America is 234 years old today! Growing up blowing stuff up
Four years ago from today
Four years ago from today Kaelin Kids Riches My Glory Mirroring the world, imaging the world. Non-Christian
It only rains twice a year
When I was almost 18 I was given a Bible by a Christian couple. I started being interested in Christianity. I went to college and started going to church and attended some intervarsity events. I thought I was a Christian! I had a Bible and a cross on my wall… I must be a Christian right?! I didn’t have a relationship with God, I just wanted to think I was a good person and project a certain image.
My life got hard. I had always been the smart kid who didn’t get into a lot of trouble. That didn’t seem to be working, so I went in search for a new life. I saw guys who were getting lots of girls, so I tried to be like them and pursued lust. I saw guys who were having fun and popular, so I tried to be like them and pursued drugs and alcohol. And I continued to idolize – another word for Worship – others and my own feelings. Then I wanted others to worship me. So I tried to be like those who had lots of money and influence and others worshipped them. This continued through college.
Whimsical Holiness
Kaelin’s boundaries
Getting high story. “I have so much more to offer you than this. I have given you a new life, why settle for this?” Finding my joy in something other than God… I am “imaging” something other than God. Gregg and Eileen Getting married
These three years have been growing in ministry, but most especially growing as a Christian. Even now, I am still growing into this new life I had. One example came a few years ago. I had put off many of my major sinful habits, so I thought I must be doing pretty good. Then God confronted me on my driving. He confronted not only my speeding, but my impatience with others on the road, like people who turn too slow on left hand turn signals so that I don’t make the light. God confronted me and asked “don’t you trust me? Don’t you trust that I orchestrate everything? Can’t you trust me with your time?”. He didn’t simply say “stop that, that’s wrong”, but really revealed my heart of distrust. This has been my experience in growing in Christ, God continually unvealing where I lack faith in Him, where I am treasuring something more than Him, where I am living in a way that does not reflect my new life.
Mirror my journey and all our journeys Intro Colossians. Colossians 3 is about how we as a community live the Christian life.
Being born again. There is a point. For some it is a radical point of time. For me it was over a month, sometime in that month it happened. Some of you grew up into it and you cannot really mark where your life in Christ began. Everyone has a testimony. The best ones include the least death. Phil 2?
It’s like wearing a suit or a nice dress. You don’t pick your nose when you’re wearing a tuxedo. Or wearing a uniform Living up to the label. … .
I’m going to sum up all of Paul’s argument in the beginning of colossians 3… Jesus died for your sin, he died for your freedom This is like Brett Farve, who the Vikings paid sacrificially ($25 M) … There are only two teams, God’s team and idolatry. Idolatry: making gods or making ourself god What I did… worshipped money, sex, expeirences power. Made gods out of people who were successful at getting those. Essence of our culture… celebs, successful people… cool, funky, artsy, influencial. - Learning a good thing. But we make good things into God things, and that’s a bad thing. Whatever we put our hope, joy, desire, identity, happiness, purpose in… that’s our idol if it is not God. Money, food, job, celebrities, politicians, the popular kids, alcohol, movies, tv shows, your dog, your car, your iphone, technology, or simply yourself. And when you don’t get what you want… what happens? You get angry at others, you get depressed, you get stressed, you start slandering others and putting them down, you indulge in other “pleasures” (ie: sin), you feel helpless and hopeless yet are all the more determined to take it into your own hands and not give it to Gd. That’s the cycle of death I went through in college and after college. And even now, there are days I try to step back on that treadmill and fall into sin. This is all “imaging” or mirroring. God created us in his image, but we rejected that and wanted to figure out a new image we can reflect. Just like Eve, we think we can figure out something better. But our new life in Christ, bought by His blood, is about imaging God through Jesus. We see that in verse 10.
Being Renewed – this is growing in Christ, sanctification In Knowledge – this is knowledge of the truth of God, most especially in our life. This is the knowledge that Jesus has died for our sin and that we are a new creation in Christ. That knowledge sanctifies us into the image of our creator.
God created us to be image-bearers. We rejected his image and tried to find our own. But through Jesus, God restores us to being his image bearers.
Social, cultural, ethnic, economic differences no longer divide!
When we operate as a unified body of Christ, we show God off… we image God.
See ourselves and see each other through Christ.
Pity weeps and walks away, Compassion comes to help and stays! Pity is an emotional response that touches our feelings, while compassion is an action response , which engages our will. Pity sees the world as it is, broken, hopeless, and dying. Compassion has the potential not only to feel the hurts, but to generate hope .
Kindness is not simply the Minnesota nice where you say “how are you” good, how are you? Good. Kindness is not simply Minnesota nice, although maybe it is bringing someone a hot dish. I learned all about hot dishes when I came to Minnesota. Like com passion, kindness is an action we do toward one another. Tater tot casserole
Count others as more important than yourself. That’s what Jesus did for us, he gave his own life so that we might have life. Love your neighbor as yourself.
Gentleness. We encourage each other toward Christ not in anger, wrath, jealousy, bitterness… but in grace with gentleness.
It says “put on love”, because we’ll need to do it. It won’t come naturally. We’re going to have to love when it’s hard! “ By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16). John tells us we’re going to have to die a little bit to love each other. We’ll need to die to our preferences, our expectations, our desires, the way we want to use OUR time or OUR money. We’ll need to die to ourselves to overcome unforgiveness, bitterness, and anger, and instead put on love. There we see the Unity in the Community.
This is how you image God, how you show God off… you love one another.
What is God asking you to put on to build up this community great in love? How can you excel in loving your brothers and sisters in Christ? If you are not a Christian, God is asking you to put on Christ as your savior and Lord. If you are interested in making that commitment, I welcome you to come down and talk to me after the sermon. Or if you have any questions or want someone to pray for you, please come down after the service.
May God keep you all safe today and bless you with thankful hearts as you celebrate this day of independence! Enjoy the day!
