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Episodes
Weekly sermons and Bible studies led by a retired pastor of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Episodes
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
We began this final portion of Colossians with a reminder to “Continue steadfastly in prayer,” being watchful and alert and awake, and being filled with thanksgiving to God (Colossians 4:2). Note all the ways that Paul is thankful in this letter - for believers in the church at Colossae, and for us today, too (1:3-5); for the Heavenly Father qualifying believers, including us, for an eternal inheritance in heaven, through the saving work of Jesus (1:12-14); for the peace with God that Jesus gives us and the Word of God that gives us thankful hearts; and for the opportunity to say, in words and deeds and songs, our thankfulness to God, in the name of Christ (3:15-17).
As they pray, Paul asks the Colossians to pray for him and others in sharing the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus. They need open doors for the Word of God to be shared and the strength and wisdom to share it clearly and plainly - as is still needed today (Colossians 4:3-4). It is the Word of God that is the power of God to bring people to faith, as the Holy Spirit works in and through that Word, delivered by Paul and others and by many still today. Notice how the Book of Acts tells of the living and active Word of God at work in people’s lives: Acts 6:9; 12:24; 19:20, etc. See also 2 Thessalonians 3:1.
It is the “mystery” of God’s love for all people, now revealed in Christ Jesus and what He did for all, that is Paul’s message. Paul needs prayers and strength to keep sharing that good news, even though that message is the reason for his being in prison in Rome (Colossians 4:3). You can read, in Acts 21:27-36, how Paul was in Jerusalem and was attacked by a mob of his fellow Jews, who rejected Jesus as the promised Savior, the Messiah. Roman authorities arrested him. He remained there in prison, with Jewish people plotting to kill him (Acts 22-24) until Paul, as a Jew, but also as a Roman citizen, appeals to be judged by Roman authorities in Rome itself, the capital of the empire (Acts 25). He travels as a prisoner to Rome and is now under house arrest in Rome, only because his is a believing and vocal Christian (Acts 26-28). Being a prisoner in Rome is giving him time and opportunity to share God’s Word with even more people, Jews and non-Jews (Acts 28:17-31). Paul also writes letters to Christians in Colossae, which we have been studying for a long time, and to Christians in Ephesus and Laodicea (Colossians 4:7-9, 16) and to individuals like Philemon, appealing for the freedom of the slave, Onesimus. See also the Letter to Philemon.
As we have heard, Paul also asks prayer for even more open doors for the Word, though it also brings danger and opposition. Prayer works and God works, and soon Paul writes another letter from prison in Rome, the Letter to the Philippians, where he tells of some of those newly open doors, even among Roman soldiers who keep him imprisoned. (See Philippians 1:12-14.)
Paul also reminds the Christians in Colossae (and us today) that all have opportunities to help open doors for the Word of God, by the way that they interact with “outsiders" - people who are not believers in Christ (Colossians 4:5-6). Act wisely and use your time wisely, Paul says, and watch what you say to others. Paul has already warned about negative, harmful ways of speech (Colossians 3:8-9. See also Galatians 5:14-15). In contrast try to speak in a grace-filled way, showing God’s undeserved love to others. Let your words be “seasoned with salt," with tasteful words, including God’s own Word, that will attract people to Christ and the Christian faith. (See Scriptures that talk about being “salt” and “light” as Christians - Matthew 5:13, Mark 9:50, Luke 14:34, and related Scriptures like James 3:13-18 and Ephesians 4:29.) And, Paul says, try to be prepared and know how to answer people who ask you why you are a Christian (Colossians 4:6 and passages like 1 Peter 3: 13-15). This positive witness for Christ can help open doors for others, too, as God works through our own gracious words. So, Paul encourages all of us also to keep keep reading and studying the Word of God and passing it on to others. (Colossians 4:16)
Paul closes the Letter to the Colossians, then, with greetings from many Christians in Rome and to many in Colossae and other cities close by. It is a reminder that the church is not a building, but people, believers of many kinds, with ups and downs and struggles, but still with trust in Jesus and His love. And it is more people still that we seek to reach out to with the Word of God, wherever we are and whoever we are.
We hear of Onesimus the slave and Philemon his master, both now Christians. We hear of Mark, who had conflicts with Paul, but was able to forgive and be forgiven and work right with Paul again and even write one of the Gospels. We hear of Luke, a medical doctor, but also a faithful servant of Christ and author of another of the Gospels. We hear of Demas, who later on had faith struggles. We hear of unknown people who are mentioned only here in this letter. And on and on. (We could do another whole study, just on what we do know about some of these people. If you want me to send you lists of Scriptures about some, let me know.)
What is clear is that every person is important to God, including you. Christ died for all, including you. And your name is added to that list of believers, too, by God’s grace. And as Paul says, in Colossians 2:6, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, just aa you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sunday Oct 18, 2020
Sermon for the Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Sermon originally delivered October 16, 2011
Monday Oct 12, 2020
Monday Oct 12, 2020
We began this study with a quick response to a question from someone. Are there not times where we can defend ourselves and others and “fight” for what is right and true, when terrible things are happening to us or others? Certainly! Colossians 3:18-4:1 speak primarily to individuals and families and our everyday situations and experiences. Other Scriptures speak to situations experienced by too many in the last century, where nations and others have conquered people and enslaved them and did terrible things to many. (This is a complicated issue, and I can’t get into Scriptures about this in this study.) In general, though, governments and other authorities are given authority by God in the Bible to “bear the sword” and fight for justice and even to wage “just wars” to defend themselves and help others in need. Many would put the Civil War in the United States and the Second World War and other conflicts, in this category. The Colossians passage applies, for most of us, primarily to employer/employee relationships and treating others fairly and justly, and to doing our own work in everyday life as if we were serving the Lord Himself. See the parable of Jesus in Matthew 25:31ff. (especially v.34-40) where the sheep (the believers) are reminded that the good that they do to others is being done for the Lord Himself.
We moved on then to Colossians 4:2-6, where we have general encouragement for the church at Colossae and for all of us, especially about prayer. Prayer is never a waste of time. Paul prayed for the people in Colossians 1:3,9 and calls them to “continue steadfastly in prayer” (4:2). Prayer was vital for the early church, as we hear in Acts 2:42 and 6:1-4. Being “devoted to” and “continuing steadfastly in” are the same Greek words in Acts 2:42 and Colossians 4:2.
Jesus Himself taught about prayer and gave us the model prayer, the Lord’s Prayer. He prayed often right in the middle of what He was doing and took time to get away and pray. He taught His disciples to “watch and pray” just as Paul tells us in Colossians 4:2. See Matthew 26:38-41. The word “watch” can mean both to stay alert and watch for danger and to stay awake.
Our sinful human “flesh” is also “weak” and we all face many struggles and temptations. See 1 Peter 5:6-9, where we are warned of danger but also encouraged to cast all our anxieties and cares upon the Lord in prayer. See also Hebrews 4:14-16, where we are reminded that Jesus knows our struggles, as He was tempted as we are, yet was without sin in His saving work for us. We can therefore approach Him in prayer with confidence and know He will give us what we really need. He even renews our weak souls with His forgiveness and gives us a “willing spirit” to try again to do His will. (See the prayer of David in Psalm 51 and especially v. 10-12.)
We use these words often in our worship, and our worship is also wrapped up with prayer. We receive above all God’s gifts to us, through His Word and Sacraments; but we also talk with God, using using many of His own Biblical words and teachings. (See Matthew 21:12-13.) One pattern sometimes used for worship and prayer is the word “ACTS” - Adoration (praising God just for Who He is as our Lord and the one true Triune God), Confession (bringing our sins to God for His forgiveness, His absolution), Thanksgiving (gratefulness for all God has provided for us and done for us, as our Savior), and Supplication (asking God to supply all that we really need for our life now, and for eternal life).
We closed the study by looking at Ephesians 6:10,13,17-20, where Paul again encourages regular, active prayer and especially asks prayer for himself and others in sharing the Good News of Jesus as they should - a subject we will look at more in our study next week of Colossians 4:3-6. Try out prayer more this week, and ask God to help you to pray. If you have a hymnal or other devotion books, use them to help you, too, using prayers others have written to help you get started. You could also use the ACTS pattern for your prayers. You will be blessed.
Sunday Oct 11, 2020
Sunday Oct 11, 2020
Sermon for the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Sermon originally delivered October 9, 2011
Tuesday Oct 06, 2020
Tuesday Oct 06, 2020
We began this study with a reminder again that what we are hearing in Colossians is the ideal, the goal for us, in our marriages and families and relationships. We also live by the comfort and help and forgiveness we have in Christ, with all the problems we have in this sinful world in living up to these high standards. This passage also does not speak about those who have never been married and do not have children. Other Scriptures address that situation and make it clear that single people are not inferior or superior and that the Lord cares for them just as much, too. They may even have some privileges, as Paul says about himself, in having less direct responsibility for a spouse and family and more time to focus on the Lord and serving others.
Paul then moves on, in Colossians 3:22-4:1, to address another great challenge of the sinful world of his day - the widespread reality of slavery. It was very common. There were continual wars and battles, with people conquering others and often making some or many of them their slaves. You see this often in the Old Testament.
Joseph and Daniel and many others were taken as slaves. In the Roman Empire, it is estimated that 30-40 percent of the people living in Italy were slaves. There were big slave rebellions, as with Spartacus and his followers, and eventually 6,000 slaves being crucified outside Rome, as a warning and example. Both slaves and masters were becoming Christians in the early Christian church, too.
Beginning with verse 22, Paul emphasizes the Christian qualities of humility and submissiveness that we have heard about with other relationships. There is also balance, in that Paul speaks both to slaves and masters and calls upon all to live in a Christ-like manner with each other. These are only “earthly” (literally, only “in the flesh”) masters and servants. The higher reality is that all believers are brothers and sisters in Christ and headed for an eternal inheritance together in heaven, through Christ and His mercy and payment of all sins. Slaves and servants are to obey and work with sincerity of heart and literally “from the soul” (this is a spiritual matter!), as if they were serving the Lord Christ and not just their earthly masters. They are not to work well only when someone is watching them. Likewise, masters are to treat their servants fairly and justly, especially since Christian masters know that they have a heavenly Lord and Master to whom they are also accountable, as His servants.
Both servants and masters are warned, too, that they carry with themselves any wrongdoing that they do, if they are ignoring Christ and avoiding His will and His help in trying do the right things. They have a Master Who sees all things and shows no partiality and is not swayed by bribes or how people’s faces look. (See verse 25 and Deuteronomy 10:17 and Acts 10:34, for example.)
Paul does not encourage rebellion by slaves. Neither does he approve of slavery. (See 1 Timothy 1:10, where “enslavers” are condemned.) Paul is advocating change that comes from within people, through Christ and His Word and love at work in them. (Paul mentions more than 20 fellow believers in Romans 16, quite a number of whom were likely still slaves, yet free in Christ. Some of them may have been serving the Roman Emperor himself, scholars say, because of names mentioned.)
In Colossians 4:9, Paul speaks of Onesimus, a “faithful and beloved brother.” Onesimus is actually a runaway slave, who came to faith in Christ, through the help of Paul and others in Rome. With his letter to the Colossians, Paul also sends a letter to Philemon, who was a slave owner and now has become a Christian and part of the church at Colossae. Paul sends Onesimus back to Philemon, too, for he had been his slave. Read the Letter to Philemon to see how Paul encourages Philemon to treat Onesimus as a brother in Christ and to forgive him and even set him free, so that he can now serve the church and Paul and others. It is the kind of change in the hearts of people through Christ that brought abolitionists, most of whom were Christians, to push for ending slavery in the United States. It is why Christians still push today for helping enslaved people in some countries, and to fight the exploitation of children and women and others in our own country still today, too.
Finally, we can apply the thoughts of Colossians 3:22-4:1 to the relationship of employers and employees, even now. We are to be serving employers and leaders, as if we were serving the Lord, and remembering that we need some order and authority in the work world for all of this to go well. Leaders are to be servant leaders, who really care for their employers and want the best for them, in justice and fairness. (If you have a Lutheran Study Bible, ESV version, see the full page, page 101, for more comments about slavery, as discussed in the Bible, too.) As always, everything is to be done in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, giving thanks to Him and the heavenly Father (Colossians 3:17). That changes everything, even our work attitudes and relationships, with the Holy Spirit’s help and the love and peace and Word of Christ dwelling within us (Colossians 3:14-16).
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Monday Oct 05, 2020
Sermon for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Sermon originally delivered October 2, 2011
Monday Sep 28, 2020
Monday Sep 28, 2020
We began this study by looking again at Colossians 3:18, which says “Wives, submit (be submissive) to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.” We spent a lot of time talking about what submissiveness is. It is not about who is superior and inferior. It is about order and authority that is necessary in any institution in this sinful world, including in the family. We cannot each just do what we want, or there will be chaos. Someone must have the ultimate responsibility, and God is consistent in saying that the husband is to be the head of the family. See last week’s study for a list of some of those Scriptures.
We spent a lot of time also looking at the fact that all of us are called to be submissive in various ways and situations, for the sake of living in an orderly and caring way with each other in this world:
- We are all called to be submissive to our governmental authorities. See Romans 13:1-2 and 1 Peter 2:13-14. Without such authority, there can be riots and destruction, as we have seen recently in our own country.
- In the church, God wants all things to be “decent and in order.” That includes having only males as pastors. See 1 Timothy 2:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 14:33-40, for example. This does not mean that some are better than others. See what Peter says about “elders,” another term for “pastors,” in 1 Peter 5:1-4. Pastors are to serve, not to be domineering over others. God and His Word are superior, above all.
- Also note in 1 Peter 5:5-6 that younger people are to be “submissive” and respectful of older people, and all of us are to be humble toward one another. See also Ephesians 5:17-21, where we are all called to “be submissive to one another out of reverence for Christ,” and the qualities we all need as Christians in Colossians 3:12: compassion, kindness, humility, meekness and patience. These are not qualities suggesting superiority over others, but humble care and concern for others.
- Children are simply called to obey their parents, because parents are hopefully wiser and more experienced and can guide and protect their children. See Colossians 3:20. (Note also that Jesus also was submissive to His parents in Luke 2:51. He was obviously not inferior to His parents; but this was his orderly role as a child, at this time.)
There is also always a balance in any of the roles and responsibilities that God gives to different people, in His wisdom.
- Husbands are to love their wives in a sacrificial way, being willing even to die for their wives and families if needed - and not to make life miserable and bitter for them. See Colossians 3:19 and Ephesians 5:25.
- Husbands (and wives) are not to provoke and irritate and embitter their children or they can become discouraged and lose heart. See Colossians 3:21 and Ephesians 6:4, for example.
- Being the head of a family also does not mean that a husband cannot talk things over with his wife and children and make decisions together and allow the unique talents of each person to be at work. A good leader seeks to bring out the best in everyone, because everyone is important in God’s eyes, and all can try to work together.
These Scripture verses give the ideal situation, if all could work together as God wishes. The reality is very different - with everyone being sinful and with tragic situations in a fallen, broken world. Sin can break up marriages. Death can come in unexpected ways and divide families, with great losses. Children do not always obey and they make bad choices, with great sorrows that follow. Even in the best of situations, all is far from perfect. But there really is also the forgiveness of sins. We finally live by God’s grace and forgiveness and love, which help restore us and keep us going; and we live by His Word, which gives us the best path to follow for the future. There is always hope in our Lord and His strength and promises!
Sunday Sep 27, 2020
Sunday Sep 27, 2020
Sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Sermon originally delivered September 25, 2011
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Our study begins with a summary of last week’s study, where we heard of the importance of forgiveness for ourselves and for others, and of sacrificial love for each other, which binds us together and gives us wholeness and peace with God and others, through Jesus (Colossians 3:13-14). It is the peace of Christ and the Word of Christ living in us that enable all this. The peace of Christ brings us peace with God, and we share that peace in the “one body” which is the the church, and with one another and with our family and marriage, too (Colossians 3:15).
The Word of God gives us the wisdom we can only receive from God, through the “teaching and admonishing” (Law and Gospel) we hear in worship. The Word can also be living and working in us at home, or in Bible studies like this, or in reading devotions, and in other ways, as we imitate Christ and Paul and others (see 1 Thessalonians 1:6-8 and 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9), hearing and speaking to ourselves that Word within our family and marriage (Colossians 3:16).
Paul also encourages the use of music and singing in “Psalms,” a rich treasury of the 150 Old Testament Psalms, which can be read and studied, or sung, as they were in Old Testament days. There is much comfort and learning from these Psalms. We can also use “hymns” - new hymns being written in early church days. From their style and wording, scholars think that passages like Colossians 1:15-20, Ephesians 5:14, Philippians 2:6-11, and 1 Timothy 3:16 may be quotations by Paul of some of these new hymns of the early church. Our own hymnals are full of such hymns, too, from various parts of the history of the church. There are also “spiritual songs” (literally, spiritual “odes”) too. That term is used for the songs being sung in heaven by the angels and people there. See Revelation 5:14, 14:3, and 15:3 for examples of these songs called “odes." We can learn much from these words, set to music in various ways, as long as they accurately teach God’s Word to us and we sing them “with grace” (a better translation than “with thanksgiving” in this verse, Colossians 3:16). See also Mark 14:26, 1 Corinthians 14:26, Acts 16:25, and Hebrews 2:12, as examples of early Christians doing exactly what is encouraged here.
In Colossians 3:17, Paul reminds us that there is no neat division between sacred and secular things. As believers, everything we do in word and deed, in church, but also at home or wherever we are, can be done for the glory of God and as a blessing to those around us. That is a good test for us. Can what we are saying and doing truly be “in the Name of Jesus” or are we sometimes contradicting the Word and will of God? Living with thanksgiving each day can help us, too, as we count the blessings we do have in Christ day after day, not just on Thanksgiving. See also 1 Corinthians 10:31-33, 11:1, and Ephesians 5:18-21.
Then Paul goes on to give more practical advice for those very places we live each day - in family and marriage and with children, and at work, etc., in Colossians 3:18-4:1. (See Ephesians 5:22-6:9 and 1 Peter 2:13-3:15, for other examples of similar practical concerns being discussed.)
Paul begins simply, with what is considered by many to be a controversial and even wrong statement, “Wives, be submissive to your husbands.” The Greek words clearly refer to a female and male in marriage. There is no gender confusion, and this is clearly not a same-sex marriage of any kind - but based on this and other Scriptures, one woman and one man in marriage. The idea of being “in submission” is controversial, too. Being submissive does not have the idea of an inferior person being way beneath a superior person. See the discussion of Eve being a helper fit for Adam in Genesis 2:18,20. The word simply means someone who can help another in time of need. The word used in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament, is the same word in Genesis that is used in the New Testament, for example, in describing Jesus in 2 Corinthians 6:2: “In a day of salvation I have helped you.” Jesus humbled Himself and helped us, but in no way does that make Him actually inferior to us.
After the fall into sin, we do hear God telling Eve that Adam would “rule” over her. In the reality of a fallen world, there must be order and authority or there would be chaos, with everyone doing what he or she wants. There must be order and authority in a business or a sports team or an orchestra or in a marriage and family, etc. In God’s plan, revealed in Scripture, the husband is consistently called to be the “head” of the family, as Christ is Head of the church. (See 1 Corinthians 11:3, but also verse 11; Ephesians 5:22-24, Titus 2:4-5, and 1 Peter 3:1-2, for example.)
In some ways, we are all called to be submissive to others, also, depending on the order and authority involved. We will talk more about all of this next week, but you could look at submissiveness to government (Romans 13:1-2); in the church and in worship (1 Timothy 2:11-12 and 1 Corinthians 14:33-35,40); between young and old (1 Peter 5:3-5); in general attitudes and humility toward others (Ephesians 5:17-21 and Colossians 3:12); between parents and children (Colossians 3:20), etc. None of this has to do with who is better or superior in the eyes of God, but with how we can best get along with one another in a fallen, sinful world. There are also balances for all in these situations, as we will see next week, and we need to seek to keep living with love and forgiveness for each other, as imperfect sinners in a sinful world.
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Monday Sep 21, 2020
Sermon for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost, based on:
Sermon originally delivered September 18, 2011