Colossians 3:16-17

The Chapel Fort Wayne

Colossians 3:16-17

Whatever You Do

August 4, 2023 • Pastor Josh Lewis • Colossians 3:16–17

Have you ever tried assembling something without reading the instructions? The directions might seem confusing, the parts and pieces it illustrates don't seem to line up with reality, or you think you can figure it out on your own? That's definitely been me before--times when I get frustrated with the directions and try to do it on my own. But there have also been moments when I've gotten stuck, studied the directions a little closer, and realized they were pointing me in the right direction all along. I just didn't understand at first. Sometimes we fall into the same temptation with the Bible--when there are things WE don't understand or don't seem to line up with how WE see a situation, we toss it aside and go our own way. But we need to never forget the foundational truth that Scripture is God's word, and HE sees things with perfect clarity. In whatever we do in life, we should allow Scripture to guide us, giving thanks to God for His truth. In the moments we don't understand, we need to ask God for wisdom and search His words again. And like Paul says in this passage, we need to surround ourselves with a community of believers to learn and grow with.

PASSAGE: Colossians 3:16-17 - Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

PAUSE: Paul encouraged his disciples to remain in the Word, to worship with other Christians, and to be thankful. Ask the Lord to glorify Him in whatever you say and do. End the week, where we started praying for spiritual wisdom.

PRAYER: Father, thank you for this series. Change me from the inside out, may I live for You and Your glory. Grant me knowledge into Your will for my life.

James 4:7-8

August 18, 2023 • Pastor Josh Lewis • James 4:7–8

Have you ever lived in a household divided by the love of rival sports teams? Maybe you even felt obligated to root for both teams out of love and respect for your spouse or in-laws. When our loyalty is divided between two opposing forces, it’s impossible to give our all to either one. James, the brother of Jesus, writes a warning about our loyalty being divided between God and our love of sin. If we continue giving in to the devil’s temptations, we will continue to stumble and give God less than our full devotion. But when we submit our whole selves to God, we are better able to seek and follow His will for our lives! The closer we draw to God, the more we will be able to resist the devil and cause him to flee from us. PASSAGE: James 4:7-8 - “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” PAUSE: James, Jesus’s brother, exhorted the early church to resist the devil! The daily pause is to draw near to the Lord, knowing that when we draw near to the Lord, the presence of the Lord is real and near to us. Come, Lord Jesus. PRAYER: Father, thank you for your many promises. Help me to draw near to you. Create in me a humbleness and self-awareness to draw near to you. I beg you to deliver me from all temptations and ask for help to resist the devil.

Matthew 6:9-10

August 17, 2023 • Pastor Josh Lewis • Matthew 6:9–10

Have you ever heard someone say, "Trust me! I have a plan!" The way you respond to is going to depend entirely on who the person is. Do you know them well, or are they a complete stranger? Have they been trustworthy in the past, or have they said this before and let you down? Do you trust in God's plan--his will--for your life? We have talked a lot in this series about aligning our ASK with God's will. We know this in our hearts, but do we still wrestle with hoping that God's plan lines up with MY plan? Do we still truly wish it was our will that would come to pass? Don't feel ashamed, but recognize the weakness in our flesh that causes this. As we seek God's will, start by recognizing God for who He is--our perfect, holy Father in Heaven! We trust in His will because we know Him, and we know the plan for His Kingdom will unfold perfectly as He's planned. PASSAGE: Matthew 6:9-10 - 9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 10 Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. PAUSE: When is the last time you reflected on the Lord’s prayer? Jesus taught us the 4/4 method of prayer. Prayer is upward to our Heavenly Father, downward to submission to his will, inward to daily needs, and outward towards the temptations that come our way. Meditate on the Lord’s prayer. PRAYER: Heavenly Father, your kingdom come, let your will be done in me.

Matthew 26:40-41

August 16, 2023 • Pastor Mike Fanning • Matthew 26:40–41

Prayer is a lot of things. It is surrender, it is praise, it is interceding for others. But don’t ever forget that prayer is also work. What I mean is that prayer takes effort and discipline. Because the flesh is weak and because we have an enemy that actively opposes us having a vibrant prayer life, we find that real prayer does not come easy. We often just don’t feel like going deep with God. We are too busy. We are too superficial. We are too tired. The truth is that it takes planning ahead and blocking off time and saturating your soul in His Word and then choosing to show up at your appointed time with God to make prayer work. And not just one time, but regularly as a rhythm of life. So lets wake up and get to the good work of vibrant prayer! PASSAGE: Matthew 26:40-41 And he came to the disciples and found them sleeping. And he said to Peter, “So, could you not watch with me one hour? 41 Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” PAUSE: Our flesh would rather sleep than confront the messy decisions of life. If not sleep, we escape with our addictions, our binges, and our passions. Jesus encouraged us to pray against those temptations that wage within our flesh. PRAYER: Father, deliver me from evil. Lead me not into temptation. Create within my soul a desire to be constant in prayer and to fight against my flesh.