11.19.2025
This Sunday’s service is one of my absolute favorites of the year – our Thanksgiving service! Giving thanks to God is at the core of our worship, but this service is completely dedicated to giving thanks.
And there’s food!
And because there’s food, I’ll probably shorten my sermon a bit (see, there are two GREAT reasons to be there AND to be thankful – food and a short sermon).
But my problem is that I’m preaching from one of my favorite passages in the New Testament: Colossians 3:12-17. It’s a passage I wish we all had memorized and not only memorized, but I wish it were such a part of our DNA that living it would be as natural as breathing.
Paul is writing to a house church in the city of Colossae that was no larger than ours and he’s telling them how to live in harmony with one another. All through this chapter, Paul is reminding this little congregation that they are not who they used to be. Before Christ, they lived all sorts of ways and immorality and vengeance were the norm. But those days are over and so Paul writes:
Therefore, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Isn’t that beautiful! Paul is describing a harmonious life lived by the people who are God’s chosen, holy (which could also be translated as “saints”) and beloved. Because we belong to God, our lives should be characterized by compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forgiveness, love and gratitude.
Now, since my sermon is going to be short (see how I’ve mentioned that 3 times?), I can’t begin to unpack everything in this passage. Since Thanksgiving’s coming, I’ll primarily speak on the verses about gratitude.
I thought I’d write today about another part of the passage vital to our lives together. Paul is describing a life of harmony, and to maintain that harmony, Paul writes “Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” If someone does something against us, what are we supposed to do? We are to bear with them – put up with them – and forgive them just as we have been forgiven. In fact, Paul repeats it, drives it home, writing “just as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Notice Paul doesn’t specify what sort of complaint. Our response to the complaint (forgiveness) is more important than the actual complaint
Forgiveness is one of the hallmarks of the Christian life – it is NOT a natural response and it cannot be faked. Last week, I wrote about the YouTube video series, “Resident but Alien.” In one of the sessions, Alan Kreider asserts that forgiveness, above all else, is the main reason for the church’s incredible growth in the first three centuries. When non-believers saw the willingness of believers to forgive one another and forgive “those who trespass against us,” they knew there was something about the believers worth checking out.
And they were right! The life of a child of God is really a wonderful life. It is a life free from the bondage of hate, of selfishness, of pride, and unforgiveness.
These are chains.
Think about somebody you may have a grudge against. Do they care? Do they even know? Who do you hurt when you nurse a spirit of unforgiveness? You hurt yourself. The life Paul described, the life of those chosen of God, holy and beloved, is a much better way to live.
In verses 15 and 17, Paul tells us how all this is possible: let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts. I love the Greek word translated as “rule”: brobeuo.
It means “umpire.” The verse could be translated, “let the peace of Christ be the umpire in your hearts.” In the world of Greek athletics, just like today, the umpire settled any dispute during a game or when the end of an athletic event was in question.
If the peace of Christ is the umpire in our hearts, when someone does something against us, our feelings may clash because our natural inclination is to lash out but we know we’re called to “love God . . . love others.” But if we let peace be the umpire, then we’re going to choose what makes for peace – even if we have to swallow our own pride.
Remember: our response to the hurt is more important than the hurt itself.
Verse 17 sums up the entire passage for us: “and whatever you do in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord, giving thanks . . .” But that’s getting into my sermon for Sunday!
I hope you all will join us for Sunday’s service. It’s one of the greatest services of the year.
And there’s food afterwards! And the sermon’s short! So be thankful!
Blessings,
Pastor Terry