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Today's reading is from Paul's letter to the Colossians, chapter 1, verses 15 to 24.
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities.
All things have been created through Him and for Him.
He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
And He is the head of the body, the church.
He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything He might have the supremacy.
For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him and through Him to reconcile to Him all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through His blood shed on the cross.
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
But now He has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through death to present you wholly in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation.
If you continue in your faith, establish and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.
This is the gospel that you have heard and that has been proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a servant.
Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thanks be to God.
Well, good morning, everyone.
And wow, this is such an upgrade from the music stand that I used to preach from right here.
This is great.
Brian, Samantha, thank you for your kind introduction.
And you guys exude hospitality because before we knew anyone here, you showed up at our door.
The first or second night we were here with a plate of sushi, which was amazing, so thank you.
And I'm looking around seeing people whose weddings I officiated and the produce from those weddings.
So it's really, it's amazing to be back.
I am honored and humbled and grateful and nostalgic.
And being 29 when we moved here 20 years ago, you can do the math, I've always experienced Christ's church a bit like a fourth child.
We have three daughters.
And now with our two eldest daughters who are grown and out of the house, every time we're with them, there is such joy over what is.
And there's also a little bit of grief over what used to be and is no longer.
And likewise, today, I am so full of joy as I look at who you are.
And there's a little bit of grief for me that I don't get to share in where you are today.
But with five years now to reflect on our call to WCPC, so just so you know, as Brian said, that's Walnut Creek.
So a little geography lesson for you.
I had to learn this too.
If you go through the Caldecott Tunnel from Berkeley or Oakland, you don't just fall off the cliff on the other side.
There are other cities, other communities out there.
We reside in one of those.
It's a new civilization, I suppose.
It's a 12-minute ride in, sometimes a 45-minute ride out, but you get the idea.
But I offer this reflection on my own calling because I know in our midst in 2025, maybe some of you are reflecting on vocational callings.
Before we get into our text, let me just say I can point to three or four times in my life where a call from God clearly transcended my emotional desire.
It cut across the grain a little bit.
And as I considered this call five and a half years ago now, my dominant emotions were sadness and fear.
There was a lot of grief over leaving a community that I helped alongside of Jonathan bring to life.
And there was some fear over taking a rapidly dying church and helping bring it back to life.
And I felt like God gave me some startup muscles, but I wasn't sure if I had turnaround muscles.
Yet over five years, God has been so good and so faithful.
And it's just so amazing to see Andrew and Jonathan thriving in leadership and this church thriving.
And a little bit more of a brief history to bring us to this text.
In 2005, my wife, Katie, myself, our four-year-old daughter, Caroline, our one-year-old daughter, Claire, we landed at SFO.
We jumped into a yellow cab.
Ask anyone over 40.
We spent $56, which seemed like an ungodly amount of money, to be transported to the East Bay.
And six months later, Jonathan and Catherine would join us.
So if you could imagine me with dark hair and Jonathan with more hair and imagine Katie and Catherine exactly as they are today, that was us.
And, you know, to back up the story a little bit, it was the mid-1990s where I was given a cassette tape.
So moved backwards from streaming services and MP3s and CDs, moved forward from big trollas and record players and eight tracks.
There it is, the cassette tape.
It was a message from Dr. John Piper entitled, Doing Mission When Dying Is Gained.
Now, for my liking, Dr. Piper yells a little too much, but I have immense respect for his passion and his integrity.
And in that tape, he mentions Colossians 124, which you just heard read.
He said, it's our call to fill up what is lacking with respect to the affliction of Christ.
And he said, what is lacking is certainly not the atoning merit of Christ's affliction, which is sufficient for all of us.
But what is lacking is their physical presence.
So, go.
And I shared this tape with Jonathan.
I was probably 22.
He was 19.
And this planted in both of us, the seed for church planting, to bring the gospel, the good news of Christ's affliction that secures our rescue to a place where it was lacking.
Not the South, not the Midwest, but Berkeley, California.
And if you fast forward this story to 2006, to what has become legend and lore around naming this church,
I want to just ask, who was at our very first retreat at the Manzanita Lodge in 2006?
Don't be bashful.
Yeah, so there's, you know, eight or nine of us were there.
As Wes Selke tells this story, Jonathan and I collected many good names for this church from our launch team.
We proceeded to ignore all of them.
We went into a secret meeting room.
White smoke wafted out of the chimney.
We emerged and said, by decree, the name shall be Christchurch.
Now, from my recollection, there was a whiteboard full of names like Velocity, Fire, Forge, H3O, Reality, which is ironic.
Christchurch was on the list, but it was an arcane afterthought.
However, the naming happened.
Christchurch was birthed Easter Sunday, April 15, 2006.
I'll never forget the day.
And you soon enter into your 20th year.
And again, I'm so humbled by God's faithfulness.
I'm honored to share the pulpit with Jonathan and Andrew.
I'm glad it's not a music stand anymore.
And I've chosen Colossians 1, 15 through 24 as an opportunity to remember what is important.
To get back to first principles.
And in a first Sunday of 2025, while our aspirations of the new year are still fresh,
I want to get us back to the basics of following Jesus into a year of unknowns.
Because every year is a year of unknowns.
There will be joy and grief and uncertainty and pleasure and pain.
It'll all be there.
And the question is, where will you take it?
Or to whom will you take it?
So I want to endeavor to address two questions this morning from this text.
One of them is, why Christ?
And the second one is, why the church?
Now Paul, who wrote nearly 50% of the New Testament,
he plants this church in Colossae.
And around 50 AD, he's in jail in an Ephesian prison.
And he writes this letter to this church.
Now this is a house church, probably 40 to 50 people.
90% of them in that day would have been illiterate.
So they are long awaiting the apostles' message.
They're meeting together in a large house.
A courier knocks on the door.
And that day, if you couldn't read,
you probably would memorize the letter as it was read to you.
And they could not wait to know what it was that they were called to do.
And as the scholar N.T. Wright put it in his commentary on Colossians,
he says,
This early church belongs to Jesus Christ.
They had put their faith in government and in other religions.
But now they look nowhere else for forgiveness from the past,
for maturity in their presence,
and for their future hope.
Christ became the center of everything.
So the big idea under this first question,
I might say it this way,
We center everything on Jesus
because Jesus is the center of everything.
We center everything on Jesus
because Jesus is the center of everything.
And as this is unpacked by Dr. Wright,
this way of centering will allow us,
if we let it,
stability in our present,
freedom from our past,
and hope in our future.
And we see this in this text.
Look at verse 15 as we think about stability.
Jesus is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn over all creation.
Now that word firstborn is not our focus today,
but because it has launched a lot of heresies,
and as heresies go,
they usually involve too little divinity
or too little humanity for Jesus.
Let us just say firstborn doesn't mean he's created.
This is the law of primogenitor,
which means the firstborn is the inheritor,
the executor of God's will,
that all of God's wealth is bestowed to us as Christ's people.
But he goes on in verse 15.
He's the image of the invisible God.
And if you could drop down to verse 19 for a second
to fully grasp this,
we learn that God is pleased
to have all of his fullness dwell in him.
So as image, or in Greek, icon,
Jesus is this pictorial representation,
almost like a statue.
But as fullness, as the pleroma of God,
Jesus is not just the face of God.
He is God.
He's the fullness of God.
God, we know, is Trinity.
And there have been 2,000 years
and many more than 2,000 pages to sort that out.
But suffice it to say here today,
our God is Trinity,
is 2-3 to be one,
2-1 to be three.
And when all of the other origin stories
involve the gods creating out of lust and war,
out of this love of power,
we have Trinity in this dance.
In Greek, this perichoresis,
this where we get the word choreography,
this dance of love.
Not a world created out of a quest
and a lust for power,
but through the power of this Trinitarian love.
And we see this in verse 16.
In him, all things were created.
Everything was created by him,
in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible,
whether thrones, dominions, rulers, authorities,
all things are created through him and for him.
So to say by God is not a mere cliche,
but it's this mere,
this deep acknowledgement that we have a creator.
To say through him is to acknowledge
this big bang of God speaking the cosmos into being.
And to say that this is all for God
is to suggest that God is in this for God's delight.
He's not some bearded, curmudgeonly old man,
but he is as giddy as a child,
as he is creating all things visible.
The stardust on Proxima Centauri,
the duck bill on a platypus,
as he is creating all things invisible.
Fairies and elves.
As G.K. Chesterton put it,
our loss of imagination is a sign of immaturity,
not adulthood.
Those things exist.
Imagine how these realities might stabilize us
in our present situations and circumstances.
And there's more.
Look at verse 17.
He is before all things,
and by him all things hold together.
Now there is some skyscraping philosophy here,
and there's some in the dirt practicality here.
First, the skyscraping philosophy.
God is the cosmic glue.
That means faith and science are not in conflict,
but they are compatible.
Many of you have heard the expression,
well, that's what makes the world go round.
And a lot of people would say,
it's money that makes the world go round.
Or if you're a less cynical romantic,
you might say,
it's love that makes the world go round.
If you're an artist,
you might say,
it's vibes that make the world go round.
If you're a grad student,
you might say,
it's coffee that makes the world go round.
If you're a scientist,
you might say,
a cloud of gas and dust
started to collapse due to its own gravity,
and then it started spinning,
thus flinging our solar system into being.
The earth started spinning too,
and will keep spinning,
because space is a vacuum with no friction
to stop the spin.
And God says,
let there be.
And there was.
This is not to suggest that God created
without leveraging gravity,
and centripetal and centrifugal forces,
as well as other natural laws.
God invented those natural laws too.
But he created concurrently,
suggesting that our God
is also a giving creator
who gives us life,
and breath,
and truth,
and grace,
and love.
And at the core of God's character
is this generous,
giving nature
that spins everything into being.
It's God's creative giving
that makes the world go round.
Not our degrees,
not our credentials,
not our 401ks,
not our marketability,
which brings me to the
in-the-dirt practicality
of this truth.
You've heard it said,
you've got to hold it together.
You've got to pull yourself together.
You've got to keep it together.
Well, the blessed gift
that God gives us
is no, you don't.
In fact,
you can't.
I kind of have a freak out moment
every December 28, 29, 30.
I start looking at the next year
and all the responsibilities
and all the obligations
and how can I possibly do
all of this stuff
with the excellence
and the diligence that it takes
and without just being
a big fat disappointment
to people around me.
And the answer is,
I cannot.
What's most unique
about Christianity
as compared to
all the other world religions
and value systems
is that becoming Christian
first begins
with simply admitting to God
that you cannot
pull yourself together,
that you cannot
put yourself
back together again,
that you cannot
hold it all together.
Which brings us to
this freedom
from our past.
Why Christ?
Because Christ gives us
stability in our present
but not before
giving us freedom
from our past.
Look at verse 19.
God was pleased
to have all fullness
dwell in Him
and through Him
to reconcile
everything to Himself
whether things on earth
or things in heaven
by making peace,
shalom,
through His blood
shed on the cross.
When we fail,
when life falls apart
and it is our fault,
it is Jesus
who puts us back
together again.
I have a friend
who's secularly Jewish
and he's hilarious
and he's smart
and we talk about
Jesus stuff sometimes.
And one time
he said to me,
you know Bart,
Christ seems beautiful
and Christianity
seems compelling
yet it all just seems
too good to be true.
And I said to him,
you know,
maybe it's so good
because it is true.
Maybe the beautiful truth
is when we fail
and we live under
this immense pressure
to make it right,
to pull ourselves
together again,
it's Jesus
as forgiver,
as redeemer
who enables us
to make it right.
It's Christ
who puts us back
together again.
Verse 21 and 22
says that we were
once at enmity,
living with hostility
towards God,
but now we are reconciled.
That breach
has been fully repaired.
So think about
that relationship
in your life,
the one with
the bitter roots
and the frayed edges.
Imagine that one
made fully whole again
and then multiply that
by a gazillion.
That's what Jesus
has done with you.
Why Christ?
Because he brings us
stability in our present.
He brings us freedom
from our past.
And thirdly and finally,
he's also the center
of our hope
as we think about
our future.
Look at verse 18.
He is also the head
of the body,
the church,
which I'll get to
in a second.
He's the beginning,
the first born
from the dead.
Now that expression,
the first born
from the dead,
is a reference
to Christ's resurrection
being the first
of many resurrections,
which means our hope
is not in sporting
a halo
and strumming a harp
and floating around
in some celestial
cumulus clouds.
Our future hope
is a past reality
that Christ is risen
from the dead.
Our future hope
is a historical event
that Christ is risen
from the dead.
And we learn from Paul,
he is the beginning.
Well, in John's gospel,
Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John,
when he talks about
the crucifixion
and there's this moment
where after Jesus has died,
he's plunged in the side
with a spear,
in that account,
do you know what comes out?
Water and blood.
And John knew
that the only other place
where those two substances flow
is labor and delivery,
which is John's way
of saying
this is a brand new world
being birthed
right in the midst
of the old one.
This maturing
even by the power
of the Holy Spirit
right now within you.
It's why Leslie Newbigin,
the great missiologist
to India,
would say
when it comes
to a broken world,
I'm not an optimist.
I'm not a pessimist.
Christ is risen
from the dead.
It's not the end
of the story.
It's the beginning
of a new one.
So secondly then,
why the church?
If I had another sermon,
I'd preach it here,
but this second question
will really just be
a conclusion.
We learn in verse 18
that Jesus is the head
of the body,
the church.
And we'll learn
in the letter
to the Ephesians
that as Paul writes,
Christ loved the church
so much
that he gave himself
up for her.
But if Jesus
is sufficient
as the one
who brings stability
and freedom
and hope
and all the stuff
we've been talking about,
then why the church?
Why do we need the church?
Well again,
to first principles,
back to the basics,
to our origin story.
Remember,
when Adam was created,
God said,
being alone with God
is not enough.
In fact,
in that creation account,
there are ten benedictions.
It is good,
it is good,
it is good.
There is one malediction.
It is not good
that you and me
should be alone.
So to borrow some adjectives
from Alexander
of Purple Crayon fame,
we live in a no good,
terrible, horrible,
very bad,
not just day,
but world.
It's still broken
and the shards
of brokenness
cut in brutal loneliness.
So while your aspirations
for 2025 are fresh,
be sure at least
one resolution
is designed
to actively fight
against this loneliness
and isolation.
I'm entering
into my 25th year
of pastoral ministry
in 2025.
Jonathan's not too far
behind me.
Andrew's catching up
with us.
If we were to index
the most tragic circumstances,
deepest losses,
and gravest dangers
that we've walked through
with others in ministry
over a collective
50 plus years,
loneliness
and isolation
almost always
either contribute
to those situations
or exacerbate
the pain
around them.
So engagement
in the church,
the body
of Christ,
this is God's
solution.
Take God up
on his offer
if you haven't already.
Before your aspirations
of 2025
lose their luster,
be sure
at least
one resolution
will ground you
further
and deeper
into the body
of the church.
Yes,
I know
there's distrust
and suspicion
around the church
and in some cases
rightly so.
Yes,
I know
that the church
is full of people
who are judgmental
and intolerant
and hypocritical
and yet,
there's always room
for at least one more.
So join us.
No.
I know
there are people
with chips
on their shoulders
and sharp elbows,
people like you,
people like me
who need
one another.
That's God's
solution.
This is how
we are refined
and bettered
as we follow Jesus.
Jesus as head
of the body
is providing
direction
and purpose
and nourishment
and love
and we as Christ's body
are providing
mutual care
and encouragement
to one another
and to our friends
and our neighbors
and our coworkers
and our classmates.
We might love
to have Jesus
apart from the contradictions
and distractions
of others,
but we're designed
by God
to rely upon others.
Christ could supply
all of your needs
directly,
but he usually
doesn't.
And we're also
called to let
other people
rely on us.
So an indexing
question for you
might be,
if I stopped
engaging in this
local church
right here,
would there be
ministry around me
that might collapse?
Well, Peter
talks of us
as living stones,
which means
there's this
interlocking
interdependence
that we need
from one another.
So I imagine
what it could be
like in 2025.
Imagine
being a people
who center
everything on Jesus
because Jesus
is the center
of everything.
Imagine
what it would
look like
to wake up
each and every day
or at least
most of the days
in 2025
without the weight
of the world
on your shoulders,
with the pressure
off.
You don't
have to make
something great
of yourself.
God already
did.
You don't
have to hold
it all together.
God always
does.
And imagine
doing this
with other
people whom
you can depend
upon and who
can also depend
upon you.
This summons
embodies
Paul's concluding
prayer at the
end of verse 24.
All of this
for the sake
of the body
which is
Christ's
church.
In the name
of the Father,
Son, and Spirit.
Amen.