The Gospel And Evangelism - Colossians 4:2-6

Date:  08/21/11
Speaker:  Matt McCullough
Title:  The Gospel And Evangelism
Scripture: Colossians 4:2-6

Description:  The nature of the gospel—Paul’s “mystery of Christ”—controls how we communicate this message to those who don’t follow Jesus. In other words, the message should control the medium.

Gospel-Centered Relationships - Colossians 3:18-4:1

Date:  08/07/11
Speaker:  Matt McCullough
Title:  Gospel-Centered Relationships
Scripture: Colossians 3:18-4:1

Description:  In this text Paul drives the implications of the gospel even deeper into real life, into those relationships where our selfishness and idolatry are most likely to flourish. He calls us to gospel-centered relationships in marriage, in the family, and in the workplace.

Be Who You Are - Colossians 3:1-17

Date:  07/31/11
Speaker:  Matt McCullough
Title:  Be Who You Are
Scripture: Colossians 3:1-17

Description:  If salvation comes only through trusting what Jesus has done for us, as Paul’s been arguing, why does it matter how we live? The answer shapes everything. Union with Jesus changes who we are in God’s eyes, offering all the security we need; so we live in response to God’s favor, not to earn it.

The Gospel And Moralism - Colossians 2:16-23

Date:  07/24/11
Speaker:  Matt McCullough
Title:  The Gospel And Moralism
Scripture: Colossians 2:16-23

Description:  By nature, we’re all prone to moralism—to measure ourselves before God and others by our moral performance. This tendency is the enemy of the gospel. In this section of Colossians, Paul makes his case against moralism; he argues that it’s without substance, arbitrary and powerless. The implications for us are both convicting and encouraging: we don’t get to judge others, but we don’t have to fear being judged.

Jesus Satisfies - Colossians 2:6-15

Date:  07/17/11
Speaker:  Matt McCullough
Title:  Jesus Satisfies
Scripture: Colossians 2:6-15

Description:  Everyone has something at the center of life that explains how to be fulfilled in life and what values are worth pursuing. According to Paul, the choice is simple. You can build your life on Christ as the only sure source of purpose and hope. Or you can fall for something that seems plausible at first but ultimately won’t satisfy, what he labels “empty deceit.” The reason Jesus satisfies where nothing else will has everything to do with the fact that he offers something nothing else can: transformation and satisfaction.

Gospel-Centered Ministry - Colossians 1:24-2:5

Date:  07/10/11
Speaker:  Matt McCullough
Title:  Gospel-Centered Ministry
Scripture: Colossians 1:24-2:5

Description: Writing to a church he’d never visited in person, Paul uses this section of his letter to explain his philosophy of ministry. Not surprisingly, it begins and ends with the gospel, with what he calls “God’s mystery.” If modeled on Paul’s, our philosophy of ministry as a church and as individuals will be gospel-centered in content, in methods, and in goals.

Christ Alone - Colossians 1:15-23

Date:  07/03/11
Speaker:  Matt McCullough
Title:  Christ Alone
Scripture: Colossians 1:15-23

Description:  Why trust in Christ for redemption rather than some other source of hope? The burden of this question is the one Paul’s hymn to Christ is meant to carry. Knowing his readers were tempted to look elsewhere for security, or at the very least supplement what the cross offers, Paul explains why Christ’s identity as both God and man makes him the perfect mediator and only fit solution to our problem.

Pray The Gospel - Colossians 1:1-14

Date:  06/26/11
Speaker:  Matt McCullough
Title:  Pray The Gospel
Scripture: Colossians 1:1-14

Description:  In letters like Colossians, Paul gives us a model for how to pray for ourselves and others. His prayer for the Colossians reflects a basic tension of the Christian life: through Christ we are redeemed already, transferred from darkness into light, but in our experience we are not yet what we will be. So Paul prays a prayer of gospel-centered thanksgiving, for what God has done already, and gospel-centered supplication, that the gospel would continue its good work in us.