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Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus,

1 To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

3 I thank my God for every remembrance of you, 4 always in every one of my prayers for all of you, praying with joy 5 for your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. 6 I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. 7 It is right for me to think this way about all of you, because I hold you in my heart, for all of you are my partners in God’s grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel. 8 For God is my witness, how I long for all of you with the tender affection of Christ Jesus. 9 And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight 10 to help you to determine what really matters, so that in the day of Christ you may be pure and blameless, 11 having produced the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.

 

When Paul begins his letter to the people of Philippi, he prays for joy for the partnership they share in the gospel. The Greek word here is koinonia (kɔɪ.nəˈni.ə) and is also thought of as Christian fellowship. The more time I spend working in the church, the clearer it becomes that life in the church together requires a deep-seated partnership to make it work. It is not about one person or a small band of people bringing the church alive. It is a group effort.

 

Like a body, all the pieces of a Christian community need to be working in alignment in order to thrive. When you look at something that we do each week like worship, this becomes more apparent. It would be easy to say worship is the pastor’s job, and yes they have a solid part in the leading and proclaiming the word. But alongside the pastor you have so many more contributing:

· Altar guild to prepare and clean up for communion

· Banner hangers

· Cleaning people

· Ushers

· Greeters

· Security

· Sound room

· Musicians

· Slide makers

· Acolytes

· Children worship leader

· Nursery workers

· Baptismal font cleaners

· And others I am forgetting in the moment...

 

All we do is in partnership with each other. We are not isolated workers. We are the body of Christ striving in unison to proclaim the Word of God in thought, word and deed. I love our partnerships and am brought joy each week as I see Christian fellowship brought to life in worship and the many ministries here at Living Lord.

 

 

Risen Lord, may our partnership in you grow the Church and glorify God. Amen.

 

Chad Ryberg Cryberg@livinglord.org

 

Prayer Concern: Those seeking answers.