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Christ-Centered Prayer Part 1- Colossians 4:2-4

Christ-Centered Prayer

Colossians 4:2-4

In Colossians 4:2, the apostle Paul gives a command to the whole church, saying, “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving.” It is crystal clear from this verse that God wants us to pray. We are to have a gritty determination to stick to prayer and not give up  praying.

If you are anything like me, you have found prayer to be at the same time the most glorious of experiences with God and the most difficult of disciplines. Prayer can give the believer a taste of God’s glory. For as we learn to rest in the Lord’s love and power, to cast our cares upon the Him, and to call upon the Lord to do what no other can do, we live in communion with Him who transcends all comprehension. Yet true prayer calls the us to leave aside all props and meet in solitude with the living God, admitting our own weakness and total dependence upon the Triune God alone. With all pretenses gone, the believer’s heart is laid bare before the omniscient gaze of the Lord.

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Prayer for the Harvest

30 Days of Prayer for the Harvest Day 15

30 Days of Prayer for the Harvest

Day 15 – Monday, January 26, 2026

Read 1 Corinthians 1:18-25

17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:17-18).

At the heart of the gospel is the cross. Paul said that Christ sent him to preach the gospel (1 Cor. 1:17), and then immediately began to speak about the cross of Christ. The gospel is “the message of the cross” with the power to save.

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The Death and Resurrection of Jesus – Matthew 20:17-19

The Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Matthew 20:17-19

A few years ago a certain church marketing newsletter (Church’s Advertising Network) promoted a campaign to attract people at Easter. In this public relations campaign, they suggested that the church downplay the negative image of the crucifixion and focus only on the positive image of the resurrection. One pastor interviewed for the campaign gave his wholehearted endorsement, saying, “We are going to attempt to concentrate on the resurrection, and not the death of Jesus.”

Can you imagine Easter without the cross? Is it possible to have the resurrection without the crucifixion? It distorts the entire gospel if Christ’s crucifixion is separated from His resurrection. The way to the empty tomb must always go through the cross. The Savior who was raised from the dead on Sunday is none other than Christ Jesus who was crucified on Friday. Easter without a cross is a hoax.

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Care for the Little Ones – Matthew 18:10-14

Care for the Little Ones

Matthew 18:10-14

I want to begin today by reading a passage from 1 Peter 5. Like our passage in Matthew 18, the apostle Peter wrote to the church about humility and care for the flock of God:

1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed: 2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly; 3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock; 4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away. 5 Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble.” 6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (1Pe 5:1-7).

Peter learned from the Lord Jesus that some Christians need to be humbled because they have too exalted an opinion of themselves. Others need constant encouragement because they tend to dwell too much upon their own inadequacies. So, he wrote to the elders of the church under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit to feed God’s flock in such a way that would convict the proud without utterly discouraging the weak. He encouraged Christians to humble themselves and cast all their cares upon God, quoting the proverb, “God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble” (1Peter 5:5; Pro. 3:34). I am sure that there are some of us here today who need to be humbled because we think too highly of ourselves, and others who need the encouragement that God cares for the lowest and weakest believer.

This is what Jesus does so masterfully in Matthew 18.

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I Will Build My Church Part 3 – Matthew 16:18-20

I Will Build My Church Part 3

Matthew 16:18-20

Over the past few weeks, we have been studying together from what I believe is one of the most important passages in the Gospel of Matthew. And we have been focusing on the key phrase in this passage where Jesus states, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). We have already looked at …

1. The Church’s Foundation

Jesus tells Peter that He would build His church on “this rock”. Peter had just confessed the truth about Jesus—the truth that God the Father had revealed to him—saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16). Jesus Christ Himself is the church’s foundation. The apostle Paul affirmed, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor. 3:11). As the representative of the apostles, Peter was foundational in the sense that God revealed His truth to the apostles, and they believed, confessed, proclaimed, and recorded that gospel truth about Jesus Christ. So Paul would write to the Ephesians of the church “having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone” (Eph. 2:20). To be a member of Christ’s true church, like Peter, you must believe and confess Jesus Christ.

Then we saw …

2. The Church’s Builder

Jesus said, “I will build My church.” Jesus is the builder and the owner of His church. Like Peter and the rest of the apostles, we have the privilege of being used by Christ in the building of His church. There is no more important work than this.

Then we saw …

3. The Church’s Victory

Jesus says that He will build His church, “…and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.” Even death cannot prevent Christ’s work of building His church. The gates of Hades shall not prevail against His church. Speaking about Christ’s victory over death, the apostle Paul writes to the Corinthians, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Cor. 15:57-58).

Finally, today we see …

4. The Church’s Authority

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I Will Build My Church Part 2 – Matthew 16:18-20

I Will Build My Church Part 2

Matthew 16:18-20

In our verse-by-verse study of the Gospel of Matthew, we have come to a passage at the very heart of Matthew’s Gospel. Matthew 16 is the hinge on which the Gospel turns. Everything that comes before in the first part of Matthew leads up to it and what comes after has its basis in it.

In Matthew 16:13, Jesus took His disciples away from the Jewish crowds in Galilee and Judea to a mostly Gentile area around Caesarea Philippi. There, He gave His disciples their midterm exam. First, He asked them, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” (Matt. 16:13). They answered that the people generally thought that Jesus was one of the prophets who was possibly come back from the dead.

Then Jesus asked the most important question. He specifically addressed the disciples themselves, and asked, “But who do you say that I am?” (Matt. 16:15). Simon Peter, speaking for the group, confessed, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” (Matt. 16:16). First, he affirmed that Jesus is the “Christ,” the promised Anointed One, the prophesied Messiah-King who would save His people and reign over them forever. Even more, he confessed that Jesus is “the Son of the living God,” meaning Jesus Christ is of the very nature and essence of God.

Jesus then responded to this confession by telling Simon Peter that he was blessed, “for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt 16:17). Simon did not figure this out on his own or learn it from others. He confessed the truth about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, because the Father revealed that truth to him.  

Then Jesus went on to say to Simon, “And I also say to you that you are Peter and on this rock I will build My church …” (Matt. 16:18). We said that the key phrase in this passage is when Jesus states, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). Everything Jesus says in these verses relates to Jesus building His church.

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