Seeking Pearls

Colossians Episode 6: Live Like Christ!

In the second half of the third chapter of Colossians, Paul instructs the people of Colossae on how to live like Jesus. They've learned about the cross of Christ, they've received a detailed theology on who Jesus is, they've been instructed to get rid of all leftover sin habits entangling them. Now...live like this. This is how we do it.

Colossians Episode 5: Set Your Heart!

In chapter 3 of Colossians Paul teaches what it means to belong to Christ. He alone is true life. He alone is the place on which we should set our hearts and minds. The life that is truly life is found in Him alone, and as believers we have full access to that life. Therefore, let us let go of the sin habits that cling to us and that we so tightly cling to. Let's set our minds on Christ and grow in His image.

What Does the Cross have to do with Circumcision

Paul gets into the deep details of the Cross in this section of Colossians. What does it mean that we have been circumcised in Christ? What is circumcision of the heart? When was I baptized into the death of Christ? When was the charge against me cancelled? And who are the authorities that Jesus put to shame through His death on the cross? And most of all, what does this all have to do with my freedom in Christ???
Everything! Paul dives in deep...let's dive in also.

Colossians Episode 3: The Treasure

What treasure are you seeking? If we are honest with ourselves, we will have to admit that all of us set our heart on something or someone. If we don't set it on Jesus, we will most certainly set it elsewhere.
In Colossians 2:1-8, the Apostle Paul declares that Jesus is not only the great mystery of God, but also the great treasure of mankind. All the treasures of wisdom and knowledge - unfathomable riches - are found in Christ alone. Let us seek Him.

Colossians Episode 2: The Mystery

In the latter half of Colossians 1, Paul writes a glorious description of Jesus...the King of the Kingdom into which we have been transferred. Jesus is the perfect and total representation of God, He is the One through whom the universe was made, He comes before everything, has superiority in everything, and is the eternal glue that holds all things together. He is everything. And, as we find out, He is also the mystery of God that was hidden for ages past but is now revealed for the world to know. What a mystery!

Colossians, Episode 1: Qualified, Rescued, Transferred!

Paul's letter to the church in Colossae is filled with tremendous truths for you and I, even two thousand years after it was penned. To a city that was filled with competing philosophies and a conglomeration of gods to be worshiped, Paul wrote with remarkable clarity about the unique sovereignty of the Jesus Christ and His Lordship over all creation. Jesus is the treasure for which every human heart was created to seek.

God’s Heart for the Unloved Woman: Rahab

As we near Christmas it is fitting for us to study this beautiful woman whose life of trauma was turned around and used mightily. A woman who others may have considered worthless, loveless, and purposeless God saw as courageous, bold, and fit to be in the lineage of His Son Jesus. Join us as we befriend Rahab, learn her story, and discover that God's plan for our lives goes beyond what we could ever imagine and even beyond what we will ever comprehend while we live on this earth.

God’s Heart for the Unloved Woman: Hagar

If you have ever felt unseen, unnoticed, and unvalued (and I think you have), then Hagar is a sister in Scripture you need to befriend. Hagar too experienced the heartache of wondering if anyone really saw her. And then one day, when she was pregnant and alone, God showed up on the roadside and invited her to tell him her story. Her response after her encounter with the pre-incarnate Christ was "You are the God who sees me."
Friend, there is a God in heaven who sees you, loves you, and invites you to share your story with him as well.

God’s Heart for the Unloved Woman: Leah

In this extension of our "Do You See this Woman?" Series, we will be meeting beautiful woman from the Scriptures whose life experiences led them to feel unloved. Though they lived thousands of years ago, their stories are timeless.
Leah resonates with any woman who has felt tossed aside, neglected, worthless, and unloved. This is exactly how Leah felt...for years. Praise God that He reached into her story and showed her that He alone can complete her and give her the love her heart was yearning for.

1 Peter 5 - Who are Your Sheep?

In this final chapter of his letter, Peter challenges the Christ-follower to shepherd well the sheep that are entrusted to our care. The Chief Shepherd indeed is coming, and in the meantime our job is to care for those He loves. Also, we are given a third warning to be alert and sober-minded...this time because the enemy is real and is looking to devour us. But stand firm. You have the power within you to resist the enemy. Amidst all the suffering, for those in Christ, peace will in fact have the final word.