New Testament | Colossians 1:11-20 (with Nick Locke)

Opening Song:
Fullness of God by Jonathan Ogden

Lyrics:
We are citizens of a heavenly home
This life that we now live is no longer our own
Cause we're living for the King of Glory
Our lives laid down will tell His story

He is the image of the invisible God
He made all things on Earth and Heaven above
The firstborn over all creation
The ruler over all the nations

In Him
All the fullness of God was pleased to dwell
Through Him
He we will reconcile all things to Himself

And He'll never change
From age to age He stays the same
Eternal surpassing
His love's everlasting
He'll never change
From age to age He stays the same
He's steadfast unchanging
His love's never ending

In Him
All the fullness of God was pleased to dwell
Through Him
He we will reconcile all things to Himself

Passage:
…being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; 12 giving thanks[a] to the Father, who has qualified you[b] to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

The Preeminence of Christ
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by[c] 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. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. 19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Musical Reflection:
“Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us,” tune by William Bradbury

Reflection Notes:
The tune BRADBURY is named for its composer, a New Englander from the first half of the nineteenth century. The sweet melody for the verses repeats, then is followed by a strong refrain.

Prayer:
O Lord, you have given us your Word as a light to shine on our path; grant that we may so meditate on that Word and follow its teaching that we may find in it the light that shines more and more until the perfect day; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
-Jerome