Sunday Sermons

Christ's preeminence shapes the closing movement of the letter, where faith is shown in ordinary names, shared labor, and steady devotion. Attention turns from grand statements about Jesus' supremacy to the lived results of that supremacy, where the gospel reorients priorities, strengthens courage under pressure, and keeps the mission central even when circumstances are painful and restrictive. This final section highlights lives reclaimed and redirected by grace, where past failure does not disqualify usefulness and loyalty becomes a sustained, costly commitment. Endurance is carried not only through visible service but through earnest intercession that seeks spiritual maturity and stability amid competing voices. The closing greetings and charges underscore continuing responsibility to remain anchored in God's word, to fulfill entrusted work, and to persevere with gratitude, wisdom, and clarity. Grace stands as the sustaining ground for everything that follows.

In this lesson, we explore “the trouble with man-made religion” through the teaching of Colossians 2:16–23. We begin with Jesus' question in Matthew 21—“By what authority?”—to show that all religious practice ultimately comes from either heaven or men. As we examine the Colossian situation, we see two major influences troubling the church: enslaving legalism and mystical speculation. Some were trying to bind Old Testament dietary laws, festivals, and Sabbaths—substituting the shadow for the true substance found in Christ. Others promoted ascetic lifestyles, the worship of angels, and the authority of private visions—substituting what is speculative and impressive for what is vital and genuinely effective. Paul instructs believers not to allow anyone to “pass judgment” or “disqualify” them by these man-made standards. Since Christians have died with Christ, we must not submit again to regulations or religious practices that perish with use or arise from human invention. Instead, we are called to “hold fast to the Head,” Jesus Christ, through whom the whole body is nourished, knit together, and given growth that comes from God. The passage emphasizes that adding to or taking away from Christ's gospel inevitably leads us away from Him, and it concludes by reminding us of the New Testament path to becoming a Christian—faith, repentance, confession, and baptism into Christ.