Subscribe to our iTunes podcast to automatically download new sermons as they become available.
In Christ Our Life
Colossians 2:11-15 describe the unbreakable spiritual bond that believers have with Christ because we are in Christ. Christ’s death on the cross makes it possible for us to be united with Christ. Our sins are forgiven, our debt cancelled, and the forces of Satan that bound us are defeated. By faith in Jesus, we can enjoy the benefits of what God is doing in us. We become dead to sin and alive in Christ. Let us always express our love and gratitude to Christ for all He has done.
Let No One Take You Captive
Colossians 2:8-10 contains a warning to believers: We must be aware of the real danger of being kidnapped away from the truth. Empty deceptive philosophies that are not found in scripture rob Christ of glory and rob us of our spiritual freedom. To protect ourselves we must diligently examine the scripture with a humble, teachable spirit, seeking to know Christ as He truly is.
Holy is His Name
The eternal holy, self-existent, unchanging God reigns in supremacy over all. When we realize God’s holiness and our accountability to Him, this leads to humility and the revival of our heart and spirit.
Wholly God, Wholly Human
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
Colossians 2:9-10 (ESV)
It is supremely significant that Christ is divine. More than possessing the attributes of God and performing the acts of God, Jesus is the full totality of God in human form. God became flesh in order that He might deliver, redeem, change, forgive, and rule us. May Christ always be preeminent in our lives.
Walk in Him
You have received Christ Jesus (believed the message of the Gospel and embraced Him by faith), so steadfastly pursue Him. Be devoted to growth through the truth of scripture, and overflow with heartfelt gratitude.
Our Lord’s Crucifixion
“It is finished” (John 19:30). What was finished? Christ’s sacrifice for our salvation – the satisfying of the wrath of God. The cross was necessary because we have sinned against a holy God. God’s wonderful love for us is always linked in Scripture to the cross. Salvation through faith in the crucified and risen Christ is free and available to all.
Maturing in Christ
In Colossians 2:1-5 Paul explains how healthy, mature believers and churches should be established. Church leaders must be vitally involved with their congregation, struggling in prayer for them. Members should have a spirit-generated unity, being “knit together in love,” and every individual should be a fully engaged part of the whole. Lives will be transformed as believers grow in their assurance of all things that relate to Christ.
Something Worth Living For
“Christ in you, the hope of glory.” This is the message to which Paul had a single-minded devotion, the Good News that we can all be reconciled to God.
Paul was convinced that this message worth dying for and worth living for with all his energy. We too, are to be Christ’s ambassadors, sharing in the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Before and After
Saving faith has three essential components, all described in Colossians 1:21-23. We must recognize our condition apart from Christ, alienated from God and falling short of His holiness. The next step is reconciliation, in genuine repentance accepting the forgiveness that we could not earn for ourselves. Once we have found peace with God, we must continue to move foward in confident hope, steadfastly walking with Christ.
Reconciliation
Our world, filled with war and injustice, awaits the reconciliation of all things to God mentioned in Colossians 1:19-20. Sin brought personal separation from God and disruption to the universe (Romans 8:20-23). But God initiated reconciliation through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. The final restoration will occur when the enemies of Christ will one day be destroyed (1Corinthians 15:24).
Christ is Preeminent
Colossians 1:15-20 provides a glimpse into the majesty and glory of Jesus. He is preeminent in His very being – the image and manifestation of the invisible God. He is preeminent over all all of creation – the source and force that holds the universe together. He is preeminent over the church, its head, ruler, and guide.
Let us pursue Christ over all else.
Giving Thanks to the Father
In Colossians 1:12-14, Paul expresses gratitude to God for many reasons, all related to Christ’s sacrificial death on our behalf. We have been qualified for heaven, delivered from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of light. We are eternally forgiven and redeemed from our sins. Our expressions of gratitude should be natural and habitual. Thanks be to God!
Prayer
The prayers of Paul for the church are frequent and habitual. We too should pray the truths of scripture into our lives, never settling for spiritual mediocrity. Access to the Father through prayer is a privilege purchased for us through the sacrificial death of Christ on our behalf.
What We Pray Matters
Paul in Colossians 1:9-12 encourages the Colossians to “Live a life worthy of the Lord.” We are to conduct ourselves in balance with all that Jesus is by bearing fruit in every good work and growing in a personal, experiential knowledge of God. We can be strengthened by His glorious might, filled with thankfulness and in tune with God’s will.
The Gospel
The Gospel is the core truth that we are to grasp and to apply to our lives. It is the Word of Truth, containing specific, true information about the substitutionary death of Jesus on our behalf. The Gospel is spreading throughout the world. Let’s proclaim it, speaking with clarity and boldness.
Faith, Love and Hope
Pastor Gregory explains how the apostle Paul is filled with gratitude to God for what God is doing in the lives of all the saints in Colossae. Paul points out three areas for his thankfulness. He is thankful for: their faith in Christ Jesus, their love for all the saints, and the hope that is laid up for them in heaven. Gratitude should be a distinguishing characteristic in the life of a believer.
Who Are You?
In Christ we are saints, not because of what we do, but because we are set apart for God, His treasured possession. We are faithful brothers in Christ, sharing a deep family bond with all who have put their faith in the Lord.
Where are we? We are in Christ, part of a new kingdom, a new mindset. Yet we are also still “in Colossae,” part of a particular earthly community. We are called to engage with the world in order to win it for Christ.
Christ is Supreme
In Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae, he addresses false teachings by proclaiming the truth about Christ and challenges the Colossians to remain in the truth. Jesus is preeminent. In Him we can be redeemed and reconciled to God. Christ can live in us by faith — He is our life, our strength, and our hope.
The New Testament
Pastor Gregory shares reasons why we should love Jesus from each book of the New Testament. From the good news introduced in Matthew to the ultimate triumph of Jesus in Revelation, the New Testament is filled with truth about the Lord Jesus.
Feet Worth Touching
God’s almighty power was on display in the resurrection of Jesus “… [Jesus] was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:14). Jesus openly foretold His death and resurrection (6 times in the gospel of Matthew), proving His unchanging reliability. The resurrection validates the public crucifixion that was planned by God to atone for our sin. Christ’s victory is total, and His forgiveness is available to all.