We Are God's Children

In one paragraph

Pastor Ray was away this Sunday, so Florin preached, with his wife Violetta translating from Romanian. He drew from Colossians chapter one, verses one through four, walking through what Paul's opening words reveal about identity, faithfulness, and the responsibility that comes with knowing the gospel. Florin opened by acknowledging that many of us come to church and enjoy the fellowship, the...

Read together

1. Psalm 107 Opening verse: 'let the redeemed of the Lord say so'
2. Psalm 136 Called out before singing: 'give thanks to the Lord, He is good, His steadfast love endures forever'
3. Jeremiah 29:13 Read before the offering song: 'you will seek me and you will find me when you search for me with all your heart'
4. Colossians 1:1-4 Stated as the main passage for the sermon
5. Colossians 1:5 Quoted about the good news going out all over the world
6. Colossians 1:7 Referenced about the person working with the church at Colossi and reporting on their love
7. Colossians 1:10 Quoted about living in a way that honors the Lord and producing every kind of good fruit
8. Colossians 1:11 Quoted about being strengthened with glorious power for endurance and patience
9. Colossians 1:13 Quoted about being rescued from the kingdom of darkness and transferred into the kingdom of God's dear son

Talk about it

1. Florin said he sometimes feels like Jonah, wanting to go the opposite direction when he thinks about the calling God has placed on his life. Have you ever felt that pull to let someone else do what God was asking you to do? What happened?
2. Florin described the church at Colossi slowly allowing things from the outside world to come in, and said we can face the same problem today, living one way at church and a different way through the week. Where do you find that gap showing up most in your own life?
3. When Pastor Carl stopped by Florin's workplace and asked how life was really going, Florin said it made him turn the question on himself and ask God, 'How am I standing with you?' When is the last time you asked yourself that question honestly, and what did you find?
4. Florin shared a moment at work where he started going along with a coworker's jokes and she called him out by saying, 'I thought you were a Christian.' He said maintaining our standard is not about impressing people but about Christ living in us. How do you tell the difference between those two motivations in your own daily life?
5. Florin said one thing he regrets is not having served God more, and setting his sight on things that are perishing. Colossians 1:13 says God has transferred us out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of His dear Son. What would it look like for you, practically, to live this week with that transfer in mind?