Welcome to our
July 31
online worship service!
Athens First UMC
2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701
[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]
(Nee'-kos) Biblical Greek Word for "Victory"
Sunday, July 31, 2022
Wednesday, July 27, 2022
Monday, July 25, 2022
Sermon (July 24) by Rev. Robert McDowell
Our appointed New Testament scripture readings for these July Sundays are from the Letter of Colossians. And in this short book of the Bible, there are six references to the importance of being thankful.
Last Sunday’s focus was on the importance of offering prayers of thanksgiving. The Apostle Paul who wrote this letter wanted the Colossians Church to know that he has been offering prayers of thanksgiving for all they have already been able to accomplish as a new church. Paul thanks God for how they are bearing fruit through their ministry.
In preparing for this Thanksgiving in July series, it has led me to become even more thankful in my prayers for all of you and for the many ways that we are living out our faith here in our community and beyond. As we prayed in our opening prayer this morning, “God of goodness and love, help us to be just as thankful in July as we are during harvest time in November.”
This is really the spirit of this “Thanksgiving in July” sermon series; for us to be God’s thankful people throughout the year and to continue to bear fruit in our ministries even in the middle of these long summer months. And I love how the Apostle Paul says in the first chapter of this letter for us to joyfully give thanks to God. I love how Paul phrases that. We are to “joyfully” give thanks to God.
For this Sunday’s scripture reading from Colossians, the Apostle Paul wants us to participate in a Thanksgiving Parade. No, this is not the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade that many of us watch on Thanksgiving morning. This thanksgiving parade is about celebrating Jesus’ victory over the evil forces of this world through his life, death, and resurrection.
In chapter two of Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he makes reference to this parade when he writes, “He, meaning Jesus, disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.”
In the ancient world, instead of floats with large helium balloons, marching bands and candy being thrown to the crowds, parades were centered around military victories. Their parade lineup as the conquering empire would consist of carrying the military emblem of their recently defeated enemy and behind that emblem, they carried the spoils of war, the treasures of that country.
Behind the treasure that was being carried for the great crowd of people to see and celebrate, next came the prisoners of war from that country who were forced to walk in shame and humiliation.
And then at the end of this parade was not Santa Claus riding on a large float. It would be the king of that defeated nation which had been defeated. At the end of this parade they would have the execution of that defeated king.
The Romans did something similar to Jesus when they forced him to carry his own cross through a crowd of people to the place where they would crucify him. They were making a public example of him. And when they placed the sign or emblem above the cross that read, “King of the Jews,” this was to show what enemy they had just defeated.
But notice that this parade of humiliation that led Jesus to be crucified on a cross ended up being a parade of victory through his rising from the dead on Easter Sunday. By dying on the cross and then rising from the dead, the Apostle Paul says that Jesus ended up making a public example of the rulers and authorities who put him to death.
God was able to take a humiliating defeat and turn it into a victory through the death and resurrection of Jesus. As Charles Wesley writes in that great hymn of faith, “O For a Thousand Tongues to Sing,”
“He breaks the power of canceled sin. He sets the prisoner free. His blood can make the foulest clean. His blood availed for me!”
Only God can take a humiliating death of his own Son and turn it into a triumphant victory. Only God can take an instrument of death and turn it into an instrument of salvation. Only God can take a parade of shame and turn it into a parade of victory.
This is why the Apostle Paul writes just a few verses earlier in our Colossians scripture reading for today, “As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
“Abounding in thanksgiving.” This parade of victory that God has won for us is what leads us to “abound in thanksgiving.”
Paul also uses baptismal language to emphasize this victorious parade when he writes, “When you were buried with Christ in baptism, you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.”
The reason we are abounding in thanksgiving is not because of anything we have done, it’s because of what God has done for us through his victory over sin and death on the cross. God took what was shameful and turned it into a victory.
The Apostle Paul refers to this victory parade again in II Corinthians, chapter 2 where he writes, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession.”
This is the Thanksgiving parade that we are celebrating today.
When I served as a Youth Pastor, I created a weekly newsletter for the youth of the church to help remind them of this victory that Jesus won for us through the cross and his resurrection.
The name I gave that newsletter was “Nikos,” which is the Greek word for “victory.” This later became the name for my personal blog that I continue to use today. And so whenever you see the word, “victory” in the New Testament, it is this Greek word, “Nikos.”
One of my favorite verses in the Bible uses this word, I Corinthians 15:57, where Paul writes, “But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “But thanks be to God who gives us the Nikos through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
I wanted the youth of my church to know that whenever they were going through a challenging time or they were doubting their worthiness or if they were feeling down or defeated because of how difficult and confusing life can be, to know that they are always on the winning team. Jesus has won the victory! There is always hope! God has turned the parade of shame and humiliation into a parade of victory and salvation!
This past April, my brother who is the Music Director of our home church in South Central Pennsylvania did something pretty remarkable. He organized and directed the musical, “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
Many of you are familiar with this Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice musical from the early 1970s. My brother and I had the album soundtrack from this musical when we were growing up together and we would listen to it. The music and the singing are phenomenal. This musical highlights the days leading up to Jesus’ betrayal, arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection.
A new version of this musical was aired on NBC back in 2018. After my brother watched that 2018 performance, he felt called by God to look into directing that same musical in the rural area of south central, Pennsylvania where his church is located.
After he received copy-write permission to perform the musical, he presented the idea to his church’s board and he told them the large cost that would be associated with something of that magnitude. He also told them that he believed that God was calling them to use this musical to primarily reach a non-church audience beyond the church walls.
They ended up performing this musical at a popular winery that provided space for over 2,000 people to watch it. They held three performances during Holy Week this past April.
A personal highlight of this for me was that I was able to surprise my brother by attending the Maundy Thursday performance. I bought my ticket back in January and he had no idea that I had been planning to come. Here’s a picture of my brother and me during that night of the performance.
And talk about the importance of being thankful, I want to thank all of you for allowing me to be away for Maundy Thursday this past April, so that I could see that performance and surprise my brother. In all my years of pastoral ministry, I have never been away from my church during Holy Week. A special word of gratitude to Rev. David Maze and Rick Seiter who filled in for me here that week.
The performance was incredible. The musicians were phenomenal. The crucifixion scene was so gripping. You felt like you were right there as Jesus breathed his last. You could feel the sadness of the realization that Jesus had been defeated and all hope was lost. It was another Roman parade of celebrating the conquering of their enemy. Power and evil won again. Sin and death won again.
But no. At the end of the musical, the pastor of the church announced to everyone that this was not the end of Jesus’ story. He then invited the people to join them for worship on Easter Sunday.
Easter Sunday is when we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection! Jesus didn’t conquer the Romans. His death and resurrection defeated something much bigger. Jesus conquered and defeated sin and death once and for all.
As Paul describes it in our Colossians reading today, “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.”
Following that amazing musical performance of “Jesus Christ Superstar,” the cast mingled with the crowd where they were able to get their thoughts about what Jesus’ death and resurrection means to them. It was a faith sharing opportunity.
The Apostle Paul wants us to continue to celebrate the victory of Easter over sin and death, and abound in thanksgiving by following Jesus in this Thanksgiving parade. It’s a parade of how Jesus broke the power of canceled sin and sets the prisoner free. It’s a parade of Nikos, a parade of victory.
Next Sunday, we will conclude our Thanksgiving in July sermon series on Colossians with a Thanksgiving party in which we are going to continue to praise God and enjoy a wonderful Thanksgiving feast together.
Thanksgiving in July Parade
Sermon Discussion Questions
Colossians 2:6-15
July 24, 2022
This week is the 2nd part of a 3-week sermon series on the theme, “Thanksgiving in July.” This theme is based on our appointed New Testament readings from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians Church. There are only four chapters in this letter but Paul includes six references to being thankful. Last week, we focused on Colossians, chapter one where Paul includes two of those references. He writes that he “thanks” God for their church and encourages them to joyfully “give thanks” to God.
Share some things for which you are thankful from this past week. Why do you think it is important to share our thanksgivings with each other?
If last week’s focus was on Paul’s prayers of thanksgiving for the Colossians Church, this week’s focus is on being thankful for a victory parade. In Colossians 2:15, Paul writes, “He (Jesus) disarmed the rulers and authorities and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it.” Paul’s words are alluding to military parades from the ancient world in which a conquering empire would force the king of the defeated nation to walk in shame in a parade along with the spoils of war. In a similar way, the Romans had Jesus walk in their military parade by forcing him to carry a cross to the place where they would crucify him. They sought to humiliate Jesus’ by having him die in this very cruel way. Paul wants us to know that this parade of humiliation was really a parade of victory because it was through Jesus’ death and resurrection, that God was able to defeat sin and death forever.
How does Jesus’ victory over “the rulers and authorities” (sin & death) lead you to “abound in thanksgiving?”
Paul also uses baptismal language in describing how we too can participate in this Thanksgiving Parade. In Colossians 2:12-13, Paul writes that by placing our faith in Christ, our sins can be buried with Christ and we too, can be made alive with him through his resurrection. God was able to turn a parade of humiliation into a parade of victory!
What helps you to remember this meaning of baptism where our sins have been buried and we have been raised to new life with Christ?
The word, “victory” is the ancient Greek word, “Nikos” (pronounced “kneecose.)” Whenever the Apostle Paul refers to Jesus’ victory over sin and death, he uses this word. Pastor Robert shared that this is why he named his blog after this Greek word. It’s a reminder that Christ has won the victory over sin and death.
What are some ways that we can remind each other of Jesus’ nikos and his victory over sin and death? Who is God calling us to encourage with these words of victory?
Sunday, July 24, 2022
Online Worship Service (July 24) Athens First UMC
Welcome to our
July 24
online worship service!
Athens First UMC
2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701
[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]
Wednesday, July 20, 2022
Holy Hump Hump Day (July 20) with Pastor Robert
Today’s Focus:
Book of Colossians
Background Information
Monday, July 18, 2022
Sermon (July 17) by Rev. Robert McDowell
You might have heard of people celebrating “Christmas in July.” Based on our New Testament readings for the next three Sundays, I think it’s about time we start having a “Thanksgiving in July” as well!
During these three weeks, we will be focusing on the appointed readings from the the Letter of Colossians. The main theme throughout Colossians is thanksgiving. There are only four chapters in this short letter but it includes six references in the importance of being thankful. For today, we will be looking at Paul’s prayer of thanksgiving for the Christians who are in Colossae.
Next Sunday, we’ll look at Paul’s mention of a thanksgiving parade that’s even better than the Macy’s Parade. And for the final Sunday, we’ll look at Paul’s encouragement for us to celebrate in a thanksgiving party.
For these three weeks of July, let’s celebrate Thanksgiving four months early with a Thanksgiving Prayer, a Thanksgiving Parade, and a Thanksgiving Party. Our goal will be to be the thankful Christians that God is calling us to be.
For today, we look at a Thanksgiving Prayer. Paul begins his letter to the Colossians with these words, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. In our prayers for you we always thank God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 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.”
Here in the opening of his letter, Paul wants the church in Colossae to known that he is praying for them. Paul is thanking God for them because of what he has heard about them.
Keep in mind that Paul wrote this letter while in prison in Ephesus which is about a two day journey from Colossae. Colossae was a small town located in what we know today as the south western portion of Turkey; the country, Turkey, not to be confused with the gobble, gobble turkey of Thanksgiving.
I say that Colossae was a small town because soon after Paul’s ministry, the entire town was destroyed by an earthquake and to this day it hasn’t been excavated.
As far as we know, Paul never was actually in the town of Colossae, but he knows about the new church that is in that town through a person named Epaphras who he mentions a few verses later in this opening chapter.
We know that Epaphras is from Colossae because at the end of Paul’s letter, he writes how “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Jesus Christ, greets you.”
Most likely, Paul shared the good news of Jesus with Epaphras when he was visiting Ephesus during Paul’s missionary journey. Epaphras, whose life was now transformed through his new faith in Jesus went back to his home in Colossae to share this good news with the people in his town and that’s how the church in Colossae got started.
By the time of this letter, the church in Colossae probably represented two to three households and probably only consisted of twenty to thirty people. When we think of these new churches that we read about in the New Testament, it’s important to remember that these were not church buildings with steeples on top. These new Christians would have been meeting in people’s homes.
And so, the church in Colossae would have been a very small group of new Christians meeting together. This new church was in the early stages of learning what it means to be a Christ-centered community in a predominately pagan society where many gods were worshipped.
Imagine what that must have been like for that small Christian community to live in this type of culture of many gods and here these Christians representing this new religion were worshiping just one God who they believed had been made known through this Jesus of Nazareth and it was through his life, death, and resurrection, that he was the true King and Lord of the world.
These Christians would have been facing a major challenge in trying to grow their church in this polytheistic society. If the church of Colossae would have conducted a SWOT analysis of their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats like we did here at Athens First this past winter for our visioning process, their biggest threat as a church would have been it’s surrounding culture.
In that community, like other cities in Asia Minor, there was a strong expectation for everyone to worship the local gods and goddesses and to make sacrifices to them. To not do so was dangerous because if there would be a drought or some other kind of calamity in that community, the town’s people would have blamed the people who had refused to worship these gods.
This is what made it dangerous for those early Christians who were worshipping the one true God who they believed had been made known through Jesus, the true Savior and Redeemer of the world.
And then just think of the challenge that it would have been for them to begin this new church community. Even today, when a group of people are trying to start a new church, there are many challenges that are difficult to overcome.
I believe the statistics for new churches today are that only 20% of new church starts will succeed and of those that do succeed, only 10% of them will ever grow beyond a hundred people. There’s more to starting new churches than what we might expect.
I share all of this background information about the church in Colossae and the challenges they were facing to help us appreciate why the Apostle Paul would begin his letter by telling them that he has been praying for them.
He wants them to know that he thanks God for the ways that they as a new church, located in a very challenging community and culture are bearing fruit in the name of Christ and growing in what it means to be God’s faithful people. Listen to how Paul describes how he has been praying for them.
In our scripture reading from Colossians, chapter 1, Paul writes,
“For this reason, since the day we heard it, referring to himself and Timothy, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in who we have redemption the forgiveness of sins.”
Paul is telling this church that is in need of all the encouragement they can get that, “I’m praying for you, praying that you will continue to bear fruit and grow in the knowledge of God.” That sounds like our discipleship strategy here at Athens First that every person grows in having a Loving Faith where we love God and care for each other with our hearts, a Learning Faith where we grow in the knowledge of God with our minds, and a Living Faith, where we live out our faith by using our hands in service and bearing fruit.
And not only does Paul tell them all of the things that he includes in his prayers for them, notice that he also encourages them to continue to joyfully give thanks to God, the Father in their prayers. What advice does Paul offer this new church facing so many challenges? Continue to joyfully give thanks.
The Apostle Paul is inviting the church in Colossae to remember to be thankful, to keep praying, and to keep being the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ in his opening words of greeting to them.
As I’ve been thinking about the church in Colossae and our church, Athens First, I can’t help but notice our many differences. For example, our church was founded back in 1800, well over 200 years ago, and in contrast, the church of Colossae had just recently been formed.
Our church has a membership of over 400 people and their church most likely only had 20 to 30 people representing a couple of different households.
Our church has this four-story building, an air conditioned sanctuary, an endowment, two copiers, all kinds of bibles and hymnals, a weekly email newsletter that keeps us updated with news of the church, a website that provides a lot of information about the ministries of our church and how to get involved.
The church of Colossae doesn’t even have a building. They met in each other’s homes and they made do with the limited resources they had.
But as I continued to think about it, our churches are more alike than not. Even with all of our differences, like them, we also face challenges related to a surrounding culture that is increasingly more suspicious of organized religion.
Even with these challenges, we are both bearing fruit and seeking to be faithful to Christ. And we both are in need of constant encouragement and prayer.
And then, I couldn’t help but to think of the church in Ukraine who as their country was being invaded militarily by another country this past February, how Christians there gathered wherever they could to pray for God’s protection and peace. Here is a photo of when they gathered for worship and prayer on Good Friday this past April as they awaited news of more massacres at Mariupol.
2022 Orthodox Good Friday in Lviv, Ukraine, where Ukrainians await news of more massacres at Mariupol. (Francisco Soto/AP)
Even in a time of war, Christians in Ukraine knew to turn to God in prayer and they were aware of the many prayers that were being made on their behalf throughout the world including our prayers for them here at Athens First on that Sunday morning after the invasion. And I would also add, prayers from Christians throughout the world, including people in Russia.
Whether it’s in Ukraine, Colossae, or here in Athens, Ohio, the Apostle Paul is encouraging us to not lose hope, to continue to give thanks to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We joyfully offer our prayers of thanksgiving to God who as Paul reminds us in his letter, is the image of the invisible God and who is the hope of glory.
Happy Thanksgiving in July!
Thanksgiving in July Prayer
Sermon Discussion Questions
Colossians 1:1-28
July 17, 2022
The Apostle Paul’s letter to the Colossians is only four chapters long but contains six references to the importance of being thankful. Being thankful is the main theme of this letter. Since Colossians is the appointed New Testament reading for the last three Sundays in July, our church is calling these weeks, “Thanksgiving in July.” During these three weeks, we will be looking at Paul’s opening prayer of thanksgiving for the Colossians, his description of a thanksgiving parade, and we will conclude our series on July 31st by celebrating a thanksgiving party.
Why do you think that being thankful is an important part of our faith?
For this first Sunday of our “Thanksgiving in July” series, our focus is on the opening of Paul’s letter in which he tells the Colossians that he offers prayers of thanksgiving because of what he has heard about them. Even though they are a new church facing many challenges, they are bearing fruit for the kingdom.
What prayers of thanksgiving come to mind when you reflect on the ministry of the church you attend? Why do you think it’s important to offer these prayers of thanksgiving for the church?
The church in Colossae most likely got started because of Epaphras who Paul mentions in his letter. Epaphras who was from the town of Colossae came to faith in Christ because of Paul’s missionary journey in Ephesus which was about a two day journey from Colossae. The church in Colossae probably only consisted of about thirty people representing two or three households. This new church would have faced many challenges from the surrounding culture because of their belief in one God rather than many gods.
What are the challenges that churches face today? What does the church have to offer it’s community that people can’t find elsewhere?
In the opening of Paul’s letter, he greets the Colossians with these words: “May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, in who we have redemption the forgiveness of sins.”
What stands out to you from those opening words of the Apostle Paul? Why do you think that Paul encourages them to “joyfully” give thanks?
Pray this worship prayer from Sunday’s service:
God of goodness and love, help us to be just as thankful in July as we are during harvest time in November. You have blessed us in so many ways. We thank you for the hope we have through Jesus Christ. You have rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of your beloved Son. What more do we need? Forgive our forgetfulness of all that you have done for us. Remind us in the middle of the summer to celebrate your goodness and be your thankful people! Amen and Amen!
Sunday, July 17, 2022
Online Worship Service (July 17) Athens First UMC
Welcome to our
July 17
online worship service!
Athens First UMC
2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701
[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]
Wednesday, July 13, 2022
Sunday, July 10, 2022
Online Worship Service (July 10) Athens First UMC
Welcome to our
July 10
online worship service!
Athens First UMC
2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701
[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]
Wednesday, July 6, 2022
Sunday, July 3, 2022
Online Worship Service (July 3) Athens First UMC
Welcome to our
July 3
online worship service!
Athens First UMC
2 S. College St., Athens, OH 45701
[Live-Stream Begins @ 10:25 AM]