Here’s the audio for my sermon on Colossians 4:1-18.
My outline:
Col 4:2-18 “Closing Words”
Intro: Suburban Family A and B: yard, home, school, programs, pressures of finances and time
-Suburban A are “religious nones” and B are professing Christians
-Will these families live look different? And how?
1. Prayer; 2. Outside World; 3 Church
MI. The gospel changes how we pray, relate to unbelievers, and live out our faith with others.
- The Gospel Changes How We Pray (2-4)
Before you came to faith in Christ, what role did prayer have in your life?
-Many: Rare, Occasional, Overly Formal
-God is more of a vending machine
GOSPEL: Saved to a relationship with God!
–Gospel: Holy God reconciled us to Himself through Christ’s death and resurrection.
-We are saved from our sins so that we might know God and make much of Him.
–Prayer=talking with God, delighting in Him, Pouring our hearts to Him
Hear the Instruction (2): KEEPING PRAYING “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving”
-Command to KEEP (continue steadfastly) Praying
-We can easily drift away from prayer, self-reliance and busyness.
-We need to KEEP on praying.
–Analogy--Human relationship w/one word request, once a month!
QUESTION: Are you continuing steadfastly in prayer?
-MANNER: “being watching in it”
-Temptation, trials, spiritual battles are around the corner.
-We must be watchful.
-“with Thanksgiving”àthanking God, for the pleasant and painful
–PRACTIAL: Try ending your day with thanksgiving.
-PAUL’S PRAYER REQUEST: “Pray for us…God may open to us a door for the word, to declare mystery of Christ”
-Request for evangelistic opportunity!
-SHOCK—Paul was in prison, when he made this request
–CHALLEGE: Do you pray for more comfort or open doors to share Christ?
–APP: Make Paul’s prayer request your own.
–“that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak”
-Request for clear speaking when sharing the gospel.
–NEED: We can get nervous, clumsy with our words, make message more palatable
–PRAY FOR OURSELVES: Help me to speak the gospel clearly!
-ENCOURAGEMENT: Paul needed this, so do we 🙂
SUMMARY: Keeping praying, and pray specifically for opportunities to share the gospel with others.
–NOTICE: The gospel changes how we pray! From occasional to often, from selfish to selfless, Christ-glorifying.
-How might our church look different if we all did this?
GOSPEL FRUIT: We have been saved to have a real relationship with the real God who made us. - The Gospel Changes How We Relate to Unbelievers (5-6)
Once we were all of those outside the Christian Faith: estranged from God, foolish in our thinking, headed to hell.
-But through the gospel we are brought into the kingdom God.
-Now we relate differently to those outside the Christian FAITH.
-Specifically, the gospel leads us to live WISELY: “WALK IN WISDOM TOWARD OUTSIDERS”
EXAMPLES OF NOT WALKING IN WISDOM TOWARD OUTSIDERS…
-Compromise: Whatever the world says and does, you do (drunk, smoke pot, lie, cheat on taxes)
-Insensitive: Bludgeoning others with the Bible and Christianity
-No Relationship: We’re too busy, or don’t want to take the risk, or are afraid of compromise.
-I am have been convicted of this recently.
–Am we making time for relationships with unbelievers?
A GOSPEL-EMPOWERED WAY TO RELATE TO UNBELIEVERS
-Walking in Wisdom…
-Our actions and attitudes are shaped by Christ (all treasures of wisdom and knowledge [2:3]
-Intentional: Not passive, but actively seeking to be wise in how we relate to outsides.
-Making the Best use of the Time…
-Utilizing the time we have with them, knowing it is limited and may be short
-Sharing the gospel and sowing the seeds.
-Not every convo needs to be evangelistic…but we should try to do this sometimes!
–APP: How might God be calling you to live more intentionally toward those outside the faith?
PRACTICAL: Open your home; try to connect with co-workers; other parents
-GOD-Honoring Speech “let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer”
-How do we talk with our co-workers or neighbors?
-Harsh and impatient with them; Joining in gossip and slander; Perverted Sexual Jokes
-Gracious (kind), seasoned with salt (saltiness, God’s word coming through), ready to answer
SUMMARY: The gospel changes how we relate to those outside the faith. Now, we seek to walk in wisdom toward them, making the best use of our time, and using words that are gracious and salty.
GOSPEL FRUIT: We’ve been saved to abandon the foolish and selfish ways of living, to live wise-lives, filled with sacrificial love toward those around us.
- The Gospel Changes How Live Out our Faith in Community (7-18)
My friend Tom: golfs instead of going to church.
Other suburban families who claim to be Christians, but choose sports and activities over church.
-Gospel changes how we live out our faith—we live in community with other believers.
-Normal Christian life is lived in community with other Christians!
CLOSING GREETINGS (7-18)
-Letter Carriers (7-9): Tychicus and Onesimus.
–NOTICE: Paul wanted them to encourage Christians; NOTICE: Onesimus—slave of Philemon
-Greetings to Colossians (10-14): Aristarchus, Mark, Justus, Epaphrus, Luke, and Demas
-Greetings and instructions (15-17): church at Laodicea, Nympha and house church; letter read aloud
-Encouragement to Archippus: fulfill the ministry you received in the Lord! (Philemon)
-GRACE BE WITH YOU (18): Pray for God’s grace in the church
APPLICATION: Notice, the normal Christian life is meant to be lived in community with other believers.
–CCF: Sunday mornings; CG (post Labor-Day); Discipleship Relationships; Intentional mid-week
-Don’t fall into the ‘too busy for community mindset’ of a busy suburbanite.
-Ask for grace to make church a priority and community a priority.
GOSPEL FRUIT: Sin leads us to neglect our neighbors and those in community. The gospel leads us to live holy lives of love and service to our community and those in our church.
CLOSE: Suburban Family A who are not religious and Suburban Family B who are Christians.
-Both have yards, homes, school, activities, pressures of finances/schedules/obligations.
-Difference due to gospel: prayer; relation to outside world; live within the church.
