January 2015

Colossians 2:8–10: Just One Word

4 Comments / Church, Colossians, It All Started in the Garden, Teaching, The Church in Exile, Uncategorized / By /

Many years ago I saw a regional theater production of the Stephen Schwartz musical Children of Eden. A theatric rendition of the first few chapters of Genesis is certainly enough to bring me out on a Friday night! It was a fascinating interpretation of Eden, Adam and Eve, the snake, and the tragic human choice to sin against God’s will. What I remember most vividly is the form the temptation took: The Garden on stage was fenced off around the edges, defining its parameters and focusing attention on God’s realm. But soon the snake starts talking to Eve, and introduces […]

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Colossians 2:6–7: Life in Christ Produces Life for Christ

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Almost forty years ago, my husband Andy and I agreed to receive each other as husband and wife. We made some commitments then that have, thankfully, stood the test of time. We were young; I had just turned 22 and Andy was not far behind at 21.8 years of age. But our vows were uttered with great confidence and joy. I’ve never been more sure of a decision in my life than that one. It is not an exaggeration to say that the exchange of wedding vows was a defining moment for both of us. We were just starting out

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Colossians 2:1-5: Don’t Fall for Nice-Sounding Arguments

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Measles is a hot topic here in California. Some children, enjoying themselves at Disneyland last month, apparently were exposed to the virus, and the disease is spreading in western states. This outbreak is particularly disappointing to the Centers for Disease Control, which had declared measles eradicated in the U.S. in 2000. I remember getting measles when I was 8 or so, before the vaccine was available in the mid-1960s. The widespread use of the vaccine and firm public health policies, such as requiring proof of vaccination before entering school, all helped eradicate the illness by the turn of the millennium.

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It Takes a Village to Steer a Blog

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I am so grateful to my readers and friends for concrete and helpful feedback about this Colossians study. We will resume the study in Chapter 2 tomorrow. In the meantime, I’d like to reflect a bit on this blogging thing with thoughts sparked by your comments. I came to realize that the blog genre is distinct for both writers and readers, who have different expectations. For the writer, blogging is an activity different from curriculum development and book writing. If I were to write a small group curriculum on Colossians, I would present the material quite differently so it could

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Pause for a Mid-Course Assessment

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Yesterday’s post was the twelfth in this Bible study series on Colossians. I am pausing here today to make some comments and to solicit yours. It’s time for a mid-course assessment. First, some observations: My readership has plummeted. I don’t think you can gain access to my “site stats,” but during this series my daily average readership has been just slightly over the average during periods in which I have not posted at all. Ouch. My original readership was born out of my accounts (starting in 2011) of some rather intense activity within the realm of the PC(USA), when I

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Colossians 1:23b–29: Christ in You, the Hope of Glory

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I, Paul, became a servant of this gospel. 24I 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. 25I became its servant according to God’s commission that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, 26the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been revealed to his saints. 27To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the

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Colossians 1:21-23: If Thinking Leads to Doing, Where Are We Headed?

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As we continue our study of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, we are struck with the contrasts he so vividly paints. In today’s passage, Paul connects the dots between the glorious accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ and us (all) who were alienated and hostile to God’s intents and purposes. 21And you who were once estranged and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22he has now reconciled in his fleshly body through death, so as to present you holy and blameless and irreproachable before him— 23provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the

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Colossians 1:18–20: Jesus Christ the Lord of Redemption

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In my last post, we contemplated the wonders of Jesus Christ, the very One who has known and loved us, as present and active at the creation. Thinking along these lines might be like realizing that someone you have known for years as, say, “Janie’s mom” was actually quite famous in a former life. In our relationship with Jesus, I fear that our familiarity with him may have caused us to forget the truly awesome role he has played in everything good, life-giving, and creative. He is not one among many, as perhaps the Colossians believed; and he is not

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Colossians 1:15-17: Jesus the Lord over All Creation

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The high point of Paul’s presentation of God now moves from the Father (vs. 12) to the Son (vs. 13b) who, so far, is identified as the source of our redemption and the forgiveness of sins (vs. 14). What follows is a well-constructed, eloquent statement of the supremacy of Christ over creation and his unique preeminence as the world’s only redeemer. 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have

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