Good morning, destination. How are we doing. I'm sorry for the harsh lighting change.

I'm just going to acknowledge it now because if I don't, it's going to be awkward. So, we haven't turned the full lights on in this space yet. But, we've heard a lot of people say, "I can't see when you say turn turn your Bible open to this passage.

" So, now you can see the word of God. And so, that's my my hope for you today. And, , if we haven't met before, my name is Josh Myers.

Pastor here and I've been praying for you this week. I've been praying for this church and I just pray that you would find a place to belong here that you would know that this can be a place that you can ask questions and learn how to find and follow Jesus. And so please just make sure you're staying in the loop with growth groups and all of those other things. And I just want to quickly say one other thing, too. These are the best ways to stay connected around here.

I send out two emails every week. One at the beginning of the week that kind of recaps what we're doing here and gives you some more in-depth studying questions. As well as our church center app and our website.

Please make sure you're just checking those things because as a new church, we're establishing a ton of new rhythms and it can be really hard to get in a new rhythm. Anybody who's tried to start a workout routine knows this, right. It's it's difficult.

So, , but we're starting this brand new series going through Colossians. We kicked it off last week. And our goal for you in this series is simple. It's that you see that every part of life points to God.

Points to what he's done, what he's doing, and what he has yet to do. And that Jesus is the very map that we're traveling on and the very destination we're traveling to. That's why we call this series our destination.

Because not only are we getting to study the book of Colossians and learn what it means to be a finder and follower of Jesus, but it gives you an opportunity to get to know Destination Church. We're a brand new church. And what's awesome about the book of Colossians is it follows kind of our core values as a church. And what I mean by core value is this is what you're going to see lived out week after week here at Destination Church. And today you have picked a great Sunday to come because it is my favorite core value which is gospel.

Gospel is our first and most important core value. And the way that we say it around here or the way that I'm going to say it around here a lot is that Jesus is the hero of everything we do. That all of this all of this stuff that's set up for you to come in and to experience it's it's about you experiencing Jesus. But ultimately everything that we do is all about Jesus. And the thing that can happen to us is we can get led astray from everything in our lives valuing or being about Jesus.

And so I'll explain it like this. , I went up to the Northshore when I was a young adult, about 19 years old, with a with a young adults group. And, , we were close to kind of the Boundary Waters area, not quite there, but we were going to do this like kind of three mile loop. It was just a big circle that started at our campground, ended at our campground. Sounds simple.

I tell a lot of stories about getting lost, you guys. It's just like I guess I'm just prone to it. But anyways, we go in this circle and I am following our leader and I'm thinking he knows what way he's going. Okay, why should I question him.

But what I didn't know is that there were so many forks in this path that were leading off in a different direction that was counter to the direction that we needed to move in. So guess what. By the end of it, we went five miles out of our way and we had to come those five miles back.

, and so it was a very long day of fasting and I wasn't planning on fasting that day. So that's kind of what happened. But it can be so easy for you and I to be led away from Jesus in that way. And this breaks my heart when I see somebody that that that hears the gospel that that receives the gospel but then maybe just walks away because they don't come into full understanding of what Jesus has done, what he's doing, and what he has yet to do and how to live a life built on that. So that's what we're going to look at today.

This is our big question for today is how do we live a gospel- centered life. And to do that, we're going to be in Colossians chapter 1. It's on page 1,15 in those blue Bibles.

If you don't have a Bible, please take that one that is on your seat. It's our gift to you. We are a church that wants to open up the word of God every single week.

We believe that this can speak volumes into your life even more than I can. And so, please take that. But for today I'm going to tell you guys I've been so excited for this particular message cuz I have studied this scripture for so long and I really wanted to nerd out about it but I'm like okay I got to keep it down to 30 minutes.

So no I could say a lot more today. But I kind of want to give you a map. No pun intended on the series to show you kind of where we're going.

So, , what we're going to look at is three things. We're going to look at number one, what the Colossians believed. There was this church in Colasse that was learning about Jesus.

And then there is what our culture believes, what we're experiencing here in 2025. And then there's what Paul teaches. And so each kind of section of scripture, we're going to slow down and look at these three things.

Are you all with me so far. So, next week I'm going to be through like a chapter and a half of scripture. Today, just a little bit because there's so much richness in every single word of this section of scripture. So, starting in verse 15, Paul says this, "The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. " Now, this already just comes out and and packs a punch cuz Paul has introduced and and said his words of welcome.

We talked about that last week. But what he's addressing here is he's addressing what the Colossians believed. And in this time, the Colossians believe that Jesus was just some great spiritual teacher or some kind of spiritual team. They they didn't want to give Jesus a spotlight.

They wanted to say, "Yeah, Jesus was an important person, but he wasn't the main character or he's not the main character of this whole story. " And you and I, if we're being honest, maybe this is just my confession time, but I feel like we do the same. Now, we wouldn't knowingly or we wouldn't say and acknowledge maybe, especially if we're we're Christians, that oh, I take Jesus out of my life and and put something else in there. But sometimes by our actions, by the way that we live, we put ourselves as the writer, the director, and the main character of our story. Everything is about our experience or us being the victim or whatever it is.

, one of my favorite pastors of all time, his name is Rick Warren. He wrote this book called The Purpose-Driven Life. , love this book.

If you haven't read it, highly recommend it. , and the first line of this book about you finding your purpose in life is this. It's not about you.

And the whole book follows this theme. And , Rick, this was his first book that he was getting published and he got some feedback from his editor and his publisher that you should consider maybe changing some of the the wordage, especially your first line of the book. And he said, "I'm not changing it because I want the focus to be built on Jesus as the main character in finding your purpose. " The purpose-driven life has sold over 50 million copies. It's available in 85 different languages and it's one of the bestselling Christian books of all time.

And so that whole thing Rick was right about. But that's the truth if we're being honest is sometimes we put ourselves in the main character chair. But what Paul is saying is that the son that is Jesus is the image of the invisible God. This is the first part of what he says. What he's what he's essentially saying is that God that you can't see is revealed to us through the person in the flesh of Jesus.

And so sometimes we say, well, how can I believe in a in a God that I can't see. Well, Jesus is that God that we can see. He is revealed to us through the flesh. And if you think, man, like I I've doubted that before.

I've doubted in a God that I can't see. Well, guess what. Even the people that walked with Jesus did this. One of Jesus's disciples, Peter, in John chapter 14, he's talking to him about God the Father, and he said, and he says, "Will you just reveal to me God the Father.

Will you show this invisible God to me. " And Jesus says, "Don't you know me, Philillip. Even after I've been among you for such a long time, anyone who has seen me has seen the father.

If you've seen the Holy Spirit, if you've seen Jesus move in your life, you've seen the image of the invisible God. " But then Paul goes on to say that he is the first born. He's the firstborn over all creation. And basically what this means is two things.

Number one, that Jesus was there from the beginning of creation. That we can look at John chapter 1 and see how John chapter 1 is a direct reflection of Genesis chapter 1 and see that Jesus was there when creation was happening. Not only that, but back in in in this time in Jesus's time as he walked the earth, the firstborn son had some really special rights. And those rights were that they got to walk about the the property and rock walk about everything having the same power and authority as the father did. And so Jesus is that firstborn over all creation.

He has the same power and authority that the father has. And so all of these things are are are being created and he's there at creation. But then look at what verse 16 says. Let's read it.

This is so good. For in him all things I want you to notice how many times all things and in him is said in the scripture. For in him all things were created. Things on heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, things we don't see, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities or boats or football or shopping. All things have been created.

All things have been created through him and for him. So here's what happens if we are to break this down. This is what the Colossians believe.

The Colossians believe that Jesus was not there at creation, that he was created, that by his his birth by the Virgin Mary, that he just came into being as a a very powerful kind of prophet. Now, we you and I, what we do is we have the tendency to make creation about us. And let me explain to you what I mean by that. , how many of you have an iPhone in here. Raise your hand so I know who is on team iPhone.

Okay, I have an Android. I'm sorry that my check bubble is a different color. , so who created Let me just ask this. Who created Apple.

Okay, thank you. I'm just making sure you're awake this morning. Okay, you know that Steve Jobs created Apple. Who helped him build those computers.

Maybe we have like there there's the Yeah, there's like a couple of people. There's like this team of people, right. Who created the electrical components in order for the computer to happen.

Who created all of these different memory things and RAM and all of the different technical things that go into a computer. Who created those components. Is it the same people. Who created Steve Jobs himself. You see what happens is we know the name of the creator of the thing that we have.

But if we go deeper into that line of things, everything always traces to a creator, God. And all things were made through him and for him. And what we do is we take something like an iPhone that was created ultimately through a line of people and circumstances and our understanding of the world. It is created through God. But what we do is we take these things that are created and use them in a way that is counter to all things being through him and for him.

And so we'll use our our phones, our iPhones to to communicate terrible things or to look or to do or whatever it is. And we take and we kind of distort creation. But what Paul is saying here is that all things, all of creation points to Jesus.

And so when you walk out and you see the beautiful fall leaves, it's not just a part of a system that happens every October. It is a part of God's creation of all things being made through him and for him. The main point of this first opening kind of scripture is to show us that how to live a gospel- centered life is it's all about what he's done.

It's all about what Jesus has done, what he's done through the cross, which we'll talk about in a little bit, but what he's done as in what he has created, the world that he has created for you and I to live in. And now in verse 17, not only does he say that this is the world that was created and all things are are in him and for him, but look at what verse 17 says. He is before all things and in him all things hold together. This means that our being is sustained by Jesus.

But here's what's going on in Colossians and here's what's going on in our culture. In Colossians, they think that they are sustained by creation. Meaning that, oh, there's a way that God designed all of this and the we're we're not going to discredit the designer cuz the creation is running just fine. Now, for us, which by the way is partially true, I'll get to that in a second.

For us, you and I believe that with things like technological advancements, medical advancements, things like that, that we can sustain ourselves that we through different medical advancements and pharmaceuticals that we can continue to live this long, healthy, happy life, which also is partially true. But let me explain it like this. , I worked in an emergency room of a hospital for 4 years.

Now, I'll tell you, it will teach you things that seminary will not. You experience a lot of things. And what I've learned is yes, there is a part of this that is true. That God is a systematic God. He created a solar system.

He created an ecosystem. He created a system in your body for everything to work and function or maybe not function together. And both of those things are true.

And so you could have somebody come into this emergency room and and they had the same case, the same sickness, or they got into the same accident, they're in the same life stage, whatever it is, right. But they have completely different outcomes. And that's because that there's a third thing that Jesus ultimately is a sustainer. Do this for me just this morning.

Just take a deep breath. Just inhale in, exhale out. That breath was made possible by Jesus. Feel like a PBS commercial. Breath was brought to you by Jesus.

But seriously though, it was it was He's the very reason why we have breath in our lungs. And that is such a good truth that we sometimes forget because we rely so much on the things that we had created and used as a crutch or the system that it was created in. But Jesus through healing and sometimes it it doesn't it doesn't have the right the outcome that we want it to.

But through Jesus there has been cases where this and this has failed. But this has shown miraculous healing power. It's it's because that if you have breath in your lungs, God's not done with you yet. And it's our job as the church to help you discover that. That's what Paul says in verse 18.

He says this, "And he, that is Jesus, is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead so that in him everything he might have supremacy. And so basically what this is saying is we have another kind of thing that's happening is is the Colossians and us imagine we haven't gotten it right in years and years and years, right.

Believe this same thing that the church is whatever I want it to be that I can come in and I can say well you know I felt a little convicted today or I'm not getting fed or whatever the the thing is that we may say about the church that that leads us away but what Paul is saying is that he is the head of the church that he should be supreme over all of the church. Let me just break it down like this and this will help you get to know destination as a church. I think that we've believed kind of we have this teeter totter when it comes to the church in 2025.

We have the church as an entertainment on Sunday morning or we have it as a place to get equipped and be evangelized. Right now, let me tell you, I like to believe that I'm pretty entertaining, but I'm not entertaining. I'm up here talking for 30 minutes and you guys are flipping through reels that are like 7 seconds long.

Okay, I can't keep up with that. I'm not as entertaining to to hold your attention. But some churches will try and hold your attention with these big gimmicky things where it just kind of feels like a glorified TED talk really. But what the church should be is a place as a starting ground for you to get equipped and to go make the name of Jesus known.

And what happens is we treat the church more like the movies and not like the gym. You're going to hear me say this a lot cuz I love this comparison. When you go to a movie, you sit down, you watch, you're entertained, you got your snacks, and you just enjoy the show, right. But if I go to the gym, some days I have a really good workout and I feel really good afterwards.

Some days I don't want to go work out. Some days it was a really tough workout and I feel convicted about how out of shape I am or how I'm dieting. You see the comparison. The church is like the gym.

You guys are here to work out your faith. Look at that. We're in the gym, too, so it works.

Secondly, the church as a business versus the church doing business. Now, let me just break this down. , there is business to be done here at this church. There are certain laws and things that we need to abide by. There is a budget.

There is a board. There is different things like that. So, there is business that is happening.

But that business is just something that we're doing as a part of the bigger mission which is to help people find and follow Jesus. But what happens to the church is that you see it running and functioning as if it is almost a forprofit business, right. And that gets people really uneasy about walking in and sitting down and oh, they're talking about offering.

And so we we get this this misconception about who the head of the church is. And lastly, there's an opinion versus staying obedient. There's an opinion. And I could come up here and I could share you all my opinions about, you know, why Androids are better than iPhones or my social or economical or political stance, but that's not what I'm here for. Yes, sometimes those things might be a part of the message, but ultimately I'm here for you to know this.

And what Jesus says here or what Paul says about Jesus is that he is the head of the church. He is the the mind of the church. Your mind controls everything you say and do and touch.

So in other words, I'm going to say this. I'm up here, but Christ is the brains of the operation. If you got a problem with me, take it up with my boss.

He's got something to say to you, I'm sure. But here's the thing. My job as your pastor and our job as your leadership is not to come over the authority of this book and give you my opinion about what I think it says.

My job as your pastor is to come under the authority of scripture. Not not cherrypick a verse, but to go verse by verse and to show you this is what it says. This is what Jesus is teaching here. And so that is the type of church that I'm praying for us to be. And now, , Paul gets really excited about how Christ is working in all these things.

Look at verse 19. We're going to speed up a little bit here. He says, "For God was pleased to have his fullness dwell in him. He's happy about all things working together.

And through him, the reconciliation, the reconcile to him all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven by making peace through his blood shed on a cross. Once you pause there, once you were alienated from God and you were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now, anytime you see those two words together, it should just like catch your attention cuz that means God has done something for you.

That's amazing. But now he has reconciled you by Christ's physical body through the death to present you holy in sight without blemish and free from accusations. You see what the good news of this is is that the Colossians believed at this time that there was many ways to be saved.

There was many ways to enter heaven. And Paul goes on to to debunk that in a lot of his early letters because they wanted he wanted people to see that no Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, the life that nobody gets to heaven except through Jesus. And we kind of have this lie too, but we wouldn't say it as aggressively as this.

We wouldn't say, "Hey, there's many ways to get to heaven. " We would just say that maybe heaven is easy to get into. We wouldn't believe Jesus's words when he says that not everybody who comes to me and says, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven. That's what Jesus says. But what we do is I I'll give it I'll give this example and I'm sorry this is re this going to be really convicting here for a second.

I'm going to convict myself cuz I've been guilty of this. Have you ever went to a funeral before and as you're talking to somebody, you say or hear one of these two phrases. It's you know, I'm I'm glad they're in a better place or he or she was a really good person.

Now, that could be true. That could be true. But is it ever happened to you. Maybe, again, maybe this is just me, but you've been at one of those situations. And when you say they're in a better place, there's a little part of you deep down inside that says, "Are they are they.

Are are they in a better place. " Cuz I I didn't I didn't see it, right. I didn't hear about it. I didn't hear about how Jesus was Lord of their lives. Here's my advice to you.

Live in such a way that you are so in love with Jesus that nobody doubts where you go after you die. That when your life has come to an end that people can say, "Wow, they were so in love with Jesus. I have no doubt that they're in heaven dancing with with their creator. This is what Paul is saying.

Paul is saying that Jesus is the hero. He is the one who has saved you. He is the one who has redeemed you. He is the one who is going to come down, die on a cross so that you can have abundant life, an awesome, epic, full life here on earth and then an eternity in heaven where there's no pain and suffering. And that's what Jesus did for each and every one of you.

This is good news. We can be happy and excited about it or maybe I'll just be excited about it. And here's the thing.

As a church, I need to say this, too. As a church, my job ultimately is not to fill more spots in this in these chairs. My job and your job is to get more names registered to the kingdom of heaven. Because guess what.

The the devil could care less if our church is is has a high attendance. What he cares about is keeping people out of this reconciliation, this heaven ward that we're all trying to walk towards. And Jesus is reconciling every day. He's bringing new believers. We got some people who are interested in baptism and not just super excited about it because how we live a gospel- centered life is not just about what making it about what he's done, but also what he's doing.

Let me pause for a second and say this. God is doing something in your life. God is going to do something in your life. And that's what Paul goes on to say. Let's wrap this up.

It says, "If you continue, if you continue in your faith established and firm and do not move from the hope held in the gospel, this gospel that you have heard and that is being proclaimed to every creature under heaven and of which I, Paul, have become a servant. " This is the last myth that the Colossians and us believe that once we know Jesus, we're good. Or once we've came to to know Christ, we can just live the same life that we've always been living.

No, you are radically transformed. I was talking to my my son about this last night. We had the memory verse. The kids learned a memory verse back there and they can win a prize today.

And he he was sharing his memory verse and saying that you know all things were created in him and for him. And then you know he said in Christ you are made new. You are a new creation. And I said buddy what do you think a new creation means.

And I started comparing it to we had a a caterpillar and a butterfly kind of we we got to watch the lifespan over this summer. We took in a caterpillar, watched it make the cocoon and make the transformation into a butterfly. And I was explaining to him that when we accept Jesus, we are a new creation.

That by that butterfly, the caterpillar is no longer even recognizable in the new form, the new transformation, the new metamorphosis that this creature has gone through. You and I when we say yes to Jesus are a new creation. And what Paul is saying is if you continue in that and you establish and firm that foundation that is in the gospel that is in a Christ centered life, then that is truly living a changed life for Jesus. The way that we're going to say it around here is that all of you have a next step.

All of you have a next step. Whether that's giving your life to Jesus for the first time, whether that's getting baptized, whether that's sharing your story. A couple of weeks ago, we had a story up on screen of a testimony. I'm This is my next step.

I'm going to be recording my testimony. I can't wait to to share it at some point. Maybe that's your story. Maybe you need to join a group or serve or give or do something that's bringing you deeper into that relationship with Jesus and establishing it and continuing in faith because it's not just about what God has done.

It's not just about what he's doing, but it's what he has yet to do in you. Okay, let me just say this. If you're not dead, God is not done.

God still has a plan and a purpose for your life. And he died on a cross so that you could continue in that purpose. Okay, this is where we get excited again cuz it's good news. Living a gospel- centered life is all about what he's done, what he's doing, and what he has yet to do.

Now, this morning, I want us to respond differently. Usually, , I'll come up and and I'll do kind of just like a a call to to action. And today, our call to action is a little bit different because it's a first for Destination Church.

We are going to be taking our first communion together. So, I'm going to invite the worship team up and I I just kind of want to briefly explain this and explain why I'm so excited that our first communion is on the Sunday that we talk about the gospel. Because what we do when we come up to the table and we take communion, and I'll explain logistics in a second here, but what we do when we come up and take communion is it's a visual representation of what we were just talking about a few verses ago that Jesus died for each and every one of us. And he explains this on the night that Jesus is betrayed.

He takes the bread and he breaks it and he says, "This is my body given to you. Do this in remembrance of me. Every time you eat, remember what I've done.

" Then he takes the cup and he says, "This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you. Do this in remembrance of me. " And what's cool is when we do this, this is something that the global church, the big C is doing together. We're all participating in this communion together.

So all of these people for generations have came around this table to remember what he's done, what he's doing, and what he has yet to do. And so this is what I this is how this is going to work. The band is going to play instrumentally for a little bit. And I want to encourage you if you say like, "Hey, I believe in Jesus.

I believe that Jesus is the Lord of my life and I I want to I want to remember his sacrifice for me. " I want you to as you feel comfortable, stand up, come to the table, pause at the table, take some communion. We have gluten-free option, too.

And just reflect on what Jesus has done in your life. You take communion and and sit back down and we'll go into a time of worship. But this is our response to remember all that God has done, all that God is doing and all he has yet to do.

So would you pray with me. God, I thank you so much for this time to just sit in this truth. God, thank you for what you've done, the creation that we get to live in. God, thank you for what you're doing in each and every one of our lives. And God, thank you for what you still have yet to do.

Now, as we come forward and we take communion together as a church family, God, we just we just pause to remember those things and we thank you cuz you are worthy of it all in Jesus name.