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“I was listening to your sermon referencing Colossians this morning, and then read the four short chapters. It is amazing…how completely & concisely God thru Paul lays out everything. In fact if that were the only scripture left for us, we would be w/o excuse in living pure lives before Him…” ~ CW
Surely that speaks to the heart of one of the great purposes of Colossians: Colossians is a kick in the pants to live pure lives in Christ!!!! ~ A life worthy of our Savior who died for our sins and was raised from the dead. Go forward in Christ! The car of faith goes forward or reverse… Are you striving for greater things, greater understanding, greater awareness, greater strength… or you are going backwards… Paul writes to the church at Colossae. Interesting he has the same desire for Laodicea down the road (READ Col. 2:1). “Contending” he says in the NIV. My paraphrase is a Kick in the Pants. The fact that he has the same desire for at least these two churches shows this is a general letter, and in a very real sense is written directly to us. Paul has much to commend of the Colossians, but he has a fear they may be slipping into the reverse gear. You go forward or backward in faith, those are the only choices. You are growing in Christ, or…
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The Goal of the Christian Life is Maturity. One of the great purposes of the church is, as Paul says in Col. 1:28, “that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.” Spiritual maturity…becoming more and more like Christ. Make that your personal goal. And may one of your greatest desires be to see others commit to growing in their faith.
What does it mean to be mature as a Christian? Paul is not pointing to a pinnacle to reach the top and then be declared to be mature; he is describing something more like an arrow traveling towards Christ, maturity is a process ~ admonishing teaching… I strenuously contend to this end…As Christians we are called to grow constantly, to be in the process of becoming… I am 57. When I was a boy growing up in this church, I would look at the great saints around me, folks like Doris, my mother, and so many more as OLD…I thought they’d made it… a simple life of faith and bliss. What were they, in their 30’s, 40’s. Now that I am really OLD, I know now all adults are still trying to figure out life….Growing in faith is a process…
I was honored this week to visit with Yesenia, a young woman, age 43, in hospice house in Bellingham. When I went to see her on Tuesday, I spent an hour with her, just Yesenia and me. Yesenia was in the youth group when I first went to Nooksack as pastor. I’ve always appreciated Yesenia, her honesty. I reminded her of the time 25-26 years ago, she said, “I’m not ready to be a Christian because I know it means changes in my life and I am not ready to make those changes.”
Yesenia sat up in her bed when I arrived. I had an inspiration. Rather than asking her directly about her faith, her relationship with Jesus Christ, I decided to ask open questions so she could fill in the answers. I know her well enough I knew she would talk. First question: what do you think about?... Second question: what’s most important to you? She told me about her faith/her struggles/her children/her desires for her children. Last question: what do you want the world to know about Jesus Christ? Her honest answer: “keep trying. You may not get it at first, but keep trying.” We’d already talked about grace and she knew salvation wasn’t a reward for doing good things. The questions are good for each of us, too: What do you think about? What is most important to you? What do you want the world to know about Jesus Christ? |
 
Carl Crouse, Pastor
At SACC we believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God. Every Sunday the worship service includes a message from the Bible. My words are an attempt to understand and apply the Bible to our daily living. I post weekly sermons and other biblical messages on this page. May you find meaning and hope as you read through each message and seek to hear God's voice. Leave a comment to ask questions or inspire others with your insights. Categories
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