Life and Death

Colossians 3:1-17

Usually I like to have my sermons very organized, but with this sermon I want to look at the concept of life and death and what this passage says about it. Also what do the verses surrounding it say.

Vs 1

Paul says if then you were raised with Christ. What does this mean? This is talking about being raised with Christ out of the depths of the waters of baptism just like He rose from the depths of the grave (Rom 6:3-4). When you are baptized you are given life! (1 Pet 3:21, Tit 3:5, Col 2:12)

Vs 2

So after you have been raised with Jesus in baptism, there’s a commitment you have to make.......… to set your mind on things above.

What does it look like to set your mind on things above?

I like how he not only says to set your mind on things above, but to not set them on the world. What does that look like in our lives? - Not focusing on sinful things. (But not only that, it’s also about not focusing on things that aren’t objectively good or bad, they just distract us from what’s important. And that’s things from above

What are some practical examples of setting your mind on things above?

Reading the Word of God

Approaching God’s throne in prayer alone and with others

Talking about the Word with others.

Relating the bible to every day things.

Remembering your identity and share your testimony (vs 3) You died and your life is hidden with Christ. When you are baptized you die to your sins and you become alive in Christ. That is our identity! We are not sinners! We died to that when we chose to follow Christ.

Vs 1 specifically is talking about heaven because it says seek those things where Christ is sitting at the right hand of Gods throne. This means we should be setting our minds and our focus on heaven! Hebrews 11 were pilgrims and this world is not our home. Titus 2 says we are to be looking for the appearing of Jesus. The greek word “seek” means to seek, desire, or look for.”