Sermon
for the Sullivan SDA Church; December 13, 2003
To Prepare a People to Meet Their God - III
Colossians 1:19 19For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should
dwell, 20and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him,
whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the
blood of His cross. 21And you, who once were alienated and enemies
in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled 22in the
body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above
reproach in His sight— 23if indeed you continue in the faith,
grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel
which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I,
Paul, became a minister.
I
Today is the “First Day of Christmas”
1.
Twelve days of Christmas beginning today end with Dec 25th.
2.
After that, we have one before the start of the New Year 2004.
3.
I want to wish you all a Happy Holiday Season. We may have a “White
Christmas.”
II
What Paul said to the church at Collosse:
A.
How
Paul Prepared the Church at Colosse to meet God
1.
About the nature of Christ:
a
One of the Clearest descriptions of the purpose of God concerning
Christ to be found in Scripture.
b
Colossians 1:15 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation. 16For by Him all things were created that are in heaven
and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or
principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17And
He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18And He is
the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the
dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence. 19For it
pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20and
by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or
things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.
2.
The changes that have occurred in the people of Colosse since
they became Christians:
a Colossians 1:21 21And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked
works, yet now He has reconciled 22in the body of His flesh through death, to
present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight
3.
And points them to their future responsibilities
a Colossians 1:23 23if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and
steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard,
which was preached to every creature under heaven,
4.
Then Paul includes himself as a part of their growth.
a
of which I, Paul, became a minister.
III
The complex nature of Church Growth from the point of
view of “preparing a people to meet God”
A.
The
growth of individuals as they come to know Christ
B.
The
source of that Growth is centered in “Christ within
the hope of Glory”
1.
Colossians 1:27 27To them God willed to make
known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles:
which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
C.
Christ
set up the Church as the visible part of His Kingdom, and the body to which His
people were to gather and grow.
1.
A place for the resources for Christian growth
Ephesians 4:11-13 And
He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some
pastors and teachers,12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,13 till we all come to the
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man,
to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;[1]
D.
So
we come here and find a body of growing Christians.
1.
Those who are the Apostles, the Teachers, the whole body are themselves
Growing Christians:
2.
It is God’s plan that we all grow together.
IV
Plans for the Church in 2004
A.
Continued work with “Small Group Ministry”
1.
A training of leaders for Small Group Ministry
2.
The time that will take.
B.
Orientation toward “Spiritual Gifts” functioning as the basis of
what we do.
1.
We want to work in the areas that God has given us gifts
a
It is no good for us to form singing bands if none of us can sing.
b
We know that within this church, we have many people who have been
gifted by God in many capacities. We want to put those plans to work.
C.
A
change in the way we tend to “think about church”.
1.
From
a
Church as something we do once a week,
b
Another responsibility, more work
2.
To
a
Being a Christian as something that we are every instant of the day,
and the church (the Christ and the work that are
found there) as the center point around which our life orbits
3.
Matthew 16:13-18 13 When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He
asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”14 So
they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one
of the prophets.”15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”16 Simon
Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”17
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh
and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.18 “And
I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church,
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.[2]