Growth From God

Audio Recording

Sermon Outline

Speaker: Rev. Scott Strickman
Sermon Series: Sabbath

Leviticus 23:3, Colossians 2:16-19, Revelation 1:9-11  (ESV)
3 “Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation. You shall do no work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwelling places.

Colossians 2
16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

Revelation 1
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

Sermon Outline
We are nourished to grow when we connect with God each week by looking up to Christ.

1. Head

  • Col 2:19 “…holding fast to the head…”

  • Col 2:18 “… puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind…”

2. Substance

  • Col 2:17 “these are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ”

  • Col 2:16 “let no one pass judgment on you… with regard to… sabbath”

3. Lord

  • Rev 1:10 “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Lev 23:3 “a holy convocation”)

  • Col 2:16, 18 “let no one pass judgment on you”, “let no one disqualify you”

Prayer of Confession
Almighty God, you are above all.  We humble ourselves, admitting our need of forgiveness.  We have been puffed up, thinking we are fine apart from you.  We have been prideful, striving to earn what we could never attain.  We have sought life in the shadowy things but not in the substance, Jesus Christ.  Our restless souls are mired in the mess we have made because of the sinful thoughts and actions that spring from our corrupt hearts.  We are setting our minds above, to where Christ is seated, to remember your mercy and ask again for forgiveness.  Bring rest to our weary souls, and nourish us for the growth that comes from you alone.  Amen.

Questions for Reflection

  1. What nourishes your soul?  As you look back, what has helped you grow?

  2. Why is Jesus described as a “head”?  What is it about a head that is important for us to understand?

  3. What practices can you prioritize on the first day of the week to help you put your mind in connection with the mind of Christ?  What can you do to help you see what Jesus wants you to see?

  4. What can go wrong if you are chasing mystical experiences?

  5. How can keeping a sabbath day become burdensome?

  6. What can we learn from Jesus being presented as the “substance”, with all that was before him being shadow?

  7. What is significant about Christians gathering weekly on the day Jesus was raised? 

  8. How is the gospel a help for anyone trying to keep the discipline of a day of rest?  What challenges will come up as you try to keep this practice and why is God’s grace important for working through them?  What kind of rest is possible when you are working the gospel into your life (what weighs on you that can be lifted as you gain the mind of Christ and his grace)?