Philippians 1:1-7

Philippians 1:1-7 
English Standard Version (ESV) 

  If you're a basketball fan, you've likely seen how the Los Angeles Lakers have floundered over the past month, despite employing one of the greatest basketball players of all time, Lebron James.  They have a number of great players, but they simply haven't come together, for any number of reasons.  They haven't clicked as a team.
  When Paul speaks of the Philippians, I love how he describes them as partners in the Gospel.  They are in this together, committed to one another, walking the road of discipleship with one another.  Paul and the Philippians are not in separate classes, but they're equals, sharing in each other's ministry.  These ministries are very different, but they are still partners.
  In much of the modern church, the thinking exists that pastors, especially with the rise of celebrity pastors, are the professional Christians, while everyone else shows up to observe worship.  The church always has to be careful that the worship service doesn't become a production that congregants observe, but rather a service that invites participation, and we all partner together in our worship of God, led by individuals who are gifted in particular ways, but they're always inviting everyone in to taste and see that the Lord is good.  Church isn't something we watch -- it's something we join together in doing. 
  As partners, we are invested in one another.  We are committed to the pastor and our friends and the stranger three rows back who looks very different.  God has begun a good work in all of us, and it is God that will bring that work to completion, but we join with one another in encouraging ourselves and others to search for what and how God is at work.  We hold each other in our hearts, and we partner together to worship and serve the living God.