December 16, 2016: This week we heard from one of the guys that hasn’t been around for a while in how God had led him to the ministry of providing cars to missionaries.
Church
Table Talk – Episode 71 – How Does God Speak to Us?
December 2, 2016: This week we looked at the question of how does God speak to us.
Table Talk – Episode 70 – When God Tells You To Move
December 2, 2016: This week pastor Sam started to talk about how at times God tells you to move on from where you have been at.
Table Talk – Episode 67 – Salt and Light Testimonies
October 28, 2016: This week we discussed the testimony we exhibit as being the salt and the light of the world.
Table Talk is a weekly gathering of men in the Pinellas Park area from different denominations and backgrounds. We meet every Friday morning from around 6:30-8:00 at the Egg Platter restaurant. It is located at 6767 US Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park. If you happen to be in the area feel free to come out and join us for a time of fellowship and Bible study.
Table Talk – Episode 66 – Salvation & Belief
October 21, 2016: This week we talked about how salvation fits into our spiritual growth and how it differs from belief.
Table Talk is a weekly gathering of men in the Pinellas Park area from different denominations and backgrounds. We meet every Friday morning from around 6:30-8:00 at the Egg Platter restaurant. It is located at 6767 US Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park. If you happen to be in the area feel free to come out and join us for a time of fellowship and Bible study.
Table Talk – Episode 65 – Be an Overcomer
October 14, 2016: This week we looked at the third stage of spiritual growth and how it relates to being an overcomer.
Table Talk is a weekly gathering of men in the Pinellas Park area from different denominations and backgrounds. We meet every Friday morning from around 6:30-8:00 at the Egg Platter restaurant. It is located at 6767 US Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park. If you happen to be in the area feel free to come out and join us for a time of fellowship and Bible study.
Table Talk – Episode 58 – How to Grow A Christian
August 12, 2016: This week in our discussion regarding spiritual growth we ended up focusing on how to get Christians out of the “baby” stage of their spiritual development.
Table Talk is a weekly gathering of men in the Pinellas Park area from different denominations and backgrounds. We meet every Friday morning from around 6:30-8:00 at the Egg Platter restaurant. It is located at 6767 US Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park. If you happen to be in the area feel free to come out and join us for a time of fellowship and Bible study.
Semper Paratus – Be Vigilant
So his week we are looking at this concept of being prepared as Paul instructed the Colossian church. Last time we saw the reason and way we are to be prepared, so that we can continue to grow spiritually and not be led away by false teachings. Today we will look at how in being prepared we also need to be vigilant. Colossians 2:8-10 reads, “Be careful that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ. For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.”
Vigilance
Paul starts out this section with a warning, he tells the Christian to “Be careful that no one takes you captive.” There is a reason Paul uses military terms, that is because we are in the midst of a spiritual war. Paul tells us we need to be vigilant, we need to be aware and watchful of any attacks of the enemy; why so that we are not taken captive. You see Satan is looking for ways to capture believers, often by leading them astray due to them not being vigilant to his tactics. It is said that cults do not reach for the lost, rather they go for the immature Christian and lure them in, because they lack the vigilance to notice they are being taken “captive through philosophy and empty deceit based on human tradition, based on the elemental forces of the world, and not based on Christ.”
So how are we to be vigilant? We need to be grounded in the Word of God, for that is the source of truth and where our faith is established. As we root ourselves in the Word of God we find ourselves able to discern when we encounter teachings that are not Christ centered and thus teachings that should be avoided.
Proper Teaching
Paul then presents the reasons why the teachings of the Gnostics and other false teachers is not beneficial to the believer. “For the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by Him, who is the head over every ruler and authority.” Paul is essentially telling the Colossian church that Christ, being God with us, had the nature and attributes of God. This was contrary to what the Gnostics taught. But it didn’t stop there, through faith we share in that fullness; by this we grow not by adding to Christ but by Christ fills us with the Holy Spirit. So in being vigilant we need to constantly ask of teachings, where does it place Christ, does it keep Christ at the center or does it say we need something other or in addition to Christ? If it takes away from who Christ is and what He did then flee from it.
Table Talk- Episode 56 – Rocking Horse Christians
July 29, 2016: This week Fritz led the discussion by talking about spiritual growth and how many Christians tend to stay in the early stages.
Table Talk is a weekly gathering of men in the Pinellas Park area from different denominations and backgrounds. We meet every Friday morning from around 6:30-8:00 at the Egg Platter restaurant. It is located at 6767 US Highway 19 North in Pinellas Park. If you happen to be in the area feel free to come out and join us for a time of fellowship and Bible study.
Who Is Paul? – Spiritual Warrior
So this week we are wrapping up with chapter 1 of Colossians with Paul introducing himself to the Colossian church as well as his ministry. We have seen how he is and evangelist, a prisoner for the sake of the Gentiles, and now we will see that he strives for the believers. Colossians 1:28-29, “We proclaim Him, warning and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone mature in Christ. I labor for this, striving with His strength that works powerfully in me.”
Instruction
The first thing Paul mentions here is that he proclaims or preaches Christ. The false teachers preached a system of teaching, a list of rules and regulations, or philosophy and empty traditions of men; Paul pointed to Christ. It was not only preaching though, Paul also warned. He warned the believers of the lies of the enemy and taught then the truth. You see it does not help to just warn of the danger one also needs to teach the way to avoid that danger, this is precisely what Paul does in each of his correspondences. He recognizes that the church needs to be warned of false teachings, but he does not just leave it at that he then goes on to tell them why the teachings are wrong while presenting them with the truth.
Intent
At the end of verse 28 we see what Paul’s intent is, “so that we may present everyone mature in Christ.” Some translations use perfect. In other words Paul desires every believer to grow spiritually, to become mature and complete. That is because growth is the result of a healthy body, if the body is not healthy, if it is malnourished, or if it has died, it no longer grows. Paul in his preaching, warning, and teaching desires for believers to be spiritually healthy. That was the goal of his ministry; in fact his desire and passion is so strong that he labors and strives for it. You see Paul feels so strongly for his ministry that he wrestles and works to the point of exhaustion so that he may present believers that are mature in Christ. Each of us as believers in Christ have a calling, yet can we confidently say that we labor and strive just to fulfill our calling?
Intercession
While Paul ends chapter 1 with the intent and goal of his ministry he starts out chapter 2 with his primary tool to accomplish this task. He does this by praying for them. Paul prays that they be encouraged and that they come together in love. He wants them to experience the richness that they find in Christ and come to knowledge of who God is. You see it is not enough that Paul preaches, teaches, and warns but he understands that he needs to pray that God will work on them as it is ultimately God and the Holy Spirit that will change a person and help them to grow spiritually.