Growing In The Gospel - Colossians 1:3-8

If you're new here, or if I'm new to you, it's more than likely.

Like Ralph said, my name's Alan. I'm not the normal preaching pastor here.

I'm not even normally in Ireland. This is new for me.

But Johnny's on sabbatical, so I'm just here for a few months.

And if you want to turn to the book of Colossians, that's where we'll be this summer.

It's page 1182 in your pew Bibles there.

Page 1182. And we'll be in chapter 1, verses 3 through 8 this morning,

looking at Paul's explanation of what it means to be growing in the gospel,

or what it means for the gospel to be growing in us.

So Colossians 1, verses 3 through 8.

Colossians 1:3–8

I'll read, and then we'll pray, and we'll dig in here.

Paul says in verse 3, he says,

We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you.

Because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus,

and of the love you have for all God's people.

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 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.

You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant,

who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,

and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.

Let's pray.

Father, would you be with us this morning?

Would you be glorified through the proclamation of your word?

Would you open our eyes that we would see,

open our ears that we would hear,

that we would clearly see the truth of the gospel in your scriptures?

Would we not try to change your word to fit our demands for this world?

But would you change us by your Spirit?

Would you conform us more and more to the image of your Son, Jesus Christ?

It's in His name we pray.

Amen.

Alright, we're going to step backwards a little bit this morning.

So, keep your finger or a bookmark in Colossians,

and then I'm going to ask you to go all the way back to Genesis 1.

And if you don't know where that is,

just go to the beginning of your Bible,

and turn the page, and you're there.

Well, you might get a table of contents.

But after the table of contents comes Genesis 1.

It's the very beginning of the Bible.

And Genesis chapters 1 and 2 are what we call the creation account.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

Okay, and if you're not familiar with this part of the Bible, it's okay.

Genesis 1 is going to give you the big picture view of creation.

And then Genesis 2 is going to zoom in.

I'm from Southern California, so I like movie thinking.

Zoom in with the camera real close into the Garden of Eden,

and you're going to see the first two human beings, Adam and Eve,

in the Garden of Eden.

And what we see in the Garden is that God gives three different commands to the first humans.

Okay, the one that's the most well-known is actually the third command.

And that is,

Do not eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Okay, we probably hear that one the most.

Do not eat the forbidden fruit.

But that's the third command in the account of creation.

The one we probably know just a little bit less,

but you might have heard before,

is the command of dominion.

That's the second command.

That mankind, man and woman, together,

they should rule over and care for planet Earth.

They should, in a wise and skillful and loving way,

steward all of this creation that God has given us.

Okay, He created the heavens and the earth.

He created the skies and the seas and the land,

and all the things that are there,

the birds and the fish and the animals.

And then He puts man and woman in charge,

and He says,

now take care of it.

Rule with wisdom and skill,

and take care.

He says to work the garden,

and to take care of it.

Work there literally means to till the land.

Anybody that has ever been in a garden knows you have to work the garden a little bit.

You've got to encourage the growth.

He says work the garden,

and then take care of it.

It means to guard it.

Guard God's creation.

Now that's the second command.

The first command.

We go just to the first half of Genesis 128.

And God simply says in His first command to human beings,

He says,

Be fruitful and increase in number.

Be fruitful and increase in number.

Now we have to think for a moment here what's going on.

Sin has not entered the world through humanity yet.

Adam and Eve are without sin.

So every child they have is born sinless at this point.

So every time they are fruitful and they multiply,

they are increasing God's people on planet earth.

That's the original design.

It was God's design and command

that His people,

and we looked last week at what it means to be His people,

that His people should bear fruit

and increase in number.

That's the original design.

And the problem comes in Genesis 3.

The serpent comes in and he tempts Adam and Eve.

And they clearly violate God's third command

when they eat of the fruit of the forbidden tree.

In Christianity we refer to this as

the account of the temptation in the fall.

Adam and Eve,

they fall.

Sin enters the world through humanity.

And then the Bible teaches that

every human being born of man

from that point forward

is not increasing God's people on planet earth,

but it is increasing sinful humanity.

Every one of Adam's offspring,

they perpetuate the problem of sin.

And so because of the fall,

it is sin which is fruitful

and increases on planet earth.

So God's design

increased His people on planet earth.

The fall results in an increase

in sin instead.

And then one chapter later

we see the devastation that this causes

when Cain and Abel,

brothers,

Adam and Eve's sons,

Cain rises up and attacks his brother Abel

and kills him.

And now think for a moment

what's going on.

God's people are not increasing.

But because of sin,

God's people are turning on each other.

Sin is increasing

at the cost of human life.

God says to Cain,

what have you done?

Your brother's blood

cries out to me from the ground.

And God's first command to humanity

has been not only clearly violated,

but it has turned bestial.

It has turned humans against each other.

I want you to imagine with me,

if you would, for a moment,

Adam and Eve's shame,

their disappointment,

their utter despair

as they watch even their own children

turn on each other

and kill each other,

as they watch the effects of the fall

play out in a way that

God's people are not increasing,

but sin is increasing

at the cost of human life.

And then I want you to consider with me

their shock and their joy

if they could hear Paul's words

in Colossians 1.6.

If they could hear somehow

thousands of years later,

Paul say,

the Gospel is bearing fruit

and growing

throughout the whole world.

You see, what once looked like

a long lost hope for Adam and Eve

had by Paul's day

somehow become a reality.

And that is that the Gospel

was bearing fruit

and increasing the number

of God's people

on planet Earth.

And last week we saw

that Colossae,

who Paul and Timothy

are writing to,

is just this little,

unimpressive town

at the edge of the Roman Empire

who really would have

no reason to think

that anything good

would ever bear fruit

and increase

to the point that

they would receive it.

But Paul asserts

this foundational truth

that somehow,

in his day,

the Gospel is fulfilling

God's original creation design

for humanity.

Somehow,

some way,

from Adam and Eve

to Paul,

the Gospel is

fulfilling God's original design

for humanity.

God is still

increasing his people

on planet Earth

against all odds,

against everything

that it looked like

was wrong

in Genesis 3

and in Genesis 4,

somehow God's made it right

by Paul's day.

And so we naturally

would ask,

well,

how is that possible?

How has God

flipped the script

on sin?

And what Paul's

assuming here,

in a way,

is that the church

of Colossae

realizes that

it's possible

because God

is increasing

his people

through faith.

See,

it's not possible

that two,

even Christian

human beings

have a child

and that person

is born as

a child of God.

Jesus makes it

very clear

in John 3

when he's talking

to Nicodemus,

it's not by

birth of the flesh,

it's not by

will of man

that someone

enters the kingdom

of God,

but it's by being

born again,

born from above,

born of faith.

Paul says,

God's people

are now

a people of faith.

And they're

bearing fruit

and increasing,

not naturally,

but supernaturally,

born from above.

And what Paul's

going to do

in this passage

now is he's

going to talk

about three things.

He's going to say

faith comes

from hearing.

And then he's

going to explain

that faith

leads to loving

and loving

leads to serving.

And what we'll

see is that

as those three

work together,

all of that

brings about

more hearing,

more faith,

more loving,

more serving,

and the gospel

increases God's

people on

planet earth

just like he

designed from

the beginning.

So first of all,

faith comes

from hearing.

Colossians 1,

we'll read

through verses

3-6 again,

and take note

of faith

and hearing.

We always

thank God,

the Father

of our Lord

Jesus Christ,

verse 3,

Paul says,

when we pray

for you.

But why is

Paul thanking

God when he

prays for them?

Because we

heard of your

faith in

Christ Jesus

and the love

you have

for all

God's people.

The faith

and love

that spring

from the

hope

stored up

for you

in heaven,

about which

you have

heard in

the true

message of

the gospel

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.

Faith comes

by hearing.

God's people

increase by

having faith

in hearing

in what they

hear in the

message of

the gospel.

So the

true message

of the gospel

came to the

people in

Colossae.

The people

heard the

true message

of the gospel.

The true

message was

about the

hope stored

up for them

in heaven.

I think we

sang it in

the second

or third

song.

The hope

stored up

for us

in heaven,

namely being

Jesus Christ.

And that

this message

led to

faith in

Jesus.

So a few

things to

note.

The word

gospel,

it just

simply means

good news.

Literally

good news

to humanity.

We have

bad news

in Genesis

3 and 4.

We need

some good

news at

that point.

And by

Paul's day

we have

good news.

That's all

that means.

Good news

to humanity.

So you

can understand

Paul to

be saying

the Colossians

heard the

true message

of the good

news that

had come

to them.

They probably

didn't get a

whole lot of

good news

in Colossae.

So they

probably took

note.

Good news

has come

to humanity.

And then

secondly,

the essence

of this

good news

is that

there is

hope

beyond what

this life

here on

earth has

to offer.

Namely,

that there is

something

greater beyond

this life.

And now,

if you're a

Christian or

if you're

not a

Christian,

we have to

just be honest

with each

other,

there's not a

ton to hope

for here on

planet earth.

There's some

good stuff.

By God's

grace,

the common

grace he's

given us,

there are some

good things on

planet earth.

But if we

really think about

what we're hoping

for in this

life on this

earth,

the list probably

gets pretty short

pretty quickly.

I'm struck being

in Ireland that we

walk past ruins.

We don't have ruins in

the United States.

We're just a couple

hundred years old.

But we walk past

ruins,

we drive past

and we visit

them,

and we call

them ruins.

Do you guys

call them ruins

too?

Is that just,

it's not just

an American thing,

we call them

ruins.

But think,

those ruins

were somebody's

dreams come

true once

upon a time.

Those ruins,

we were at the

Rock of

Castle,

the castle in

Care,

Care Castle.

And we take

a tour and we

just take

pictures and

we say,

oh,

that's really

nice,

these old

rocks.

This was

somebody's

mansion once.

I hope their

hope wasn't in

that rock.

Not that rock.

There's a man

named King Solomon

in Scripture.

He has it all.

He's the third

king of Israel.

He is the

wisest king.

He has all

wisdom.

He is

unbelievably

wealthy.

The wealth

of which you

and I will,

if we're honest

with each other,

we will never

have the kind

of money King

Solomon had.

He owns

cities.

I hope to

own a house.

He owns

cities.

He has

navies at

his command.

Armies at

his command.

orchards.

Everything you

can ever

hope for

here on

planet earth,

King Solomon

has it.

And then

at the end

in Ecclesiastes

1, he just

writes,

meaningless,

meaningless.

Utterly

meaningless.

Everything

is

meaningless.

And that

phrase is

bad news

if our

only hope

is here on

planet earth.

See,

Solomon, he

realizes he's

going to die.

The navies

will sail at

somebody else's

command.

The armies

will march to

somebody else's

orders.

His money

will go to

his kids,

which he's

looking at.

the cities

will appoint

new rulers.

The people

will get a

new king.

And he'll

be gone.

He says,

it's bad

news.

It's bad

news.

That's why

the gospel

is good

news that

there is

hope beyond

this life.

There's

hope beyond

the here

and now.

And the

good news

about this

hope is

that it's

true.

It's not

fake news,

as we would

say in the

States.

It's true

news in

Jesus Christ.

It's the

true message

of the

gospel.

As one

author notes,

that the

truth of

the gospel

is the

key that

unlocks the

mind from

slavery to

idols,

which we'll

see in a

few weeks.

It's the

light that

dispels the

darkness of

errant

thinking.

It's the

power that

liberates

and delivers

us from

the domain

of darkness,

as Paul said

in Colossians

1.13,

to the

kingdom of

the beloved

son.

The gospel

is the

true message

of the

true hope

we have

in heaven,

namely

Jesus Christ.

Christ really

lived.

He really

died.

He really

rose again.

He really

ascended to

heaven.

And that's

really where

our hope

is.

God

is the

truth.

And our

faith in

him comes

by hearing.

The people

in Colossians

say they

heard the

good news

of the

hope that

was stored

up for

them in

heaven,

the truth

of Jesus

Christ.

Let me

just pause

here for a

moment and

ask you,

if you're

not a

Christian,

if this

is newer

to you,

I'll just

throw it

out there.

Does this

make sense

to you?

If it

makes sense,

great.

If it

doesn't make

sense,

I'll be in

the back

afterwards,

come see

me and

ask me any

questions you

have.

I'll talk

with you,

one of the

elders will

talk with

you.

It is

eternally

important to

us that

this makes

sense to

you.

And I

know we

just went

fast and

in less

than 20

minutes we

covered the

majority of

scripture.

So I'm

sure you

have questions.

So it

doesn't make

sense,

come and

ask.

If it

does make

sense,

if what we

just covered

so far makes

perfect sense to

let me just be

very pointed

because I

can do

that.

I'm the

visiting

preacher and

just ask

you,

where's

your hope?

Where is

your hope?

Where was

it this

week?

Where has

it been so

far this

year?

Is it in a

promotion?

Is it in an

item?

Is it in a

thing that

moth or rust

are going to

destroy?

Is it in

your children?

Don't put

that burden

on them.

Where is

your hope?

Is your

hope

truly in

Jesus

Christ

in heaven?

It's one

thing to

say it.

It's one

thing to

just kind

of,

yeah,

I hope

in Jesus.

It's a

whole other

thing to

truly have

your hope

in Jesus.

And then

if you

would say,

yeah,

pastor,

absolutely,

my hope

is in

Jesus.

Amen.

Praise

God.

Are you

telling other

people about

it?

Are you

telling other

people about

the hope

you have

stored up

for you

in heaven?

Because to

have good

news,

to have

good news

about

something to

be hopeful

for and to

not share it

with somebody

would be

utterly

despicable.

It'd be a

tragedy.

It'd be

heartbreaking to

find out

somebody had

good news

that you,

you could put

your hope in

and they didn't

share it with

you.

we have

to love

people by

sharing the

good news

of the

gospel.

So faith

comes by

hearing,

but doesn't

stop there.

Paul says

it leads

to loving.

Look at

Colossians 1

with me

again.

Faith

comes by

hearing and

now it's

going to

lead to

loving.

Verse 4,

Paul says

we have

heard of

your faith

in Christ

Jesus and

of the

love you

have for

all God's

people.

And we

just pause

there and

say we've

heard this

before,

haven't we?

God's

people.

Yeah,

we heard

in verse 2,

that's who

he's writing

to,

God's

people in

Colossae,

same phrase.

We heard

the love

you have

for all

God's

people,

the faith

and love

that spring

from the

hope stored

up for you

in heaven.

The faith

and love

that spring

from the

hope stored

up for you

in heaven.

Faith

comes by

hearing,

faith leads

to loving.

Okay?

Now here's

the deal

with love.

I use this

word all the

time and I

don't really

mean it the

same way Paul

means it and

you probably

do the same.

I'll give you

an example.

I love

Irish ice

cream.

I absolutely

if this were,

you know,

if I could just

admit stuff,

I love

Irish ice.

It's incredible.

We don't have

obviously Irish

ice cream in

America.

Okay?

It doesn't

taste the same.

You should,

part of me just

want you to go

to America to

taste how terrible

the ice cream

is there and

then you will

say I love

Irish ice cream.

Here's the

thing.

I also say I

love my kids.

Right?

I mean,

today's Father's

Day.

They were so

sweet.

They wrote me a

little card and

I say I love

my kids.

Now,

I don't mean to

say that I love

Irish ice cream in

the same way I love

my kids.

Right?

And I hope they

know that because

they hear me say I

love you and they

hear me say I love

ice cream.

But if the two

came down to it,

I would clearly

choose my children

over Irish ice cream.

Right?

Why are you laughing?

I would clearly

choose my children

over Irish ice cream.

But we use that

word and that's

okay.

We don't have any

ill intents.

Right?

We say all kinds

of things.

I love this.

I love that.

We use the word

and we mean

different things.

That's just how

language works.

That's okay.

But we want to

pause here and say

what does Paul mean?

What does Paul mean

when he says that

they have a love

for each other?

And thankfully

Paul defines love

in the way that

he's using it

in scripture

in a letter to

another church

called 1 Corinthians.

And there he writes

this incredible

definition of

biblical love.

Okay?

Love he says

is patient.

Love is kind.

It does not

envy.

It does not

boast.

It is not

proud.

Love does not

dishonor others.

It is not

self-seeking.

It is not

easily angered.

It keeps

no record

of wrongs.

Love does not

delight in evil

but rejoices

with the truth

that always

protects,

always trusts,

always hopes,

always perseveres.

This is Paul's

definition of love.

And so if we

take that

definition and

we bring that

into Colossae,

I think we can

start to see why

he always thanks

God for the

people in Colossae

when he thinks

of their faith

and the love

that has sprung

from their hope

in heaven.

Because he's

saying when I

think of the

church in Colossae,

I think of a

people that are

patient with each

other.

A church that is

kind with each

other.

A church that is

humble and not

proud of one

position over

another.

He says I'm

seeing and

hearing about a

church that is

gentle, that is

forgiving each

other, that

rejoices in

truth.

A church that

protects each

other, that

trusts in God,

that hopes for

heaven and

perseveres through

hardship together.

And when Paul

defines their love

as a church for

each other in

that way, that

is absolutely

something to

thank God for.

And that's what

he's doing.

He's saying the

church in

Colossae

loves each

other.

They heard the

gospel and the

hearing turned to

faith and the

faith has turned

to love and this

church loves each

other in a way that

all of us would

want to be a part

of this church.

And notice it's

not some private or

secret or hidden

love that they

have.

It's very

visible.

It's visible to

the point that

others have seen

it.

And they're

telling each

other, they're

telling other

people about

the love that

this group of

God's people has

for each other

right here in

Colossae.

And so I'll

just pause here

again and I'll

ask you, how

are we doing at

loving others in

this church?

Would people

characterize

Caragalline Baptist

Church as a

church that is

patient, kind,

humble, selfless,

gentle, forgiving,

rejoicing in

truth?

Well, they say,

you've got to go to

Caragalline Baptist

Church because they

protect each other,

they trust in God,

they point each other

to the hope that they

have in Jesus, in

heaven, and they

persevere through

hardship together.

Because that's what a

biblical church looks

like.

If we can look at

this church and we

can say, absolutely,

that's this church,

praise God.

Praise God for what

he's doing through

his spirit in this

group, just like in

Colossae.

If not, then we say,

well, what do we do?

Well, it's simple, the

Bible is clear.

We take a step back

and we fix our eyes on

the hope we have in

heaven, we proclaim the

gospel to each other,

we dig into God's

word together, we get

into scripture, we

speak truth to each

other, we proclaim the

gospel to each other,

we sing songs of the

gospel like we're

doing, we hear the

truth proclaimed from

scripture, and we

huddle up together, and

we dive back into the

gospel together, and

that gospel produces

love through us.

It bears fruit and

increases in us.

So if we look around

at our life at all, or

at the church's life,

and we say, man, we

should be a more

loving church, what's

the solution?

Paul says the gospel

is the solution.

Get into the gospel.

It will fuel our love

for each other.

And then what Paul says

is, if faith comes by

hearing, and if faith

leads to loving, well,

it's just a logical

conclusion here, loving

leads to serving.

Now here's the

temptation.

We're tempted to swap

the order.

We're human.

We're tempted to try it

on our own and say,

here's what I'll do.

In order to be a

faithful Christian, I'll

start serving, and if I

serve everybody long

enough, I'll really start

loving them.

And anybody that's ever

served next to somebody

for too long knows

that's not going to work.

But we think I'll serve

long enough, then I'll

start loving them, and if

I start loving other

Christians, then I'll

believe in God.

And that's tempting, but

it's absolutely backward.

Remember, faith comes by

hearing.

Faith leads to loving.

Loving leads to serving.

Paul says in verse 4, he

says that him, Paul and

Timothy, they heard of the

faith in Christ Jesus and the

love that they had for all

God's people.

Well, how did they hear

about this?

How did Paul and Timothy

hear about what's going

on in the church in

Colossae?

Well, he tells them in

verse 7.

You, the church in

Colossae, you learned it

from Epaphras.

Epaphras was trained by

Paul.

You can see in chapter 4,

I think verse 7, he was

taught the gospel by Paul.

He came to Colossae.

He preaches the gospel

there.

And then what Paul says is

he's a fellow servant,

verse 7, and a faithful

minister of Christ on our

behalf.

He told us of your love

in the Spirit.

Now, Paul uses two key

words there.

He is, Epaphras is a

servant.

Literally, word is slave.

Someone who's in total

obedience to a master.

Paul says, Epaphras is in

total obedience to Christ

Jesus for the church in

Colossae.

And then he says,

furthermore, he is a

minister.

Epaphras is someone who

attends to the needs of

another.

In this case, Epaphras is

someone who attends to the

needs of others by delivering

the good news of the hope

that is to be had in Jesus.

He has served and ministered.

He heard the gospel.

He then went and served them.

He proclaimed the gospel.

And then they, through the

gospel, start to love each other.

They love each other visibly by

serving each other.

And all this starts with just

one person hearing and

proclaiming the gospel.

Right?

Epaphras is to the church in

Colossae what Johnny is to the

church here in Caragalline.

He heard the gospel.

And then he has been a

faithful servant and minister

to this church in this city,

in this country, I think around

the world, Johnny has, just

like Epaphras was.

And it just starts with

hearing the gospel.

Somebody told this pastor,

Johnny, your pastor, somebody

told him the gospel.

And he heard it and he

believed.

And then he loved in such a

way that he served by

proclaiming the gospel.

And what happens is when

someone faithfully loves and

serves and ministers to

others, they too become

faithful believers.

Think about that word Paul

just used here.

Epaphras is a faithful

servant and minister.

And what do we see last

week?

In Colossae there were

faithful brothers and

sisters in Christ.

The gospel is producing

fruit.

The gospel is increasing

and growing the number of

God's people.

faithful.

I have no doubt that many

of you have been immensely

blessed as Johnny, like

Epaphras, has dedicated his

life to serving, to loving,

to shepherding, to ministering,

many of you through all the

ups and downs of life.

He's given his heart and soul

into this little church, lovingly,

joyfully.

And praise God that he's got

some time to rest and re-energize

and recharge and you're going

to have a whole new Johnny when

he comes back.

I guarantee you he'll be fired

up and ready to go.

And God works through men like

Johnny.

And he works through men like

Epaphras.

And you know what's amazing is

he works through men and

women from Colossae to

Keragoline, from 65 AD to

2019.

And we have this incredible

privilege of joining God in

fulfilling his original design

for humanity.

We too can proclaim the gospel

to each other.

We too can be faithful brothers

and sisters who love each other.

Not like we love Irish ice cream,

but how Paul defines love.

And we can love that way too.

We too can serve each other,

not so that we'll be loved by God,

not so that we can try to love each

other, but because we love each

other.

Why do we love each other?

Because God first loved us.

How do we know God first loved us?

Because he sent his son.

He sent his son to be our

savior.

And his son lived the life we

couldn't live.

He died the death we should have

died.

He rose again.

He ascended to heaven.

And our hope is in him in heaven,

not here on earth.

In closing, I'll just remind you

that every Christian,

everybody who calls himself a

Christian, everybody who says,

I have faith in the good news

of Jesus Christ,

they heard it from somebody else

first.

I know I did.

And I guarantee you,

if you sit down this evening

and you just think through,

how did I ever learn about Jesus?

You heard it probably.

You heard it.

Because someone else spoke it.

Someone else spoke the truth

of the gospel.

You heard it.

That hearing led to faith.

And so we are also evidence

of the fact that God is,

through the gospel,

fulfilling his original design

for humanity.

And we don't have to be

clever or creative

or think of unique ways

in which to share the gospel.

We can simply just tell people

the truth

of what God created the world

to be,

what happened in Genesis 3 and 4,

and what we are witnesses of today.

There's a guy that,

in the church I pastored

back in the States,

his name was Rick.

And he was a hardworking guy.

He was an auto mechanic.

Worked his job.

Loved the Lord.

Loved his family.

And told me,

I really want to serve

in God's kingdom.

As he learned the story of God,

as he saw God's redemptive plan unfolding,

he said,

how in the world, though,

could I ever serve

in God's kingdom?

And it's interesting,

because all I said is,

Rick, can you speak?

And obviously he could.

He said,

yeah, I can speak.

I said, okay.

Well, can you tell people

about God?

Can you just tell them

the story of God?

Well, not perfectly,

but can you read Scripture with them?

Well, yeah,

I can read Scripture with them.

Rick ended up becoming

the overseer

of our missions group

at church,

because he learned

he could go anywhere

in the world,

and he could sit with someone,

and even if he didn't

speak their language,

he could point to Scripture

and be with them

as they read the story of God,

as they saw

and heard

the good news

of Jesus Christ.

Let's join God

in his mission.

Let's enjoy

the role that we have,

the place that we are

in history,

where we get to be a part

not of increasing sin

here on planet Earth,

but we get to be a part

of God fulfilling

his design

right here on this Earth,

increasing his people

through his gospel,

which we have the joy

of proclaiming to each other.

Amen?

Let's pray.

Father,

we thank you so much

for your gospel.

God,

even a short glimpse

into Genesis 1-4

just reminds us

of how amazing

you created everything

and how far

we had fallen.

Thank you

for the hope

we have in heaven.

thank you

for the hope

we have in Jesus Christ.

Thank you

for sending people

into our lives

to speak the gospel

into our lives.

Thank you

for putting us

in a church

where we can

speak the gospel

to each other,

we can love each other,

we can serve each other,

because we are a family

that you've created

through your spirit,

by your word.

Thank you

that we get to be a part

of you fulfilling

your design

for creation,

that we get to be a part

of the increasing number

of your people

here in Caroline,

in Cork,

in Ireland,

and beyond.

Thank you

that this doesn't

depend upon us,

God,

but this is

your word

going out

by your spirit

for your glory.

Amen.

If you'd stand with me,

we're going to

close out

with one song,

All Creatures

of Our God and King.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Aši

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.