Scripture: Colossians 1:1-14
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Observation:
It is customary of Paul to begin one of his letters to the churches with a salutation and a thanksgiving for what God is doing in the church to which he is writing. His letter to the Colossians is no different. Paul is thankful for the Colossians faithfulness and growth in Christ Jesus.
Paul Writes: “We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.” (Colossians 1:3-6)
Application:
We too, like Paul, should be thankful for the spread of the gospel message of grace and salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. When we witness transformed lives and the works that are inspired by faith and grace, we should join God in God’s work by praying for the faith of the people that we see in our lives. In much the same way, I am thankful for the people of Rock Church, for your love of God and for your love of God’s people. I pray that we all will “… live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.” (Colossians 1:10-12)
Prayer:
Dear Lord and Father of us All, I thank you for the people of Rock Church. I thank you for their love of God and love of people that inspires them to do good in our church, community, and our world. Bless them with the power and the presence of your Holy Spirit that their faith in Jesus Christ may grow exponentially and that the good news of the gospel of grace may expand in our community that we might reach others with your love and grace. Amen.