Titus 1:1-9 I know enough about the book of Titus to know that Paul quotes a Cretan saying that describes the people of Crete as liars, evil beasts, and lazy gluttons (1:12). Before hearing Pastor Shannon’s sermon, though, I had not considered the parallels between 1st century Crete and...
Colossians 4:7-18 In his final greetings, Paul names ten people who, to us, are strangers with hard-to-pronounce names but who were important players on Paul’s team. Reflecting on these relationships and the message of the whole letter, Pastor Dave drew several conclusions about church...
Colossians 4:2-6 Near the end of his letter, Paul instructs Christians to pray in three specific ways. Pray, being watchful. Watchful, for what? Paul has already spoken of “when Christ, who is your life, appears.” (3:4) If we are watchful for Jesus’ return, we will pray...
Colossians 3:18 – 4:1 I am thankful for a church with the guts to preach uncomfortable and unpopular parts of the Bible instead of quietly skipping over them! As Pastor Dave ably described, this passage on submission is unwelcome today because the views of the culture that surrounds us are...
Colossians 3:5-17The Christ-Centered Wardrobe Paul tells us, along with the Colossian Christians, that we have a new wardrobe and must get rid of the old, not just push it to the back of the closet. As Pastor Todd described the sexual sins mentioned in v5 and the sins of the tongue listed in...
Colossians 3:1-4Seek the Things That Are Above The things above Paul instructs us to seek are not angels and streets of gold. As Pastor Dave helpfully noted, Paul explains in the same sentence that things above means Christ, seated in a place of power, status, and glory. Affirm before him: Lord...
Colossians 2:16-23Two Commands and a Question Paul gives two commands – Don’t let anyone judge you and don’t let anyone disqualify you – to fortify the Colossian Christians against false teachers. Judaizers were adding pharisaic rules and regulations to the gospel, and...
Colossians 2:6-15Alive in Christ Pastor Dave noted that it is possible to be a Christian but not walk in Christ, just as it’s possible to have a gym membership card in your wallet but never go to the gym. The word walk connotes to me the ordinary, the regular, the everyday. How big a part...
Colossians 1:24 – 2:5Paul’s Ministry to the Church Paul describes his role in the church as that of a servant – a suffering, but rejoicing, servant. Pray that every single person at Calvary would function as a servant, not as an attender or onlooker or consumer (as someone on...
Colossians 1:3-14Paul’s Thanksgiving and Prayer Paul begins many of his letters, including Colossians, by thanking God for the body of believers to whom he is writing. Like any church, the Colossian church must have been a mixed bag of people with different levels of spiritual maturity...