Most Bible scholars agree that there was a dangerous heresy which had begun to surface in the Colossians church which had been reported by Epaphras to Paul, and was thus the reason for Paul writing this epistle.  Though Paul had not ever visited Colossae, yet as the apostle to the Gentiles he was nevertheless concerned about them, and no doubt felt a certain responsibility for them. Last time, I used the term Gnostic Judaism to describe this heresy, which obviously tries to tie certain elements of Gnosticism with Judaism.  It would seem to include a blend of the worship of

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Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the famous English preacher of the late 1800’s, said, and I quote; “It is the duty of Christian preachers to expose error even when it was held by saintly believers.” I agree with that statement. Error comes in many forms, but the most deceitful means is when it comes from the lips of people who you think you can trust.  Spurgeon went on to say that he wouldn’t preach error if the whole world should be converted by it.  That may be a shocking statement, but what he was trying to say was that he would never

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Twice in this passage we see a form of the word reconcile.  Reconcile, or reconciled, is one of those Christian words that we hear so often in the church in regards to salvation and yet perhaps we really aren’t exactly sure what it means.  However, it’s a word that you may have also heard outside of the church. It’s used for instance, in divorce proceedings.  There usually is some sort of effort to reconcile both parties, the husband and wife.  And what that means is that they come to an agreement, they make up, they resolve their differences that had

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Today we are continuing in our study of Colossians, and are picking it up in vs 13. Last week we looked at the previous section which was Paul’s prayer for the church.  Today we might title this section Christ the Head of the Church. As I was studying this book, I was really taken with this particular passage in chapter one vs 13-20, and it’s theme of Jesus, the head of the church.  We should all understand by now that to become a member of Christ’s church we do not sign a paper, or submit to a vote by the

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I think it’s important to ask why we go to church, the reason for the church, and whether or not church is essential.  A few years ago, doing the pandemic, it seemed at the time that government had deemed the church was inessential.  But attending church is not an addendum to our faith, it is not entertainment, it is not merely a social gathering.  Church is not a building, or an organization, but a people, called out from the world unto Christ. I don’t think you can actually join a church, like you join a health club, but you must

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Last week I shared with you a message about overcoming anxiety and depression.  And in so doing I also ended up sharing with you some of my personal testimony.  I did so, not to try to elicit some sort of sympathy, but because I felt that having gone through these things, it qualified me to be able to speak to you not just from a theoretical point of view, or even a theological point of view, but from the voice of personal experience. As it turns out, I guess God wasn’t finished teaching me.  On Monday, following my message on

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I’ve titled today’s message “overcoming anxiety and depression.”  The Lord gave me the outline for today’s message about 30 years ago, quite some time before I was actually a pastor. During that time, I had a fairly successful antique business.   I thought I was living for the Lord, and I also thought that my job, my family and my finances were indicative of God’s blessings on my life and were the result of the fact that I was a born again Christian who was trying to serve God.  I had begun to get more involved in my church and was

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Paul says in verse one that the Philippians were his joy and crown.  And what he is referring to here with word crown is the crown of achievement, or the wreath that was given to the victor in a race.  This sentiment is the true passion of the pastor.  A pastor is crowned by his congregation.  If he is a true shepherd of the flock then their spiritual well being is his joy and crown.  Their spiritual maturity is what he is working for.  To see them mature, to come to completion, as we looked at last week.  To see

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The other day my wife and I got to see our grandchild for a little bit after not having seen him for almost a week. And it was amazing to see how much he seemed to have changed in just a few days time. He’s standing up on his own now, and I’m sure it’s only a matter of time until he’s walking.  It’s almost sad to see how quickly he’s growing and maturing. But I know that even though his parents love him as he is now in this infant stage, they are constantly encouraging him to grow, to

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How many times in your life have you heard yourself saying something to the effect…”if I could just have one thing in life, I would like….”  Or maybe it might be “if I could just do one thing in life, I would…”  And this morning, I would ask you to finish the sentence in your own mind.  If you were granted just one wish, if you could name just one thing and it would come to pass,  what would it be? I heard a man say once “Just do one thing right in your life and you’ll be way ahead of

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