But First, Jesus

Call To Confession

Call to Confession:

Brothers and sisters, hear the call of Scripture:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.” — Proverbs 3:5

And yet we confess that we often trust ourselves more than God. We confess that we rely on our strength, our plans, and our understanding, instead of seeking the Lord with our whole hearts.

The psalmist reminds us:

“If You, O Lord, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand?” — Psalms 130:3

Let us come before God in humility and honesty, confessing our sin and our need for grace.

Prayer of Confession:

Almighty God, You raised Jesus from death to life, and crowned him Lord of All. We confess that we do not daily acknowledge Him as Lord of our lives, our families, our vocations, or our decisions. We have gone along with the ways of the world. We have failed to wait for Your advice, and to give You all the glory. Forgive us, and raise us from sin, that we may live as those who are faithful to You, through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Words of Assurance (Scripture-Based, Short)

Hear the good news of the gospel:

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” — 1 John 1:9

And again:

“As far as the east is from the west, so far He removes our transgressions from us.” — Psalms 103:12

In Jesus Christ, we are forgiven. We are restored. We are made new.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

Preaching Text: Colossians 1:15-23

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. 21 For as the Father raises the deadand gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. 22 For theFather judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, 23 that all mayhonor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.

Sermon:

(Title Screen) Two weeks ago, Pastor Brian preached on the beginning of the book of Colossians. We are going to be looking at this book as we move closer to Lent—which, if you are counting at home, begins in just a few weeks: February 18th, to be exact. At the beginning of Colossians, we learned that Paul opens with a prayer for the people in Colossae. Brian reminded us that we must start with prayer. Everything begins with prayer. When we pray, we are led closer to Jesus. (Screen)

Bow with me to pray.

That brings us to today’s section of the book. Following this emphasis on prayer, we encounter a deep Christological statement. Paul starts everything with prayer, but he also starts everything with Jesus. Brian’s sermon was titled (Screen) “But First, Prayer.” Today, the theme is (Screen)“But First, Jesus.” Jesus is the reason we worship today. Jesus is the reason we can pray at all. Paul shows us that he greets these churches by praying for them and then moves directly into the question of who Jesus is—especially here.

This passage is widely believed to be a hymn of the first-century church, or possibly even an early creed of belief. You can hear echoes of it at the beginning of John’s Gospel. It is also echoed throughout John’s Gospel when Jesus says, “If you have seen me, you have seen the one who sent me,” and “If you know me, you know the Father.” Paul is reinforcing a teaching that was foundational to the early church.

Jesus is described as the image of the invisible God. This is difficult for us because Jesus is not physically visible to us right now. But when we read about Jesus, when we hear the stories of who He was and is, what He did, and how He interacted with people, we see exactly what God the Father is like. They are one and the same. There is no God hiding behind Jesus. Jesus is God and was with God from the beginning of time.

When Paul says that Jesus is the firstborn (Screen) of all creation, this does not mean that He was created. He has always been and always will be. “Firstborn” is a title given to Him by the Father, signifying authority and inheritance. He was given authority to rule over creation.(Screen)

All creation was created for Him, since He is the heir of (Screen) all things. And here is the amazing part: because we are united with Christ when we accept Him as Lord and Savior, we become heirs as well. We are (Screen) adopted into the family of God. This is what Bill talked about last week—that we are now sons of God. Because Jesus is the Son of God, and because He is the firstborn who receives the inheritance, we, through Him, share in that inheritance. This is why we should be joyful in (Screen) all things.

All things were created by Him and for Him—all things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. Everything you see and everything you cannot see was created by Jesus. They were created through Him, for Him, and He holds all things together. If your life feels like it is spinning out of control, and you are exhausted from trying to hold everything together, you may want to give it over to the One who is already holding all things together. He holds all of creation in His hands—including your life. (Screen)

From reading about Jesus’ life and ministry, we know that all people matter. Those whom the world ostracized, Jesus lifted up. Their lives were given meaning after encountering Him. The same is true for us. We are part of those “all things.”

Jesus is fully God and fully human. We say that often—but do we fully understand what it means, or why it had to be that way? This is central to the Gospel. After the Word of God—the firstborn of all creation—created all things, God placed humanity in a garden and gave one command: do not eat from the (Screen) tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And what did humanity do? They ate the fruit, bringing sin into the world and corrupting God’s good creation. Forever after, (Screen) all things were marred.

Sin broke our relationship with the triune God, but it also fractured our relationships with creation and with one another. Something had to be done to make amends for what happened in the garden. The punishment required was too great for humanity to bear. Only God could bear that weight—but if God alone paid the price, humanity would not be reconciled. That is why Jesus had to be both fully God and fully human: to pay the price for sin and restore humanity. And that is exactly what happened. Because all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell in Him, Jesus was able to reconcile all things to Himself.

Because of Jesus, all things—us and creation—have been reconciled to God. He has restored creation toward what it was meant to be in the beginning. We are able to walk with God again because of Jesus. We are able to be vulnerable—“naked,” in the language of Genesis—with one another because of Jesus. As followers of Jesus, we should be able to be honest and open with one another because we have been reconciled.

The body of Christ—the Church—is meant to be different from the world because we understand that we have been reconciled to God and to each other. We are all equal at the cross. No one in this room is greater than anyone else because of that symbol right there—the cross. It reminds us that the One who created all things entered into His creation to bear the punishment we deserved, so that we could be reconciled back to God.

It does not matter whether you have known Jesus since childhood or if that moment happens right now while I am speaking. You are equally welcomed at the foot of the cross. Alistair Begg tells a story—one that Rev. Dobi quoted one Easter—that goes something like this:

Think about the thief on the cross. (Screen) I can’t wait to find that fellow one day to ask him, “How did that shake out for you? Because you were cussing the guy out with your friend. You’d never been in a Bible study. You’d never got baptized. You didn’t know a thing about church membership. And yet—and yet, you made it! You made it! How did you make it?”

That’s what the angel must have said—you know, like, “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“Well, ’cause I don’t know.”

“Well, you know… Excuse me. Let me get my supervisor.”

They go get the supervisor angel: “So, we’ve just a few questions for you. First of all, are you clear on the doctrine of justification by faith?”

The guy says, “I’ve never heard of it in my life.”

“And what about… Let’s just go to the doctrine of Scripture immediately.”

This guy’s just staring.

And eventually, in frustration, he says, “On what basis are you here?”

And he said, “The man on the middle cross said I can come.”

(Screen) But first—Jesus. Our answer to everything in life should be Jesus, the man on the middle cross. You do nothing. All the volunteering in this town means nothing. All the conversations about transition and restructuring mean nothing. Worshiping every Sunday means nothing unless it is about the man on the middle cross. Worship is not about you. Church growth is not about you. Church is not about you and Church is not something you attend—it is who you are. You do not go to church; you go to worship the One who has called you to be the Church. It is about him and those who do not know him yet. All we do is about loving God and loving others to lead them to Jesus.

Jesus is why we do anything. But first, Jesus. And if Jesus is first, then we must introduce the thieves out there to the man on the middle cross. That is what Paul is saying in Colossians, and it echoes the Great Commission. You were once that thief. The man on the middle cross said, “You can come.” He said, “Follow me.” You were made blameless and guiltless before God—now go and tell others what He has done for you.

Jesus says in Matthew, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” That mirrors Colossians: all things are under Him and created by Him and for Him. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations. And here is the promise through all of that: “I am with you always.” He is holding all things together. He has reconciled all things. And he is with you through all things.

But first, Jesus. We pray to speak with Jesus. So but first, pray and but first, Jesus go hand in hand. That is the key to everything in life—being in constant relationship with the One who created you and who holds all things together.

Jesus is also the head of the Church. That means He is the head of us. We come to be fed so that we can do the work He has called us to—not in order to be saved, but because we are saved. That is the Gospel. Salvation is not just about getting into heaven. Jesus’ Gospel was about the Kingdom of God breaking into the world—healing the broken, restoring the lost, lifting the lowest. Somewhere along the way, we made it only about us getting to heaven and not about those out there but us in here.

We repent to be part of the family, and then we do the work of the family. Families are imperfect, but we have the One who reconciles us—the man on the middle cross.

Why do so many of us—myself included—act as if we do not know the man on the middle cross when we deal with one another? But first, Jesus. He must stand between broken relationships to reconcile them. Divorce, broken homes, absent parents—this is everywhere in our world, and the church reflects it too. We have pushed the man on the middle cross out of our relationships.

Reconciliation should be what the church is known for. We should forgive because we have been forgiven. That forgiveness should humble us, not elevate us. Knowledge alone—being able to recite TULIP, define justification by faith, or win theological arguments—means nothing unless it brings others to Jesus.

Too often, people use knowledge as a weapon. Look online. Watch debates. Everyone claims their theology proves their salvation. But the thief on the cross knew none of that. He simply asked Jesus for mercy—and Jesus said, “Today you will be with me in paradise.”

That man experienced paradise while hanging on the cross, dying a brutal death—not because of what he knew or did, but because of Jesus.

Paul tells the Colossians—and us—that we begin with prayer and Jesus. Jesus and prayer. That is where we start, especially in this season of transition. Many have asked, “What’s next?” And my answer is: But first, Jesus.

Put Him at the center. Shine the light on Him. If you are on a committee, a deacon, an elder, in a Bible study—start to watch and start to listen to how often do you talk about Jesus in your meetings? How often do you talk about Jesus in your everyday happenings? How often do you pray to Him in moments of tension or disagreement in those meetings?

That is where we begin. He reconciles us. He holds all things together. He is the head of the Church.

Let me ask you to imagine something for a moment—God forbid—but imagine that this building was gone. A fire, a storm, something unexpected, and tomorrow there is nothing left here. No sanctuary. No pews. No offices. No history on the walls.

(Screen) Where would you want to start?

Wouldn’t you start with Jesus? Wouldn’t you start with prayer?

(Screen) If everything was stripped away and we had to begin again, instinctively we know the answer. We wouldn’t start with committees. We wouldn’t start with budgets. We wouldn’t start with programs or traditions. We would start with Jesus, and we would start with prayer.

And if that is how we would choose to start over—then why would we wait for everything to be taken away to begin there?

(Screen) Why not now?

Why not, in this moment, choose to put Jesus back at the center? Why not choose prayer as our first instinct instead of our last resort?

(Screen) But first, Jesus. (Screen) But first, prayer.

(Screen) In the Seven Letters to the Seven Churches in Revelation, Jesus talks to the 7 churches about what they are doing well and what they have lost. Two of those churches are Ephesus and Laodicea. The church in Ephesus worked hard to root out false teaching but forgot their first love. The church in Laodicea believed they were fine because of their wealth and knowledge, yet Jesus was outside knocking. These things did not happen overnight—they happened slowly.

And we, a church worshiping for 200 years, face similar dangers. We have lost Jesus in places. We have relied on ourselves. We have trusted our resources instead of Him.

This season of transition is a letter from Jesus saying, “I love you—but you have lost your first love.” This is our invitation to return. To put Him first again. To let Him reconcile all things. Including ourselves. It all starts with where Paul started this letter to Colossae, prayer and Jesus.

A church connected to the head will thrive. So our first step is simple: reconnect to Jesus and pray.

(Screen) But first, Jesus. But first, pray.

Bow with me as we pray to the head of this church.