Colossians 1:15-28
The oldest surviving Christian Bibles are Greek manuscripts from fourth century AD; the oldest Hebrew manuscripts date from the Middle Ages.
1. In the first century an assembly of Jewish leaders formally closed the Hebrew Scriptures.
2. it took 400 years for the Church to decide on a final list of books for the NT.
3. One of the standards of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand is that ‘The supreme rule of faith and life and the supreme standard of the Church is the Word of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.’
4. The character and structure of the Church owes much to the Reformation including commitments to
a. Jesus Christ as Lord over each individual, society and all of life,
b. the responsibility of members of the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit,
c. to study the Scriptures,
d. the responsibility of the Church’s ministers, guided by the Holy Spirit, to expound the Scriptures, and
e. the potential for study, teaching and proclamation of the Word of God to change lives and transform society in
f. accordance with God’s purpose in the world.
The Church stands within a heritage of confessions of faith that give living expression to the Word of God.
We are a reformed church ever requiring reformation, listening and responding to the Word of God in dependence on the promised guidance of the Holy Spirit.
Now for our Bible Quiz…
break up into groups of five
Raise your hand when your group has agreed on the answer to all four question.
The first three groups to answer all the questions all get Moro bars.
Everyone participates in quiz
1. Why do we carry the Bible in each Sunday with the Minister following?
2. Why are Matthew Mark and Luke called the Synoptic Gospels?
3. Name one major prophet and one minor prophet.
4. Which books are called the Books of the Law or Torah?
5. Bonus question: which were the last two books to be accepted in the New Testament by the Church?
Reading Colossians Colossians 1:15-28
Paul is writing…
For in him… that’s Jesus… all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…and through Jesus… God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things…
And Paul says…. he became a servant of this gospel…
to make
to make
To make the word of God fully known…
this mystery, which is Christ in you…the hope of glory.
this mystery, which is Christ in you…the hope of glory.
It is he whom we proclaim… [pause]
the word of God fully known.
If Jesus is the full revelation of the Word of God…then what importance do we place on His words in our lives?
How radical are we prepared to be in our discipleship,
how much time are we prepared to spend… immersed in His word to us… and seeking to obey His call to active discipleship? [pause]
how much time are we prepared to spend… immersed in His word to us… and seeking to obey His call to active discipleship? [pause]
When Jesus spoke to his disciples about the signs of the end of the age…I’m with many Biblical scholars who believe Jesus was predicting the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem…something his Jewish friends simply couldn’t imagine. And it did happen 40 years later.
But following all Jesus’ dire prophesy about the devastation to come… if God’s people refused to love their enemies …and live justly in peace
But following all Jesus’ dire prophesy about the devastation to come… if God’s people refused to love their enemies …and live justly in peace
After all the ominous predictions…Jesus added this promise
Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.
As a rabbi… Jesus asserted his authority to bring a new interpretation to scripture…The Hebrew word for such authority is shmikah…and a rabbi with shmikah… would say things like… ‘you have heard it said…but I tell you’.
Remember how Jesus said this about forgiveness in place of revenge? Turn the other cheek instead of an eye for an eye.
Jesus had shmikah and what he was saying is… some rabbis interpret scripture this way… but I tell you… this is what God really means …in that verse.
Jesus had shmikah and what he was saying is… some rabbis interpret scripture this way… but I tell you… this is what God really means …in that verse.
And the ancient Jews had a technical term
for the endless process of debating and interpreting scripture…
as they struggled to discern the will of God…
as they argued about what was forbidden and what was allowed. Their technical term for this was binding and loosing.
To ‘bind’ something meant to forbid it…
To loose something… was to allow it.
for the endless process of debating and interpreting scripture…
as they struggled to discern the will of God…
as they argued about what was forbidden and what was allowed. Their technical term for this was binding and loosing.
To ‘bind’ something meant to forbid it…
To loose something… was to allow it.
Rabbi’s would bind certain practices or traditions…
and loose others … and here’s the really cool part…
and loose others … and here’s the really cool part…
when a rabbi gave his followers the authority to bind and to loose… they called this
‘giving the keys of the kingdom’.
Notice where Jesus says in Matthew ‘I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’
What Jesus is doing here is incredible and has huge implications for us. Jesus is actually giving his followers…
the authority to make new interpretations of scripture.
the authority to make new interpretations of scripture.
This authority to reinterpret scripture would be increasingly important …as more and more Gentiles became part of Jesus’ movement…
they’d have to make huge decisions about scriptural references to circumcision and eating food the Torah considered unclean?
Jesus gives his disciples the authority to wrestle with the Law… and work out new interpretations… and when Paul was writing his letter to the Colossians they were doing just that…they were working out what it would look like for millions of people to be Christians.
they’d have to make huge decisions about scriptural references to circumcision and eating food the Torah considered unclean?
Jesus gives his disciples the authority to wrestle with the Law… and work out new interpretations… and when Paul was writing his letter to the Colossians they were doing just that…they were working out what it would look like for millions of people to be Christians.
And Paul emphasizes this authority in relation to Jesus life and teaching…saying in him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell…in him the word of God is fully known. [pause]
Of course what they were wrestling with were the Hebrew Scriptures…That’s all they had…Today…our access to Jesus life and teaching is through the Gospels and Paul’s letters and…and in light of Jesus teaching we can discern God’s intentions…
in what we now call the Old Testament…
As Christians…Jesus teaching and Paul’s letters help us to sift and discern and interpret…. what God is saying to us today through scripture.
in what we now call the Old Testament…
As Christians…Jesus teaching and Paul’s letters help us to sift and discern and interpret…. what God is saying to us today through scripture.
What importance do you place…on Jesus words in your life? Are you prepared to spend time… immersed in His words … seeking to obey His purposes?
How radical are you prepared to be in your discipleship?
How radical are you prepared to be in your discipleship?
It’s vitally important that we spend time “at the feet of Jesus” every single day, letting Him share His Word with us.
Unless we meet Christ personally and privately every day…in reading… in prayer and contemplation…
we will soon end up like Martha: in the story of Mary and Martha…busy but not blessed.
Unless we meet Christ personally and privately every day…in reading… in prayer and contemplation…
we will soon end up like Martha: in the story of Mary and Martha…busy but not blessed.
Reading the Bible may not be a central activity in your life…but in Christian living…there are important spiritual disciplines…and daily Bible reading is one of them….
I’ve heard every excuse in the book: but I promise you spending time with Jesus this way is worth it.
I’ve heard every excuse in the book: but I promise you spending time with Jesus this way is worth it.
One way we can make time for the Word of God is called
Praying with the Word or Lectio Divina. This spiritual practice comes from the belief that the Word of God can be a searchlight into our hearts and minds.
Moving our hearts and minds is one way God speaks to us. When we allow the word of God to drift lovingly over our preoccupations…anything can happen. It’s important that we don’t shield any part of us… from the words of Scripture we hear or read. There’s no point in pretending before God.
I’m hoping you’ll practice praying with the Word at home.
Moving our hearts and minds is one way God speaks to us. When we allow the word of God to drift lovingly over our preoccupations…anything can happen. It’s important that we don’t shield any part of us… from the words of Scripture we hear or read. There’s no point in pretending before God.
I’m hoping you’ll practice praying with the Word at home.
Let’s practice it now.
First, I’ll read the passage and you just listen.
Then you read it to yourself. As you read it…if you’re struck by a word or phrase that has meaning for you, there’s no need to hurry to finish the passage. You can dwell on any word or phrase as long as you like, allowing yourself to savour it, and enter more deeply into whatever it stirs within you. Noticing this and staying with it… is the work of listening to what God is saying to us.
First, I’ll read the passage and you just listen.
Then you read it to yourself. As you read it…if you’re struck by a word or phrase that has meaning for you, there’s no need to hurry to finish the passage. You can dwell on any word or phrase as long as you like, allowing yourself to savour it, and enter more deeply into whatever it stirs within you. Noticing this and staying with it… is the work of listening to what God is saying to us.
Luke 10:38-42
Now as they went on their way, he entered a certain village,
where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying.But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked,
"Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me."
But the Lord answered her,
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted
by many things;
there is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part,
which will not be taken away from her."
where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to what he was saying.But Martha was distracted by her many tasks; so she came to him and asked,
"Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to do all the work by myself? Tell her then to help me."
But the Lord answered her,
"Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted
by many things;
there is need of only one thing.
Mary has chosen the better part,
which will not be taken away from her."
Now in the warmth and silence of companionship, just sit with the text and let it sink in. We’ll have a couple of minutes of silence and then some music especially written for Bible Sunday.
Time of silent reflection [2 minutes]
My thanks to Rob Bell’s book Velvet Elvis for many of the most interesting tidbits in this sermon.
