Whether you are a lifelong member or a newcomer, when you come through the doors of Good Shepherd Church our prayer is that you are made to feel like family. As forgiven people, living in the grace of God, we want more and more people to experience the joy and freedom that can only be found in Jesus Christ. We hope to see you this Sunday!
This Sunday we turn a corner in the book of Colossians. Paul goes from talking about doctrine to talking about duty; from talking about belief to talking about behavior; and from talking about the declaration of our faith to talking about the demonstration of our faith. But, as he begins to show how we are to live, he doesn't let us forget the reason. We don't live godly lives FOR our salvation. We live godly lives FROM our salvation.
Christians are free in Christ, but we tend to not live in that freedom. We often find ways to make ourselves more holy, more righteous, and more spiritual. It can be easy to forget that Jesus Christ is enough. In Christ we are free from self-made religious practices. We are not righteous by what we do or what we do not do. We are righteous by faith in what Christ has done. In this freedom we can humbly do religious practices that help us to see our need for Christ and how much God has given us.
In our text for this Sunday, Paul begins arguing against the specific false teachings that were threatening the Colossian church. Although they were faithfully taught the truths of Scripture, the people there were being encouraged to add to Christ and His Gospel in order to get to higher levels of the Christian life. Join us this Sunday as we are reminded that when we have Jesus, we have everything we need. And when we try to add to the Gospel, we actually diminish it.
