Christ - The Home Builder

“CHRIST: THE HOME BUILDER” Col. 3:15-21

INTRO – Have you ever tried to play Jenga? Fun family game. Object: Remove blocks 1 at a time and place them back on top without knocking tower down. Starts off easy. Blocks come out quickly and easily. Lots to choose from.

But as game progresses, gets increasingly difficult. Tower leans, rocks, becomes unstable. When this happens, players must have the wisdom to make the right decision about which block to remove. Then must have the right touch to carefully remove the block and place it back on top again. And even then, sometimes the blocks come tumbling down.

What do you do then? Put them back together and start over again.

Why use a silly children’s game to introduce this message? B/c this evening as we look at “Christ: The Home Builder” we are going to look at some of the building blocks that must be in place to have a strong Christian home.

If we were to do an in-depth look at the book of Colossians, we would see that Christ is the connector that holds this book together. Ch. 1 shows us Christ as the head of the Church. Ch. 2 shows us that Christ is the treasure of our lives. Ch. 3 shows us that Christ should be the target of our lives. Ch. 4 gives us the understanding that He is the helper of the helpers. Christ truly is the Colossians Connection. He is pre-eminent in all things. He is the Supreme God. He is totally sufficient for salvation. Col. 3:11 – “Christ is all and is in all…” – theme of Colossians.

This evening we are going to turn our attention to the last portion of ch. 3. In this passage, we will see 3 BUILDING BLOCK RELATIONSHIPS that are critical in the construction of a strong, vibrant Christian home.

I. BLDG. BLOCK REL. #1 – CHRIST & YOU – v. 15-17

A. This is the foundation for our lives. Every other rel. in our lives should be built upon this one.

i. Matt. 7:24-27

B. If this foundational relationship is unstable or not even present in your life, all other relationships will in danger of collapse.

i. Family having picnic on sandbar. Did not realize that the river had eroded away the sand underneath them. Suddenly, sandbar gave way, plunging them into river.

ii. What are those things that you are allowing to slowly, silently erode away this foundational relationship?

C. Paul gives us some components of this relationship of Christ and you:

i. Peace – v. 15 – Only way to experience peace in your life is to know the Prince of Peace.

1. Bumper sticker – “No Jesus – No Peace. Know Jesus – Know Peace.”

2. So many homes, families, marriages, and relationship have no peace b/c Christ is not in that home.

a. Husband/Fathers

b. Wives/Mothers

c. No peace without the Prince of Peace present.

3. 2 artists asked to paint their depiction of “peace.” One painted serene, pastoral scene of a lake in midst of a field. Other painted thundering waterfall w/ a tiny bird holding onto branch stretching over waterfall.

a. When you know Jesus, you can have deep inner peace even in the midst of the thunderous world around you.

ii. The Word – v. 16a – Knowing Christ means that you have the potential of experiencing the Word of God at work in your life.

1. Owner’s manual in your car’s glove compartment.

2. Word of God is our Owner’s Manual for our life and for our home.

3. Must know it. No substitute for daily intake of the Word.

a. Read it.

b. Study it.

c. Memorize it.

d. Meditate on it.

e. Hear it taught and preached.

iii. Worship – v. 16b – Knowing Christ, having that first building block relationship in place means that worship takes on a new dimension for you.

1. Personal worship takes on a new dimension.

2. Corporate worship takes on a new dimension.

3. “Worship is extravagant love & extreme obedience.”

iv. Purpose in life – v. 17 – Knowing Christ means that you have real purpose for your life.

1. The On-Purpose Person – Author, Kevin McCarthy – “Purpose is energy. It’s the single most motivating force there is. Discover your purpose, be on-purpose, and you will have a life filled w/ meaning and significance. We need to be doing and living on-purpose.” (p. 30)

2. “To do everything in the name of Jesus is to act consistently with who He is and what He wants.” (MacArthur, Colossians and Philemon, p. 160)

D. If this foundational building block relationship of Christ and you is not in place this evening, or it is there but is unstable, then you now know the reason you are here tonight.