Sunday's Message - Rooted in Prayer (Colossians 1:1-14)

In the series, Rooted in Christ: A Journey through Colossians, we're journeying through Paul's letter to the Colossians, discovering how to plant our lives firmly in Christ—the one who holds all things together. In seven services, we’ll explore how we might become rooted in his grace and love as we live our lives. We’ll cover the following:

• Rooted in Prayer (Colossians 1:1-14) - June 15
• Rooted in Peace (Colossians 1:15-23) - June 22
• Rooted in Service (Colossians 1:24–2:5) - July 6
• Rooted in Faith (Colossians 2:6-19) - July 13
• Rooted in Freedom (Colossians 2:20 – 3:11) - July 20
• Rooted in Fellowship (Colossians 3:12 – 4:1) - July 27
• Rooted in Witness (Colossians 4:2-18) - August 3

On Sunday, we’ll began the series by looking at Colossians 1:1-14 and discussed how our faith can be rooted in prayer. Below is the podcast and text of the sermon. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel on Sundays at 10:00 a.m. (EDT).  You can hear a podcast of the service at the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel or the Sligo Presbyterian Spotify Page.

Y’all may not know this, but since last week was Pentecost, we’re entering a weird time in the Christian year. You see, in the period from Pentecost to the first Sunday of Advent, there’s really no big and important religious celebrations or seasons. Of course, that hasn’t been the case for the past six months. I mean, we survived Christmas and Epiphany. And we remembered the crucifixion and resurrection. And seven days ago, we celebrated the coming of the Holy Spirit. But that was last week, starting this past Monday, for the next six months, well, not much is going on. Of course, I recognize that Paula would certainly disagree, with VBS starting in four days. And so would the deacons with the church picnic in a couple of weeks. And I understand how y’all may be thinking that I’ve kind of lost it since we’ve got the Fourth of July and Labor Day, Halloween and Thanksgiving, and most important of all, the beginning of football season coming up before the end of November. Still, if you’re talking about special, religious days and seasons, we really don’t have anything until December 30. And I’ll tell you, that’s why, on the official calendar of the church year, this period is called by many, the Season after Pentecost, and by some, just “Ordinary Time.” Because that’s sort of what it is.

But you know, just because it may be ordinary, with no mangers or wise men, no rugged crosses or empty tombs, and no wind and fire, that sure doesn’t mean that this period we’re entering has no purpose. You see, since we’re not preparing for or responding to a certain day, now we have the chance to work on our Christian living, you know, how, in practical terms, we can respond to the one who entered our time and space as a baby visited by kings and who died and was raised and who continues to rest on the people of God. In other words, for the church, now’s the time to start working on some of the practical stuff involved in following Jesus Christ.

And so, with that in mind, during the next month and a half, we’re going to take a little journey through the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians. And since the title of the series is Rooted in Christ, we’re going to focus on how we might plant our lives firmly in the teachings and person of Jesus Christ. You see, in seven services, we’ll use Colossians to explore how we might become rooted in his grace and love as we live our lives. 

And this morning, we’re going to start right at the very beginning of the letter and focus on what Paul wrote about before he really said anything else, and right now I’m talking about prayer. And then we’re going to apply what he said to our own lives and situation. Now that’s the plan.

But before we get into the letter itself, I think it’s important to spend a little bit of time getting to know the church that received it. And sadly, as it was for a lot of the churches to which Paul wrote, the Colossians faced some very real problems. You see, Colossae was a city in the Roman province of Asia Minor, that’s modern-day Turkey. It was in the Lycus Valley and located on a major trade route which meant all kinds of ideas were flowing into the city. Now, the church was founded by Epaphras, a hometown boy and a disciple of Paul. And so, even though Paul had never personally visited Colossae, he knew all about what was going on from his protégé. And because it was situated pretty far from Judea, the Colossian church was primarily composed of Gentile converts. And you know, I think the combination of its location and its lack of direct contact with Paul and its pagan background, well, that may explain the reason Paul felt the need to write this letter. You see, based on what he wrote, the Colossians were having to deal with some dangerous and deceptive teachings that were threatening their faith, ideas that had sort of crept into the church. And you know, these false teachings were really doing a number on these recent believers. 

And I’ll tell you, I think that’s probably something with which we can identify. I mean, let’s face it, there are an awful lot of questionable ideas floating around, out there in the world, even within the Christian world. And since they’re shared by folks who claim to be followers of Christ and since, when you hear them, they seem close enough to the gospel and man, they really sound pretty spiritual, these false ideas can sort of slip into the church and confuse an awful lot of Christians who really want to hear the truth. Of course, personally, I believe there’s a reason why an awful lot of sincere believers find these ideas appealing. You see, I think a lot of these false teachings actually reinforce what they already believe or at least want to believe. In other words, these lies just plain make us feel good and comfortable, because they tell us that what we think is what God thinks and that what we value is what God values and that what we want is exactly what God wants to have. And because of that, we really don’t need to consider anything that might challenge what we’ve been told to believe. In fact, we probably shouldn’t even listen to anybody who might have a different take. Now I think most of us would agree that it’s easy for this kind of thing to take root in the church. But here’s the problem; when we hear this nonsense presented as truth, we believe it, without realizing it, we begin to drift away from Jesus and his actual  teachings. In other words, I think the same kind of thing that happened to the Colossians can also happen to us. And for that reason, this letter just may be as important now as it was then. 

And you know, when we start reading what Paul wrote, I think he did something really interesting. Before saying anything else, Paul told the Colossians how he was praying for them. Beginning with his first words, this was what he wrote:

From Paul, chosen by God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and from Timothy, who is also a follower.

To God’s people who live in Colossae and are faithful followers of Christ.

I pray that God our Father will be kind to you and will bless you with peace!

Each time we pray for you, we thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have heard of your faith in Christ and of your love for all God’s people, because what you hope for is kept safe for you in heaven. You first heard about this hope when you believed the true message, which is the good news.

The good news is spreading all over the world with great success. It has spread in this same way among you, ever since the first day you learned the truth about God’s wonderful kindness from our good friend Epaphras. He works together with us for Christ and is a faithful worker for you. He is also the one who told us about the love that God’s Spirit has given you.

We have not stopped praying for you since the first day we heard about you. In fact, we always pray that God will show you everything he wants you to do and that you may have all the wisdom and understanding his Spirit gives. Then you will live a life that honors the Lord, and you will always please him by doing good deeds. You will come to know God even better. His glorious power will make you patient and strong enough to endure anything, and you will be truly happy. 

I pray that you will be grateful to God for letting you have part in what he has promised his people in the kingdom of light. God rescued us from the dark power of Satan and brought us into the kingdom of his dear Son, who forgives our sins and sets us free. [Colossians 1:1-14, CEV]

Now, that’s what he wrote. In other words, before getting into the meat of the letter, Paul told the Colossians that he was praying for them.

And I’ll tell you, based on what he said, his prayers took two forms. I mean, on one hand, Paul thanked God because of them. Remember, he wrote, “Each time we pray for you, we thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” [Colossians 1:3, CEV] You see, he was thankful for the faith that the Colossians had in their savior. And he was thankful for the love they showed to all of God’s people. And he was thankful for the hope they held as they faced the future. In other words, Paul thanked God for who the Colossians were. But that wasn’t all. He was also thankful for what they were doing. You see, although they were located in a relatively small city on the far side of the Mediterranean Sea, in a very real way, they were part of something big, and I’m talking about the gospel being spread all over the world. You see, as Paul prayed, on one hand, he thanked God for who the Colossians were and what they were doing. 

On the other hand, though, in his prayer, Paul asked God to help them grow. And I’ll tell you, this may have had something to do with the false teachings that were filtering into the church. You see, according to what he wrote, Paul asked God to help the Colossians grow in their understanding. In other words, he asked that they’d be shown what God wants them to do and how God wants them to live and that, as a result, they might become more patient and more strong and more happy as they endured and struggled and lived. And he also asked God to help them grow in their gratitude, you know, their appreciation for what God had done for them, and I’m talking about, for letting them be part of his people and rescuing them from a life that was going nowhere and for enabling them to believe that, through Jesus, there’s absolute forgiveness and genuine freedom. You see, before he wrote anything else, Paul told the Colossians that he was praying for them. 

And suppose, just suppose, we follow his example and pray those same prayers ourselves. In other words, as we go about our living and as we sort of prepare ourselves to confront some of the problems that we face and as we look to both claim and live the truth, before we do anything else, suppose we follow Paul’s example and started to pray as he prayed, man, just imagine the difference it might make.

I mean, first, suppose we intentionally offer thanks for what God has given us. For example, suppose we thank him for our faith. In other words, rather than assuming that we’ve gotten it ourselves and that we’re smarter or better or more spiritual than others, suppose we simply thank God for giving us the ability to trust and to believe. And right along with that, suppose we also thank him for our work, you know, the work we’ve been given to do, the opportunities we have right here and now to become involved in something bigger than ourselves, the chance to demonstrate exactly what it means to “love each other as brothers and sisters and honor others more than [we] do [ourselves].” [Romans 12:10, CEV] I mean, before we say another word, suppose this is our attitude to as we look up to God and look out toward others. Just imagine the humility we’re going to feel, humility as we look up to the one who doesn’t need to be found because he’s already found us and who’s already prepared a place for us and who’s promised that regardless of what happens along the way that won’t change. Why? Because, as Paul wrote to the Romans, “Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” [Romans 8:39b, CEV] And imagine the motivation we’re going to have as we go about doing the work we believe God has given us to do. You see, the minute we thank him for our work, in essence, we’re recognizing that he’s given us the ability and the tools and the support to do it. Now, that’s what I mean by humble motivation. And I believe that’s going to happen when we remember that prayer offered by Paul and we thank God for what he’s given us. And that’s one thing for which we can pray.

And then second, suppose we intentionally ask God to help us grow. I mean, suppose we ask him to help us grow in our understanding, to grow in our knowledge of God’s will and his word and to grow in our ability to be patient when we don’t think that knowledge is coming fast enough and to be strong when it becomes obvious that following his will just may be difficult and challenging and costly and to be happy because we’re able to believe that we can actually hear God speaking through his word. And suppose we ask him to help us grow in our gratitude, our appreciation for the incarnation because that gives us an example to follow and for the crucifixion because that frees us from our sinful past and for the resurrection because that enables us to look into the future with hope, trusting that the time will come when, as Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “...the Scriptures will come true, ‘Death has lost the battle! Where is its victory? Where is its sting?’” [1 Corinthians 15:54b-55, CEV] Now, suppose this is our prayer. Just imagine the desire we’re going to have to take advantage of every opportunity we might have to learn about God and his will and his word. And imagine the confidence we’re going to experience as we step out into our world, equipped and empowered and inspired to share the good news of Jesus Christ through our words and our work. Man, we’re going to have desire and confidence to burn. I’m telling you right here and now, I believe this is going to happen when we remember the second prayer offered by Paul and we ask God to help us grow.

And in my opinion, that’s something we probably need to start doing before we do anything else. I mean, just like it was in the Colossian church, there are all kinds of people with all kinds of motives sharing all kinds of ideas about who God is and how we should respond. And because of that, man, it’s easy for us to get a little confused. And for that reason, it might be a good idea for us to remember that Paul started his letter by telling these Christians that he was praying, that he was thanking God for who they were and for what they were doing and that he was asking God to help them grow in their understanding and gratitude. And I’ll tell you, if we choose to follow his example and offer these same prayers ourselves, we just might feel a new sense of humility as we look up and motivation as we look out, as well as a desire to understand now and a confidence to move forward. You see, as we start our journey through Colossians, for me, this is what it means to be rooted in prayer.