Christ Is All and He Is in All

In one paragraph

This message moved through Luke 11 and Colossians 3 to make a single connected point: because of what Christ has already done, believers are to be actively seeking the things of God, putting off destructive patterns, and putting on the character of Jesus toward one another. Pastor Nathan had been working through Luke 11 in the weeks before, and this week he brought those threads together with...

Read together

1. Luke 11:1-26 primary passage preached, covering the Lord's Prayer, persistent prayer, casting out a mute demon, the Beelzebub accusation, and the strong man parable
2. Colossians 3:1-17 extended passage on putting off the old self and putting on the new, from being raised with Christ through the benediction verse
3. Galatians 2:20 quoted to explain being co-crucified with Christ: 'I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me'
4. Matthew 12:22-30 referenced as a parallel account of the Beelzebub controversy, preached previously on 03/13/2022
5. Psalm 23:4 alluded to in opening prayer: 'even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we won't fear any evil'
6. James 4:6 alluded to when discussing humility: 'God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble'
7. 1 Peter 5:6 alluded to: 'we can humble ourselves under the mighty hands of God'
8. Matthew 6:10 referenced as Matthew's addition to the Lord's Prayer: 'on earth as it is in heaven'
9. Matthew 16:18 quoted when discussing the strong man parable: 'I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it'
10. Luke 11:4 referenced within the Lord's Prayer discussion: 'forgiving us our trespasses just as we forgive those who trespass against us'

Talk about it

1. Pastor Nathan talked about the persistence of asking, seeking, and knocking, and said that God is constantly trying to give us good gifts. Where in your own life have you found it hard to stay persistent in prayer, and what got in the way?
2. When Jesus cast out the mute demon, some people who saw it still said He was doing it by the power of the devil. Pastor Nathan asked whether we have ever been quick to dismiss something good God was doing because of where it was coming from. Have you experienced that, either in yourself or from others?
3. The sermon described behavior modification without God's power as something destined to fail, using the image of a swept house that ends up worse than before. Can you think of a time when you or someone you know tried to clean something up in their own strength without inviting God into it? What happened?
4. Pastor Nathan read through two lists from Colossians 3, things to put off and things to put on, and said he saw himself in the first list during the past two weeks. Which item on either list hit closest to home for you right now, and why?
5. The sermon ended with Colossians 3:17, doing everything in word or deed in the name of the Lord Jesus. What is one specific situation you are walking into this week where that would change how you act or speak?