To demonstrate how Jesus has transformed their lives, Paul points out three ways the truth has produced fruit in the lives of his Colossian readers.

Fear is all around us. Some of us are afraid of the impending presidential election. Others are anxious about our next meal––namely, residents of Palestine and migrants in Chicago. Others still are worried about naming the internal wounds caused by a family member. We're a profoundly anxious people. W.H. Auden won the Pulitzer Prize in 1947 for his poem The Age of Anxiety. Many find his title and words just as true in our age.

Throughout the first Easter week, Jesus talked about something he called the kingdom. It was a new world he came to build on earth. And by the end of the week, he found himself in the headquarters of Pontus Pilate, who essentially held Jesus' fate in his hands. Pilate was the Roman-appointed governor of the district. The conversation John records centers on the nature of this kingdom.

The Ephesians 4 Team looked through the Scriptures and saw women like Esther (a queen, Esther 2:17), Deborah (a prophet, Judges 4:4), Mary of Nazareth (Jesus’ mother, Luke 1:27), Pricilla (an early church leader, Acts 18:24-26), and Junia (another church leader, Romans 16:7). God commissions all of these women as co-laborers in gospel ministry. And they all have the gift of teaching.

Paul wrote Ephesians from a prison in Rome. He loves the people of Ephesus. He encourages them, "I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints" (Ephesians 1:15). They're a really loving church family that’s learning to trust Jesus and emulate his character more and more. Paul wants them to continue to grow and mature. So, through this letter, he reaffirms what they already know and challenges them to take the next step. That's what he does in chapter 4.

In the Song of Songs 8:6, the bride defines her love and marriage through four similes. Each simile points us to the ultimate design of God’s covenant love.

Gospel generosity breaks three barriers. First, it breaks the barrier of consumerism. Consumerism is the belief that we become by taking, collecting, and accumulating. It's not really about the stuff (that's materialism), it's about the ceaseless appetite to consume more things. We see this barrier broken down in the life of Christ. Instead of remaining in the hallowed halls of heaven, the book of Philippians tells us that Jesus, "did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself" (Philippians 2:6b-7a). Jesus forgoes eternally grasping or holding on to divine commodities, powers, and luxuries, and he empties himself by generously giving himself. Jesus could do this because he knows that he is more than what he consumes. He could empty himself and still be himself.

God has called us to live in harmony with one another. But what does that mean? And what threatens the unity of Jesus' Church? In Romans, Paul writes, "May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus" (Romans 15:5). Why is divine endurance and encouragement necessary for harmony? 

From wholeness of our emotions and body, Jesus now invites his disciples to experience wholeness of spirit. Specifically he talks about divorce and making oaths. On the surface these may not seem like deeply spiritual things. However, our view of marriage and making promises reveals our understanding of God. Here’s what Jesus says, “It was also said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.’ But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of sexual immorality, makes her commit adultery, and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery” (Matthew 5:31-32). Once again, Jesus is reframing righteousness around the heart.

Human life is precious. Too often this preciousness is assumed. Yet, as is often the case, a truth assumed is a truth denied. Yesterday we witnessed yet another demonstration of this denial when forty Venezuelan migrants arrived at O'Hare airport from San Antonio. We should no longer assume.

Over two billion people identify as Christians. It's about one third of the global population. Which is striking because in AD 350––after emperor Constantine recognized Christianity as the prevailing religion of the Greco-Roman world––about thirty million people followed Jesus. Which is also striking because just three centuries earlier there were only about 600 Christians (see Acts 1:15, 1 Corinthians 15:6). How do we make sense of this reality? How do we understand this explosive and expansive growth? In a word, resurrection.

In Romans 14 Paul is not writing about primary issues. He’s writing about secondary ideas of which many of us often disagree. He’s talking about matters of conscience. Specifically, he’s talking about food. He says, “One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him” (Romans 14:2-3). Some believe they can eat anything. They see no spiritual prohibition against eating meat. Others believe dietary restrictions are still in force. And what Paul is saying is that regardless of what you believe, in fact the specifics don't really matter at all, there's a motivation which grows in our hearts to not welcome each other, but instead despise and judge.

We may learn the new habits of a particular religion or social value system, but only Christ transforms us. Through Christ we are freed from the shackles of mammon and made worshippers who serve God, strangers who have been made saints.

As a covenant people we are marked by God’s grace through baptism. Here’s a few implications of this understanding for us at Church in the Square …

On Wednesday, February 22nd we’ll gather for Ash Wednesday. This gathering marks the beginning of the Lenten season; the six weeks leading up to Easter. We’ll have three identical services, each 15 minutes of singing, reading, and administering the ashes.

We've been blessed with an opportunity to help our neighbors in a profound way. Over the past number of weeks we've been supporting an important effort to resettle Venezuelan refugees in the city. But meeting needs is tricky. Therefore we ought to constantly open the Bible in order to interrogate our motivations, behaviors, and impact. Doing so will ensure we honor the Lord in our serving and acknowledge the dignity of those whom we serve.

There's much to consider today. Our annual remembrance of the life and ministry of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. elicits a variety of responses. For some it's a sober holiday, reflecting on the suffering and resilience and dignity and strength of all who identity with the African diaspora, but especially Black Americans. For others it's a defeating reminder of how much further we have to go to achieve heaven's vision for racial harmony. For others still, it's a day off.

In Romans 12:9, the Apostle Paul exhorts his readers to, “let love be genuine.” He’s inviting them into a lifestyle of affection which is free from hypocrisy because it’s grounded in the truth. Specifically he says this brand of love abhors evil and clings to good.

I think we all agree on love. Few people deny the universal virtue and centrality of love. However, though we may agree on love we often fail to love. Regardless of our culture or spirituality, we agree on love but we fail to love.

Near the end of his first correspondence to the church in Thessalonica, the Apostle Paul gives his readers a joyful challenge. He encourages them to, "Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Paul says, in all circumstances, followers of Jesus ought to have this unwavering disposition, a strange cocktail of joy and prayerfulness and gratitude. It's the will of God. His instruction teaches us that thankfulness is not a response to our situation. Thankfulness is a response to our hope. Giving thanks, despite our circumstances, takes incredible discipline. Not because it's hard to find ways that God has been good and faithful and generous. It takes work because we get distracted, don't we? And we often fail to see with the eyes of faith.