He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things …
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and …
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, …
As I turned my computer on this morning, I was greeted with an image of some beautiful Alaskan mountains, curtesy of Bing, that said, “What to get away from it all?” My heart’s answer was yes. Yes, it would be great to escape the pressures of everyday life, to behold firsthand the breath-taking wonders of …
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother. To the saints and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father. Colossians 1:1-2 ESV Like all of Paul’s letters, the opening greeting is full of introductory concepts and phrases for us to …
The first five books of the Bible, commonly called the Pentateuch or Torah, are not merely the opening act of God’s revelation to humanity nor should we read them simply as a historical account of our faith’s roots. Instead, alongside the rest of the Old Testament, we affirm these writings to be the presently applicable …
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Matthew 6:12 ESV Our study of the Lord’s Prayer continues with the petition for God to forgive us our debts as we have also forgiven our debtors. In many ways, this supplication is the natural plea arising from a belief in the forgiveness of …
Being the kind of person that assigns subtitles to my sermon notes through portions of the Bible, I wrestled a great deal with what to call this study through Colossians. At first glance, Colossians can appear to be a lesser imitation of Ephesians. Of course, Paul’s letter to Colossae has its own magnificent merits (such …
the forgiveness of sins For our penultimate study of the Apostles’ Creed, we continue our exploration of Article 3. Having addressed the Holy Spirit and the local and universal church, we now come to the forgiveness of sins. In order to understand this doctrine, we will spend most of our time in Ephesians 2:1-10 before …
Just as the first half of chapter 3 dismantled the relationship between the man and woman established at the end of chapter 2, this latter portion of chapter 3 will undo the restful paradise given in the first half of the second chapter. If we were ever confused as to why the first sin is …
B. C. Newton 