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!

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