Christ in You, the Hope of Glory

In one paragraph

This message worked through Colossians 1, from the supremacy of Christ over all creation down to the personal reality that the same Christ now lives in every believer. The thread running through it was the distance between what we were, alienated, hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, and what God has done about that through the body and blood of Jesus. Pastor Ray kept returning the room to the...

Read together

1. Colossians 1:15 Christ as the image of the invisible God, firstborn of all creation
2. Colossians 1:16 all things created through him and for him, visible and invisible, thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities
3. Colossians 1:17 he is before all things and in him all things hold together
4. Colossians 1:18 Christ as head of the body, the church, firstborn from the dead, first place in everything
5. Colossians 1:19 the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in him
6. Colossians 1:20 reconciling all things through the blood of his cross
7. Colossians 1:21-22 previously alienated and hostile in mind, now reconciled in his body of flesh through death
8. Colossians 1:23 continuing in the faith firmly established and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel
9. Colossians 1:24 Paul rejoicing in sufferings, supplementing what is lacking in Christ's afflictions for the church
10. Colossians 1:25 Paul made a minister according to the commission from God to fully carry out the word of God
11. Colossians 1:26 the mystery hidden from past ages and generations now revealed to his saints
12. Colossians 1:27 the mystery among the Gentiles is Christ in you, the hope of glory
13. Colossians 1:28 proclaiming him, admonishing and teaching every person to present every person complete in Christ
14. Colossians 1:29 Paul laboring and striving according to Christ's power working mightily within him
15. Colossians 2:1 Paul's great struggle on behalf of those at Colossae, Laodicea, and those who had not seen his face
16. Colossians 2:2 hearts encouraged, knit together in love, attaining full assurance and true knowledge of God's mystery
17. Colossians 2:3 in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge
18. Colossians 2:4 warning that no one deceive them with persuasive arguments
19. Colossians 2:5 Paul absent in body but with them in spirit, rejoicing in their orderly manner and stability of faith
20. Philippians 2:6-8 Christ not grasping equality with God but taking on the likeness of men, obedient even to death on a cross
21. Philippians 1:6 confidence that he who began a good work in them will complete it by the day of Christ
22. John 1:1 the Word was with God, the Word was God, referenced as the logos becoming flesh
23. John 1:14 the Word became flesh and dwelt among us
24. Psalm 19 heaven itself proclaiming the gospel every day
25. Romans 1 all are responsible even from creation's witness alone

What was said

• Read through Colossians 1:15-29 slowly this week and let the descriptions of who Christ is sit with you before moving on.
• Think of one person in your life who is still in that place of alienation from God and look for a natural moment to tell them what changed for you.
• If you have been coming to church out of obligation rather than wanting to, bring that honestly before God and ask Him to make the difference real to you.
• Spend some time with Jesus in the Gospels this week, just reading how He answers people, as Pastor Ray suggested.
• Pray for Nick and whoever else from this church is carrying the gospel somewhere far from home, and ask God where your own part in that mission is.

Talk about it

1. Pastor Ray described Jesus as 'countercultural in every culture' and said his answers are so wonderful that you would want to answer like that yourself. What is one situation in your own life where you wish you could respond more like Jesus, and what do you think gets in the way?
2. Pastor Ray talked about growing up in church his whole life and still being hostile toward God in his mind, feeling like attending was something he just had to do rather than something he wanted to do. Have you ever been in that place, going through the motions without really wanting to? What, if anything, changed that for you?
3. Pastor Ray said that what is lacking in Christ's afflictions is simply the whole world hearing about it, and that is why we each have a personal mission to carry the gospel forward. What does that personal mission look like practically in your own neighborhood, workplace, or family right now?
4. The passage describes the goal as presenting every person complete in Christ, and Pastor Ray connected that to the end of Schindler's List, where Schindler grieved over every person he did not save. Who in your life do you think about in that way, someone you hope will hear and receive the gospel?
5. Pastor Ray described the mystery of the gospel as Christ in you, the hope of glory, and said God is not a cosmic killjoy waiting to smack you down but someone who loves you. How does the way you actually live day to day reflect, or not reflect, that understanding of who God is toward you?