February 17, 2017: This week we talked about revival and how it starts with God working in us as individuals.
Gospel
Table Talk – Episode 79 – Evangelism and Blessings
February 10, 2017: This week we got to hear from a ministry that focuses on helping to equip Christians to share the Gospel with people.
Table Talk – Episode 78 – What’s Your Inheritance And What’s Your Legacy
February 3, 2017: This week we talked about what sort of inheritance we have gained whether good or bad and what legacy we are leaving for our children by being willing to be used by God when and where He calls us.
Table Talk – Episode 72 – Missionary Ministries
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.
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 63 – Commitment and Identity
September 30, 2016: This week we talked about how Christianity involves a commitment and how as we progress to the third stage we find our identity in Christ.
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.
Table Talk – Episode 55 – False Teachers and False Prophets
July 22, 2016: This week Fritz took the lead as Pastor Sam was out for a Memorial Service. We ended up talking about false teachers and false prophets and how it is important to be rooted in the Word.
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? – Prisoner For The Gospel
So this week we are looking at how Paul introduces himself to the Colossian church by illustrating his three key ministries. Last time we saw him present his ministry of evangelism while also presenting the Gospel to the Colossian church. This time we will see Paul’s role as a prisoner for the Gospel. As we continue with Colossians 1:24-27, “Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I am completing in my flesh what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for His body, that is, the church. I have become its servant, according to God’s administration that was given to me for you, to make God’s message fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to His saints. God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Remember Paul right now is defending himself against the ridicule of the false teachers in Colossae, where one weapon they probably used was Paul being a prisoner of Rome. Paul uses his words to turn that weapon around.
Rejoicing
The first thing Paul mentions is that he rejoices in his sufferings, that seems like a contradiction, how can someone rejoice in suffering; yet Paul did. The reason he could state that he rejoices in his sufferings is because of why he was suffering. He was in prison because of the Gospel, it was because of his belief in Christ that he was suffering. It didn’t just end with his belief in Christ but his suffering also came because of his ministry to the Gentiles. It was in Jerusalem where Paul was arrested, and it was because of his calling to share the Gospel to the Gentiles that caused the Jews to call for his execution. Finally Paul rejoiced in his sufferings because it was for the sake of the church. You see in being a prisoner in Rome Paul had opportunities to minister and share the Gospel that he might not have had otherwise, all because of his suffering.
Responsibility
It is in the final aspect of Paul’s rejoicing in his suffering that Paul then expands his responsibility. In his ministry he has become a servant to the church. When dealing with the Jews Paul could have made a compromise and stopped ministering to the Gentiles. This would have prevented a good deal of suffering that Paul endured, yet because he was called by God to minister to the Gentiles he could not abandon this calling. This calling was to make God’s message fully known. Part of this message is what Paul refers to as “the mystery hidden for ages and generations,” This was that salvation is for both the Jew and the Gentile, in the Old Testament Israel was God’s chosen people and a Gentile had to become a Jew to share in the blessings of Israel. Now, however, Jews and Gentiles are both saved by faith in Christ; in other words there is no difference between Jew and Gentile. One saying I like that has multiple meanings is that “the ground is level at the foot of the cross.” It means everyone has the same chance and offer of salvation, we are all offered the same grace, it does not matter who we are, how we look, or even our ancestry; we are all the same.