"How did you two meet?" That's a question often asked of married couples and good friends. I can tell you where I was and what I was doing when I met my best friends. Likewise, I can tell you exactly where I was when I met Trish (she disagrees on this point, of course). None of these stories seemed life-changing at the time; they were just encounters, handshakes, and hellos.

Paul writes to his friends in the Philippian church about the affection he has for them, "It is right for me to feel this way about you all, because I hold you in my heart" (1:7). Acts 16 gives us the backstory, the encounters, handshakes, and hellos. Oh, and also the beatings in the middle of the street and getting locked up in jail. It's definitely one of the more interesting beginnings of a friendship.

Before we launch into Philippians, we're going to go back to Acts 16 and meet the people Paul held in his heart. As we do, we can't help but get a glimpse of those we have in our hearts also.