Jesus is the Clue Colossians 1:11-20
Arthur Fry a chemist at 3M Corporation was having problems in the choir at Church.
The pastor's sermon was especially boring, so Arthur began putting slips of paper in the hymnal for upcoming songs, but the slips kept fluttering out and on the floor. Then he remembered researcher Spence Silver's discovery. Silver had mixed an unusual amount of monomer into a polymer-based adhesive he was working on. The result was a tacky adhesive It stuck but not well. The company had no use for it. Arthur Fry went to work dabbed some of the adhesive on slips of paper and stuck them around the office. They stayed, yet not so strongly they damaged surfaces when pulled off. Today Post it Notes are found in every office in America and pull in big Bucks for 3M. This shows us that even boring sermons can be helpful
1. Adhesives hold things together and so does sticking with Jesus, staying with Jesus, stuck on Jesus, Jesus is the clue for all things says Paul.
We need to keep our Eyes on Jesus, we need Hours with Jesus, and we need engagement with Jesus
• Jesus Christ “is before all things,” says the Paul to the Colossians, “and in him all things hold together” (1:17).
• Without him, everything falls apart Paul tells us why we should stick tightly to Jesus “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation,” says Paul, and “all things have been created through him and for him” (vv. 15-16).
• Jesus was part of the creation of the world, long before his birth in Bethlehem. As the eternal Son of God, he continues to live and hold everything together with a powerful bond.
2. Jesus is more than just a Jewish Rabbi Jesus was much more than a Jewish rabbi.
• He was the invisible God in visible flesh and blood.
• One might say, “God is putting the world back together, and God is doing this through Jesus.”
• Jesus, is restoring broken relationships — between people and God
• Paul also says that Jesus “is the head of the body, the church” (v. 18). We are To follow Jesus with great devotion. To give him “first place in everything” (v. 18). We are to have faith that sticks to Jesus
3. Since Jesus is our clue then we should keep our eyes on him. Jesus wants your eyes on him, especially as he is revealed through Scripture. In Colossians, the apostle Paul says that Jesus “is the image of the invisible God” (v. 15).
• This means that if you want to see the face of God, look to Jesus. “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell” (vv. 18-19).
• If you want to understand the will of God, listen to the words of Jesus.
• If you want to receive the guidance of God, follow Jesus.
• If you want to feel the love of God, move closer to Jesus.
4. Jesus doesn’t just want our eyes on him, but he also wants some hours with us 18 He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything
• Jesus desires some hours of integrity, some hours of honesty,
• Hours of attentiveness Hours for worship and study and prayer and service
• Hours in the workplace give us a good income hour spent with Jesus will give us a good eternity
5. Jesus Wants Engagement Paul states that Jesus wants “First Place in Everything vs.18
• Christian faith is a life of active worship and service.
• Jesus wants our faith to be stronger than epoxy glue. He wants us to make him “first place in everything” (v. 18).
• Why should we be engaged? Because vs. 12 12 giving thanks to the Father,[a] who has enabled[b] you[c] to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.
• 13 He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,
• 14 in whom we have redemption,[d] the forgiveness of sins.
Eyeballs, hours, engagement. These are not just words
• Instead, they are keys to the practice of adhesive faith.
• When we stick to Jesus in this way, we are given strength, endurance, and forgiveness.
• We remain connected to the one who shows us the face of God and holds all things together.
• Let’s live a stick- -to-it- tiff- ness type life
