The Mystery of Christ, Col 1:24-2:5
Good morning, Church. You accomplished something important just by getting yourself ready this morning and showing up for worship. That’s more than most people on the planet did, and hopefully you made that choice because you love God and understand how irrelevant life is without him.
As we grow in Christ, our motivations mature. Many people turn to God initially out of fear of hell or the promise of heaven, and that’s fine. Jesus taught about those things. But Jesus also taught about learning to live like him and walk the path he walked out of obedience to the Father. As much as we’d like that path to be easy and smooth every step of the way, we who’ve been disciples for a long time know that it can be a daily struggle. I’m not saying that it IS always a struggle just that it CAN be, and it helps to realize that the struggle is part of it on purpose.
One of the mysterious things the Apostle Paul wrote to the Colossians in today’s sermon text (Col. 1:24-2:5) is that he was rejoicing in his sufferings for the sake of his fellow Christians. That’s not something that comes naturally to us at all, but it is something that we who follow Jesus are supposed to grow into. I’m not going to drill all the way down into that topic today, but it’s one of the things I hope we’ll get to delve into a bit this morning as we continue our sermon series through the great letter to the Colossians. As always, if you have more questions, please reach out and let me know. I’m here to listen, study, pray, and suffer with you if that’s what God calls us to do.
In Him,
Col 1:24-2:5, The Mystery of Christ
Digging Deeper:
- What is the “mystery” revealed in Christ that Paul talks about in Colossians 1:24-2:5?
- How does suffering make us more like Jesus?
- Who empowers us for ministry and service, and how does that happen?
- What sacrifice could you make for God that would feel like suffering on your part?
- Read 1 Peter 4:12-16 and discuss the blessings that come out of suffering for Christ.
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