Our Resolute Hope Podcast

Being in Christ isn’t just a list of things true about us on paper.  It represents the full complement of spiritual resources Jesus Christ gives us so we can live Godly lives in this present evil age.

Rooted in Christ and established in the faith, the Colossians must be on guard against false teachers who promised earthly wisdom and human tradition.  Their standard?  Whether what they heard is according to Christ.

Encouragement is among the most powerful gifts we can give someone.  Knit with the Colossians in spirit, Paul taught them who they are in Christ, how to walk in the world, and why they must watch for the enemy’s lies.

All wisdom and knowledge are hidden in Christ.  This comes in handy when slick-talking false teachers sidestep the truth to deceive the saints.  Only our Lord can show us what’s true … and what isn’t.

Our suffering is not only for our maturity, it’s for others’ too.  Paul’s agony for the saints in Colossae had a purpose … that they might pursue Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

Rejoicing in our suffering sounds absolutely impossible.  But it’s not … if we rely on His strength.  When we braid intimately with God, He doesn’t replenish our meager strength.  He gives us His instead (Isaiah 40:31).

In His grace, God allows us to share the sufferings of Jesus so that we can become like our Savior in His death.  It’s only then that we begin to truly know Him and to experience His resurrection power in our lives.

Suffering.  No one wants it, but it’s God’s gift to us wrapped in dark paper.  Paul wrote that suffering is necessary to make the word of God fully known.  It’s crucial to advance God’s kingdom … and to advance God’s kingdom in us.

Father God rolled up His sleeves to redeem us (Isaiah 52:10).  He made peace by removing every barrier that separates us from Him.  And then He made us holy and set us apart as blameless and above reproach.

Our Jesus has quite a résumé!  He is the head of the church, the beginning, and the firstborn from the dead.  He is the fullness of God in a person, the One Who makes God visible and tangible.  And … He holds the universe together, too!

Understanding the supremacy of Christ begins with recognizing His role in creation.  Our Jesus, Who came to us as the tangible, safe expression of God, was the very One Who created everything in the heavens and on the earth.

Father God qualified us to share His inheritance, delivered us from darkness, transplanted us into His Son’s kingdom, liberated us by paying the ransom, and forgave us our sins … past, present, and future.  In Christ, we have it all now!

Paul continues his encouragement by praying for the saints in Colossae … but not about specific problems or needs.  Instead he prays that they’d overflow with the knowledge of God, so that they’d choose to walk worthy of Him.

The epistle begins with Paul’s warm praise for the Colossian believers’ faith in God and love for the saints.  And the reason for this?  It’s their hope, their confident expectation, of what’s laid up for them in heaven.

Amid the wreckage of broken relationships, we need courage, a drive from the heart, to move toward restoration and to believe that God will do just as He promised … He will make all things new.

Relationships are costly.  And when they’re broken, it’s so very easy to simply discard them.  But Christ’s life in us desires to pay the cost for restoration, using the currency of forgiveness, compassion, acceptance, and love.

When conflicts occur, we often pray for things to go back to how they were.  But what if more is possible?  This is how Paul approached Philemon, encouraging him to let God rebuild his relationship with Onesimus in an unprecedented way.

Rather than demanding obedience and conformity, Paul's approach to restoring relationship between Philemon and Onesimus took a radical approach, one built on honor, trust, and protection ... all hallmarks of Christ's life in us.

Frank and John’s podcast series on the One Anothers goes from the classroom to the real world.  Join them as they consider how Apostle Paul worked to restore a tricky relationship in the  early church.

Agape is a pure, willful, sacrificial love that deliberately desires another’s highest good.  Said another way, it’s the most redemptive, constructive, and honoring thing we can do for someone.  It’s God’s love in us and through us to others.

Forgiving one another is a command meant for our good.  Frank and John discuss the need for forgiveness, the consequences for refusing to do it, common counterfeits, and most importantly how to do it.

Forgiveness is a great idea, until it’s time for you to do it.  Then it can seem almost impossible.  But Christ’s life empowers us to do the supernatural … to forgive completely, just as the Lord has forgiven us.

All believers can struggle and veer from the path of righteousness.  When this happens, we’re to shepherd them, tenderly show their error, and remind them of the truth while doing all we can to protect them.

Vilifying, defaming, and accusing people unjustly have become common in the church.  As partakers of the New Covenant, we’re to speak life, with words seasoned with salt that preserve, protect, and restore others.

Complaining, whining, and making a fuss all qualify as grumbling.  When we speak death this way, we do more than just nurture resentment against others.  We usurp God’s role and pass judgement upon them.