How deep are your roots?

What did I learn?

Colossians 2:6–15 ESV

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Intro

—> My class in England was great! I learned about early Methodist, about the Wesley Family, about the cultural religious structures, and traditions, but most of all I learned about me.

—> I went in knowing 4 of the 19 people on the trip 1 of those being the prof. and if I’m being honest I thought that’s where I would end up.

—> I didn’t expect on the 3rd night in to be wrapped up in deep theological and cultural conversation with 3 guys I had just met 72 hours ago.

—> I didn’t expect a week later at a pub in Oxford over looking the River Thames (Tim’s) to be talking about the future of the church, the future of my ministry, and my deepest fears, doubts, and hopes, yet there I sat laughing, crying, hoping that the people sitting around that table with me would realize their full potential and be the Christians and leaders God needs them to be.

—> That became my prayer for myself, my family, and you, for the remainder of the trip, and I began to really search to find out where we lost our focus on our goal being the best Christians we could be.

Where are your roots? and What kind of tree are you becoming?

Colossians 2:6–7 ESV

6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

Col 2:

Paul uses this root metaphor only one other time in the New Testament. Only once more does he compare the Christian walk to trees and roots but it is a very apt thought.

If you will think back to a few weeks ago we heard 2 or 3 sermons on the doctrine of The UMC. This is not going to be one of those sermons.

Colossians 2:8 ESV

8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

—>

While I enjoy being United Methodist and I still think that’s where I belong. I realized these past 2 weeks that we have lost sight of what is really important.

We have in the words of Paul, become captive to philosophy and human traditions. What I learned was while John Wesley is given credit for being the “founder” of Methodism, the father of a denomination that wasn’t the goal. He was part of a movement. A movement that would connect people to Christ and to each other and to their community. John Wesley did not want to start a denomination, in fact John Wesley never stopped being a clergyman in the Church of England, that was his denomination affiliation until he died. The Methodist denomination was birthed out of the revolutionary war here in America because all of the Church of England Clergyman went back to England. Had they not left I would argue we would be Anglican or Episcopal today and not United Methodist.

John Wesley and his coworkers only wanted people to love Christ and love each other.

—> But that’s what happens the world tries to move you away from Christ.

-shifts our focus to other people, other things, theologians, denominations, etc.

Col 2:

Colossians 2:9–10 ESV

9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

—> Christ fills us up to resist the things of this world

—> When we are connected to Christ we are made whole.

Colossians 2:11–12 ESV

11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

—> Things we do as Christians in the Church and with the Church help us to resist the world.

—> Our faith is not tied to legalism, it is tied to Christ.

—> vrs 11. Paul is still fighting the idea in the Jewish Christian communities that people (gentiles) have to become Jews before they become Christians hence the circumcision.

—> Paul says its not the circumcision of the body that is needed only that of the heart or spirit.

—> For Paul Baptism is now the sign that one has entered the community and recieved this circumcision so to speak. It is symbolic a dying to self to live with Christ and to be strengthened by Christ and the community of Christians you are in.

—> We still hold this true today. When you are baptized you aren’t baptized into this local church but into the family of God and the entire Christian community supports you and lifts you up.

Colossians 2:15 ESV

15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

—>When we are connected to Christ, rooted in him, we have nothing holding us back

Col

Colossians 2:13–14 ESV

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

—> Christ clear the field so you can grow. He takes away the sin and the shame that chocked you out by His work on the cross. There is nothing that can stop you from coming to Him and planting your roots deep in his love.

In the last 4-6 months, I’m not sure exactly where it happened I forgot where my roots were. When we moved to Texas to take a job in the Methodist Church alot of people at my home church which is a church of the Nazarene asked my mom if she was mad I had switched denominations. My mom said, “I didn’t raise him to serve a denomination, only Jesus.” Friends, those are my roots and those are the roots I am striving to get back to. I love the Methodist Church I love being Wesleyan but I love Jesus Christ more. Let’s make sure we know where we are rooted and grow from there.