Sunday's Message - Rooted in Peace (Colossians 1:15-23)

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, June 22, we continued the series by looking at Colossians 1:15-23 and discussed how our faith can be rooted in peace. 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.

Now y’all may not realize it, but we’ve already reached the fourth Sunday in June. And that means, we’ve almost hit the mid-point of 2025. Of course, we entered summer last week. And later this afternoon, the temperature will be pushing the mid-eighties. And I’ll tell you, when I think about it, man, it makes my head spin. I mean, where has time gone? Good night nurse, it seems like only a few weeks ago that I was taking down Christmas decorations and trudging through snow walking Coco Chanel and worrying about blowing it on both Valentine’s Day and Debbie’s birthday...again. And now, here we are, with VBS in the rearview mirror and the church picnic coming up next week and the second message in the series we kicked off the Sunday after Pentecost on deck this morning. 

Now just in case you weren’t here last week, we started a series entitled Rooted in Christ: a Journey Through Colossians. You see, in the course of seven Sundays, we’ll be using this particular letter of Paul to figure out how we might plant our lives firmly in the love and grace of Jesus Christ. And last week, we talked about how, if that’s our goal, we can be rooted in prayer by doing what Paul did, you know, like thanking God for what he’s already given and by also asking him to help us grow. And this week, we’re going to move forward in the letter and consider how we might become rooted in peace.

And I’m thinking that’s just the kind of message that every adult who was involved in Vacation Bible School probably needs to hear, because I’ve got to tell you, this church was anything but peaceful on Thursday and Friday, and trust me, this is coming from Rawhide McSpur himself. Let’s just say a lot of stuff has been going on around here the last week or so. Of course, if we broaden our vision a little bit, well, experiencing a lack of peace seems more the rule than the exception now-a-days. And you know, it doesn’t matter if we’re looking to the outside or within, there’s not a lot of peace in our world or in our nation or even in our own lives: not with war in Ukraine and Gaza and Iran, and not with protests and assassinations and tariffs and certainly not with bad backs and mysterious growths and increasing dementia that’s dulling a mind that was once razor sharp. And these are just a few things stirring the pot, creating the confusion, feeding the chaos. And you know, given a few minutes, I think we could all come up with our own list of stuff that’s compromising our peace. 

And I’ll tell you, for that reason, I think what Paul wrote to the Colossians is as applicable for us as it was for them. And so, that’s what we’re looking at this morning. You see, during this abbreviated message, we’ll consider how God can be a source of peace. As a matter of fact, we’ll focus on three decisions we can make that I believe will ground us in peace as we navigate through what often seems like a pretty chaotic world. And like I said, I think it’s all in what Paul wrote to the Christians in Colossae. 

For example, first, I believe we can become rooted in peace when we recognize who Jesus was. In other words, when we understand who he was and what he came to do, I think it’ll be easier for us to wade through the muck. And like I said, it’s right here in Paul’s letter to the Colossians. I mean, just listen to what he wrote:

Christ is exactly like God,

    who cannot be seen.

He is the first-born Son,

    superior to all creation.

Everything was created by him,

everything in heaven

    and on earth,

everything seen and unseen,

including all forces

    and powers,

and all rulers

    and authorities.

All things were created

    by God’s Son,

and everything was made

    for him.

God’s Son was before all else,

and by him everything

    is held together.

He is the head of his body,

    which is the church.

He is the very beginning,

the first to be raised

    from death,

so that he would be

    above all others.

God himself was pleased

    to live fully in his Son.

And God was pleased

    for him to make peace

by sacrificing his blood

    on the cross,

so that all beings in heaven

    and on earth

would be brought back to God. [Colossians 1:15-20, CEV]

Now that’s what Paul wrote.

And just think about what it means and how it might offer us some peace. You see, according to Paul, Jesus was the one who created, who created all things; therefore, when we recognize that, even though there may seem to be chaos and confusion all over the place, man, it makes it a whole lot easier to feel peace when we believe that, in spite of what we might think or feel, there’s order in our world. There’s structure in what Jesus made. There’s a reason for all things and all people. Jesus created it all. But that wasn’t all he did, because he was also the one who was raised, in fact, the first one to be raised from death; which means there’s purpose for the future, and that’s something else we can recognize. In other words, we’re not traveling blind into the unknown. We’re not wandering around in the dark. Instead, we can trust, we can believe, we can have faith that just like his tomb was empty on that Easter morning, one day, ours will be too, and this can give us peace. You see, Jesus was raised. But even that’s not all, because we can also recognize that he was the one who died, the one who was crucified, my gosh, the one who was hung on a cross to save the men who drove the nails; and because of his death, we can experience freedom from the past. I mean, all our sins, all our mistakes, all our weaknesses were nailed to the cross with him and we died, so that we might live, live with possibilities, live with freedom, live with peace. You see, for Paul, that’s who Jesus was, and when we recognize it, man, we can feel peace.

But that’s not all, because second, we also can be rooted in peace when we acknowledge what God has done, and I’m talking about what he did without our permission and without our help. And I think that’s exactly what Paul had in mind when he continued his letter. He wrote, 

You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. But his Son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now he lets you stand in his presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent. [Colossian 1:21-22, CEV]

In other words, it was God who was in control and who initiated this whole peace business. You see, it was God who saw that we were drifting away. And it was God who saw that we’d come to a point where we assumed that we didn’t need anything above or beyond ourselves. And it was God who saw that, as a result, we’d started to confuse what’s right with what’s comfortable and what’s popular and what’s easy. Now that’s what God saw, and yet, he still sent his son to live and to die. And he still made peace with us. And he still gives us the opportunity to stand before him, because, in spite of ourselves, he regards us as holy and faultless and innocent. Whether we like it or believe it or even want it, this is what God has done. And when we acknowledge it, even though we may be in the middle of a whole bunch of turmoil and strife and even doubt, we can trust that, brothers and sisters, it’s not about us. It never was. Instead, it’s all about him. Now, for Paul, that’s what God has done, and when we acknowledge it, we’re going to feel peace.

And third, we can be rooted in genuine peace when we accept how we might respond, or maybe better, when we accept that, based on who Jesus is and what God has done, we’ve been given a way to express our thanks and gratitude and praise. It’s like Paul wrote to the Colossians:

But you must stay deeply rooted and firm in your faith. You must not give up the hope you received when you heard the good news. It was preached to everyone on earth, and I myself have become a servant of this message. [Colossians 1:23, CEV]

Now that’s what he said and just think about what it means. Right here and now, God has given us the opportunity to trust, the opportunity to believe, the opportunity to have faith in the one who created the universe and who continues to restrain the chaos and who will bring all things to a destiny that’s already present in the eternal mind of God. And he’s given us the opportunity to hope, to feel confident that death doesn’t have the final word and that life lies on the other side and that all this is grounded in the one who loved us before he created the universe and will love us after time has lost its meaning. And he’s given us the opportunity to share with everyone around us the reason for the trust and the hope we now have. And I’ll tell you, when we decide to accept this reality, to accept this work, to accept that we’ve been called to get up and to begin share the good news of Jesus Christ, and I’m talking about through the words we say and the work we do, man, we’re going to feel peace, and I’m talking about the peace that comes from knowing that, despite all those things that try to compromise us, right here and right now, we have the chance to come together as the people of God and to participant in something greater than ourselves. Now, for Paul, that’s exactly how we might respond, and when we accept it, we’re going to feel peace. 

Now, even though there were times when it seemed to be going off the rails, I think our Vacation Bible School was wonderful. But for as good as it was, I don’t think that Paula and our Christian Education team and all those folks who volunteered their time, talents and money to make it happen, I don’t think they’re planning to do the same sort of thing next week or even next month. Am I right? No, we won’t be saying “Yee-Haw” or “Ahoy There” or even “Poo-yie” for another year or so. That turmoil will have to wait. Unfortunately, though, that doesn’t mean that our world and our nation and even our lives will suddenly become peaceful. Chaos and confusion just plain happens, and when it does, sometimes all a person can do is to shout out what they say down in New Orleans when you’re surprised or excited or frustrated: Poo-yie. 

But, you know, we may have a better option. You see, according to what Paul wrote to the Colossians, we can recognize who Christ was. And we can acknowledge what God has done. And we can accept how we might respond. And I’ll tell you, when we do, even though there may still be insanity all around us, we just might find ourselves, rooted in peace.