The Book of Colossians: Is Jesus Enough?Sample

Is Jesus enough for your purpose?

We’ve all experienced awkward endings to phone conversations and overly emotional airport goodbyes. The way people choose to say goodbye often reveals what’s important to them. Similarly, the way Paul signs off his letter to the Colossians reveals God’s desire that our lives be lived on purpose, for a purpose.

Towards the end of his message, Paul drops this enormous statement: “Whatever you do, do it from the heart, as something done for the Lord and not for people, knowing that you will receive the reward of an inheritance from the Lord. You serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23–24). Sally Lloyd-Jones says, “The Kingdom of God is any place where God is served as King.” In Colossians 3 and 4, Paul illustrates this using various examples (work, family, church). He’s being descriptive, more than prescriptive, stirring his readers’ imagination to dream of how the world might change if we surrendered to God in every arena of existence.

In Colossians 3:22 and 4:1, Paul paints a picture of serving God wholeheartedly through your work, addressing both masters and slaves (think: employers and employees). We often view our vocation through the world’s eyes: a paycheck to earn, colleagues to avoid, tasks to get through before weekend downtime. But Jesus changes all of this. Your workplace can actually become your pastorate, as your excellence and dedication speak of the God you worship.

In Colossians 3:18­–21, Paul urges us to put Jesus at the center of our families by loving them self-sacrificially. As you surrender to Jesus your marriage, parenting, or wider family connections, things will change. There will be challenges, but you will discover untold joy.

In Colossians 4, Paul helps us imagine what the purposes of God through the church could look like if we kept Jesus at the center. He mentions a few people by name, calling them “co-workers for the Kingdom of God.” Epaphras, for example, has wrestled in prayer for the Colossians. Imagine someone wrestled in prayer for you. Imagine you paid that forward and did some prayer wrestling for another. It’s way more satisfying and exciting to be a participant—not just a passive spectator—in God’s big church story.

Shortly after the completion of Disney World, someone said to Mike Vance (the director of Disney Studios), “Isn’t it too bad that Walt Disney didn’t live to see this?” Vance replied, “He did see it—that’s why it’s here.” Ask God to help you see the ways He could build His Kingdom through you. There’s no limit to what God can do in and through your life when it’s fully surrendered to Jesus. Keep asking yourself: Is Jesus enough for my church? My life? My salvation? My character? My purpose? May your life be a resounding yes to this question, and may you experience the abundant life Jesus died to secure for you.

This plan was adapted from the series, The Book of Colossians: Is Jesus Enough?, on RightNow Media. To find out more, visit:https://www.rightnowmedia.org/af/get-access