Key Bible Verse: And say to Archippus, "Be sure to carry out the work the Lord gave you." (Colossians 4:17). Bonus Reading: Colossians 4:7-18

Officially it's the North Cascades Youth Football League. But my grandson Chase, who played on a seventh-and-eighth-grade team last year, just called it Smash Mouth Football. The day I watched them play, they won big: 20 to 6. But it wasn't talent that won the game; it was teamwork.

As I watched, I thought, This is how it ought to be in the church: each one doing his part; all working together to build God's kingdom. We'd win big if we did it like this.

Paul was a team player. He surrounded himself with good men to help build the kingdom. He named some in today's Bonus Reading: Tychicus and Onesimus, whom Paul used as couriers. Aristarchus, Mark, and Justus, who stood by Paul and encouraged him. Luke, who later documented Paul's journeys. And Epaphras, the prayer warrior.

Teamwork is still needed in the local church, the basic building block of the kingdom. But sometimes we're tempted to be merely spectators. Maybe that's what was going on with Archippus, why he had to be encouraged to get back in the game.

No matter how talented he is, a quarterback can't win alone. Neither can one or two people successfully build a church. It takes a team with dedicated team players.

—Mike Raether in Montana

My Response: Am I in spectator mode or fully engaged in the game?

Thought to Apply: "Men do less than they ought, unless they do all that they can."—THOMAS CARLYLE (Scottish historian)

Prayer for the Week

Father, Your Son gave His life for the church. Teach me, as His follower, to care deeply about it too.

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