Colossians 2:1-5 (HCSB)2 For I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, for those in Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me in person. 2 I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of God’s mystery —Christ. 3 All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Him. Christ...  Read More

Paul likely wrote his letter to the believers at Colossae around AD 61-62 while he was under house arrest in Rome. He wrote to counter false teaching and to encourage growth toward Christian maturity.Study the Word: Our view of Jesus Christ affects everything else in life.  When we see Him as worthy of all praise and devotion, we are motivated to please Him.Key Truth: Believers keep growing in kno...  Read More

 Genesis 1 says that GOD is the creator of all. Yet, Col. 1:16 says that JESUS made everything.         Paul, the author of Colossians, is saying that JESUS is GOD! Therefore, when Paul says Jesus is    the “firstborn of all creation” (vs. 15), it does NOT mean Jesus is a created being.  The word means first in priority and authority. What kind of hope does it give you to know that Jesus has autho...  Read More

Colossians 1:24-29 (HCSB)Paul’s Ministry24 Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for His body, that is, the church. 25 I have become its servant, according to God’s administration that was given to me for you, to make God’s message fully known, 26 the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints. 27...  Read More

Colossians 1:9-23 (HCSB)19 For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, 20 and through Him to reconcile everything to Himself by making peace through the blood of His cross — whether things on earth or things in heaven. 21 Once you were alienated and hostile in your minds because of your evil actions. 22 But now He has reconciled you by His physical body through His death, to present...  Read More

Colossians 1:15-18 (HCSB)The Centrality of Christ15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For everything was created by Him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities— all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17 He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together. 18 He is a...  Read More

Colossians 1:9-14 (HCSB)Prayer for Spiritual Growth 9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God. 11 May you ...  Read More

Colossians 1:1-8 (HCSB)Greeting1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother: 2 To the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers. Grace to you and peace from God our Father. Thanksgiving 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the sa...  Read More

Isaiah ministered and wrote during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. These kings reigned from 767 BC to 686 BC.Study the Word: Isaiah's prophecies include a series of passages known as the "Servant Songs," describing the Messiah who would come. The prophecy of the Suffering Servant found its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ.Key Truth: Jesus was despised and reje...  Read More

Happy New Year!! As we start 2023 together, we will be reading through Paul’s words to Colosse and Peter’s words to those Christians that had been dispersed because of persecution. Both letters are written to expose false teachers and their bad theology. Our world is full of both of those things today. We see TV preachers asking us to send in “seed money” so God will bless us, only to see those pr...  Read More

Colossians  A Suggested Outline of Colossians I. Doctrine: Christ’s Preeminence Declared (1)   A. In the Gospel message (1:1–12)   B. In the cross (1:13–14)   C. In creation (1:15–17)   D. In the church (1:18–23)  E. In Paul’s ministry (1:24–29) II. Danger: Christ’s Preeminence Defended (2)    A. Beware of empty philosophies (2:1–10)    B. Beware of religious legalism (2:11–17)    C. Beware of man...  Read More

The book of Isaiah is often called the 5th Gospel because of how frequently it prophesies about the Messiah. Written around 700 years before Jesus and at least 100 years before crucifixion, it says that the Messiah was “wounded” and “crushed” for us and that we are “healed” by that. How can you explain the prediction and description of the crucifixion to an unbeliever?   “Fulfill” is an important ...  Read More