The Book of Colossians

My church is going through a transition next week by moving to three services instead of two. Furthermore, we are starting a new series by going through the book of Colossians, which I'm extremely excited about. I'm always excited about anything the Apostle Paul writes. This got me thinking. I actually don't have a lot of commentaries on the book of Colossians. Maybe it's time I get a couple of more. Maybe even dust off some of my New Testament Greek study tools. In any case, it's going to be a wonderful time in God's word and I have high hopes for this up-and-coming series. So much so that I already listened to a sermon by John Piper in the first few verses.

The title of the sermon is The Fruit of Hope: Love. Here are some excerpts:

The question we are asking in the month of July is: What is the fruit of Christian hope?

Last week we answered that the fruit of hope is joy, because in Romans 12:12 Paul commands Christians to "rejoice in hope." In other words, God never commands a Christian to be happy if there is nothing to look forward to. But the gospel is the good news that there is always something to look forward to—something so good that any suffering that may be required of us will seem light and momentary by comparison (2 Corinthians 4:17). And since there is always a secure and happy future laid up for the Christian, the command remains in force: Rejoice always, and again I say, Rejoice!

Does Christian Hope Produce Love or Escapism?

You could read or listen to the rest of it here: http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/the-fruit-of-hope-love#/listen/full

Today's message . . . It teaches and shows that a strong confidence in the promises of God and a passionate preference for the joy of heaven over the joy of the world frees a person from worldly self-centeredness, from paralyzing regret and self-pity, from fear and greed and bitterness and despair and laziness and impatience and envy. And in the place of all these sins, hope bears the fruit of love.

I pray that through hearing the word of God, sitting under its' authority, and fellowship with the saints, the Holy Spirit would transform me into a more heavenly-minded person and less into the worldly-minded person I am. I believe this to be God's will and may my love for the things of God and God Himself grow as I am confident that He will answer this prayer.