Colossians 1 – A people of Faith & Love

Colossians is a letter to the Church in Colossae. It holds so much knowledge of Jesus, as well as encouragement.

In the first chapter we are introduced to a Christian named Epaphras. As we study about Epaphras we discover much of the background of this letter to the Colossians

Welcome to Redemption Church. We are a mighty Church in Plano Tx. We believe Jesus is alive and well and that He can do anything.

Welcome to everyone in the room. And welcome to all our friends experiencing the Word of God through the various social medias of the internet. God bless you all.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Colossians. Feel free to use your phone for a digital Bible or if you brought your analog version… you know an actual book with pages… use that.

Of course we will display scripture on our screens, but I want us to be in the habit and practice of using our hands to pull up the scripture for ourself.

We are starting a new sermon series today. It is going to be a study over the book of Colossians. After much debate we decided to go with the very creative name… Colossians.

 

 

 

Today we are going to be looking at Colossians 1 verse 1-14. I have someone who is going to read these verses to us.

Please follow along with them.

Colossians 1:1 (NIV2011) Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,

Colossians 1:2 (NIV2011) To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.

Colossians 1:3 (NIV2011) We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,

Colossians 1:4 (NIV2011) because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—

Colossians 1:5 (NIV2011) the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel

Colossians 1:6 (NIV2011) that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.

Colossians 1:7 (NIV2011) You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,

Colossians 1:8 (NIV2011) and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Colossians 1:9 (NIV2011) For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,

Colossians 1:10 (NIV2011) so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,

Colossians 1:11 (NIV2011) being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,

Colossians 1:12 (NIV2011) and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.

Colossians 1:13 (NIV2011) For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,

Thank you for the reading.

Outline

Let’s give a quick outline of this reading.

* GREETING

Verses 1 & 2 are a greeting. It tells us who is writing… Paul & Timothy. And who they are writing to… God’s Holy People in the city of Colossae.

We should recognize that this book is a letter. If you have been in church for very long you would use the fancy word “Epistle” which means letter.