Take Out the Trash!

Colossians 3:1-11

ETS: Paul reminded the Colossians to embrace their new life in Christ.

ESS: We need to embrace the new life with Christ by getting rid of the old life with the flesh.

OSS: [MO: Devotional] {SO:I want the hearers to worship God through ridding their life of fleshly practices and embracing in their life things of Christ.} Cognitive: I want the hearers to know about the new life and the need to leave behind the old; Affective: I want the hearers to feel the weight of holding onto the trash of the flesh; Psycho-motor: I want the hearers to get rid of the trash that they have held onto in order to embrace thew new life with Christ.

PQ: What reminders did the Colossians need?

UW: Reminders

Intro.: [AGS]: Taking out the trash is one of the chores that I hesitate and often fail to do altogether. Friday is trash day. The days leading up to Friday, I often think, “I need to take the trash to the road.” However, when I get home Thursday evening, I hardly ever remember to do it. This has often led me to making trips to the landfill during the week due to overflowing trash cans. The reality is that I cannot fully embrace the new week without ridding the house of the trash from last week. If I try to, garbage begins to lay around causing anxiety and the inability to fully embrace and enjoy the newness of the fresh week. [TS]: The text today records Paul reminded the believes at Colassae of the necessity to let go of and rid their lives of the old, filthy, sinful way of living in order to embrace the new way of living in Christ. [RS]: Like the issue of taking out the trash and the biblical account of Paul’s writing to the Colossian believers, we all have trash in our life called sin. When we put our faith in Jesus, we are supposed to rid our life of the sin- the effects, the weight, and the impact thereof. If we are unwilling to get rid of the trash from the old life, we will never fully be able to embrace the new life. The Colossians needed to be reminded of this.

TS: Let us study together a few reminders that Paul gave to the Colossian believers.

You have been raised with Christ, seek things of Christ. (vv. 1-4)

seek that of Christ

set minds on thing above

because (for) you have died (v. 3)

You have been raised with Christ, get rid of things not of Christ. (vv. 5-11)

put to death that belonging to earthly, fleshly nature (v. 5) [Sexual sins that the Colossians would have engaged prior to faith]

put away ^^ [Relational sins that the Colossians would have engaged prior to faith]

do not lie.

CONCLUSION:

[1] Each of us have trash in our life called sin. (Rom. 3:23); If we, as believers, are going to fully embrace and experience the new life with Christ, we must be willing to get rid of the trash from the old life. Else, it will begin to overflow, build up, stink, overwhelm us, and hold us back.

[2] Trash on the altar table: Some of the trash we like to hold on to: pleasure? grudges against others? vulgar language? sexual immorality? worry and lack of trust?

[3] What trash have you held onto that needs to be tossed overboard today never to be a part of your life again?