Following Jesus is an invitation into a joyful life. Or as Jurgen Moltmann writes: “Christianity is a unique religion of joy.” But what does it actually mean to have a joyful life and to “rejoice always” (Phil 4:4)? If embracing joy is far more than warm fuzzies, how is it related to feeling happy and secure? How does joy persist amidst the brokenness of life and stay honest in the midst of injustice and loss?

Paul’s letter to the church in Philippi is jam-packed with joy. For Paul, joy is the feeling, mindset, and way of life flowing from union with Christ and deep partnership with others. A joyful life does not ignore or avoid pain and suffering, but rather incorporates these experiences into the goal of living with and for Christ. As Jack Gilbert says in his poem “A Brief for the Defense,” “we must have the stubbornness to accept our gladness in the ruthless furnace of this world; to make injustice the only measure of our attention is to praise the Devil.” Joy is a matter of being seized by the Spirit and swept up into the gracious movement and restorative mission of God.

As we walk through this seven-week series in the book of Philippians, we are doing so through the lens of joy. Our prayer is that the Spirit will lead us into deeper joy as we contemplate and practice our life together with Christ. Our first message in this series is taught by Ron McClelland from Philippians 1:1-11 about how partnership for the sake of the gospel means sharing in joy and grief, leading to sincere friendship.