The Porch (Video)

It's easy to be caught up in our past lives - our behaviors before Christ. But Paul shows us in Colossians 2:16-3:16 that, through Christ, we are given completely new lives. We have been resurrected with Christ and have been given a new life to "put on". How exactly do we "put on" this new life and live as the new creation we are? Listen and find out! You may be surprised at the how and the why behind our change in Christ.

Guest speaker, Francis Chan, shows us how we can get wrapped up in ourselves. We live in a world with false teaching, and we accumulate teachers that tell us what we want to hear. Taking a look at 2 Timothy we see that selfishness is the root of many problems: love of money, pride, disobedience. The church is not immune; in it some have the appearance of Godliness but deny its power. But the Holy Spirit can change that. Through Jesus Christ we are saved, and if we run towards Him and fight the good fight like Paul did, we can be satisfied that we achieved our mission of spreading the Gospel.

Simply said, when we put our faith in Christ, God no longer counts our sin against us. Paul explains to us in Colossians 2:12-15 that Jesus raised us from the dead, crossed out our debts, and disarmed the demons. Our sin was an eternal debt to God. However Jesus — perfect and eternal — paid 100% of our eternal debt — past, present, and future — through dying on the cross and being raised to life. He nailed our sins to that cross and covered us in His blood. Christ used Satan's momentum against him. Through Christ's death, He brought us forgiveness and life. It is finished — our debt has been paid!

This world offers a lot of distractions that can lead us away from God. But Paul reminds us in Colossians 2 that we have to get back to the basics of the Gospel when we lose our way. Jesus is the fullness of God and in Him we have access to the fullness of God. Jesus strengthens our stance against the distractions of this world and gives us a solid foundation. Jesus satisfies our searching and our identity is found in Him. Jesus severs our sin nature when we surrender so we can abide in Him. Ultimately God is the best master we could serve because He loves us and sets us free. All we need is need and to come to Him with those needs, surrendering our lives to God.

We too often rely on ourselves to get through life; we make our own decisions, we try to take control, and we seek too many things to fulfill us. But Paul shows us in Colossians 1:24-2:6 that Christ is our focal point and that we are complete in Christ. He loves us so much that even in the moments when we feel like we've failed, Christ draws us back to Him. Jesus wants us to depend on Him -- moment by moment. When we do depend on Him, we live an abundant life with God.

It's a question asked throughout Scripture. A question that easily divides us. But from Scripture and Paul's description in Colossians 1:15-23 we see that Jesus is God, Jesus is our Savior, Jesus is our Lord, and we won't truly experience life without Him as our Master. How do you define your relationship with Jesus?

Can someone really change? The short answer is yes, but how do they change? As we kick off Colossians, we look at Paul's letter to the church at Colossae and discover that God's grace is the source of change, the source of grace is God, and our role is to be filled with joy and thankfulness in response to this grace. That grace is the most powerful force of change because we do not deserve it. That grace is freely given to us by God who pulled us out of darkness just because He loves us. When we accept that grace and live for His will and understanding, He gives us a new identity in Him.

The Cross has become a familiar symbol of Christianity. So familiar, that we are missing out on the real and tangible event that happened there. We miss that it anchors in history, defeats all sin, and ends all fear. Sometimes we feel like sin has the ultimate power over us � that we will never shake it. But our sin is nailed to the cross when we believe in Jesus Christ. God's act of perfect love � sacrificing His perfect Son � defeats all fear. He shows us that He is just and that He justifies us in Christ who took on all our imperfections. There's more at the cross than what we thought. In God's eyes, it is finished. We are valuable and we are worthy of His love.

We all ask: Why is this happening to me? How long is this going to go on for? Why is the world so bad when God is good? But while God is always good, this world does not always obey God and things go awry. In a world full of anxiety, we can cry out to God and lean on Him, knowing that He has a plan for us that will prosper us. If we listen, we won't miss out on God calling us back to Him. Instead of being anxious that God isn't going to work it out, or being depressed that He already hasn't, we have to trust in the Word of God and quietly listen. If we seek God with all our hearts, we will find Him.