle tension.
And it’s right into all of that that Paul writes these words:
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
So this isn’t abstract theology, what we’re looking at today is all about our relationships with one another. How we posture ourselves, and journey together. How we treat one another. How we lead, how we serve, how we disagree, how we build something together.
Right here in this church. In this community. And in all the communities that we represent. And what Paul wants to show us is that Jesus wins by going down, not up.
This is the shape of how LOVE HAS WON.
Two Ways of Power
Because when you look at it, there are really two ways of understanding power in the world. Two ways of winning.
Hierarchy and humility.
One climbs up. The other kneels down.
The first is the one we know instinctively.
The power of control. Hold on to what’s yours, protect your position, assert your rights, make sure you don’t lose. We see it everywhere. In our workplaces, where influence is gained by moving up, staying ahead of others.
In politics, it’s all about who can control the narrative, and especially now it feels so toxic and polarised. I win because you lose.
We see it in our relationships, with friends and family, where winning can mean getting the last word or making sure your perspective dominates.
And sometimes in church as well. Not always in obvious ways, but in the need to be right, the instinct to hold on to control, the quiet desire to make sure things go my way.
At its heart, it’s about grasping. Clinging on, and protecting what’s mine, using whatever position or strength I have to secure my place.
But Paul points us to something completely different. Another kind of power. Another way of winning. He takes us right into the mindset of Jesus. Paul says of him,
though he was in very nature God, he did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.
Or in the ESV:
…did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped
He didn’t grasp. He didn’t cling to what was rightfully his. He didn’t use his position for himself.
And that’s extraordinary. Because if anyone had the right to hold on, it was Jesus.
If anyone had the right to assert themselves, to secure their position, to make sure they were recognised and honoured, it was him.
Jesus had all authority, all glory, all power. Nothing to prove, nothing to gain.
And still, Jesus chooses not to grasp. Not to use his position for his own advantage.
Importantly, this is not about weakness or low self-esteem. This is not Jesus thinking just thinking less of himself. Jesus knows exactly who he is. He is in very nature God. He is of infinite worth. He lacks nothing. He knows his equality with God.
And it’s because he knows who he is, he doesn’t need to grasp. He doesn’t need to prove anything, secure anything, or fight to come out on top.
And that begins to show us something really important about humility. Humility is not denying your worth. It’s not pretending you’re less than you are or shrinking back as if you don’t matter.
Humility is knowing your value and choosing not to use it for yourself. It’s recognising that you are deeply loved, a child of God, and then choosing to use that position, your life, for the sake of others.
And as we see this, it becomes clear that the victory of Jesus has a particular shape. A direction. And it’s not what we expect.
Instead of climbing up, Jesus goes the other way.
Down.
Jesus Journeys Down, Down, Down
Verse 6
Jesus, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage.
Down.
Verse 7:
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
Down.
The one who made all things steps down into the world he made. The one who holds all authority becomes the servant of all.
And again, this is not Jesus losing who he is.
This is Jesus revealing who he is.
Because at the very heart of God is not control, but self-giving love. And we see it in the direction of his life.
Jesus constantly moves toward the downtrodden, the overlooked, not away from them. He spends time with those on the margins. He touches the untouchable. He eats with those others avoid. He washes the feet of his followers.
Again and again, the movement is down. He steps down into our world. Down into our mess. Into our weakness.
And then Paul goes further,
Verse 8:
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death.
Down. Down. Down.
Not just entering our world, but submitting himself within it. Not just becoming human, but choosing obedience. Not just living among us, but dying, giving himself for us.
And Paul adds:
Even death on a cross.
This is how far down he goes.
Not just death, but crucifixion. Public, humiliating, brutal. A form of execution designed not just to kill, but to shame, to strip someone of dignity, to make an example of them.
And Jesus goes there willingly.
He doesn’t resist. He doesn’t retaliate.
He doesn’t call down power to stop it.
He takes it. He absorbs it.
He takes the worst that sin and violence and hatred can do, and instead of passing it on, he stops it with himself.
Because the world runs on a cycle. Hurt leads to hurt. Anger leads to anger. Violence leads to violence. Someone wins and someone loses. And Jesus steps right into the middle of that and says, it stops here. It stops with me.
This is the most powerful act the world has ever seen.
This is how LOVE HAS WON.
God Lifts Him Up, Up, Up
And then everything turns.
Verse 9:
therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.
Up.
After all the descent, after all the humiliation, after the cross, God lifts him.
This is the great reversal.
Jesus steps down, down, down, and the Father lifts him up. Jesus humbles himself, and God exalts him.
The cross before the crown.
This is the unexpected upside-down Kingdom of God.
We assume the way up is up. Push harder. Climb higher. Make sure you don’t lose. But in the kingdom of God, the way down is the way up. Jesus wins going down, not up.
Paul continues,
Verse 10:
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth.
Up.
Every knee. Every realm. Nothing outside Jesus’ authority. Nothing beyond his reach.
And then verse 11:
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Up. Up. Up.
The one who refused to grasp power is now given all authority.
The one who knelt to wash feet is now the one before whom every knee will bow.
The one who was stripped and shamed on a cross is now declared Lord over all.
And we need to be clear.
The cross is not the lead-up to victory. It is the moment of victory. The moment LOVE HAS WON. Not by force. Not by domination. Not by crushing enemies. But by humble, self-giving, sacrificial love.
And if this is who Jesus is, and this is how Jesus wins, then this is what it means to follow him.
If this is how LOVE HAS WON, this is how we live.
Win Like Jesus
This is where it gets challenging.
Where are you still climbing up?
Where do you feel that instinct to hold on, to prove your point, to make sure you come out on top, to win?
Maybe it’s that conversation that keeps replaying in your head. Something someone said, or didn’t say. A moment where you felt overlooked, or misunderstood, or not treated fairly. And everything in you wants to push back, to correct, to win the moment.
Maybe it’s a relationship where things feel tense. Where your instinct is to defend yourself, or withdraw, and make sure your side is heard loud and clear.
Maybe it’s at work. The pressure to perform, to stay ahead, to protect your position. To make sure you’re not the one who gets overlooked even if that mean stepping over, or on top of, someone else.
Maybe it’s even here in church, in how you carry responsibility, how you hold influence, how you respond when things don’t go how you hoped.
Where are you still clambering up?
And alongside that, where might Jesus be inviting you to kneel down?
Not to be passive, and not to be walked over, but to choose a different kind of strength. To listen instead of react, to serve instead of assert. Where might you absorb the offence instead of escalating it?
Can you let go of the need to win the moment? And trust that God sees. God knows. Allow God to do the lifting.
This is the invitation of Philippians 2.
Not just admire Jesus, but imitate him.
Have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
So the question begins to shift.
Not, how do I win?
But, what would it look like to win like Jesus?
What would it look like to choose humility, to kneel down, trusting that God is the one who lifts us up?
And this is not easy. This is costly. It goes against instinct. It goes against the culture we live in and, it goes against pattens that are written deep within us.
But this is the way of Jesus.
This is how LOVE HAS WON.
Win Together
And this is a good reminder for us on a day like today as we step into our Big Family Meeting. Not just how I win like Jesus, but how we win together like Jesus.
Let’s carry this with us.
Because as we do family business together, we are not just organising a church. We are embodying a different way of life, a different kind of kingdom in this world.
A kingdom built on humility not hierarchy.
Not shaped by who’s in control or who’s moving up, but by how we each kneel down, serve one another, give ourselves for one another.
That doesn’t mean we always agree.
There will be different perspectives, strong opinions, moments of tension. That’s part of being a real community. But in the middle of it all, something deeper shapes how we hold those moments.
The mindset of Christ Jesus.
Because the clearest sign that LOVE HAS WON among us won’t be what we say we believe. It will be our relationships with one another.
How we treat one another. In our conversations, in our disagreements, in our leadership, in the way we carry vision together.
So let’s be a people who don’t climb up, but kneel down. Who don’t grasp, but give. Because with Jesus, the way down is the way up.
This is how LOVE HAS WON.
Amen.