This dance between men and women is most vividly on display in marriage, and in the ensuing makeup of the home. You may find it a relief to learn that even in the first century Mediterranean world, even in Paul’s little churches, men and women needed lots of advice for how to make marriages, and the household relationships that ensued, work. 

She was a wild, uncouth little creature. She roamed about during family meals, snatching handfuls of food from plates, shoving them into her mouth. She screamed for no reason. She cried and threw things. Like an angry cat, she lashed out toward an approaching touch…

Colossians chapter two makes me nervous. It makes me nervous because it tells me that without great attentiveness and care, churches and Christians drift, not toward truth, but error. Like a car out of alignment, when a hand the slightest bit off the wheel…

Our goal - individually and corporately - is to grow spiritually into the character and likeness of Jesus. This is the work he began in us. This is the work he will see to completion (Philippians 1:6). To accomplish this goal, we are going to focus on four words or phrases in this text. Judge, disqualify, hold fast and grow…

As we continue our summer series in Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we have the opportunity to pause on one of the strangest and more confusing verses in the New Testament. And as initially shocking as this verse is, when we truly understand it, what God is saying through Paul can send our own spiritual lives to another level…

Charles H. Gabriel’s mother once told him, “I would rather have you write a song that will help somebody than see you President of the United States.” Her hopes for her son came true, and the song we sing this weekend, “I Stand Amazed,” is one of more than 7,000 songs he composed…

In Colossians 1:9–14, Paul is praying for the Colossians. His prayer, however, sets forth the apostle’s goal for their lives. In these few verses, we see what Paul’s goal is for all his friends, including us. We also see how this goal comes to shape how we are to live in the present.

The words to “O Worship the King” echo Psalm 104 as well as other Scripture passages, including Psalm 84 and Genesis 15:1 (the metaphor of God as “our Shield”). Some lines also remind us of verses in Colossians…

In recent decades a trend has developed toward restoring environmental areas to their original habitat. One aspect of this involves introducing plants that at one point were native to the area. A plant that is re-introduced not only should grow well, but also gives life to the larger eco-system—by enriching soil, attracting insects and animals, its fragrance, and so on.  

Jesus is, ”the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation…” and, “by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.