Omc: Family Chapel

The Apostle Paul wraps up his section on how the Gospel shapes households by addressing slaves and masters. In doing so, Paul is not endorsing the institution of slavery, but instructing Christians on how to faithfully operate within that pre-existing system while also subtly undermining the entire system itself. Through this passage, we see that regardless of our specific jobs, we are all ultimately working for the Lord. As such, we should work with integrity, excellence, and perseverance.

The Apostle Paul addresses how Christians are to live and relate to others in the context of their own households. While we are made new in Christ and brought into a new spiritual family, that doesn't mean we ignore or reject our natural families. Rather, the Gospel is to deeply shape how Christians are to relate to one another in the home, especially as husbands/wives and children/parents. The relationships in our households are to be marked by a mutual love and service for one another, all under the lordship of Christ.

After instructing the Colossians to put off the old self, the Apostle Paul now instructs them to put on the new self in Christ. Putting on the new self involves having the peace of Christ rule among your relationships, having the word of Christ richly dwell within your heart and mind, and having the name of Christ be glorified through your life. Rather than being a burdensome obligation, putting on the new self in Christ is our great privilege and joy.

After addressing the false teachings and pointing them to the centrality of Christ, he now lays out on how they may walk and live worthy of His calling. He exhorts them to put off the old self now that they have been united as one under God's salvation. He reminds them of that old life in which God has delivered them from and encourages them to put to death any and all vestiges of that old self. In order to do this, he instructs them to set their minds on things above and to fix their eyes upon Christ.

Paul directly addresses the false teaching that was spreading in Colossae, which had elements of legalism, mysticism, and asceticism. We face our own contemporary parallels that seek to draw us away from Christ. But by being rooted in Christ, we find true redemption, true spiritual maturity, and true strength to battle our flesh.

Paul shares about the suffering he has and is going through as a minister of the Gospel. However, he surprisingly says that he rejoices over his sufferings and that is because his sufferings reveal the mystery of the Gospel to others, help others mature in Christ, and help guard against false teachings. An unavoidable aspect of Gospel ministry is suffering. But we can joyfully embrace hardships, sacrifices, and inconveniences because God is at work through those things to make Christ known.

Due to false teaching, the Colossians were being drawn away from Christ to look for security and satisfaction elsewhere, namely in other spiritual powers. Paul reminds them that Jesus is supreme as the Creator who has made all things and as the Savior who reconciles all things. Thus, Christians find their true hope in Christ alone and must hold on to that hope.

We're starting a new series through the epistle of Colossians! Colosse wasn't started or visited by Paul in his journeys but he wrote to them to not only write against false teachings, but to also uphold the pre-eminence of Christ. Ultimately, we are saved and sanctified through our relationship with Jesus.

Suffering is an unavoidable and indispensable part of experiencing change. While the suffering itself is not good, God brings about good through our suffering. In our process of change, suffering shatters the illusion of self-sufficiency, disciplines us for our sin, deepens our compassion for others, and serves as a pathway for ministry. As such, we can actually embrace seasons of suffering as God's gracious avenue of sanctification.

The end goal of change is to become more like Jesus. God is at work in producing in us greater Christlikeness so that we would be positioned to thrive, develop godly character to bless others, persevere through all seasons, and be effective in our God-given callings. The great promise is that one day when we finally see Jesus face to face, we will fully be as He is.

Often, it's not that we don't know that we need to change nor is it that we have no desire to change – but it’s that we don’t know how to change. Thankfully, God provides us with a working theory of change. We need biblical teaching to correct the false stories we believe. We need healthy practices to replace the unhealthy habits we have developed. We need robust community to encourage us in our process of change. Underlying all those things is the Holy Spirit who works in us and with us to produce change.

33rd Anniversary Service

The prophet Isaiah ends his message to God's people with an overarching reminder of God's judgment and mercy. He is the Lord of all righteous judgment. And He is the Lord of salvation. In the end, God will receive his glory and secure for Himself his people.

God once again shows the full scope of salvation, which is people from all nations enjoying the glory of God. God's people have a very important role in seeing salvation spread to the ends of the earth by reflecting God's glory. They can faithfully do that by preaching the Gospel and by persisting in prayer. Even with such an overwhelming mission at hand, God's people can take heart because God will see this mission to completion.

In light of the salvation we have received through the Suffering Servant, we are to be a righteous people. We are to rightly relate to God by turning away from idolatry through the practice of Sabbath. We are to also rightly relate to our neighbors by turning away from injustice through the practice of mercy. In doing so, we reflect the very righteousness of God and show that we belong to His Kingdom.

God issues the invitation to receive the gift of salvation that He has secured through the Suffering Servant. This gift of salvation brings a great reversal from shame to honor and from fear to power. This gift of salvation is freely available to all those who repent. While this gift might sound too good to be true, it is guaranteed by God's way, God's word, and God's sign.

Isaiah points to the coming Messiah as the suffering servant. This Messiah shall come and bring salvation and heal many through his sacrifice and death. In this passage, we will see not only the merciful salvation that we have received, but also our Lord who fully identified with all our pain, brokenness, and suffering as he was crushed on our behalf.

After the people have returned from exile and received God's great vision of salvation through the Servant of the Lord, they are still left waiting for this salvation. Likewise, we too find ourselves waiting for Christ to return in order to fully establish God's Kingdom. We can rightly wait for our future salvation by crying out to God in faith to bring salvation soon, by maintaining courage in the face of fear, by remembering the free gift of God's grace, and by leaving behind the old life of sin.

After prophesying the unexpected deliverance of Israel through Cyrus, Isaiah then points to the true servant of God, the Messiah of the Lord, who will bring ultimate deliverance and salvation. Jesus is the fulfillment and true servant of God who came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Through his obedience, God proves his love, care, and mercy for us. Through his obedience, we are healed. He served us completely so that we may serve in full obedience and trust.

As God has hinted at before, He now makes it very clear that He will deliver His people out of exile, but He will do so through the Persian emperor Cyrus. With this move, God shows Himself to work in mysterious ways beyond our narrow set of expectations, which can lead us to question His wisdom and goodness. But when God works in mysterious ways, we should respond by putting aside our arrogance, trusting that God will exceed our expectations, and resting in God's commitment to us.