Being full persons in a superficial world

We're going to read today's Bible passage now from Colossians chapter 2, starting at verse 6 and through to verse 23 at the end of the chapter.

Colossians 2 · chapter mention

So starting at Colossians chapter 2, verse 6.

Colossians 2:6

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to the human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been fulfilled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

And you who were dead in the trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.

This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

He disarmed the rulers and authorities, and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him.

Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.

These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.

Let no one disqualify you insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the head from which the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations?

Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch, referring to things that all perish as they are used, according to human precepts and teachings.

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they have no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.

Well, good morning, everyone.

Question to get you thinking this morning.

Is Australian culture, do you think, less religious, less spiritually shaped than it was, say, 50 or 100 years ago?

Is it more anti-Christian?

Now, I suspect, seeing the responses of some of you, you might be thinking to yourself, is he serious?

Of course it's much less religious.

Not only is it less religious, but it's aggressively anti-religious and specifically anti-Christian.

And you can understand that because hardly a day passes without hearing on the news or on papers or wherever you get your news feeds from.

Hardly a day passes without somebody claiming that religion is always the problem.

It's never the solution.

It's a bit of a catch cry almost.

A go-to position for so many so quickly.

Well, you know, in spite of all that, I would argue that the cultural air we breathe in Australia is more religious than it's been in the past.

It's more spiritually shaped than it has ever been, I would argue.

And that's true even as it increasingly and aggressively rejects historic Bible-based Christianity.

So, Christianity is on the nose.

Bible-based Christianity is on the nose.

But that doesn't make us any less religious as a nation.

In fact, I think we're more religious.

So, a little bit, if you come with me in a little bit of a word study.

The word religion comes from the Latin word re-ligari.

It's printed in your outline there, if you can't pick up my accent.

And the word re-ligari means to rebind, to tie back together something that's become disconnected, separated.

And the reason why you re-ligari is so it becomes complete and healthy again.

It restores well-being.

And in the middle of that word re-ligari is the word that we get the word ligament from.

A ligament is a strong sinew that holds bonds together to give our skeletons structure and integrity.

So, religion, therefore, is a person's search for reconnection into our universe in a way that's meaningful.

It gives purpose, meaning.

It gives ultimate well-being.

And it gives completeness as a person.

So, using that definition of religion, hopefully you're starting to think,

Oh, actually, I can see that now.

People are very religious.

That's very much a front of mind task for people.

Most commonly, it's a search to connect the human and the divine.

So that a person can die without fear of being rejected by God.

But it's not always like that.

Some people refuse to admit or even countenance the idea of a supreme being that we would call God.

But even they create their own form of religion.

Because they also are on the search for meaning and purpose and well-being and completeness.

They might reject any notion of a supreme being, but they're going to create their own form of religion.

And that religion might well be a passion for science.

That's where I find my meaning and purpose and well-being.

Or it might be shopping.

You can see all around Australia today, people are in the temples worshipping with a passion.

The shopping centres.

It could be travel.

It could be sex.

It could be volunteering.

It could be animal and human rights causes.

It could be social media, self-promotion, so you make yourself your God and worship yourself.

Or it could be a thousand other things.

But they're all religions in the sense that people are passionately committed to them and engaged in them

because they hope that those things will deliver meaning and purpose and a sense of well-being and completeness in life.

But many still, of course, look to supernatural beings.

They might reject the God of the Bible, but they still look to a host of supernatural beings.

Some of them are just fanciful.

But people want a beating heart at the centre of our universe.

They don't want just a mechanistic world, the world of science.

They want something warm, relational.

And so they reject the God of the Bible, but they're still looking for some sort of supreme being out there that they can relate to.

And, of course, that's how long is a piece of string once you start to go down that rabbit hole.

But whatever form it takes, I would also suggest this.

That at a practical level, self-made religion is like a bucket full of holes.

It leaks.

And it constantly needs to be topped up.

And I think that describes and explains why our society is so restless, so discontent,

so constantly focused and absorbed and expending our energy in the new experience.

That thing that's going to be better and better replaces that which has been in the past.

People always looking and needing for a top-up, some new expression, some new affirmation of meaning and purpose.

Because the bucket we put our hopes in leaks.

And leaks badly.

And into this smorgasbord or buffy approach to life where people grab a bit of this and a bit of that in the search for completeness or authenticity,

finding true self, whatever that is,

into that we see in sharp contrast to it,

God's gospel message.

Which is

that Jesus

is the person

every person is looking for.

Jesus

is the ligament

which connects us back into relationship with God

and delivers the meaning and purpose and the well-being and the completeness

that we're all searching for

in one form or another.

But I need to add quickly here,

the gospel is not another religion.

That's the uniqueness of the gospel.

It's not about what people do for God

or to try and allay our fear for God by things we do.

No, the gospel is about what God does for us.

It's the total opposite of religion.

It's about what God has done for me

and continues to do in me

through Jesus.

And the gospel says,

and we'll see it now as we jump into Colossians,

the gospel said that

God in Jesus has done everything

needed for me and you

and anybody else in this world

to reconnect

to God perfectly

and forever.

The gospel of Jesus, therefore,

is a full bucket

full to the brim

with no leaks,

no holes.

We respond simply by living

in the light of his promise and grace.

And that's what Paul wants

these believers at Colossae

to understand.

And so throughout his letter,

and we're well into it now,

throughout his letter,

he's just saying this one thing

over and over again.

I've used the illustration of a diamond

with all the facets in a diamond.

There's one gospel diamond

Paul wants us to understand.

But as he goes through,

his repetition isn't complete.

He just turns the diamond

each time he goes through the cycle

and another facet of the gospel

shines and glitters and strikes us.

And we see the same

as we jump into verse 6 of chapter 2

where Paul says,

therefore,

so that's a summary

based on what I've already said,

says Paul.

Therefore,

as you received Christ Jesus the Lord,

so walk in him

or so live in him.

Now,

we've seen this pattern right through.

Paul starts with

what is already true

based on the past,

what God has already done

for them in Christ.

And on the basis of that,

then he says,

this is what it means

for now and for the future,

for how you live.

Their walk

or their daily lifestyle

now and into the future,

says Paul,

ought to be in total sync

with the beginnings

of your spiritual walk,

your spiritual life.

When you became a believer

in Jesus,

that very,

the very same things

that are important then

ought now

to be the things

that are important

in your daily life.

It was grace

and faith

back then,

grace and faith

now

and into the future.

Taking God

at his word

back then,

believing as promises

of forgiveness

and renewal

from the inside out.

That's how you became

a Christian.

That's what it is

to live as a Christian.

And verse 7,

Paul uses two metaphors

or two picture words

to make us point powerfully.

The first one is

rooted in Christ.

It's an agricultural picture.

In other words,

in the past,

says Paul,

by God's grace

and through Jesus' death

and resurrection,

you were organically

joined to Jesus

as inseparably

as roots are

to a tree.

The secret of thriving now

is knowing

that you're rooted

in Jesus

and he is the source

of life

and vitality.

And then the second metaphor

is built up in him.

It's a construction metaphor.

In the past,

Jesus became

the foundation.

When they became Christians,

Jesus became

their foundation

upon which

they now rest

and the superstructure,

which is the house,

is emerging,

is building

and growing.

And of course,

we know

that the shape

of the foundations

ultimately shape

and define

the building

that grows on them

or is put on them.

And then Paul

goes on and says,

established in the faith

just as you were taught.

Again,

he's pulling those

two picture words

together

and he's saying,

look,

everything you are

as a believer,

everything you are

as a believer

was actually settled

in the past

when you became

a believer.

when you first

heard and responded

to the truth

of the gospel

and remember

back in chapter 1,

that truth

was presented to them

by Epaphras

and Paul's now

affirming

and standing

alongside Epaphras

and said,

yeah,

there only is one

gospel truth.

Epaphras told you,

I'm telling you again.

and that includes

both the unseen

spiritual realities

of being organically

connected to Christ

and the visible

practical outworking

of that reality

in this daily life

as the building

emerges and grows.

Everything

is in Jesus.

All of God's grace,

all of God's renewing

power to them

in Jesus,

prompted them,

the last verse 7,

to abound

or the word

is overflow.

Same idea.

Well, the word's abound

but the picture

is overflow, sorry.

It just,

when you grasp this,

says Paul,

you yourselves

know the response.

You just overflow

with thanksgiving.

You recognize

you're enjoying

the fullness

or the completeness

which is yours

in and through Jesus.

Your saviour

and your lord

and thanks

and thanksgiving

is just the natural response.

God has done it for you.

You've received it

as a gift.

Wow.

So Jesus was

their complete saviour.

So they can now say,

our reality

as believers

is that we are

in Christ.

His work for them

in his death

and resurrection

was totally sufficient.

Totally sufficient

as we've seen

in past weeks

to transfer them

from the domain

of darkness

into the kingdom

of his light,

of his son

in light and life.

To qualify them now

to have an inheritance

with Christ

in heaven.

That's how sufficient

the work of Jesus was.

Totally sufficient

for everything they need

to be back

in perfect

forever relationship

with God.

He was their

complete saviour.

But also,

going back to chapter 1,

he was their absolute lord.

So that they could say

as we saw last week,

not only am I in Christ,

but Christ is in me.

In other words,

Jesus has taken up

residence

in his renewed people.

Marie demonstrated

it wonderfully there

with colour and water

this morning.

Jesus has taken up

residence

in his renewed people

through his Holy Spirit

so that his saved people

are forever united

with Christ.

And that union

with Christ

is so complete

that as we saw

in past weeks,

God now views us

as being like Christ

and promises

that when we finally

get to be home

with Christ,

we will be

completely like Christ

and free from

every vestige of sin.

Now,

I just want to pause

there for a moment

because those two things

have to go together.

If we said

that Christ's death

was sufficient

for everything we needed,

but wasn't applied

to us

and guaranteed to us

by union with Christ,

then the sufficiency

of Christ

would not give us

any great comfort

or security.

We need them both.

If, on the other hand,

we said,

well,

we've got union

with Christ,

but then there's

a question over

how sufficient

and how complete

Christ's death

was to deal with sin

and restore us

to a relationship

with God,

then there would also

be uncertainty for us.

But you see,

we've got both.

We're united with Christ

whose death

was totally sufficient

for us,

Saviour and Lord,

the complete package

or fullness in him,

as the verses

9 and 10 say.

Paul's emphasis

could not be stronger.

And the practical

outworking of that

is,

as you began,

as you have begun

your new life

in Jesus

in the past,

so you're to continue

to grow in Jesus.

You began with Jesus,

grace and faith.

You continue with Jesus,

grace and faith.

Now,

as believers,

I think we're often

guilty of focusing

more on becoming

a Christian,

focusing on Jesus

as Saviour

rather than on

continuing

in Christ,

demonstrating

Jesus as Lord.

I think we actually,

for various reasons,

which I don't have time

to get into this morning,

we actually might like

the notion of Saviour

because of what it offers us

more than the concept

of Lord,

which demands of us.

But the two are inseparable.

Paul won't allow

a separation.

Becoming a believer,

complete Saviour,

is not the end of the road,

it's just the start

of the road

of living under

the absolute Lord.

And that leads us

into the second question.

Each week in this series

we've been repeating

a question,

a second question.

What prevents us

from experiencing

fullness

fullness

or completeness

in Christ?

Well, each week

we've seen

the answer is actually

relatively simple

to understand.

A bit more tricky

to apply in our lives,

but simple to understand.

Given what Paul said

in 6 and 7,

the answer has to be

not living,

what prevents us

from experiencing

fullness?

Well,

not living

in the light of

who we are

in Jesus.

not utilizing

the resources

which are already ours

by virtue of

being in Christ

and Christ

in us.

But positively,

the life of faith

is staying

totally focused

on Jesus

for our fullness

and completeness.

in other words,

keeping clear

in our mind

that the bucket

we have,

the gospel bucket

of Jesus

is full to the brim

and doesn't leak.

we don't need

to add something

to Jesus.

We don't need

to wander off

down some other path

which seems to be

the case in Colossae

where there was

some group saying,

well look,

no you need a new

and better experience.

Well Jesus was great

to start with,

but somehow

you need to move

beyond that

to a deeper

experience,

perhaps a separate

experience,

a second experience.

Paul says,

no,

your bucket's

already full.

And here's

the problem we see.

If

with this picture language

the bucket's

already full

because of what

Jesus has done

for us

and is doing

in us,

then as we try

to add something

to that bucket

we actually

displace

something that's

already in it.

So if we try

and add something

to the gospel

bucket of what

Jesus has done

for us

and continues

to do in us,

then we're actually

displacing some

aspect of what

Jesus has already

done or is doing

in us,

which is essentially

to trash the gospel.

Diminish God's

gospel.

And Paul warned

against this in

verses 8 through

23.

And a lot of

this is illustrative,

so I'm going to

cover it very,

very quick.

Well,

do I do anything

very quickly,

you say.

I'm going to try

and cover it as

quickly as I can.

As we've said

over the last few

weeks,

as Christians,

I've said that to

myself more recently.

I have to keep

remembering to preach

the gospel to myself

because I forget it.

I forget the basics.

How quickly do I

forget the basics

and how extremely

do I forget the

basics?

And that's what

Paul's doing in

these verses 8

through to 23.

So I'm turning

into a couple of

questions.

8 through to 15.

Who captivates

your walk

or your life?

If you look at

verse 8,

Paul says,

say to it that

no one takes you

captive by philosophy

and empty deceit

according to human

tradition,

according to the

elemental spirits

of the world

and not

according to

Christ.

Whose pathway

are you walking?

Paul gives us

only two options

here.

Either you're

walking in the

light of who you

already are in

Christ,

filled to the

brim,

totally filled,

satisfied and

focused on Jesus'

promises,

or you're

cutting your own

pathway according

to tradition and

the things of the

world.

Pretty stark

options,

aren't they?

either we're

wandering along,

trusting our own

wisdom,

and of course,

if you've done

any bushwalking,

Alice and I,

even when we were

last holidays,

we were chatting

away and we were

walking and suddenly

I realized we were

following an animal

track.

It wasn't a form

track at all.

We were just

wandering,

trusting Alison's

wisdom.

And I suddenly

realized she'd got

me lost,

even though I was

in front.

You can do that

when you're Irish.

It's follow me,

I'll be right behind

you.

That works when

you're Irish.

You just get more

and more lost,

and when you're

wandering,

you don't even

realize how lost

you are.

Or,

allowing ourselves

to be deceived,

we can be taken

captive by some

other interesting

or convincing

religious notion

about where to

find an authentic,

satisfying life.

It's crazy when

Paul puts the

options like that.

Verses 9 and 10.

It's crazy to try

to cut your own

pathway to God

because we already

have fullness.

We already share

his character.

We already share

in all he has

done for us.

We already share

in all he has

won for us,

including victory

over the guilt

and power of sin

and demonic forces

who would try

and make us

take our eyes

off Jesus

and put them

onto our daily

sin and failures.

With the object

of that being

that we live

in fear

that our sin

will keep us

from God

and we'll

experience God's

ultimate rejection.

Look at

verses 9 and 10.

For in him

the whole fullness

of deity

dwells bodily

and you have

been filled

in him

who is the

head of all

rule and

authority.

In him,

oh that's,

yeah,

alright,

there you go.

Again,

it would be crazy

to cut your

own pathway

trying to

create for

yourself,

trying to

fill the

bucket for

yourself

when Jesus

said,

hey,

I've already

given you

a bucket,

so it's

full to the

brim.

Verse 11,

12.

The imagery

here gets a

little bit more

complicated at

first glance,

but I think

I'm going to

take a very

simple line

to cut through

it.

it's crazy

to try and

cut your own

pathway to

God,

because in

Jesus we

already have

the closest

form of

identity and

relationship

and being

set apart.

We've already

been,

as the text

here says,

circumcised

spiritually.

Paul says,

in him also

you were

circumcised

with a

circumcision

made without

hands,

by putting

off the

body of

flesh by

the circumcision

of Christ.

having been

buried with

him in

baptism,

in which

you are

also raised

with him

through faith

in the

powerful

working of

God,

who raised

him from

the dead.

Circumcision

for God's

people before

Jesus was

the visible

mark of

being God's

specially

loved and

accepted

person,

being in

God's

community

and safe.

life.

Well,

Paul's

saying,

look,

why would

you cut

your own

pathway to

safety and

identity when

you have it

in Christ

already?

Verses 12

through to 15.

Again,

they pick up

the baptism

thing in

verse 12.

and you

who were

dead in

your

trespasses

and sin

and the

uncircumcision

of your

flesh.

God made

alive together

with him

have forgiven

us all our

trespasses,

all our

trespasses,

by cancelling

the record of

debt that

stood against

us with

its legal

demands.

This he set

aside,

nailing it

to the

cross.

He disarmed

the rulers and

authorities and

put them to

open shame

by triumphing

over them

in him.

It's crazy

to try and

cut your own

pathway to

God because

in Christ

all need

for religious

activity

in the hope

of making

yourself

acceptable to

God is

removed.

Why would

you go down

the rabbit

hole of some

sort of

religious

activity?

Things I

do,

things I

say,

places I

go,

festivals I

keep,

when Jesus

has done

it all

for you

on the

cross.

We don't

need to

do more

because his

death is

sufficient.

We just

need to

accept and

understand and

live in the

light of.

Baptism was

a picture of

identification

and renewal.

The person

goes down

into the

water,

it's a

picture of

being washed

or even

more extreme

dying as

you go into

the water.

The end of

this particular

orientation of

life.

Then you

come back up

out of the

water and

it's a

picture of

newness of

life or

an orientation

no longer

connected to

the old

life.

The two

have been

completely

separated.

You've

moved from

one arena

to the

other.

That's

what we

already have

in the

gospel.

Move from

the domain

of darkness

and the

guilt of

sin and the

accusation

that would

rightly have

been leveled

against us.

You've got a

big problem

before God.

Now in

Jesus,

no accusation.

I don't have a

problem in

God because

Jesus has

dealt with

it.

We've got

complete

identification

with God.

Total

disconnect

from our

old life

of rebellion.

Completely

new

identification,

new

orientation,

new life

in and

for God.

My friends,

the bucket's

full.

There's

nothing else

we can

add

without

displacing

something that

Jesus already

put there.

So keep

your eyes

on Jesus.

Follow

his

footprints.

don't

get

yourself

lost

wandering

around.

Trusting

your own

wisdom is

better than

what Jesus

already said

to you.

Don't

allow others

to run

you off

the road

and cause

you to

crash and

burn because

they're trying

to add

things to

the bucket

that's

already

full.

The

second

question

then,

out of

this

second

question,

whose

rules do

you measure

your

spiritual

health

and

maturity

by?

Picking

up verse

16 through

to 23.

How do

you measure

your

spiritual

health,

your

maturity?

This

question is

the one

that torpedoes

so many

of us as

Christians from

time to

time.

And I can

tell you,

it's one

that's

torpedoing,

causing

Christians here

this morning

to crash and

burn on a

daily basis.

whose

rules are

you measuring

your

spiritual

health and

well-being

by?

Again,

Paul offers

only two

options.

Either

spiritual

health will

be measured

by what

so-called

wise

religious

people demand,

and we'll

see the

details of

that in

these verses,

or it's

measured

according to

what Christ

says,

what Jesus

says.

And again,

the contrast

means it's

Paul saying,

look, it's

absolutely

crazy to

submit

yourself to

a spiritual

audit from

those who

might sound

super

spiritual,

but who

really have

no substance

at all,

who are

focused on

things that

are on the

outside,

things that

in the end

can never

get to our

real problem

of our

hearts.

So that

would be

crazy.

You polish

up the

outside,

says,

Paul,

so what?

It's

useless,

puts you

through a

lot of

pain,

a lot of

trouble,

but it

does

nothing to

change

your

heart,

and it's

our

heart that

the Lord

looks at.

So you'd

be crazy to

go down that

pathway.

It might

sound terrific,

it might give

you some sense

of control,

well,

these people

say,

if I do

this and

this and

this,

then I'm

in control

of my own

destiny.

Well,

it's a

shadow,

says Paul.

There's no

substance to

that.

There's no

value in

it.

Your

bucket's

already

full.

God.

Why go

to these

people,

verse 19,

when you

can go

straight to

the top,

go straight

to the

head,

and get

it from

his lips,

get the

real

spiritual

audit from

his lips.

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Why?

Who better

to know what

the body

needs than

the head?

We're back

to this

organic

connection

again.

Jesus

is actually

described there

through its

joints and

ligaments.

The body

has structure

because

Jesus is

the ligament

that connects

us to

the head,

which is

the fullness

of deity

living in

Christ.

It's a

picture of

complete

structural

integrity,

a complete

healthy

body.

Pleasing

God and

growing steadily

to maturity.

Friends,

this is such

an important

point,

such an

important

point,

but you

know what?

And I say

this for

myself as

well.

Obviously,

we haven't

yet taken

it on

board,

not

consistently.

And the

reason I

know that

in my own

life is

because of

the things

that distract

me,

the things

I worry

about,

I'm

trying to

fill a

bucket that's

got leaks

in it,

rather than

just looking

at that

bucket brimming

full,

the overflowing

that's already

mine in

Christ.

So I'll just

finish with a

couple of

encouragements.

In this,

these last

few verses,

there's a play

on shadows

and substance.

Well, I

say to you

this morning,

don't live

in the

shadows.

Don't live

in the

shadows when

we can

live in

the substance

of Jesus.

Don't live

as a

derelict

in a

slum,

thinking that

you have

to be

religious,

thinking that

you have to

work constantly

to reconnect

yourself to

God,

to top up

the bucket,

to create

the good

life of

completeness.

When Christ

says to you,

what are you

doing?

Even if you

did that for

the rest of

your life,

it would never

be enough to

make yourself

acceptable to

God.

And besides

that,

why would you

do that

whenever I

want to give

you a full

bucket as a

free gift?

more

personally,

don't live

in the

shadows,

fearful that

your ongoing

sin and

failure means

you're not

saved.

There are

folk here this

morning who

are just

traumatized by

that day

and night,

maybe more

so at night.

Don't live

in the

shadows,

fearful that

your ongoing

sin and

failures mean

you're not

saved.

Don't live

in the

shadows

despairing

because you're

not sorry

enough for

your sin.

Don't live

in the

shadows

thinking that

because your

thoughts of

God are not

pure enough

and your

trust in God

is not

strong enough

and your

knowledge of

God is not

big enough.

Look at

the bucket.

filled to the

brim.

Sufficiency

of your

Savior and

the absoluteness

of your

Lord who

says,

you are my

beloved

child.

So the

problem with

doing that

is that the

bucket that's

already full,

you think you're

going forward

but you're

actually going

backwards

because the

more you

try to add

stuff to the

full bucket

of the

gospel,

the more

you're

displacing what

Jesus has

already done.

And

finally,

more of a

church application,

church family

application.

Church family,

don't live in the

shadows with a

sense of

embarrassment or

inferiority

because our

church family

doesn't have all

the bells and

whistles that

other groups

might have and

promote as the

evidence of a

healthy,

mature church.

They might be

healthy,

mature churches

but not because

of the bells and

whistles they

promote.

don't live in

that shadow,

fearful or

embarrassed or

with a sense of

inferiority.

When Jesus

tells us from

his word

clearly that

the truly

healthy church

is the one

where Jesus

is taught

and lived

out before

one another

in love,

we saw that

from the very

first week back

in chapter 1

verse 6 and 7

and that's a

tough gig to

live that out

in love and

to live it out

before a

watching world

so the

watching world

thinks,

wow,

I don't know

what makes

those Christians

tick but I

want a part

of it.

Don't live in

the shadows

when the

spotlight's on

Jesus.

Pray with

me.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Lord, just fill our

hearts with this

stuff that probably

for most of us is

so familiar and yet

we struggle to hang

on to it.

Help us just to keep

that picture of

things together that

you, that we sort

of normally want to

separate, that you

are both a sufficient

savior and a

gracious, powerful

Lord.

that we have a full bucket

in Christ

that not only are we in Christ

but he is in us

by his Holy Spirit

and that therefore Lord

we do truly and completely have life

help us to live in the light of it

with confidence

and abounding in thanksgiving

Amen