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<v SPEAKER_01>Hello, friends.

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<v SPEAKER_01>This is Pastor Creighton.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Thank you for tuning in to Newsong Church's Sermon Podcast.

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<v SPEAKER_01>At Newsong Church, we want to see Jesus lifted high in Port Perry, Ontario, as we worship, grow, and serve.

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<v SPEAKER_01>You can learn more about us and find contact info at newsongportperry.ca.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Our second lesson this morning is found in the first chapter of Colossians, beginning at verse 11.

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<v SPEAKER_00>We also pray that you will be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

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<v SPEAKER_00>He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

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<v SPEAKER_00>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.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

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<v SPEAKER_00>And he is the head of the body, the church.

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<v SPEAKER_00>For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

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<v SPEAKER_00>This is the word of the Lord.

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<v SPEAKER_00>Thanks be to God.

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<v SPEAKER_01>The Father has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son.

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<v SPEAKER_01>So let's pray.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Lord God, who is our righteousness, we pray your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Amen.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Please be seated.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Well, last week I uh opened up my sermon with one of my favorite poets.

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<v SPEAKER_01>I'd like to open up this sermon with another one of my favorite poets, not T.

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<v SPEAKER_01>S.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Elliott this time, but a little-known poet called uh Bob Dylan.

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<v SPEAKER_01>If you know Bob Dylan.

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<v SPEAKER_01>This is a great song.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Dylan writes, you may be an ambassador to England or France.

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<v SPEAKER_01>You may like to gamble, you may like to dance.

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<v SPEAKER_01>You may be the heavyweight champion of the world, you may be a socialite with a long string of pearls, but you're gonna have to serve somebody.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Yes, indeed, you're gonna have to serve somebody.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Yeah, someone knows it.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Let's say it together.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Well, it may be the devil, or it may be the Lord, but you gotta serve somebody.

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<v SPEAKER_01>There you go.

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<v SPEAKER_01>You gotta serve somebody.

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<v SPEAKER_01>This song is a long litany of all different walks of life that comes to one conclusion.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Someone or something reigns supreme.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Something is preeminent over everything else.

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<v SPEAKER_01>There is some goal to which all of life is headed for everyone.

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<v SPEAKER_01>We cannot escape serving something or somebody that holds all of life all together and gives life meaning.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Just be glad I didn't do my Dylan impression earlier this morning.

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<v SPEAKER_01>It's really good.

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<v SPEAKER_01>You gotta serve somebody.

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<v SPEAKER_01>So the question that Bob Dylan prompts us to ask ourselves is well, who do I serve?

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<v SPEAKER_01>If I gotta serve somebody, is who or what I serve worth it?

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<v SPEAKER_01>In a real way, this is what Paul's wrestling with with the Colossian church.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He's challenging them to consider who it is they serve and how.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is preeminent over everything, he reigns supreme on the throne of the universe.

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<v SPEAKER_01>That's what Paul wants the Colossians to understand and to see the implications for all of life that flows from that.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is Lord, is the first creed of disciples.

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<v SPEAKER_01>That's the basic affirmation of what it means to be a Christian.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is my Lord.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He is my King, He is the one that I serve.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Paul wants the Colossians to grasp this truth on a cosmic level and on a personal level.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ reigns supreme.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He is the king of creation, and he is the king of redemption.

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<v SPEAKER_01>I think that's what Paul wants the Colossians and wants us to see in our passage in Colossians chapter 1 this morning.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ reigns supreme.

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<v SPEAKER_01>But he also rules the whole story of history.

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<v SPEAKER_01>And if we occupy the universe, and if we live life in history, which I suspect all of us do, that's supposed to be a joke.

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<v SPEAKER_01>It clearly didn't land.

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<v SPEAKER_01>We all of us live in the world, we all of us participate in history, then Christ reigns supreme.

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<v SPEAKER_01>What does that mean for our lives?

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<v SPEAKER_01>Is Christ the king of your life?

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<v SPEAKER_01>Bishop Robert Baron, reflecting on Christ the King Sunday, has this to share.

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<v SPEAKER_01>This is a bit of a paraphrase.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He says, anything short of Christ is the king of my whole life means we're horsing around with Christianity.

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<v SPEAKER_01>We're not taking it seriously.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Anything less than Christ is the king of my whole life is not real Christianity.

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<v SPEAKER_01>How does that land on you?

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<v SPEAKER_01>If Christ reigns supreme over the whole cosmos, over all of history, then we're just horsing around if we think, well, I did my Sunday morning duty.

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<v SPEAKER_01>What does it mean that Christ is the king of our whole lives?

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<v SPEAKER_01>Let's explore this with Paul and explore a Colossians passage this morning.

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<v SPEAKER_01>I want to zoom in particularly on verses 15 to 20, where Paul lays out a really rich theology of who Christ is and what that means.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ reigns supreme, is what Paul wants to see.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He's the king of creation and the king of redemption.

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<v SPEAKER_01>So let's look at verses 15 and 17 together.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He's the king of creation.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Pull out your order of service or your Bible, if you will, and follow along in Colossians with me.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Colossians 1, verse 15.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ reigns over the whole cosmos, over everything.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He's sovereign over everything.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Paul writes this: He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Okay, so let's stop there for a moment.

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<v SPEAKER_01>I'll tell you there's every single clause in this in this passage is like loaded with volumes worth of theology.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Like it's crazy.

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<v SPEAKER_01>So, no, I'm not going to preach for eight hours today.

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<v SPEAKER_01>But I can we can only really touch on some of the surface of these things, but try and understand the implications together.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

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<v SPEAKER_01>To be an image of the invisible God, Paul wants us to understand that Christ makes manifest who God is.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Who Jesus is is to us who God is.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Here's what church reformer John Calvin has to say.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He says, Christ is called the image of God on this ground, that he makes God in a manner visible to us.

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<v SPEAKER_01>God in himself, in his naked majesty, is invisible.

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<v SPEAKER_01>And not only to the eyes of the body merely, but also to our understanding.

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<v SPEAKER_01>God is so far above and so transcendent.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He's not someone, something we can grasp on our own initiative.

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<v SPEAKER_01>But rather, God is revealed to us in Christ alone, that we may behold him as in a mirror.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ makes manifest who this invisible, transcendent God is.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Kind of like looking in a mirror.

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<v SPEAKER_01>And this is a very imperfect illustration, but I think it's pretty profound.

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<v SPEAKER_01>I've been thinking about my rear view mirrors recently, and especially driving in this morning.

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<v SPEAKER_01>I was very much thankful for my rear view mirrors slipping and sliding in this snow.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Rear view mirrors, right, on the sides of the car and in the back, they're partly meant to give a sense of your blind spot.

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<v SPEAKER_01>What I'm not seeing as I'm driving the car.

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<v SPEAKER_01>I'm relying on the information that that's telling me to represent accurately what I can't see on my own without cranking my head, so to speak.

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<v SPEAKER_01>But if that wasn't accessible to me, I need to rely on what it is that I'm seeing right in front of me to represent a hidden reality that I wouldn't otherwise get.

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<v SPEAKER_01>And that's who Jesus is in his incarnation.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He is making manifest those realities of who God is that we otherwise wouldn't see, that would be hidden from us.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Now there's a couple of important differences here because the mirror is not the same thing as the thing I'm looking at.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Whereas Jesus is the Word of God in the flesh.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He doesn't just represent to us what God is like as something different than God, something similar but different to God.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He is God in the flesh.

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<v SPEAKER_01>And as God reveals to us who God is.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Okay.

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<v SPEAKER_01>It's like Jesus is the image of the invisible God.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He is making manifest who God is as the exact representation of his nature.

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<v SPEAKER_01>And then Paul says he is the firstborn of all creation.

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<v SPEAKER_01>So in Christ, the creator has become a creature to reveal to creatures their creator.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Did you catch that?

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<v SPEAKER_01>The creator has become a creature to reveal to creatures, us, their creator.

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<v SPEAKER_01>This phrase firstborn of all creation isn't to suggest that Jesus was the first created being and everything else followed after that, but it's rather to ascribe to him priority and authority over all creation.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He is the Father's princely heir.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He is the firstborn of everything that is.

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<v SPEAKER_01>That in everything he might be preeminent.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He's sovereign and reigns over everything, as the creator reigning over creation.

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<v SPEAKER_01>And he's holding everything together.

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<v SPEAKER_01>That's what Paul says in verse 17.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He's before all things, and in him, Christ, all things hold together.

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<v SPEAKER_01>I've been thinking about what holds everything together, and I can't help but think of my Google Calendar.

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<v SPEAKER_01>It's such a bad illustration.

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<v SPEAKER_01>But without my Google Calendar, my life is just complete chaos.

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<v SPEAKER_01>I can't remember what I had for lunch, let alone the appointment I made, you know, in two or three or four weeks' time.

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<v SPEAKER_01>My Google Calendar gives my whole life structure and it gives it uh as it keeps chaos at base, so to speak.

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<v SPEAKER_01>The universe needs that.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Otherwise, the universe descends into incalculable chaos.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Jesus is the one at the very center of creation, keeping everything held together.

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<v SPEAKER_01>We get some glimpses of this through Scripture.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Proverbs chapter 8 says that when God established the heavens, wisdom was there beside him like a master worker.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Proverbs presents a picture like God is bringing the universe into being and weaving through this thread of wisdom, like he's stitching the universe together in the order that he intends it to be.

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<v SPEAKER_01>And as that thread becomes more and more illumined over the course of Scripture, we start to see that that's who Jesus is: sewing everything together, weaving himself through all of creation and binding it together.

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<v SPEAKER_01>That's what John is talking about, part of what John is talking about in his prologue to the gospel.

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<v SPEAKER_01>The word became flesh and dwelt among us.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He was with God and he was God.

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<v SPEAKER_01>This is the Lagos, the word that gives everything meaning, that holds it all together.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Jesus is at the center of everything, bringing chaos into order, bringing creation into the fullest that it can be.

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<v SPEAKER_01>See, the universe is not sheer chaos, it's ordered through Christ's rule.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He is the king of creation, sovereign over everything, reigning supreme over the whole cosmos, the whole universe that we occupy.

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<v SPEAKER_01>And that should matter to us because we're creatures who occupy the universe.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Jesus reigns supreme over the material universe that we occupy, and we're in it.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Under his reign.

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<v SPEAKER_01>What does that mean?

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<v SPEAKER_01>What does it mean to be creatures?

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<v SPEAKER_01>What does it mean that Christ is the king of our creaturely lives?

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<v SPEAKER_01>Well, I get to thinking about this fellow that I've been reading a little bit named Abraham Kuyper, and he's such an interesting guy.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He was one of the preeminent theologians in the Netherlands in the early 20th century.

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<v SPEAKER_01>He was also Prime Minister of the Netherlands, which is pretty remarkable to think.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Anyway, Abraham Kuyper, uh Abraham Ku, so much of Abraham Kuyper's thought comes from this idea that Christ is the king of everything.

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<v SPEAKER_01>And if we take that seriously, it should change everything about our lives and how we live our life in the world.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Here's one of his most famous quotes reflecting on this idea.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Kuyper says, There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry mine.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Okay, I'm gonna read that again because it is so good.

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<v SPEAKER_01>There is not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry mine.

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<v SPEAKER_01>What does that mean for a Kuiper?

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<v SPEAKER_01>It means we can't be content to be Sunday morning Christians.

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<v SPEAKER_01>You know.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Snowstorm accepting.

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<v SPEAKER_01>We might think I'll make my way to church, and yeah, Christ will be king of my, you know, 10 o'clock to, well, I hope, you know, 11.15 if the preacher doesn't go along or something like that.

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<v SPEAKER_01>It's very easy to consign Christ to certain boundaries or restrictions in our lives, isn't it?

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is king of this part.

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<v SPEAKER_01>But the other parts I more or less have sovereign domain, right?

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<v SPEAKER_01>I mean, that's true of our lives personally.

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<v SPEAKER_01>It can be true of culture as well.

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<v SPEAKER_01>We can think Christ is the king, you know, in this room of ours that we occupy right now, but outside the walls.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Really?

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<v SPEAKER_01>I mean, Kuiper wants Christians to say if Christ really is king, if everything in the whole universe he points at and says that's mine, then we need to claim that for the kingdom.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Arts and politics and our labor and our sciences, all of these things put into the service of Christ's kingdom.

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<v SPEAKER_01>To forward a vision of flourishing.

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<v SPEAKER_01>It's not the same thing as the kingdom, but it anticipates the kingdom.

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<v SPEAKER_01>It's taking Christ into those vocations that he has given us and asking, Lord, how can your kingdom come here as it is in heaven?

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<v SPEAKER_01>It's not about divorcing the faith we might have on a Sunday morning from the rest of our lives.

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<v SPEAKER_01>It's about saying the whole of life falls under Christ's sovereign rule.

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<v SPEAKER_01>How do I bring that to Christ and ask him to reign over it?

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is the king of creation.

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<v SPEAKER_01>And Kuiper wants us to, or pardon me, Paul wants to understand this too, that Christ reigns supreme as the king of redemption.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Let's look at verses 18 to 20 here.

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<v SPEAKER_01>I'm just going to read the first part of verse 18.

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<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is the head of the body, the church.

00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:26.480
<v SPEAKER_01>This is a pretty vivid illustration, I think, in itself.

00:17:26.720 --> 00:17:29.359
<v SPEAKER_01>We all of us have heads, I suspect.

00:17:30.319 --> 00:17:32.480
<v SPEAKER_01>Heads do a couple of things for our bodies.

00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:40.240
<v SPEAKER_01>They give direction, they give a sense of leadership, that's true, but they also are pretty important for living, right?

00:17:40.720 --> 00:17:45.839
<v SPEAKER_01>As far as I understand, I'm not a scientist, but I understand the head's pretty important in that way.

00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:56.720
<v SPEAKER_01>It's the body's union with its head that gives a sense of direction and meaning and purpose and leadership, but it also gives that union gives life.

00:17:56.960 --> 00:18:06.640
<v SPEAKER_01>This is what Paul wants the church to understand about the relationship with who Jesus is, and he uses much the same language in Ephesians and in Corinthians.

00:18:06.720 --> 00:18:20.079
<v SPEAKER_01>He says, the Father of glory put all things under Christ's feet and gave him his head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

00:18:20.720 --> 00:18:29.200
<v SPEAKER_01>Christ fills his church so that the church can go out and fill the world, as it were, with the kingdom.

00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:34.960
<v SPEAKER_01>To go out into our vocations and see how Christ can point and say, That's mine too.

00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:48.480
<v SPEAKER_01>Paul writes in 1 Corinthians chapter 12, he writes to the church, he says, You, which is plural by the way, you, the church, are the body of Christ and individually members of it.

00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:56.960
<v SPEAKER_01>Christ fills the church and he calls each individual member to participate in the life of the church in an interdependent way.

00:18:57.200 --> 00:19:17.680
<v SPEAKER_01>The church would be less the church if it weren't for you, if it weren't for me, if we weren't showing up, and yes, snowstorms happen and life happens, but the church is most fully the church when its people come together to bring that fullness of Christ to one another.

00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:22.640
<v SPEAKER_01>See, it's not just about showing up to church like, what will I get out of it?

00:19:22.880 --> 00:19:25.039
<v SPEAKER_01>But I'm a member of the church.

00:19:25.599 --> 00:19:27.680
<v SPEAKER_01>I need you and you need me.

00:19:27.920 --> 00:19:33.599
<v SPEAKER_01>I need to show up and be ready to be a member not just for my sake, but for yours.

00:19:34.240 --> 00:19:35.839
<v SPEAKER_01>That's the life of the church.

00:19:35.920 --> 00:19:44.160
<v SPEAKER_01>It's sharing in the life of the body in union with our head, following his leadership, coming under his reign and his rule.

00:19:44.720 --> 00:19:51.519
<v SPEAKER_01>He is the head of the body of the church, and Paul wants us to understand that he is the risen reconciler.

00:19:51.759 --> 00:19:55.039
<v SPEAKER_01>Let's look at the rest of verse 18 through 20 here.

00:19:55.519 --> 00:20:02.240
<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:16.400
<v SPEAKER_01>For in him the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether in heaven or in earth, making peace by the blood of his cross.

00:20:17.279 --> 00:20:20.559
<v SPEAKER_01>Paul says that Christ is the firstborn from the dead.

00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:23.119
<v SPEAKER_01>He's called Christ the firstborn of all creation.

00:20:23.279 --> 00:20:25.599
<v SPEAKER_01>Now he's using firstborn in another sense.

00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:29.680
<v SPEAKER_01>Jesus is the first to be raised from the dead.

00:20:29.839 --> 00:20:32.000
<v SPEAKER_01>He's talking about his resurrection.

00:20:32.319 --> 00:20:36.799
<v SPEAKER_01>He's talking about a new end to the story of redemption.

00:20:37.200 --> 00:20:45.599
<v SPEAKER_01>Last week of my sermon I said that in Christ death can give way to life, and this is what Paul wants the Colossians to see.

00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:53.920
<v SPEAKER_01>As the firstborn of the dead, Jesus has made a new ending, as it were, to the story, to the great story we live in.

00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:57.680
<v SPEAKER_01>It doesn't end with death, it doesn't end here.

00:20:58.240 --> 00:21:04.000
<v SPEAKER_01>Jesus opens up a whole new hope, an everlasting life.

00:21:05.440 --> 00:21:12.400
<v SPEAKER_01>And Paul writes that through Christ God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things.

00:21:12.559 --> 00:21:14.319
<v SPEAKER_01>This is priestly language.

00:21:14.480 --> 00:21:27.839
<v SPEAKER_01>This is the sort of language that's meant to bring back from our memory Old Testament sacrifices where Levitical priests would reconcile the sinful Israelites with their holy God.

00:21:28.000 --> 00:21:32.559
<v SPEAKER_01>They were meant to stand in the middle and bridge the gap, as it were, through sacrifice.

00:21:32.720 --> 00:21:35.039
<v SPEAKER_01>And this is Christ's ministry to us.

00:21:35.359 --> 00:21:39.440
<v SPEAKER_01>He is to bring us together with our holy God once for all time.

00:21:39.599 --> 00:21:41.440
<v SPEAKER_01>And we might ask, how does he do that?

00:21:41.519 --> 00:21:43.039
<v SPEAKER_01>And Paul gives us an answer.

00:21:43.440 --> 00:21:46.799
<v SPEAKER_01>He makes peace by the blood of his cross.

00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:52.319
<v SPEAKER_01>He is himself the priest and victim in the Eucharistic feast.

00:21:52.559 --> 00:21:54.319
<v SPEAKER_01>That's what we sang earlier.

00:21:54.640 --> 00:21:58.079
<v SPEAKER_01>He gives himself for our sake.

00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:03.680
<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is the King of redemption.

00:22:04.480 --> 00:22:14.799
<v SPEAKER_01>He reigns supreme over all of history, in the middle of which stands his cross and his resurrection and his promise to come again in glory.

00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:18.079
<v SPEAKER_01>See, this is the great story.

00:22:18.319 --> 00:22:26.480
<v SPEAKER_01>This is the great story under which all our stories find their meaning and their purpose if we let them.

00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:28.960
<v SPEAKER_01>I was talking with a pastor friend of mine recently.

00:22:29.039 --> 00:22:39.759
<v SPEAKER_01>He was describing to me the experience of talking with a lifelong churchgoer, like Sunday school, all the way, this this I get the sense is probably a Septuagintarian, right?

00:22:39.839 --> 00:22:44.319
<v SPEAKER_01>So this is this is a long life lived week for week going to the church.

00:22:44.720 --> 00:22:59.519
<v SPEAKER_01>And he had this experience of talking with this person who I guess shared that they never really understood what they're supposed to make of the Bible, which is a pretty important question and a difficult thing we all kind of need to wrestle with, that's true.

00:22:59.759 --> 00:23:04.559
<v SPEAKER_01>But I guess my pastor friend is thinking, boy, you've had a little bit of time to wrestle with that question.

00:23:04.880 --> 00:23:05.519
<v SPEAKER_01>You know.

00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:13.680
<v SPEAKER_01>And over the course of the conversation it becomes clear that the expectation this person has of the Bible is I'm going to open it and it's going to give me all the answers I need for my life.

00:23:13.920 --> 00:23:15.039
<v SPEAKER_01>I know what I want to do.

00:23:15.200 --> 00:23:18.400
<v SPEAKER_01>The Bible should be supplying me with the answers of how to do it.

00:23:18.720 --> 00:23:26.400
<v SPEAKER_01>And my pastor friend was able to very uh uh gently say, Well, I think you might have the reverse uh order in mind there.

00:23:26.640 --> 00:23:31.920
<v SPEAKER_01>The Bible is not a how-to manual for realizing your best story.

00:23:32.160 --> 00:23:37.039
<v SPEAKER_01>It's telling the great story and inviting us to participate in it.

00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:45.279
<v SPEAKER_01>The story of redemption, the story of the cross and the resurrection and the ascension, and Christ who will come again in glory.

00:23:45.440 --> 00:23:47.279
<v SPEAKER_01>That's the great story.

00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:53.839
<v SPEAKER_01>And it invites all of our individual stories to find their meaning and purpose in that story.

00:23:54.319 --> 00:24:05.279
<v SPEAKER_01>See, Christ is the king of our lives when our individual stories wrap themselves and intertwine themselves with this great story that God is telling in Jesus.

00:24:06.160 --> 00:24:14.880
<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is the king of our lives when desperate times set in, but we cling to God's promises and we find hope.

00:24:15.119 --> 00:24:21.839
<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is the king of our lives when our marriage is in trouble, but we go, I am going to stick this out.

00:24:22.079 --> 00:24:24.000
<v SPEAKER_01>We are going to work on this.

00:24:24.880 --> 00:24:38.160
<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is the king of our lives when it'd be so much easier to look the other way at work, something's askew, or something's askew in our neighborhood, and it'd be so much easier not to say anything, but instead we make that decision for justice.

00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:49.119
<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is the king of our lives when we get that diagnosis, but we are reminded that though I die, yet shall I live through Christ.

00:24:49.839 --> 00:25:01.279
<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is the king of our lives when our individual stories wrap up in that great story that He is telling, where He reigns supreme over everything.

00:25:01.519 --> 00:25:05.200
<v SPEAKER_01>Friends, that's, I think, the purpose of the church, at least partly.

00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:08.640
<v SPEAKER_01>To tell that story again and again, Sunday for Sunday.

00:25:08.720 --> 00:25:11.759
<v SPEAKER_01>Sometimes we wonder why do we do the same liturgy week for week?

00:25:12.319 --> 00:25:15.200
<v SPEAKER_01>You know, can we mix this up a little bit?

00:25:16.000 --> 00:25:18.559
<v SPEAKER_01>I mean, we can talk about that.

00:25:19.359 --> 00:25:25.119
<v SPEAKER_01>But the purpose of liturgy is to remind us and invite us into that same old story.

00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:33.279
<v SPEAKER_01>Because I don't know about you, but I'm inclined to forget that story almost day for day and substitute my own, where I'm Lord of my life.

00:25:34.160 --> 00:25:46.960
<v SPEAKER_01>The life of the church and the advantage, I think, of liturgy is to invite us back into that story, to relate our individual stories, into that great story, through word and through the table.

00:25:47.200 --> 00:25:55.359
<v SPEAKER_01>I think that dismissal of ours, go in peace to love and serve the Lord, is something that we don't, that doesn't get the attention that it deserves.

00:25:55.759 --> 00:26:09.519
<v SPEAKER_01>That saying, take this story that we're living out together right now and take it out into the world so that Christ can say, mine, and then come back next Sunday to participate in the story altogether again.

00:26:11.519 --> 00:26:13.519
<v SPEAKER_01>Christ is the King of redemption.

00:26:13.680 --> 00:26:22.960
<v SPEAKER_01>He offers a whole new story where redemption is at the middle of it all, through his death, through his resurrection, through his coming again in glory.

00:26:23.279 --> 00:26:29.680
<v SPEAKER_01>Christ reigns supreme as the king of creation, as the king of redemption.

00:26:29.920 --> 00:26:31.759
<v SPEAKER_01>So Paul prays for the Colossians.

00:26:31.920 --> 00:26:36.319
<v SPEAKER_01>We can take heart, be strengthened, give thanks.

00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:42.400
<v SPEAKER_01>We have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light.

00:26:42.480 --> 00:26:43.920
<v SPEAKER_01>If we are in Christ.

00:26:44.160 --> 00:26:52.559
<v SPEAKER_01>If Christ is our Lord, if we have invited him to be the king of our lives, then we can rest assured that we are part of that kingdom.

00:26:52.799 --> 00:26:54.960
<v SPEAKER_01>Is Christ the king of your life?

00:26:57.759 --> 00:27:01.920
<v SPEAKER_01>Let Christ reign supreme in your story.

00:27:02.240 --> 00:27:04.319
<v SPEAKER_01>In our story, Newsong.

00:27:07.440 --> 00:27:08.079
<v SPEAKER_01>Amen.

00:27:10.400 --> 00:27:12.079
<v SPEAKER_01>Thank you for listening today.

00:27:12.240 --> 00:27:17.759
<v SPEAKER_01>We worship a generous God who calls us to follow Him in giving willfully, cheerfully, and sacrificially.

00:27:17.920 --> 00:27:24.400
<v SPEAKER_01>Newsong Church's mission and ministry is 100% funded by the generous gifts of those worshiping and journeying with us.

00:27:24.559 --> 00:27:32.160
<v SPEAKER_01>If you'd like to offer a gift towards Newsong's ministry, please visit Newsongportperry.ca slash giving for more information on how to do that.

00:27:32.400 --> 00:27:35.440
<v SPEAKER_01>May God bless you and keep you today and every day.