Col 1:24-2:5
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Passionate Truth audio (4MB)
Do you see yourself as one of God’s ministers? Are you excited by the thought that God might have some ministry for you to exercise in his church, or would you rather just sit back and let others do the work? Perhaps the idea of being a minister frightens you? Is ministry the task of those more spiritually able, those of a more godly character? Well let me encourage you, as we look at how Paul describes his ministry, to put yourself in the picture, to see how what he says about himself might also be a statement about you.
Rejoice!
He begins on a note of rejoicing. Mind you it isn’t the thing you expect someone to rejoice in is it? He says “I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake.” Most of us avoid suffering if we can, don’t we? It’s pretty rare that anyone rejoices when they suffer. I guess we all know that sometimes serving God will lead to opposition and suffering persecution for Christ’s sake. But we normally think we’ll just put up with it, persevere despite it. But Paul says he rejoices in his sufferings. Then he adds this strange statement: “I am completing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” Does he mean that Christ’s death on the cross was insufficient? That more was needed? No, of course not. He makes it quite clear elsewhere that Christ’s death was all that was needed for our salvation. No, I think what he’s saying is that in this fallen world, the suffering that Christ endured hasn’t finished. If the church is to be served with the gospel then there is more suffering to be endured by those who represent Christ. As parts of the body of Christ we will continue to experience the suffering that he endured on our behalf.
Christian Attitudes: Anger vs. Self-control
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- Written by: Garrett Edwards
Anger Vs. Self Control
Matt 5: 20-26 audio (4MB)
Welcome to the first youth service of 2010!
This week we kick off the first in a four part series on Christian Attitudes
Today we’ll be looking at Anger vs. Self-control, and then throughout the year, we’ll look at Humility vs. Pride, Judgment vs. Grace and Holiness vs. Worldliness.
My hope is that you’ll use this time to really search your character and attitudes and to reflect on whether they are matching up to Jesus’. And obviously we can’t look at every attitude individually but if something in these talks challenges you on other areas of life then I encourage you to act on it.
Well, Anger vs. Self Control, lets define these terms so we’re all on the same page. The dictionary has these definitions:
Anger – ‘a strong feeling of displeasure aroused by a wrong; wrath; resentment; displeasure’
Colossians 1:15-23
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- Written by: Heather Cetrangolo
Christ, the Fullness of God
Colossians 1:15-23 audio (4MB)
Today we’re looking at chapter 1.vs15-23 of Paul’s letter to the Colossians and – today it’s all about getting back to basics.
It’s important that we do this.
I think it’s the same reason we take holidays
- Holidays give us an opportunity to get back to basics.
- Get back to nature – go to the beach, up to the mountains?
- Get back to enjoying the simple things in life
- When we come back from holidays we’re usually a little more relaxed and focussed
- A little more functional in our relationships with our family
- And a little more aware of what really matters in life, and what doesn’t actually matter that much, and maybe even the things that we need to cut out of our lives.
Well, we might like to think of today’s passage in Colossians as a little bit like getting away from the many distractions we have in the life of the church – and getting back to the basics of who Jesus is and what he’s done. So we’re going to spend some time this morning thinking about our journey with the Lord – how it has developed, over the years, and where it is right now.
Col 1:1-14
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
A Model of Christian Experience.
Colossians 1:1-14 audio (4MB)
Love is a great thing isn’t it? After all it is St Valentine’s Day. And even if it is the object of American cultural imperialism, even if it is taken over by advertising and media hype, love is what makes the world go ’round. What’s more, it’s at the core, the centre of Christian character.
Today I want us to think about how we might reflect the character of Christ in the way we live and I guess that means especially the way we love.
Simon was a leader of the Synagogue so when Jesus came to town he invited him to come and eat with him. After all Jesus had been making quite a name for himself as a religious teacher. It wouldn’t hurt to see what he’s on about. Maybe he also had a bit of the philosophy of “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. So Jesus went to Simon’s house to eat. But they weren’t far through the meal when there was something of a disturbance. A woman came in, a sinner we’re told. No doubt she’d been seen wandering the seedier parts of the city looking for men to pick up. But now she comes and stands behind Jesus in tears, weeping so much that her tears fall on his feet and so she begins to wash his feet with the tears and wipe them dry with her long flowing hair. She’s brought with her an expensive alabaster jar of ointment and having washed his feet she pours the ointment over them. You can imagine the perfume of the ointment filing the room. Well, Simon is appalled. What sort of holy man is Jesus if he lets a woman like this, massage his feet with oil? It just goes to prove what they’ve always feared about Jesus.
Series: 51: Colossians
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Colossians - Christ The One and Only
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A Model Of Christian Experience |
Colossians 1:1-14 |
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Christ The Fullness Of God |
Colossians 1:15-23 |
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Passionate Truth |
Colossians 1:24:2:5 |
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Life In Christ |
Colossians 2:6-3:2 |
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Give Thanks |
Colossians 3:1-17 |
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A Model Of Christian Ministry |
Colossians 3:18-4:18 |
Luke 4:21-30
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- Written by: Chris Appleby
Will the Real Jesus Please Stand Up
Luke 4:22-30 audio (3MB)
One of the comments you often hear from non-Christians is that they quite like Jesus but they’re not so keen on God. Jesus is all loving, sacrificing, etc, while God seems so judgmental, so angry. People are happy to have a saviour. They’re happy to have someone who always forgives; who’s longsuffering and patient and kind. But they don’t want a God who wants to rule over their lives; to keep them accountable; who demands obedience and commitment.
The people of Jesus day were like that weren’t they? They were quite impressed with Jesus. He spoke so well. Perhaps they didn’t quite get what he was on about when he suggested that the words of Isaiah were being fulfilled in their midst that very day. But they were amazed at how well this son of a carpenter spoke.
Luke 4:14-21
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- Written by: Bill Stewart
"We know what kind of world we want. We want a world that's part city and part small town, part farm and part forest. We want to live someplace exciting and someplace peaceful. We want to live someplace safe and someplace secure, where kids play unafraid on playgrounds and in backyards, where old people live out there lives rocking on the front porch telling the rest of us stories about the old days, and where people who work hard can enjoy times of rest. That's the kind of world we want to live in. And we don't want that world just for a chosen few who are protected by Border Patrol and security fences. We want that kind of world for everyone." (Robert Arbogast)
Maybe the kind of world you want to live in doesn’t agree in every detail with the man who wrote these words. But I think we all want most of those things. What kind of world does Jesus want? I think today's reading from Luke's Gospel answers that question.
