HCC- Sunday Service July 24, 2022

INTRODUCTION

Let’s turn together

in our Bibles

to Colossians.

Colossians, chapter 1.

& we’re gonna read

verses 1 & 2.

Colossians

chapter 1

verses 1 & 2.

When you find that

in your Bible

Pls stand for

the reading

of God’s Word.

The Title

of today’s teaching is

A Salutation

to the Saints.

In Colossians 1:1-2

the Scriptures say:

Colossians 1:1–2 (LEB)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

to the saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Today we’re gonna start

a series of messages

thru Colossians.

This letter is

one of my favorites

bcs it tells us so much

abt the message of the gospel

& the true grace of God.

We’ll spend our time today

learning abt the writer

& the recipients of Colossians.

PRAYER

Let’s pray

Lord, thank You

for Your Word.

Open our eyes

hearts & minds

to see the truth.

& give us the will

& the ability

to live out the truth

thru Your grace.

In Jesus name.

Amen.

In today’s passage

We see the standard

introduction

of an ancient letter.

These letters begin w/

an Opening Salutation

& the salutation has

three parts.

[Transition: The 1st part

of this salutation

Introduces us to…]

The WRITERS. (1:1)

Colossians 1:1 tells us:

This letter was written by:

Colossians 1:1 (LEB)

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God...

A man named Paul

who describes himself as

an Apostle of Christ Jesus—

wrote this letter.

An apostle is a messenger—

Someone sent

by another person

to represent that person

in official business.

This man

named Paul

was a representative

of the most important person

who ever lived on this earth.

He was a representative

of Christ Jesus.

Paul had a special commission

frm God

to be a messenger of Christ.

Now

this man named Paul

is also called

Saul in the NT Scriptures.

He was once

a prominent member

of a Jewish religious group

called the Pharisees.

The Pharisees lived by

a strict set of

man-made religious rules

known as

“The Traditions of the Elders.”

These human traditions

separated the Pharisees

frm the Gentiles;

frm ritual impurities;

& frm non-practicing Jews.

That’s what the name

“Pharisee” means

“The separated ones.”

The Pharisees

thought their traditions

brought them closer to God.

But what they did not realize is

those human traditions

were actually separating them

frm God.

Jesus told them

on several occasions

that by their traditions

they were setting aside

God’s Word

& they’re worship of God

was in vain.

As we read in Mark 7:5-9

Mark 7:5–9 (LEB)

And the Pharisees and the scribes asked [Jesus], “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with unclean hands?”

So he said to them, “Isaiah prophesied correctly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far, far away from me.

And they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’

Abandoning the commandment of God, you hold fast to the tradition of men.”

And he said to them, “You splendidly ignore the commandment of God so that you can keep your tradition.

Paul was one of these ppl.

He was was so zealous for—

so devoted to—

this form of Judaism

that Paul tried to destroy

The Church of Christ.

Paul persecuted God’s ppl.

Put many of them in prison.

Had them punished

in the synagogues.

Pursued them

frm place to place.

& even had some of them

Put to death.

Paul did everything he cld

to oppose the name of Jesus

bcs Paul thought

he was doing

God’s will.

Well, the Lord Jesus

had other plans

for Paul.

& Jesus revealed

this plan to Paul

in very dramatic way

as Paul was on

a dusty road

headed twd Damascus.

Paul tells us how this happened

in Acts 26:13.

Hes says:

Acts 26:13–15 (LEB)

“In the middle of the day along the road, O king, I saw a light from heaven, more than the brightness of the sun, shining around me and those who were traveling with me.

“And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Aramaic language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads!’

“So I said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.’”

Notice Jesus says

Paul was persecuting Him.

This is important bcs

Paul was actually

persecuting the Church.

But Jesus is

so closely connected

to His Church

that He tells Paul

“When you persecute My Church

“You persecute Me.”

Jesus then goes on

In Acts 26:16-18

to give the reason

He appeared to Paul.

Jesus says...

Acts 26:16-18

Acts 26:16–18 (LEB)

“‘But get up and stand on your feet, because for this reason I have appeared to you, to appoint you a servant and witness both to the things in which you saw me and to the things in which I will appear to you,

‘rescuing you from the people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you,

‘to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a share among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’”

Paul was chosen by God

to be an Apostle—

A representative of Jesus—

Who wld carry the message

of the gospel of Christ’s kingdom

to the Gentiles.

& who are the Gentiles?

Gentiles are non-Jewish ppl

frm every nation.

Jesus commissioned Paul

to take the gospel

of the Kingdom God

to every non-Jewish nation

thorough out the earth.

& thru the message

of the gospel of the kingdom

Paul wld turn ppl

Frm the power of Satan

to the power of God.

Frm the kingdom of darkness

To the kingdom of light.

Bcs in this kingdom

ppl can have their sins

taken away

& have a share

in the glory of Christ

thru faith in Christ.

That was the will of God

for Paul.

APPLICATION

Now

You & I are not

& cannot

be apostles

like Paul was.

But God

has given all of us

a similar mission.

Thru the message

of the Gospel of the Kingdom

God calls all of us

to be saved frm

the power of Satan

by the power of God.

God calls all of us

to come out of

the kingdom of darkness

& into the kingdom of light.

& once we’re in the kingdom

we’re given the privilege

of sharing in the task

of turning other ppl

frm the power of Satan

To the power of God.

& bringing others

out of the kingdom of darkness

& into the kingdom of light.

& right now

we have more opportunities

to do that in this community

than we’ve ever had bfr.

We—

as a church—

have always been

active in

the Goshen community.

But the devastation

of the recent disaster

has created a unique

situation for us.

A lot of ppl we might’ve

never met

& ppl who never knew

we were here

are coming to us

for help.

& I blv

God has placed

this group of ppl

in this community

in this body of believers

at this time

to show this community

what it looks like

to live in the kingdom of God—

what it looks like

when ppl follow Jesus.

Ppl are coming

for physical help—

Yes!

& we know

that’s not

their greatest need.

But by meeting the physical need

we open up opportunities

to talk to them abt their

spiritual needs.

Thru our contact

w/ the community

Monday-Saturday

We can introduce

a lot of ppl around us

to King Jesus.

To invite them

To come out of

the kingdom of darkness

& come into the kingdom of light.

To encourage them

To be freed

frm the power of Satan;

& find life

& peace

thru the power of God.

Everything the world needs

they’ll find

in the kingdom of Christ.

So, as ppl continue

to come to us for help

Let’s be sure

we’re not just giving ppl

what they need physically.

We have so much more

to offer ppl

than physical food

& physical drink.

Let’s make sure

we invite them

to come & eat

the living bread

that came down frm

heaven

So they can live forever.

Let’s invite them

to drink frm the living water

that Jesus will give them

so they’ll never thirst.

Let’s invite ppl

to come & experience

the spiritual blessings

they can only find

thru a relationship w/ Jesus

in His Church.

Now

as we look back

at the greeting

in Colossians

we see that Paul

the Apostle

was not alone

in writing this letter.

At the end of Colossians 1:1

Paul says he was also w/

Colossians 1:1 (LEB)

...Timothy our brother...

Timothy was a young man

probably in his early 40s

who embraced the faith

under Paul’s

ministry.

Timothy closely imitated

Paul’s faith

& way of life in Christ.

& eventually Timothy became

one of Paul’s co-workers

in establishing churches

throughout the world.

Timothy was so much

like Paul

that in 1 Corinthians 4:16-17

Paul cld say to

the church in Corinth

1 Corinthians 4:16–17 (LEB)

...I exhort you, become imitators of me.

Because of this, I have sent to you Timothy, who is my dear and faithful child in the Lord, who will remind you of my ways in Christ Jesus, just as I teach everywhere in every church.

Several times in his letters

Paul urges ppl to watch him

& imitate him—

& other godly

ppl in the Church.

Timothy was one

of those ppl.

That's a much

Message than what ppl

so often say

in the modern church.

Ppl say things like:

“Keep your eyes

off of men

& women

in the Church.

“& instead

keep your eyes

on Jesus.”

Or

“Don’t look at

how the members

of the church live

“Look at Jesus.”

Those things sound

really humble

& really spiritual.

But statements like that

are complete nonsense.

Bcs do you remember

we saw earlier

how close Jesus is

to His Church?

To persecute the Church

is to persecute Jesus.

Well, the truth is

The only Jesus

ppl will ever see

is the Jesus they see

in the members

of His church.

We cannot separate

the ppl of the church

frm Jesus.

Jesus is the head

of the church.

The church is

His body.

& members of the church

are the members

of His body.

So when ppl

look at the members

of the church

they shld see Jesus

in all of us.

& that’s why Paul

told the churches

To watch Him

& to imitate him

Bcs he was imitating

Christ.

Paul lived

a righteous

holy & faithful life

Just like Christ did.

& Paul trained Timothy—

His dear & faithful

son in the faith—

Paul trained Timothy

& every other

member of the church

to follow in his footsteps.

So, Paul cld tell the churches

To watchTimothy.

& Imitate Timothy

Bcs Timothy’s life

was a reminder

of the way of life

Paul taught

& lived out

in all the churches.

Timothy faithfully followed

the Apostolic Traditions—

The teachings

& practices of Faith

Just as Paul

passed them dwn

to him.

& you & I

must learn

to do the same.

APPLICATION

The Church is

Christ’s body

in the world.

We’re his hands.

His feet.

His mouth.

& how

members of the Church live—

How we speak & act

How we treat ppl—

is either bringing ppl

closer to Christ

Or driving them

away frm Him.

So, we

who profess to be

followers of Jesus

need to constantly

ask ourselves:

Do we use our hands

as Jesus wld use His hands?

To bring hope

help & healing

to those in need.

Do we use our feet

as Jesus used His feet?

To walk in obedience

to God’s commandments

& lead others

to do the same.

Do we use our mouths

to say what Jesus

wld say?

Speaking words of

truth;

light

& life.

The only Jesus

the world will ever see

is the Jesus they see

in you & me.

So, let’s be like Paul

& Timothy

& learn to model

the example

of godly men & women

who are themselves

models of Christ.

Let’s learn to live such

good, uprightly

& godly lives

that we’ll be able to say

to others

what Paul says

in Philippians 3:17

Philippians 3:17 (NIV)

Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do.

Let’s make every effort

to become models

of the Christian life.

So that when the world sees us

they see Christ in us.

Alright

So in the 1st part:

of the Salutation in Colossians

We see the Writers

of Colossians were

Paul

who was appointed

by the will of God

to be an Apostle—

an official representative

of Christ Jesus.

With Paul

is Timothy

who was Paul’s

dear & faithful son

in the faith.

[Transition: Let’s look now

At the 2nd part of Paul’s salutation

Where we learn...]

The RECIPIENTS. (1:2a)

In Colossians 1:2

Paul tells us he’s writing

Colossians 1:2 (LEB)

To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ in Colossae.

Colossae was one of

three important cities

in the Roman province of Asia Minor.

The other two cities

were Hierapolis

& Laodicea.

Paul mentions

both of those cities

in his letter to the Colossians.

The land around these cities

was very fertile;

& the ppl very wealthy.

at one time

these cities were

Bustling w/ business

& Countless cultures came

to them

to engage in trade.

But by the times of the NT

Colossae was a relatively

unimportant twn

frm an earthly perspective.

But frm God’s perspective

There was an

open door in Colossae

to advance His kingdom.

Paul did not plant

The church in Colossae.

That honor was gvn to Ep-a-phras

One of Paul’s partners

whom Paul sent to Colossae

on his behalf.

As Paul says in

Colossians 1:7 (LEB)

...you learned [the gospel] from Epaphras, our dear fellow slave who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf...

Many years bfr Paul wrote Colossians

Ep-a-phras preached the gospel

in Colossae.

& the Church in Colossae

was born.

& we don’t know exactly how long

The church had been established

bfr Paul wrote this letter.

But Paul heard

That this church

was starting

to have troubles.

False teachers

had slipped in

among them.

& there were at least

two dfrnt groups

of false teachers

who were attacking

the Colossian church.

The 1st group

were known as Judaizers.

They followed Paul

& his ppl around

& after churches were planted

these Judaizers tried to get

Non-Jewish converts to Christianity

to follow the Law of Moses.

They were especially concerned abt

Circumcision:

Food Laws

& Sabbath Days.

The other group of false teachers

were Gnostics.

These ppl came frm

within the church

& began to teach

that Salvation comes thru:

Hidden wisdom

Hidden knowledge

& extremely harsh treatment

of the physical body.

Both of those groups

were in serious error.

Both of those groups

were trying to lead

the church in Colossae

away frm the true gospel.

So, Paul

puts pen to parchment

to remind the church in Colossae

abt the true gospel

& the true grace of God.

To remind them

Who they were

In Christ.

& How to live

In Christ.

Paul’s purpose in writing this letter

Is to encourage the church

To hold on to

& keep living out

The true gospel

as they’d been taught.

Now, I want you to notice:

In Colossians 1:2

Paul calls the Colossians

Colossians 1:2 (LEB)

...the saints...

What does Paul mean

when he calls

God’s ppl saints?

The NIV does a good job

bringing out Paul’s meaning.

It says:

in Colossians 1:2

Colossians 1:2 (NIV)

To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ.

& in Colossians 1:4

Colossians 1:4 (LEB)

…we heard about your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the saints...

When we combine these two verses

We see that in Paul’s mind

The saints are

Those men & women:

Who are God’s

holy ppl.

Who have faith

in Christ Jesus;

Who are faithful

to Christ Jesus;

& who have love

for all the saints.

To say this another way

A saint is someone

Who is a member

of Christ’s body

By being a member of His Church;

& who is faithfully following

Christ’s commands

& loving God’s ppl.

Those are the recipients

of Paul’s letter to

Colossae.

APPLICATION

Nearly 2000 years have passed

since Paul wrote this.

But this letter is just as relevant

To the saints today

as it was in

the 1st century.

Paul not only wrote this letter

To the saints in Colossae

He also wrote this letter to

to the saints in America;

to the saints in Ohio;

to the saints in Goshen.

This letter is written

to all of

God’s saints.

There’s so much in Colossians

abt the true gospel

True grace

& the true Christian life.

So I want to encourage you

to do what I’m doing.

Read or listen to this letter

over & over;

Along with Paul’s letter

to the Ephesians.

Saturate yourselves

w/ these two letters

Until God’s words

in these letters

become a part of you.

& if we’ll also practice

the things we learn

in these letters

Then I can guarantee

no matter where we are today

our lives will

change for the better

every day

as we become

more & more like Jesus.

will never be the same.

Alright, we’ve talked abt

The writer of Colossians;

& the recipients

of Colossians.

[Transition: Let’s look now

At the 3rd & final part

of Paul’s salutation

to the Saints.]

The GREETING. (1:2c)

At the end of Colossians 1:2

Paul says...

Colossians 1:2 (LEB)

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

Grace.

Peace.

Those two words

come up again & again

in Colossians

& in Paul’s other letters.

Those two words

are the core

of the gospel

of God’s Kingdom.

The gospel teaches us:

It’s thru God’s grace—

which God give us

in Christ—

that we have peace

w/ God.

Now we’ve gotta

be sure

when we talk abt grace

that we define grace

the way the Scriptures

define it.

For example

we see how Jesus

defines grace

in 2 Corinthians 12:9.

Jesus said to Paul…

2 Corinthians 12:9 (CSB)

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.

I want you to notice

the words in red:

My grace.

My power.

Christ’s power.

Both Jesus & Paul

use grace

& power interchangeably.

Jesus says His grace

is sufficient

for Paul’s weakness

Bcs Jesus’s power

is made perfect

in weakness.

Paul says

It’s in our weaknesses

That Christ’s power

Christ’s grace

resides in us.

When we’re weak in ourselves

The grace of Christ

Makes us strong.

So, God’s grace is

Christ’s incomparably great

divine power

at work in God’s ppl.

& this

is what Paul means

in Ephesians 2:8-10

when he says:

Ephesians 2:8–10 (LEB)

...by grace you are saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God;

it is not from works, so that no one can boast.

For we are his creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we may walk in them.

God saves us

thru His grace

thru His power;

not by our own power

not by works we do

in our own strength.

No!

God saves us

thru the miracle

of rebirth

which is brought abt

by God’s grace—

God’s divine power

when we’re baptized

into Christ.

God then

continually gives us

His grace—

His divine power—

to obey

Christ’s commands

& so do the good works

God created us

to do in Christ.

That’s what Pauls

praying for

When he says

in Colossians

“Grace to you

frm God our Father.”

He’s praying

for God’s divine power

to be at work in God’s ppl;

To enable God’s ppl

To live lives

that are worthy

of the Lord;

& pls the Lord

in every way

by doing the good works

God created us to do

in Christ.

& this is not

a one-time thing.

No!

We’ve gotta rely

on God’s grace—

God’s divine power—

every moment of our lives.

We cannot live

as the ppl God

created us to be

in Christ

w/o God’s grace.

So, like Paul

we shld make

praying for grace

for ourselves & others

our constant habit.

It’s as simple as saying:

“Lord give us

your grace.”

& when we have

God’s grace

& thru God’s power

we’re walking in

God’s will for us

by obeying Christ’s commands

we’ll also have

God’s peace.

CONCLUSION

As we close

We’ve seen today

that the writers of

Colossians are

Paul

who was an apostle

of Christ

& Timothy

Paul’s dear & faithful son

in the faith.

We’ve seen that

the recipients

of this letter are

all the saints

not just in Colossae

but the saints everywhere

in all times.

& that means

This letter was written

to you and me.

& if the Lord is willing

In the coming weeks

we’ll learn

abt the many treasures

we gain in Christ;

As we dive deeper

into Paul’s letter

to the Colossians.

PRAYER

Let’s all stand for prayer

Lord we thank You

for calling ppl

like Paul the Apostle

into the ministry.

& thank You for

carrying him along

as He wrote this precious letter

thru which

we can learn Your will

for our lives.

Lord

take the truths

we’ve learned today

& plant them

deeply in our hearts.

& Lord give us grace.

Give us Your divine power

to live out those truths.

In Jesus name.

Amen.

FINAL BLESSING

May the Lord....