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Weekend Recap – Lordship & Salvation

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Yesterday’s sermon, Lordship for Society, from Colossians 3:22-4:1 is now online. The big idea of this sermon was that we are called to live for Christ’s supremacy in everything we do, including the “small stuff.” Paul appealed to the Colossians to live this out in this way. He pressed slaves and masters to not get hung up on their current status, but to become so focused and consumed with the Lord that He would permeate their lives. I tried to reflect that in what I said yesterday.

In the evening, at small groups, we discussed Thabiti’s mark 5 of a Healthy Church Member: a healthy church member is a Biblical evangelist. One article I mentioned in my group was on Tim Keller’s talk on Defeater Beliefs. Check out that link and be edified and encouraged in your conversations with unbelievers. But at the core and leading to where we’ll be this coming Lord’s Day is the call to pray for openness to the Gospel and boldness to speak it (see Colossians 4:2-4 for more).

Weekend Recap – Indwelling Word

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Today’s sermon, Richly Indwelt, from Colossians 3:16 is now online. I thought we had a great morning digging into God’s Word and seeing how the indwelling Word overflows out of our lives in teaching, admonishing and singing.

We also got the pleasure of sending Elrond and Sheree Wedel off for an exciting ministry opportunity in Arizona. They will be going to serve the needs of a Christian school out there. They will finish packing up this week and leave later. Continue to pray for God’s prospering of them.

Tonight we also had a great time studying Thabiti’s book, What is a Healthy Church Member, chapter 2, – Biblical Theologian. My small group enjoyed some profitable discussion and striving to know God through His Word and had sweet prayer for one another. So, I’m really full tonight with blessings from the Lord. Hope you have a great week.

Weekend Recap – Growth & Mission

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This weekend, we had a great Lord’s Day. In the morning, we met together, celebrated the Lord’s Supper, looked at Growth from Colossians 2:18-19. This sermon really pointed conclusively to how central Jesus must be in the life of the church. We major on too many minor things. As we are severed from our Head, we lose vitality. Holding tight to Christ is key.

And it was very fitting that in God’s providence we got in small groups in the evening to discuss mission. Great stuff. Hope you enjoyed your Lord’s Day.

Weekend Preview (5/23) – Growth & Mission

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This video will be referred to in the opening of my sermon. In the AM, we will be looking at Colossians 2:18-19. The verses end with “growing with a growth that is from God.” There’s lots of huff and puff about church growth that isn’t rooted in the Bible. It seems that Paul is under the impression that growth from God is related very closely to holding tight to Christ as the Head. We will conclude our time Sunday morning with the Lord’s Supper.

In the PM, we will meet in Small Groups, continuing our study of the Gospel Centered Life curriculum. This week we are on Session 7 – Mission.

Weekend Recap – Fullness / Heart Idolatry…

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Yesterday’s AM message, Fullness, from Colossians 2:9-10 is now online. The sermon sought to show compellingly how satisfying Jesus is, since He is fully God, fills us and is the Head of ALL rule and authority. I hope it was encouraging to you. It was fitting to close with the Lord’s supper, as well, seeing Jesus in glorious ways.

In the PM we met in Small Groups discussing chapter 6 of the Gospel Centered Life curriculum on heart idolatry. In the article, an citation was made from Steven Childer’s excellent article: True Spirituality. For more on discerning your heart idolatry, listen or read C.J. Mahaney’s excellent sermon, “The Idol Factory.”

Weekend Preview – Jesus @ Center

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This weekend, we have a full Lord’s Day again.

First off, this is the final week of adult SS classes. I will be wrapping up Tripp’s What Did You Expect? Marriage Curriculum. Tom Dixon will be finishing out the Gospel of John.

In the AM service, I will be preaching a sermon entitled Fullness from Colossians 2:9-10. The basic idea is that since Jesus is fully God and you are filled in Him, who is the head of ALL rule and authority, is false teaching even alluring?

And then, in small group, we will be discussing chapter 6 of the Gospel-Centered Life curriculum on how we can continue to believe the Gospel as believers by destroying the idols of our hearts.

It should prove to be a great day, Lord willing. Pray that God would glorify Himself as we seek to center on Jesus.

Weekend Recap – Protection

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Another Lord’s Day is completed. I was really grateful to God for His enablement yesterday.

We began in SS, looking at Paul Tripp teaching on how worshipping God as Creator and Sovereign helps establish right relations horizontally in our marriages. Meg and I were remarking over lunch how helpful this perspective was.

In the AM service, my sermon was from Colossians 2:4-5 entitled Protection. The audio is online, but unfortunately, the podcast isn’t working (Sorry). This sermon was a blessing to me, in seeing how God doesn’t leave His people to their own devices, but graciously reveals the truth to us. To put it simply: God protects us by revealing truth to us, empowering us to live out that truth and compelling us to maintain our trust in Jesus.

Then, in small groups, we continued wading through the Gospel Centered Life curriculum, seeing how the Gospel relates to all the commands of the Bible. The summary of this time: the commands drive us to despair of keeping them to the Gospel and the Gospel frees us to delight in following them.

It was an amazing day and God was so gracious to teach us. Hope you had a tremendous Lord’s Day as well.

Weekend Preview – Protection

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This coming Lord’s Day, we anticipate, Lord willing, gathering together to celebrate the Gospel and, specifically, thinking about Jesus and His Work on the cross. We will have the Lord’s Supper at the conclusion of the service. We will sing songs: Sing to the King, And Can It Be, O Sacred Head Now Wounded, and How Deep the Father’s Love.

For the sermon, I will be preaching from Colossians 2:4-5 on Protection. My intro starts with the history of Protection, KS (of all things), but the focus in the sermon is how God protects us from error. In Colossians 2:4, Paul writes, “I say this…” and of course he is referring to all that he has written in chapters 1-2:3, but specifically, I think, the fact of Jesus Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Paul writes to give protection to God’s people and keep them from error. More on that Sunday AM.

Sunday PM, we will gather together in small groups and continue working through our Gospel Centered Life curriculum. We are in chapter 4 for our meeting this Sunday.

Hope you have a refreshing weekend and come ready to worship Jesus.

Weekend Wrap Up – Small Groups…

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Our Sunday PM message, In One Body, from Colossians 3:12-15 is also online. This sermon was my attempt to answer the question, Why do we do small groups? This extraordinary passage calls us to put on Godly characteristics, Godly actions and to pursue Godly unity. To have a context to do these things with other believers, we have small groups. We had a great response of people getting plugged in to relationship with one another. This winter/spring, we will be studying the Gospel Centered Life curriculum from Serge. I am very excited about this curriculum which deals with three questions:
1) What is the Gospel?
2) What does the Gospel do in us?
3) How does the Gospel work through us?

I hope you can be plugged into a small group and grow in grace.