Worship at Home - Change into Heavenly Clothes

Even though we aren’t gathering to worship as a church in person, that doesn’t mean we stop worshiping as a church. This is a guide for your in-home worship on Sunday 4/26/20.

You can consider lighting a candle to set the environment for worship and to symbolize God's presence with you.

Families with little kids: There are questions in here to help your kids engage.  You may need to reword content, depending on the age of your kids.

Introduction

You can learn a lot about someone from the clothes they wear. You can learn what mood they are in or how they are feeling (or maybe just how long they've been awake). You can learn what kind of work they do. You can learn how they plan to spend their day. You can learn where they are from and where they live. You can learn what's important to them. Think about the clothes in your closet right now. What do they say about you? What could somebody tell from the clothes in your closet?

• If someone just had the clothes in your closet, what would they know about you?
• Kids: Do you have clothes with movie characters on them? Do you have things you like on your clothes (like trucks or dinosaurs or flowers)?

You might have clothes related to movies or music you like, your favorite sports team, or that were given to you by your employer. You might have athletic clothes, fancy clothes, casual clothes. You might have clothes from trips you've taken or events you have participated in. People can learn a lot about us from the clothes we wear.

This week, we are going to continue considering how our lives are to be shaped by the Easter story of Jesus' death and resurrection. This isn't a story for one day out of the year but one that we are to live every day of the year. 

Today, our Scripture is Colossians 3:1-17. This is from a portion of a letter written by the apostle Paul whose life was changed by Jesus and the Easter story. Paul never met Jesus before he died. But Jesus came to Paul after his resurrection and it changed Paul's life forever. Paul became focused on Jesus from that day forward. In this passage, he invites us to focus our lives on Jesus as well.

Make Christ Your Focus (Colossians 3:1-4)

When someone trusts in Jesus, their whole life changes. When someone surrenders their life to Jesus as their King, nothing is ever the same. In Colossians chapter 1, Paul said it this way:

13 [God] has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Colossians 1:13-14)

When we trust in Jesus, we leave one kingdom to join another. That's a radical change. God delivers (rescues) us from the domain of darkness and transfers us into the kingdom of his beloved Son. We leave the old kingdom of darkness where we lived. We move into Jesus' kingdom and we have him as our King. In him we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins.

The reason we have forgiveness in Jesus is because he died for our sins. The one we call King died for us so we can be in his kingdom. He paid the penalty for them. That's amazing love. But he didn't stay dead. He was raised from the dead. That's why he can be King - dead people can't be King.

But how we are to live once we are part of this new kingdom? Once we are transferred into the kingdom of God's beloved Son, what is our life supposed to be like? Colossians 3:1-4 gives us the answer:

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)

Jesus died for our sin and was raised to new life. When we trust in him, we also die to our sin and are raised to live a new life by the Spirit of God. We no longer live under the penalty for our sin because we are forgiven. We also no longer live under the power of sin because its chains of slavery have been broken. We are free to live a new life. One day, Jesus will return in glory and erase the presence of sin and we too will appear in glory. In other words, Jesus' story becomes our story when we trust in him. Jesus died, was raised to new life, and will appear in glory. When we surrender our lives to Jesus as our King, we die to sin, are raised to new life, and will appear in glory.

So how are we to live? Paul says to "seek the things that are above" and to "set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth." Why? Because we've died and been raised with Christ so our life is hidden with Christ in God. Our life is no longer here, it is there. It's with Christ. And Christ is above, seated at the right hand of God. In a certain sense, we have already "died and gone to heaven." That's where our King is - he's in heaven above. And we've been raised with him so our life is with him - in heaven above.

Think about it this way. How do you know where you belong? When do you feel like you belong? When we travel to different countries, you can get a real sense that you don't belong, especially if you go to a country completely different than your own. People dress differently, talk differently, act differently, build buildings differently, drive differently, look different, have different customs, etc. You would feel like you don't belong. Why? Because you don't live there. Your life isn't there. Your citizenship isn't there.

Paul is saying your citizenship is no longer in this world. Your citizenship is in Christ's heavenly kingdom. Your King is above. Your life is no longer here. Your life is hidden with him above. Of course, you still have a life to live here. But your future life with Jesus is so certain and secure that you need to start living in light of it. Your citizenship has already been transferred there. You are not a citizen of this old world any longer.

Paul isn't saying that we seek heaven in order to gain it. Paul's point is that we already have it. He says we have already been raised with Christ and will appear in glory therefore we should seek the things of heaven now and set our minds on the things of heaven now. He says we should not set our minds on the things of earth. The question is: what are the things of earth and what are the things of heaven?

Change Out of Old Clothes (Colossians 3:5-11)

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all. (Colossians 3:5-11)

Paul starts these next verses by saying "Put to death what is earthly in you." We have died to sin and our old way of life, but there is still work to be done. We need to put to death "earthly" behaviors and attitudes that still have a hold on us. These are behaviors that are more at home in the kingdom of darkness rather than Jesus' kingdom and that's why we need to put them to death.

You can quickly identify whether someone belongs by what they are wearing. You stick out like a sore thumb in a place if you aren't wearing the right clothing. I'm from northern WI and one time I took my parents to downtown Chicago. They wore their normal clothes. My dad wore outdoor boots, various pieces of clothing with camouflage, and a Wisconsin Trapper's Association hat. He stuck out like a sore thumb. You could tell he didn't belong in downtown Chicago. Similarly, if someone who lives and works in downtown Chicago came with my parents and I to the Wisconsin Bowhunters Convention, they would stick out like a sore thumb.

• Have you ever been worried about showing up to something and not having the right clothing?
• Have you ever shown up to something and discovered you weren't wearing the proper clothing? 

In verses 1 through 4, Paul was telling us where we belong if we have trusted in Christ: we belong to Christ's kingdom. Here, Paul is telling us how NOT to dress if we belong to Christ's kingdom. We aren't supposed to blend in with the kingdom of this earth if we belong to Christ's kingdom.

Paul's list of clothing items breaks down into two main categories. I've provided a list with brief definitions below. Some items go together because their definition are so similiar.

Do you need to clear out any of this earthly/worldly clothing from your closet?

• Sinful sexuality
  • "Sexual immorality, impurity, passion" - sexual behavior outside of marriage
  • "Evil desire and covetousness" - wanting more beyond God's limits (this leads to sexual immorality)
• Sinful speech 
  • "Anger, wrath, malice" - bad attitude or ill will toward others
  • "Slander" - gossip or talking bad about people
  • "Obscene talk" - rude or abusive talk
  • "Do not lie" - not telling the truth or the whole truth or telling half truths

Even as we continue to remove these clothes from our closet, we need to remind ourselves that these are the exact things Jesus died on the cross for. The only right we have to be in Jesus' kingdom in the first place is because he died for our sins (Colossians 1:14). But Paul is reminding us that we died to this old way of life, so we need to take this clothing off and throw it away. What should we wear instead? What are the things that are above that we are to set our minds on and seek?

Put on New Clothes (Colossians 3:12-17)

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:12-17)

Again, the "things that are above" which we are to seek and set our minds on are attitudes and behaviors. If you think about it, these are really the attitudes and actions that you see in Jesus, our King. These are attitudes Jesus already has toward us and actions he has already taken on our behalf. Paul reminds us that we are God's chosen ones, holy and beloved. He reminds us that the Lord has forgiven us. The reason we are to have these attitudes and actions as part of our lives is not to earn anything from God. They are the appropriate response to something we have already been given.

Clothing tells us whether we belong. We belong to Christ's heavenly kingdom. So in our attitudes and actions, we are supposed to stick out like a sore thumb while living still living here because we have taken off earthly attitudes and actions and have put on heavenly clothing.

Which of these pieces of heavenly clothing do you most often wear? Which do you least often wear?

• "Compassionate hearts" - heartfelt concern over other people’s pain
• "Kindness" - proactively doing good to others
• "Humility" - giving up your rights to put others interests ahead of yours
• "Meekness" - gentle because you aren't impressed with your self-importance
• "Patience" - treating others well when they test you and are difficult
• "bearing with one another" - tolerate and put up with others even when its hard
• "Forgiving each other" - not holding wrongs others have done against you

Paul ends the list by saying "above all these put on love". Love is like the coat that goes over all of them - the ultimate attitude which binds them all together.  Love is expressed through compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, bearing with others, and forgiveness. And he says "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts." Because of Christ, there is no hostility between us and God. There is peace. He wants that peace to rule our relationships. He wants there to be no hostility in our relationships with each other.

How do we put this clothing on? Will power? Try harder? Wishing it will happen? No, the key is to remember who God is. We become what we behold. What we revere we resemble. We were made in the image of God and we are to resemble him. So to become like him again, we need to behold what he is like and we need to hold him in reverence. Paul has already told us in verse 10 that the new self is renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator (Colossians 3:10). By knowing God - by beholding him and revering him - we are renewed in his image. When we worship him for his compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, patience, forebearance, forgiveness, love, and peace then those qualities grow in us. No matter who we are, we are becoming a new humanity in Christ. That's why Paul ends the way he does:

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:16-17)

The word of Christ - the gospel - tells us who God is. As we teach each other what God is like and sing together with thankfulness about what God is like, we are led to live for Jesus in all we do. 

We are renewed to be like Jesus by knowing him, especially through the gospel. If you want to be more compassionate like Jesus (or kind, patient, etc.), the first step is to believe - really believe - that he is compassionate toward you. If you think he doesn't really care about your well-being or your pain, then it's going to be difficult for you to be compassionate toward others and care about their well-being and pain. It can help to find a verse or passage of Scripture where we are told that God is compassionate toward us and to keep it in mind. 

We've also been given each other and the Spirit of God in us individually and as a body. As we put on this heavenly clothing, we see it in each other and we help spur one another on toward greater Christlikeness.

Response

We are going to continue to keep these words of Jesus to his disciples in front of us: "As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you" (John 20:21). We are sent on God's mission as a community of Jesus' disciples who are to be shaped by the gospel story. We live as a community of his heavenly kingdom amidst the darkness around us.

This week, we've been challenged to see our ourselves as belonging to Christ's kingdom and to put on attitudes and actions that show we belong there, even if it means sticking out like a sore thumb here. Is there any earthly, sinful clothing you need to take off? Is there any heavenly clothing you need to put on?

• What sinful attitudes and actions do need to put to death this week?
• What heavenly, Christlike attitudes and actions do you need to start wearing this week?
• What do you need to do to behold what God is like in order to grow those attitudes and actions in you? Here are some examples:
  • Find a verse or passage to memorize or meditate on. If you want to grow in kindness, find a verse about how God is kind to you.
  • Use ACTS for a focused prayer time with God about this attribute with God (Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, Supplication - ask me about it if you aren't familiar with this prayer method)
  • Ask someone to pray on your behalf - that you'd see God as more [compassionate or kind or patient, etc.]

The Holy Spirit wants to give us the attitudes and actions of Christ so with him, they are never far from being ours. You can start the day imagining you are taking off those sinful clothes and putting on the heavenly ones. Pray that the Spirit would clothe you with Christ's attitudes and actions.

Worship with others:

As a church this month, we want to encourage one another every Sunday by worshiping together on WhatsApp (check out the video about encouraging one another here). Take a few minutes to post in the Encouragement group on WhatsApp.

Here are some examples of what you could post:

• how God spoke to you through your time of worshiping at home
• a verse that stood out to you
• a song that touched you from the worship playlist
• a truth that God reminded you of that you needed to hear
• what God is teaching you
• a prayer
• thankfulness to God - who he is, what he's done
• and more!