Sermon: December 29, 2024

“As God’s Chosen People” | Colossians 3:12-17

Paul begins his correspondence this morning with words such as: “God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved.”

I don’t know about you but those are words that I will never tire from hearing—that I’m chosen—and I’m dearly loved. How about you?

And then he writes: “Clothe yourself with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.” 

Paul is talking about individual responsibility, but not just a bunch of isolated individuals trying to behave, living in towns and cities, and loosely connected through the building across town commonly referred to as the church.

Compassion—kindness—humility—gentleness—and patience aren’t virtues to which we must aspire. No, they are our uniform. Think of them as the pads a football player wears to play the game.

How many of you like Kentucky Fried Chicken? Did you know that when Harland Sanders began his Kentucky Fried Chicken business, he didn’t have very much money at all? And he had absolutely no money for advertising.

So, he grew that white beard, got a white suit, and as a Kentucky Colonel he became a walking advertisement for Kentucky Fried Chicken.

We don’t have to put on a special uniform or wear any special head gear, robes or whatever to be a Christian. But as Christians each one of us is a walking advertisement for Jesus Christ. Jesus said we are the light of the world, and we can’t or shouldn’t be hidden under a basket. Instead, we are supposed to shine bright for all the world to see.

Have you ever been window shopping and seen the clothes on display that you could never afford? Well, because we have died with Christ and are now raised with Him—these are our clothes—purchased with His blood—and available to us.

When we put on these clothes and live out our lives together, we create the kind of community that changes the world. These aren’t things that we do, nor are they outcomes we can accomplish together. These are the things only God can do—and we are the community—the church—where he does them.

I know you’ve probably heard me say this so much that you are sick of hearing it, but we’re not on an island here. Christianity is not something we need to try and do by ourselves. We have others that we can look to for advice and to help us grow in our faith and then in turn can or need to be that person that others can look to as well.

Have you ever heard of method acting? Method acters enter into their characters at the beginning of a play or movie-making process, and they never leave characters until the whole project is done. Some might say that Colonel Sanders was a method acter.

This is how Paul ends our text this morning. We are called to be method actors, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

This should be our life—we should never leave character—and we are called to help each other with this.

Some of you may know or have heard the name Dawson Trotman. He founded the Bible study organization called the Navigators. He ran a camp in upstate New York. During the summer he would bring city kids to the camp where they could learn about Jesus while enjoying the beautiful out-of-doors. One day at the camp he had a group of campers out on the lake in a large boat. Someone stood up and the boat rocked suddenly. Two girls fell out. Neither could swim. Into the water went Dawson Trotman, though he was a poor swimmer. Using a dogpaddle, he managed to reach one of the girls and got her back to the boat. He held her up until the others pulled her into the boat. Then he went for the second girl and got her back to the boat, held her up, and though she was half drowned, she was rescued. By then, Dawson Trotman was completely exhausted. He slipped under the water. No one in the boat could rescue him.

His funeral was conducted by Billy Graham in the Church of the Open Door in Las Angeles. Time magazine was there to cover the story. In its next edition, it carried Dawson’s picture. Underneath it was the caption: “Dawson Trotman, always holding someone up.”

Who has been holding you up?

Who are you holding up?