Mystery Made Known: Christ in Colossians
August 12 - December 2, 2018
The Push
November 18, 2018 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
The world outside the circle of union with Christ has questions for us. They want to know if we are any different than they are. They want to know if Jesus is real to us, and if we are real about Jesus. And every Christian must be able to speak what makes Jesus true and real in our lives. That means that for the sake of the world we are called to live passionate, authentic lives in Christ. So Paul urges us to get in on the great Push. The Push in prayer, the Push out toward the world, the Push in gracious conversation. "The Push" Colossians 4: 2-6
House Rules
November 11, 2018 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
Here’s the secret. We submit, respect, love, cherish, obey, rule, manage, and work always and ever for the Lord Jesus Christ. You may not want to listen to your spouse and be supportive and admiring on any particular day. But you can ask yourself, “If this were Jesus telling me about his day, would I be interested? If this were Jesus asking me to do this task, would I be happy to do it?” Well, the truth is, it is Jesus. Every duty is unto him. When we get this, then we have an internal freedom. "House Rules" Colossians 3: 17-4: 1 Gerrit Dawson
Fulfill Your Ministry
November 4, 2018 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
See to it that you fulfill the ministry which you have received from the Lord. That's a mission statement for life. It's the reason we love our church. Fulfill your ministry. In your homes, in your work and in your church. What a deal that we get to have a part in what Christ is doing! "Fulfill Your Ministry" Colossians 4: 17 Gerrit Dawson
Getting Dressed
October 28, 2018 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
We get dressed in the awareness that all we do is as a representative of Christ. We enter the world and enter our day as Christ’s ambassadors. We dress to reflect well on our master. So we dress in compassion, forgiveness, love, peace, gratitude and joyful worship. We also go forth in the power of Christ’s name. We’re not making this stuff up. He has given us his life. His story is the one that matters. His name is the power that charms our fears and transforms lives. We get dressed in the power of his life, binding him to us more and more. Gerrit Dawson "Getting Dressed" Colossians 3: 12-17
Put on the New
October 21, 2018 • Darin Travis
Certain things change us when we put them on. The first time a judge puts on the robe. The first time a policeman wears the badge. It's not the metal or cloth that dons us but the authority that comes with them. Darin Travis "Put on the New" Colossians 3: 5-11
Living in Heaven
October 14, 2018 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
1) Since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is. 2) For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 3) When Christ, who is your life, appears, you also will appear with him in glory. All that Jesus is and does belongs to us. But he waits for us to ask before he releases that power. He holds back until we ask him to join the death of Jesus to us so we might be free of sin. He yearns for us to draw on his resurrection power to energize and transform us. "Living in Heaven" Colossians 3: 1-4
Guard Your Freedom
October 7, 2018 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
You can’t talk your way out of legalism. You can’t reason your way out. After all, it’s a good thing to confess sins, pray sincerely, share the gospel, pick up trash and apologize to people you offend. It’s a good thing to walk 15,000 steps, stand up during the day and eat healthy. It’s a good thing to enact spiritual disciplines and read Christian books. You can’t reason your way out of legalism because it is made up of good things. It’s just that those good things can become chains that bind. What’s good practice for one becomes chains of guilt to another. These good practices can become obsessive. They can become the basis for evaluation instead of the only thing that matters: are you in Christ, trusting in him alone for your salvation? "Guard Your Freedom" Colossians 2: 16-23
Walking in Christ
September 23, 2018 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
Your faith has propelled you in a journey into Christ. Along the way, watch out for deceit. Deceit wants to steal your joy. It wants to raid your assurance. It wants to capture your freedom and throw you off course. Colossians 2: 5-12 Gerrit Dawson "Walking in Christ"
That's My King
September 2, 2018 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
This is what happens when people discover the divine Kingship of Jesus. They don't get lost in a lot of swirly ideas theological debates. They get moved in the core of their beings by a love that envelops them. They meet the Force at the center of the universe and realize that he is personal. He showed himself to us as the man Jesus Christ. He is the source and the goal. He is the point of life right now and the final destination of all things. He is our God and King. If you don't know him, go before him in prayer and ask him to take you as his subject, to be your personal king and most intimate savior. If you do know him, show your loyalty to the King. Leave off your rebel thoughts, your seditious actions and give yourself ever more wholeheartedly to his service. Be faithful so that you can with your whole heart and mind point to the man on the cross and say, "That's my King!"
Living KBS
August 26, 2018 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
"He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Col. 1: 13). From this one verse, we learn that we are those who have been transferred from one spiritual address to another. We no longer live in the DD, the Domain of Darkness, but now reside KBS, in the Kingdom of the Beloved Son. "Living KBS" Colossians 1: 13-14 Gerrit Dawson
Walking Worthy
August 19, 2018 • Rev. Dr. Gerrit Dawson
The Apostle Paul tells us there are four ways we can walk worthy of the Lord: 1. Bearing fruit in every good work 2. Increasing in the knowledge of God 3. Being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might 4. Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you Paul prays for a life of growthful joy for his beloved church. He knows there will be trials to endure and enemies to face, resistance to overcome and a long journey to undergo. But none of those obstacles can prevent growthful joy, daily strengthening and increasing knowledge. What he prays, he also prescribes. Ask God specifically that we might bear fruit in every good work, increase in the knowledge of God, be strengthened with his might and live in joyful thanksgiving for the inheritance he has secured for us. Pray it for each other, and let’s live it daily. "Walking Worthy" Colossians 1: 9-12 Gerrit Dawson