Discipling Life

In Epistle to the Colossians 1:24, Paul writes one of his most challenging and easily misunderstood statements: “I am now rejoicing in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am completing what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church.” At first glance, it can sound as though Paul is saying Christ’s suffering on the cross was somehow incomplete. But throughout his letters, Paul consistently teaches that Christ’s saving work is fully sufficient. Just a few verses earlier, Paul says that through Christ, God was pleased “to reconcile to himself all things” through the blood of the cross (v. 20). So Paul cannot mean that Jesus’ atoning sacrifice was lacking in saving power. Instead, Paul is speaking about the ongoing suffering connected to the mission of Christ in the world. Christ’s redemptive work is complete, but the church continues to carry the message of the gospel into a broken world, and that mission often involves hardship, sacrifi...

In his letter to the Colossians , the apostle Paul reminds us of where we started and where God’s grace is taking us. He writes, “And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him” (vv. 21-22). Before we even realized we needed fixing, God was already pursuing us, reaching out into our isolation to bring us home. Through Christ, we are not just patched up, we are completely reconciled and made new. This is not about earning God’s love. It is about allowing grace to transform our hearts and lives day by day. This passage ends with a beautiful mystery: “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (v. 27). Christ is not distant or unreachable. Through the Holy Spirit, he dwells with his people, strengthening, convicting, comforting, and renewing us. Wesley often spoke of holiness as the love of God filling the heart and overflowing into everyday life. ...

A couple of the churches I served presented me a wonderful gift for Pastors’ Appreciation Month. They both gave me a collection of notes written by members of the congregation. Each of these letters told of ways that I touched their lives and expressed appreciation for my presence and my work. The encouraging words in these letters have been such a blessing that I still look at them from time to time. Today’s reading works the other way around. This is a letter from Paul and Timothy to the people of the church in Colossae. Paul writes, “In our prayers for you we always thank God… for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven” (vv. 3-5). Notice how faith, love, and hope are woven together. Paul hadn’t planted this church himself (Epaphras did). He had simply heard about them, and what he heard moved him to gratitude. Their faith was already bearing fruit, and word was getting around. Pau...

This Easter Sunday I decided to do something different. I wanted to focus on the epistle lesson for the day. The first four verses of the third chapter of Paul's letter to the Colossians. 1 Since you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth, 3 for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory. The Hidden Life Date: April 5, 2026 Speaker: Alan Swartz Scripture: Colossians 3:1-4 1. Introduction In the quiet of this Easter morning, we find ourselves standing at a   threshold. It is the intersection where the silence of an empty tomb meets the our profound expectation for a word that actually matters. We gather with a deep hunger, hoping that the story of the resurrection might do more than occupy our minds for an hour; w...