Heavenly Minded

Please take your Bibles this morning and open them up to Colossians chapter 3.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

! We've been walking through the book of Colossians together as a church family,

and we've come to Colossians chapter 3, and our passage this morning is verses 1 through 4.

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

If you don't have a physical Bible of your own that you brought with you, that's okay.

We have them all over the room and seat backs nearby,

but I would encourage you to have a copy of God's Word available to you

as you look on as I preach this passage this morning.

When you found it, Colossians 3 verses 1 through 4,

Colossians 3:1–4

let's stand this morning together in honor of the reading of the Word of God.

Paul says,

If then you have been raised with Christ,

Seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

When Christ, who is your life, appears,

then you also will appear with Him in glory.

The grass withers and the flower fades, but the Word of the Lord endures forever.

Father, we pray once more this morning,

God, would you transform the minds of this church

so that we would seek the things that are above,

not things that are of the earth.

Would you fill our thoughts with heavenly things?

Would you fill our hearts with a love and a desire to seek Christ?

We pray all of this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

You may be seated.

I recently had the opportunity to share an important life lesson with my boys several weeks ago.

One of them was just sitting innocently at the dinner table,

minding his own business, looking off into the distance,

apparently a little quieter than usual.

And so Amanda looked at him and asked him,

Hey, what's on your mind?

To which he replied,

Honestly, nothing.

And I said, you know, this is one of those opportunities as a father

that you have to capitalize on to be able to teach about God's world in which we live.

And so I called all the boys together and I said,

Hey, listen, I want you to understand exactly what just happened here.

The female mind cannot comprehend the thought of having nothing at all on their mind.

This is one of the main differences between men and women.

I'm going to speak in general terms here.

I know that there are general exceptions,

but if ever there was evidence that these two genders are not interchangeable, this is it.

The male mind is like a railroad and the female mind is like Spaghetti Junction.

At any given time, they are thinking of 10, 15, 20 things,

but the man, honestly, is possible for him to be thinking of genuinely nothing at all.

There is a distinct difference between the mind of a man and the mind of a woman.

That's how God has made us to be.

This morning, as we look at Colossians chapter 3,

Colossians 3 · chapter mention

Paul puts that same question before the church.

What is on your mind?

And gender differences aside, for a minute this morning,

he's helping us to see that there ought to be a distinct difference

between the mind of a believer and the mind of a non-believer.

The Christian is called to be heavenly minded.

So let's take a look at the passage,

and I want us to see it in three parts this morning.

This will be our outline.

We try to make it easy for you to follow along and take notes.

So three parts this morning.

We'll see the mind of a Christian first.

Second, we'll see the motivation for the Christian life.

And third, we'll close with a method for Christian thought,

a method for Christian meditation.

I want to get very practical with you as we close this morning.

So three parts, the mind, the motivation, and the method.

Let's take a look.

First, we see the mind of the Christian.

Look there with me to verses 1 and 2.

Paul begins here with a very important if,

before he gives any sort of command here.

Paul says,

if then you have been raised with Christ,

meaning if you are a Christian.

To be a Christian is to be raised with Christ.

It's to be united to the risen Christ by faith.

If then you have been raised with Christ,

seek the things that are above.

That's an important if, isn't it?

You know, the non-believer cannot be expected

to set their minds on heavenly things.

And they're still of the earth.

But, Paul says,

if you have been raised with Christ,

then seek the things that are above.

He's continuing this line of application

that he started in chapter 2, verse 6.

This was sort of the banner verse

of the application section of Colossians,

Colossians 2:6

chapter 2, verse 6.

He said,

if you have received Christ Jesus as Lord,

then you are called to walk in Him.

Walk in Christ.

And so the question then becomes,

well, Paul,

what does walking in Christ actually look like?

Maybe you've thought that way yourself.

And maybe you've asked that same question.

You say,

well, I know that I have received Christ Jesus as Lord.

I know that I'm a Christian.

I know that I believe in Him.

But what does it actually look like

for me to walk in Christ?

Paul answered that in the negative for us.

He told us what not to do in chapter 2.

He said,

to walk in Christ means to not let anyone take you captive,

he said in chapter 2, verse 8.

To walk in Christ looks like

not letting anyone else pass judgment on you

in regards to human tradition

and legalism and laws and expectations.

In verse 16 of chapter 2.

He said,

walking in Him looks like

not letting anyone disqualify you.

He said in verse 18 of chapter 2.

But now as we turn to chapter 3,

he turns and he then gives us

some positive application.

So we're moving from

what we must not do

to what we must do.

What does walking in Him actually look like?

And he tells us

the Christian walk

requires the engagement

of your mind.

The Christian walk,

to walk in Him,

requires the engagement

of your mind.

If then you have been

raised with Christ,

seek the things that are above

where Christ is,

seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds

on things that are above.

Your minds.

Set your minds

on things that are above.

Not on things that are on the earth.

The Bible calls God's people

to devote their minds to Him.

You think of some Old Testament passages.

Do not let this book of the law

depart from your mouth,

but meditate on it

day and night,

Joshua 1.8 says.

Blessed is the man

who walks not

in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers,

but his delight

is on the law of the Lord.

And on His law,

He meditates,

meditates,

day and night,

Psalm chapter 1 says.

Psalms 1 · chapter mention

Or you go to the New Testament,

it's no different.

Do not be conformed

to the patterns of this world,

but be transformed

by the renewal of what?

Of your mind,

He says in Romans chapter 12.

Romans 12 · chapter mention

Or in Philippians,

He says whatever is true,

whatever is honorable,

whatever is just,

whatever is pure,

whatever is lovely,

whatever is commendable,

if there is any excellence,

if there is anything

worthy of praise,

think about these things.

Think, He says.

Set your mind on these things.

Think, think, think.

Engage your mind

in thoughts of God.

This is the call of a Christian.

And I know the objections, right?

Because I've heard them before.

I'm just not much

of the academic type.

I never went to seminary.

All of these theological things

are just too deep for me.

Now listen,

not everybody has to have

a PhD in theology,

but every Christian

must devote their minds

to the Lord.

The pastor theologian,

P.T. Forsyth,

was often accused

of preaching above

the congregation's heads.

And you know what his reply

often was?

Lift up your heads.

It's not very pastorally sensitive.

But he might be on to something.

Church,

we are all called

to lift up our heads

and to devote our minds

to the exercise

of thinking about God,

thinking about His glory,

thinking about spiritual truths,

thinking about theology.

Now before I became a Christian,

I'll confess to you,

I was not much of a reader at all.

No one would have described me

as an academic.

I did not care to read a book at all,

but I had good models,

good examples

who put good books into my hands.

And they told me,

go and read.

Go and learn.

Go and think about God.

Go think about theology.

Go think about the church.

Go think about your salvation.

Think about heaven.

Think about your identity in Christ.

Think about the mission

God's given you.

Think about holiness.

The Christian life

requires us to think.

I remember hearing

one of the leaders

in our campus ministry in college

say just in an offhand comment one day

that one of his life goals

was to be a master

of the Word of God.

I had never heard anybody

talk like that before.

Yeah, I knew the Bible was good.

I knew it was full of good,

helpful tidbits

and information for my life,

but never had I ever heard

anyone express

a desire to so fill their minds

with God's Word

that they are thinking

the thoughts of God constantly.

I want that for us, church.

I want that for me.

Paul says,

you must fill your mind

with the truth.

Seek the things

that are above

with your minds,

but not just your minds.

Paul also says

this walk with Christ

also requires

a delight of the heart.

It requires a delight

of the heart.

Look there again

to verse 1.

Paul gives these two

parallel commands here.

One,

seek the things

that are above,

verse 1,

and 2,

set your minds

on the things above,

verse 2.

So,

seek and set your minds.

Those two are closely related.

They're closely connected,

but they're not exactly the same.

That word for seek,

it has the heart in view.

It's the same language

that Jesus uses

when He says,

seek first the kingdom of God

and His righteousness.

It's not just a mental pursuit.

It demands the engagement

and the delight of your heart.

The NIV translates it well.

We were talking about

different translations

in the Grow Class Hour.

The NIV translates it well here.

It says,

set your heart

on things above.

And the KJV

actually takes that angle

in verse 2

where it says,

set your affection,

the affections of the heart.

Set your affection

on things above,

not on things

that are of the earth.

In other words,

church,

it is good

and it's right

to know what's true,

but that is not enough.

It's not enough

to know the truth.

We must also

love the truth.

It's not enough

to know facts about God.

We must also

love the Lord our God

with all of our heart,

all of our mind,

all of our soul,

all of our strength.

We have to know about Him

in order to love Him.

That's a requirement.

But simply knowing

about Him

is not enough.

We must love Him.

We must set our heart

on things above.

Didn't Jesus press this home

with the Pharisees?

He said,

nobody knew the bare facts

about the Word of God

than the Pharisees.

They could honor Him

with their lips

all day long,

but what did Jesus say?

These people honor me

with their lips

and yet their heart

is far from me.

The Christian life

requires that you set

your heart

on things above,

not just your head.

And the truth

of who God is

and what Christ

has done for us,

that's meant to move us

in the affections

of our heart.

I do want to clarify

something here

that's very important

because in our culture today,

year 2026,

when we hear

the engagement

of our heart,

when we hear

setting our heart

on things above

and seeking God

with our heart,

we think emotion,

don't we?

And we hear heart

and we think emotion.

I just want to make it clear

that is not what Paul

is saying here.

In fact,

I think Paul is likely

throwing another subtle jab

here at these false teachers

in Colossae.

They were really emphasizing

the priority

of having a deep

emotional experience

in worship.

And they said,

what was really important

for you is that

to be spiritually full,

you have to have

this overwhelming

spiritual,

emotional experience

where you're overcome

with emotion

and that's how you know

you've done something

really special.

Do you realize

many Christians today

think the same thing?

They think that

in order to have

a truly valid

religious experience

in worship,

it must be

deeply emotional.

And many churches

arrange their gatherings

to try and manipulate

that emotional response.

If they can just

get people excited

and emotional,

well then that is

the goal.

We've done it.

I've actually heard

somebody say,

and this is a direct quote,

let's get them

really excited

and then later on

they can figure out

what they're excited about.

Can I just say

that that's completely

backwards from the

biblical pattern.

The biblical pattern

is truth

that moves

the heart.

It's truth

first as the leader

that engages

the affections

of the heart.

It's truth

that stirs up

love

for the Lord.

There's a difference

between emotions

and what the Puritans

called the affections

of the heart.

Do you know

this difference?

Sam Storm

summed it up well.

Let me read this to you.

He says,

emotions

can often be

no more than

physiologically

heightened states

of either euphoria

or fear

that are unrelated

to what the mind

perceives as true.

Affections,

on the other hand,

are always

the fruit

or the effect

of what the mind

understands

and knows.

The will

or inclination

is moved

either toward

or away

from something

that is perceived

by the mind.

The Christian life

must be centered

on truth

that stirs up

the affections

of your heart.

And so Paul says

the Christian walk,

church,

it requires

your mind,

it requires

the engagement,

the affections

of your heart.

And lastly,

briefly here

on this first point,

we see that

to walk in him

requires

an intention

of your will.

I just want to make

this plain here

before we move on.

To seek

and to set

before,

that requires

some effort,

church.

And the truth is

not one of us

naturally drifts

towards thoughts

of heavenly things.

and not one of us

naturally wakes up

in the morning

feeling warm

and eager

to pursue heavenly truths.

Our minds

are foggy,

our hearts

are naturally cold.

We're filled

with thoughts

of things we must do.

We're filled

with worries

of this life.

We're filled

with thoughts

about our jobs

and our families

and our health

and our obligations.

This is a discipline

that will require

effort out of you.

And intentionality,

you must make

an effort

to stop thinking

about every earthly

thing that demands

your attention

constantly

and to set

your minds

on things above.

You have to

intentionally

engage your mind

with thoughts

of Jesus

and the finished

work of the gospel.

If you want

to get warm,

you have to move

closer to the fire.

If you want

to be filled,

you have to prepare

and eat.

If you want

to be heavenly,

you have to

intentionally seek

after heavenly

things.

My point is,

church,

the call of Christ

is to seek Him

with everything

you have

and everything

you are.

That's an overwhelming

call, isn't it?

The demands

of Jesus on us

are not small

and light.

They're not easy.

This is a call

to offer

your entire

self up to Him

as a living

sacrifice.

Your mind,

your heart,

your very will.

So second,

we should ask,

what is the

motivating power

behind this work?

What is the

motivation

that God

gives us

for this task?

What's the power

behind this

whole self-pursuit

of heavenly things?

Paul tells us

the power

is in

who Christ

is,

what Christ

has done

and in

the glorious

fact that

you are

united

to Christ

by faith.

See how

he roots

all of this

in Christ

and what

he's done?

Why does

he tell us

to seek

things that

are above?

Why?

Why set

our minds

on heavenly

things and

not of things

that are of

the earth?

It's because

that is

where Christ

is.

Think of

things that

are above

where Christ

is,

seated at

the right

hand of God.

He's seated

there.

This is a

reminder of

the finished

work of

Christ.

Christ is

seated because

the work

of redemption

is done.

He's earned

that seat.

And Jesus

has fully

accomplished

the work

of salvation.

Paul's

reminding us,

by the way,

this is why

you can't

add to it

with all

of your

rules and

all of your

regulations

and all

of your

religion

and all

of your

traditions,

all of

these burdens

that the

false teachers

in Colossae

wanted to

add to

the finished

work of

Christ.

He says,

no,

no,

no,

no,

no.

We don't

do as

those false

teachers

wanted us

to do.

We don't

labor and

work and

do all

these religious

things in

order to

climb our

way closer

to God.

The gospel

tells us

God has

come down

to us.

We don't

need to

achieve our

salvation.

Christ has

come and

achieved our

salvation.

We can't

add anything

to it.

He's in

heaven.

He sat

down.

It's

done.

Jesus

doesn't need

any help

from earth.

He's already

seated in

heaven.

That's what the

gospel tells us.

It's the finished

work of God.

The finished

work of Christ.

Your perfection

that you must

have to be

made right with

God.

Guess what?

Christ has

already achieved

it by His

perfect life.

The burden

of debt that

you've earned

but you can't

pay.

Guess what?

Christ has

already paid

for it by His

sacrificial death.

hope of eternal

life that we

can't ever

achieve by our

labors.

Guess what?

Christ has

already risen

from the

grave.

He's done

it.

He's taken a

seat at the

right hand of

God.

Not just any

seat.

The seat of

eternal power

and eternal

authority at the

right hand of the

Lord where the

Son of Man will

reign as King

for the rest of

eternity.

Church, this is

why we're called

to set our

minds on

heavenly things.

We seek the

things that are

above because

that's where

Christ is but

not only this.

I want you to

see this.

We seek the

things that are

above because

that's where we

are in Him.

I love this

church.

We have in

these four

verses such a

beautiful picture

of what we call

our union

with Christ.

our union

with Christ.

If you want

something to

think about

this afternoon,

think about

your union

with Christ.

Do you

realize,

Christian,

that by

faith in

Jesus,

you are

spiritually

united to

the risen

Lord Jesus

Christ?

And this

union with

Christ,

that's at the

very heart

of your

salvation.

The Puritan

Thomas Goodwin,

he says that

it's the ocean

into which

all other

doctrines run.

And the

Bible uses

metaphors for

our union

because it's

just so hard

for simple

people like

us to grasp

the depth

of it.

It says,

He is the

vine and we

are what?

The branches.

He is the

head and we

are what?

The body.

He is the

bridegroom and

we are the

bride.

He is the

cornerstone and

we are living

stones being

built up into

a spiritual

house.

This is

union

language.

Our entire

existence as

God's people,

our Christian

life together

is empowered

and motivated

by the virtue

of our union

with the

living Lord

Jesus Christ.

It's such a

precious truth.

It's a remedy

for every doubt

you might have

in this world.

if you look

on earthly

things like

your own

effort,

your own

religious

rule keeping,

you may

wonder,

am I good

enough to

get into

heaven?

But if you

look to your

union with

Christ,

you see the

perfect life

he lived.

It's as if

you perfectly

obeyed.

His record

of perfect

obedience is

your record

of perfect

obedience because

you are united

to him.

If you look

on earthly

things like

your own

lingering sin

and your own

heart,

Christian,

your own

guilt,

your own

shame,

you may

wonder,

how can I

ever get

out from

under this

burden of

guilt and

shame for

my sin?

You ever

feel that

way?

How can I

ever be

free from

the enslaving

power of

sin over

me?

But if you

lift your

eyes and

look to your

union with

Christ,

you see Christ

has already

died to sin

once and for

all.

He has

already paid

for sin.

He has

already destroyed

sin's

enslaving power.

He has

already removed

God's wrath

from me.

He has

already borne

my guilt.

He has

already carried

my shame.

I don't have

to bear that

anymore because

I am united

to him by

faith.

His death

is your

death,

Christian.

You have

died,

Paul says

in verse

3.

If you look

on earthly

things,

you may

wonder,

how can I

ever live

this Christian

life that

God calls

me to live?

This all

in pursuit

of the Lord,

of heavenly

things.

How can I

offer up all

my mind,

all of my

heart,

all of my

will,

all of my

entire self?

may may

may may

may

may

may may may may may may may

!

you can see that you are raised to walk in newness of life.

You are raised as a new creation in Christ.

You can, as Paul calls us to do in Romans 6,

reckon yourself, consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

It's almost unfathomably good news.

And it's so hard to see right now the full depth of these truths,

but church, soon and very soon we will see, Paul says in verse 3,

you have died and your life is also hidden with Christ in God.

It is hidden.

The real you has not yet appeared.

But one day soon and very soon, Christ Jesus will return and our faith will be sight.

And verse 4 says,

When Christ, who is your life, appears, you also will appear with him in glory.

That if you look on earthly things, all you will see is this weak earthen vessel

that gets sick and gets tired, gets discouraged, gets weary,

wrestles with all sorts of sin and temptation.

But when you lift your eyes to heaven and you look to Christ,

and when you think on things where Christ is,

you see Christ there risen and glorified,

raised with a new, glorified, sinless, indestructible, perfected body,

never to die again.

And 1 John 3, 12 says,

When we see him, we will be made like him.

We will one day be glorified,

perfected,

victorious,

sinless,

made fit for an eternity of joy in the presence of God.

Don't you want to think on these things?

Think on things where Christ is.

Seek him.

Set your heart's affections on him.

Make Christ and his glory the all-consuming desire and pursuit of your life.

Because you are united to him,

church, this is your life.

So third, and finally,

I want to close by making this as practical as I can.

I want to give you a method for how.

This is the how.

Okay?

And what are we called to do?

We're called to set our minds on Christ.

Why?

It's because we are united to him.

That's who we are in him.

So how?

And I have seven very brief suggestions for you.

I want to make this as practical as I can

so that even this afternoon,

you can go home and put it into practice.

First, number one,

start.

Start.

Start.

Yeah, I understand this whole idea of,

of thinking and,

and meditating and setting your minds on heavenly things.

That may be new to you.

Okay, that's fine.

Just start somewhere.

That's sometimes the hardest part.

Just start.

Just think.

Just start.

Number two,

set a time.

Make an appointment.

Set a time.

Don't just wait for the random cracks in your schedule to appear

and,

and then try and fill it.

Although that is good to do as well.

Set a time.

Make an appointment.

Put it on your calendar.

Set a timer,

even,

for how long this appointment will last.

10 minutes,

20 minutes,

30 minutes,

whatever it may be.

But set a time and keep your appointments.

Number three,

silence all distractions.

Because y'all know they're going to come.

If you need to go outside,

go outside.

If you need to leave your phone in another room,

I would recommend it.

And this is one reason why,

by the way,

this is a free nugget.

This is one reason why I prefer a physical Bible

as opposed to a digital Bible on my phone.

Because those distractions come,

don't they?

It is way too easy.

The task here is to set our minds on heavenly things.

We need to,

as best as we can,

set up the guardrails here

so that we can focus our mind and our hearts on the Lord.

That's the goal here.

So number four,

saturate your mind with the truth.

Saturate your mind with the truth.

And there is no such thing as too much.

Read your Bible.

Read your Bible.

And come to it daily.

And listen to the Word as you ride in your car.

Read good Christian books.

If you need recommendations,

y'all know I got some for you.

Read above your head.

Read above your understanding.

Read together.

Memorize passages of the Word.

Memorize verses.

Memorize chapters.

Memorize entire books.

You can do it, church.

Fill your mind with the truth.

Listen diligently to sound teaching and preaching.

And come not just to be entertained,

but to grow and to listen and to learn

in your understanding of God's Word.

Meditate on the truth.

You know,

this is the difference between

Eastern meditation and Christian meditation.

But the goal of Christian meditation

is not to empty your mind of all thoughts.

The goal of Christian meditation

is to fill your mind with the truth

and to think on what's true.

Number five.

Number five.

Select one thing.

Select one thing.

If you're like me,

I read a passage

and I got about a hundred different avenues

I could chase here.

Select one truth,

one idea.

This may be one truth about who God is.

Maybe it's one of His attributes.

It may be one verse from a passage you're reading.

It may be a main idea that summarizes a chapter.

It may be a concept that you haven't quite figured out yet.

Whatever it is,

I want you to select one thing.

That's enough.

And think about it.

Contemplate it.

Toss it all around in your mind.

Ask good questions about it.

Ask as many questions as you can about it.

Pray about it.

And then, number six,

I want you to savor it.

Savor it.

Act as if you were tasting the greatest meal

you have ever had placed before you.

And you want to enjoy every single bite.

And you want to take note of all the different flavors.

You want to eat all of it completely.

You want to enjoy that to its fullest degree.

That's what you do

when you toss this truth around in your mind.

You are seeking to delight in what is true.

Not just to know it.

You're seeking to savor what is true.

You're seeking to feed and nourish

and satisfy your soul

with a feast from heaven's table.

And finally, number seven,

share it.

Share it.

Our evangelism,

we pray often that we would be developing here

a culture of evangelism.

Our evangelism ought to be the overflow

of our delight in God and His truth.

So you say to your neighbor,

can I just share with you something

that's been stirring in my mind today?

Can I share with you something

that I've been thinking about?

Can I share with you something

I'm excited about?

God, maybe our evangelism is dry

because our hearts are dull

and our minds are empty.

It's not just good to share with non-believers.

We also pray for a culture of discipleship

within the church, don't we?

Share with one another.

Can you imagine the growth

that could happen in this church,

spiritual growth,

if every member

was so saturated

with the truth of God

and our hearts were so filled

with love for heavenly things

and then our mouths were open

sharing and proclaiming

what God is showing us

in His Word to one another.

This is how the church

builds itself up in love, isn't it?

By speaking the truth in love,

we grow up

into Christ,

but we can't give to others

what we don't have yet

ourselves.

Church, there is

nothing greater

that you can set your mind on

than thoughts of God

and His glory.

Amen?

One of my favorite little books

is Richard Baxter's

The Saint's Everlasting Rest.

And in it,

he encourages believers

to think

and to meditate,

to contemplate the glory

that's ahead of you

who know the Lord.

And I just want to share

a couple of passages

from that book

as we close.

He says,

If there be so certain

and glorious

a rest for the saints,

why is there no more

earnest seeking after it?

One would think

if a man did but once

hear of such unspeakable glory

to be obtained

and believed what he heard,

he would be transported

with the vehemency

of his desire after it

and would almost forget

to eat and drink

and would care for nothing else

and speak of

and inquire after nothing else

but how to get this treasure.

And yet people who hear of it daily

and profess to believe it

as a fundamental article

of their faith

pay as little mind of it

or labor for it

as if they had never heard

of any such thing at all

or did not believe

one word that they heard.

So he says,

make conscience

of daily exercising

thy graces

in meditation

as well as in prayer.

Retire into some secret place

at a time

the most convenient

to thyself

and laying aside

all worldly thoughts

with all possible seriousness

and reverence,

look up towards heaven.

Remember there

is thine everlasting rest.

Study its excellency

and reality

and rise from sense

to faith

by comparing heavenly

with earthly joys

and then having pleaded

the case reverently

with God

and seriously

with thine own heart

now hast pleaded thyself

from a clod

to a flame

from a forgetful sinner

and a lover of the world

to an ardent lover

of God

from a fearful coward

to a resolved Christian

from an unfruitful sadness

to a joyful life

in a word

thou hast pleaded thy heart

from earth

to heaven

from conversing below

to walking with God

until thou canst

lay thy heart to rest

as in the bosom of Christ

by some such meditation

of thy everlasting rest.

Church

let us love the Lord our God

with all of our mind

if then you have been raised

with Christ

seek the things

that are above.

Father we pray

would you fill our minds

with thoughts of Christ?

Would you remove

every desire

every inclination

of the heart

every thought

that dwells on earthly things

and would you replace it

with eternal truth?

Father we praise you

that Christ has come

from heaven to earth

Lord to lift us up

from earth to heaven

and we pray God

if there are any here

who have not yet

put their faith in Christ

would you lead them

to do so

by the power of your grace

by your spirit

unite them

with a risen Christ

we pray all this

in Jesus name

Amen

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