Sometimes, we view our faith as a checkbox on a list. We go to church on the weekends, check that box, and move on. But today, Pastor J.D. reminds us that Jesus isn’t one part of our life, he’s first in everything!

Pastor J.D. cautions us about treating Jesus like an a la carte menu. We’ll see that we can’t take Jesus and “a little bit of this” and “a little bit of that” as we continue our series called, First: The Preeminence of Christ in Colossians.

Micah 6, verse 8 says, “He has shown you, O man, what is good and what the Lord requires of you to do justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.” Today Pastor J.D. uses this familiar Old Testament verse to frame his teaching in the first chapter of Colossians.

Have you ever considered that everyday you are experiencing the fruits of the audacious faith of others who came before you? You are the fruit of someone’s bold faith! Now, are you following in their footsteps of those that put their faith first or are you giving Jesus sloppy leftovers?

We’re in a series called, First: The Preeminence of Jesus in Colossians looking at how Christ is first in all things. Pastor J.D. challenges us to consider whether we’re on the front lines of living with bold, reckless faith or are you kicking back watching the faith of others from the sidelines?

In the book of Colossians, Paul makes it clear that Jesus is not just a character in God’s story; he’s the author of the story. He’s before all things. He’s above all things. He’s first in all things. In light of who Jesus is, Pastor J.D. asks one simple but revolutionary question: Is Jesus just important to you, or is he truly first in your life?

Our emotions function like smoke from a fire—and just like you can follow a trail of smoke to figure out what’s on fire in your house, you can follow the trail of your emotions to figure out what is on fire in your heart. Pastor J.D. concludes with the emotion of shame.

We’re in the final couple of days of our series on difficult emotions titled, “Smoke from a Fire.” Or, to change the analogy—each of these emotions—depression, anxiety, anger, envy, and now “shame”—functions like warning lights on the dashboard of our hearts, indicating what is going on in the engine of our souls.

Sociologists say that envy seems to be a bigger problem for our generation than any before us, because social media seems designed to play on it! But when we look at other people’s lives on social media, we are seeing a filtered image. Pastor J.D. concludes his message on the difficult emotion of envy.

Envy surrounds us—and most of us don’t realize the deadly poison that envy is. We think of envy as a kind of petty jealousy that just comes from wanting a little more. But the Bible treats it as far more serious. We’re discovering what the Bible really says about our emotions as we continue our series called, “Smoke from a Fire.”