A NEW FAMILY
Colossians 3:12-17
Introduction:
A Church goer wrote a letter to the editor
of the newspaper and complained that it made no sense to go to church every
Sunday. “I’ve gone for 30 years now,” he wrote, “and in that time, I have heard
something like 3,000 sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single
one of them. So I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs
by giving sermons at all.”
This
started a real controversy in the “Letters to the Editor” column, much to the
delight of the editor. It went on for weeks until someone wrote this
clincher: I’ve been married for 30 years
now. In that time my wife has cooked some 32,000 meals. But for the life of me,
I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know
this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If
my wife had not given me these meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise,
if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead
today!”
In
case you are wondering today, why go to Church? We go to church because, Church
is A New family that we belong to. For some it is a family they never had, for
others it may be the only family they ever knew. Among several metaphors used
to describe Church, in the N.T, the family of God is perhaps the most endearing
one. God the father adopted us into his family through the life, death and
resurrection of his beloved son Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul more than anyone
uses, “family metaphor” when it comes to describing God’s intentions and the
functions of his Church. Through his letters, he reminds his audience that they
belong to a New family, the family of God. He also gives them certain
behavioral principles to help them function better in their new family of God.
We read a few principles in his letter to Colossians 3:12-17
Background: Colossae was an
important city of Phrygia in Asia Minor, situated to the east of Ephesus. Most
probably this Epistle was written by Paul while he was a prisoner in Rome,
about A.D 62. In ancient times Churches met in people’s homes. Tradition tells
us that “The Church in Colossae may have met in the home of Philemon.”[1] Paul’s tone while writing
this letter was personal, intimate, filled with love and concern, as if was
writing to his close family members. Moreover, he uses a Greek word (adelphoi)
to address the members of this house church, which literally means “brothers
& sisters.” He uses this form of address quite frequently. These are the
believers both men and women who are a part of the family of God.
Let
me bring this to our context. In reading the history of Hope Church I found that
“Hope Church was begun in 1957 by several families who were dedicated to the
scriptures and missions. The founding group met first in a home, then moved to
an auditorium in the Sharon Town Hall, eventually were able to purchase land
and build this beautiful church building. The common bond of shared experience
and ideals that the founders enjoyed is still present.” The family atmosphere
here in Hope church is, what I was attracted to.
Just
like the Church in Colossae you had your beginnings in a humble home where
relationships have begun, survived, thrived, and continued for a long time and
some are still continuing. We have some wonderful, God fearing men and women of
God who have toiled and labored for Hope Church and several of them still do
so, we are grateful for them. Those of us who have joined Hope Church recently,
need to know that we belong to a family and we have a “family heritage and
mandate.” Now it is up to all of us to take the values, the mission and the
vision of Hope Church further. If we want to see our Hope Church family not
only survive but thrive, it takes all of us working and moving together in one
direction.
Though
we come from different families, bringing our unique strengths, weaknesses and
values, and call hope Church our family, we must recognize that first and
foremost we belong to A New Family, a much wider and diverse family of God. The
Apostle Paul was reminding the Church in Colossae that they were not just on
their own, but were interconnected with the New Family of God. In this letter,
he introduces a process of Spiritual Formation. It is a process of becoming
personally and interpersonally mature. This process contains three sub
categories: Cultivating spiritual disciplines, Corporate Worship and Collective
Service.
Before
we discuss these categories. How does one become a member of this New Family? As we did not choose our birth family,
similarly we cannot automatically become a member of God’s family. It is the
convicting work of the Holy Spirit. When we respond, to the Spirit and believe
in Christ then we will be saved. Jesus said, “Yet to all who did receive him,
to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of
God.” John 1:12.
Our
initiation into this New Family begins by Christ, continues in Christ and
completes in Christ. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “Salvation is free but
Discipleship will cost all your life.” According to the apostle Paul believers in
Christ are “chosen by God, are holy and are beloved” Because of what Christ has
done we are already made holy and we are dearly loved by God, this is the basis
of working out our spiritual formation. Let the process begin.
I.
CULTIVATING SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES: (12-15)
The apostle Paul gives us a command to cultivate
these virtues of: being compassionate, being kind, exhibiting meekness the
antidote for pride, remaining gentle when treated with harshness, and being
patient which is also translated, “longsuffering” the opposite of quick anger,
resentment and revenge. What keeps all these virtues in perfect unity? It is
love. Just like in any family we are to put
up with one another with all our idiosyncrasies in our church family.
We
are to forgive one another as Christ forgave our sins. When we keep, practicing
these virtues the peace of Christ will reign in our hearts. The Greek word
“peace” refers to both the call of God to salvation and consequent peace with
him and the attitude of rest or security that believers have because of that
eternal peace. The second category: Corporate
worship:
II.
CORPORATE WORSHIP (Vs 16)
Sharon is a very religious community. For a
city of eighteen thousand people we have 7 synagogues, 9 churches and 1 mosque,
and there are a number of Buddhists and Hindus among us. We can learn a lot from
our fellow Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist and Hindu communities. For them, going to a Synagogue, or a Mosque
or a Temple on certain days is an honor and a privilege. They do it with such
pride and dignity. We see whole families going for worship.
My cousin is a Lutheran church
pastor in Abu Dhabi, where Friday is the religious holiday and Sunday is a
working day. Though they have a church service on Friday, he conducts a special
worship service on Sunday evenings as many were accustomed to go to church on
Sundays.
How
are we showing enthusiasm when it comes to coming to church on Sundays? Let’s
make this as our new year resolution, that we go to church each Sunday to
worship God corporately unless we are sick, travelling or away on another
assignment. Hebrews 10:25 “not giving up meeting together, as some are in the
habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day
approaching.” What kept the early
Christians strong in their faith under tremendous persecution? It was their
habit of coming together in homes. In vs 16, the Apostle Paul gives us a model
of what we do when we come to church to worship God corporately. We give him
thanks and praise through our singing of spiritual songs and hymns. We come to
listen to a message of Christ through the pastor or a preacher. We encourage, admonish
and spur one another towards good works. The third category is collective
service.
III.
COLLECTIVE SERVICE (Vs 17)
We
are to be profoundly grateful for the gift of salvation we have received from
God. Now it is our turn to let our light shine among people through good works.
Through our love for one another and for the world many will glorify our father
in heaven. Our Church family is a great place to start serving the Lord through
our gifts and talents. As I said earlier it takes all of us doing our part to
take the mission, values and vision of Hope Church further.
Just
like in any family, there is no place for spectators in our Church. If you have
a gift, or a certain talent and you want to use that to serve the Lord please
speak to me or one of the elders and we will see how best we can facilitate
your desire to serve. Our collective goal and vision should be that people get
saved and they become committed followers of Jesus Christ.
In
order to see this goal accomplished we may do a number of things but let’s keep
one thing always in mind, we are not here to please anybody except our Lord, so
whatever we do whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ, giving thanks to God our father. In closing let me reiterate the main
points again. We belong to the Hope Church family. Hope Church belongs to a New
Family of God. As members of this New family of God we are called to work out
our Spiritual formation. Our Spiritual formation is best worked out by
cultivating spiritual disciplines, getting involved in Corporate Worship and
Collective Service. Amen
