Christ Is Still King Series

Title: christ is Still King

Text: Colossians 1:15-21

P.S.: We all need to answer the question, ‘Is Christ prominent in my life or is He pre-eminent? He just doesn’t want a place in my life, He demands first place.

Introduction:

Here are some trivia questions to live your life on:

• workers were suspended from a Las Vegas hospital in 1980 for betting on when people would die.

• There are more bacteria in your mouth than there are people in the world

• The cavity fighter found in tooth-paste is made from recycled tin.

• No one knows where Mozart is buried.

• gardening is the best exercise for maintaining healthy bones

• Forty trillion dollars exchanges hands every day worldwide

• The average person takes 10,000 steps a day

• Morbidly obese humans are the worlds largest primates. gorillas are after that at 485 pounds

• Forty-one percent of the moon is not visible from the earth at any time

• From the age of thirty, humans gradually begin to shrink.

The truly most important question a person needs to answer has to do with thr relationship with Jesus Christ. This is no trivial matter.

We all need to answer the question, ‘Is Christ prominent in our lives or is He pre-eminent? He just doesn’t want a place in our lives, He demands first place.

Christmas is the time of year when this question is truly put to the test in our lives. When you enter Wal-Mart, and past the greeters, you are immediately faced with aisle upon aisle of ‘stuff’ to buy for that one special person..

As you walk down each aisle, you will also find elves, Santas, and even Harry Potter. It seems each year that Santa and Harry potter are becoming increasingly more prominent at Christmas.

However, contrary to what seems to be happening to Christmas, no amount of marketing by Wall Street can ever take away Jesus preeminence over Christmas. Jesus will always remain the central focus, simply because with out His birth, there is absolutely no reason to celebrate.

The fact of Jesus pre-eminence over Christmas is without question. The most importance question each of us needs to ask is, IS Jesus Lord over my life, my family, and my career?

For many people Jesus is prominent. They will decorate their homes with lights, a tree and maybe even a Christmas creche. They will attend church at least once, and sing the familiar carols. Jesus is prominent, but in their hearts is He the central one guiding and directing their lives?

Jesus does not want to merely have a place in your life, He wants the throne of your heart. Turn with me to Colossians 1:15-22, where Paul talks about what it means to have Jesus Lord of your life.

In these five verses, Jesus Lordship is describes in terms of relationship: In His relationship with God (15); In His relationship with creation (16-17) and His relationship with to the church; and finally how His Lordship affects his relationship with you and me.(18-20)

First of all, Jesus is described as, the image of the invisible God. The word image, conveys at least two ideas. First, it conveys the thought that the Lord Jesus has enabled us to see what God is like. The Bible says that God is spirit, and so He is invisible. But in the Person of Jesus Christ, God made Himself visible to humanity. The writer of the Hebrews also conveys this idea when he has in Hebrews 1:3

The Son perfectly mirrors God and is stamped with His image...”(The Message Bible)

I have heard people say that there are more than one way to God. Jesus is OK, but he is only one of many roads to the Father. Well, if the Bible is true, and I believe it is, then there is only one way, one road, one Lord, Jesus!!!

“O, I can see God in nature.” It is true that the existence, power, and wisdom of God is revealed through creation, but nature alone cannot reveal the essence of God.

Jesus himself made this bold statement, Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

Jesus came, born in a manger not to be the subject of quaint Christmas carols sung once a year. He came to reveal the essence of God Himself.

IN the Book, A Portrait of Christ’ James Draper concludes that, Jesus is not a photo-copy. HE did not become the image of God. He is the image of God, always has been and always will be.”

The word, image. Also conveys the idea of ‘representative’. God had originally placed Adam on earth to represent his interests, but Adam failed. Therefore, God sent his only begotten son, into the world as His representative to care for His interests and to reveal the His heart of love to man.