"Of this church I was made a minister according to the stewardship from God bestowed on me for your benefit, so that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory." Colossians 1:25-27
"so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." Colossians 1:10
As we have started working through Colossians we have discovered that it is essential to create a healthy culture where people can mature in faith and demonstrate love for one another. Paul puts an emphasis on “bearing fruit in every good work”. At New Life, one of the primary places we demonstrate this type of mutual care is in the context of Community Groups. "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love which you have for all the saints; because of the hope laid up for you in heaven…" Colossians 1:3-5
For those of you that hang out at New Life, you may know that a vital part of being a member comes from belonging to a Community Group. If you are new, you may not know why we do groups or the reason we stress the importance of group life. It’s possible that even our long time members have forgotten the reason we place great value on connecting with a Community Group. Hebrews 3:12-14 challenges us to encourage one another daily so that we won't be hardened by sin's deceitfulness and Hebrew 10:24 tells us to "consider how to spur one another on to love and good deeds." At New Life, we believe Community Groups provide practical opportunities that allow us to put these commands into practice. Colossians 1:1-2 - Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.
This Sunday we will begin a 15 week sermon series from the book of of Colossians. Paul wrote this letter during his first imprisonment in Rome to a people he had never met. As you will discover early in chapter 1, Epaphras was the leader that started this church and he is instrumental in making a connection with Paul to discuss an issue of concern for the believers at Colossae. |
AuthorOur Pastor writes most of the blog posts we publish, however, occasionally some of our other church leadership (some staff, some volunteer) who also contribute to the New Life blog. Archives
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