Shalom or Bust

Sunday, June 15, 2025

Scriptures: Colossians 3:1-16

• Sermon Summary

  Summary: In the third sermon of our series Cosmic Thoughts for Daily Life, Bobbi examines Colossians 3. And how our desires, virtues, and acts of peace can effect our relationships and the world through the choices of our daily life.

  Desire: Bobbi asks the question, “are your desires rightly ordered?” She encourages us to reflect on where our longings take us. Paul uses early Christian conceptions of Jesus’ position in the cosmos to direct his audience upward, to the things of God. But, Bobbi acknowledges how authority figures have lost the trust of many. And so, she directs us to look at Paul’s language about Jesus: union, togetherness, and fellowship. These are what we are called toward. We move toward these things because we are caught up with Christ.

  How not to: Paul moves from a cosmic focus to daily consequences by outlining boundaries for our bodies—examples of how not to live. Bobbi reminds us that the Bible doesn’t offer us a clear cut sexual ethic. Yet, it’s also not denying our interconnectedness. Instead, she says that our intimacy is so significant, that we ought to consider how to love and respect others. Greed in our relationships, sexual or otherwise, is what Paul is warning against here.

  B for beloved: Bobbi shares about a necklace she got with the letter “B” engraved on it. Among other meanings, the “B” stands for beloved. She points out that we are all beloved. That identity grounds a list of virtues outlined by Paul: compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. These are not obligations, but the natural expression of someone who knows they are loved.

  Shalom or bust: Bobbi shows how Paul outlines two types of peace. One that ends hostilities, and one that is much deeper and extends through our hearts and into our lives. Paul is drawing on the Hebrew concept of shalom. Making peace is our goal—shalom or bust! Bobbi finishes by encouraging us to take risks for peace, even when it’s hard, because that’s where healing and the good life are found.

• Discussion Guide

  Community is shaped by the conversations we share. These questions and reflections are a tool to help you meaningfully engage with the themes of this week's teaching.

  Summer Discussion Guide 2025

  If your group is meeting this summer and wants to talk about the sermons, here are a few questions that you could use to engage with our teaching.

  • What specific part of the message resonated with you the most? Why do you think that particular part, or idea, or story caught your attention?

  • Did the sermon speak into a particular struggle or question in your life or your faith journey right now?

  • What did the message challenge or encourage you personally? And what do you think the application could be for our church community? Was there anything that could strengthen or stretch us as a church?

  How did the exposition of the scriptures used in the sermon provide you with a new perspective of deeper understanding?

  It is good to remember that the conversation experience in the group is shaped by the personal stories of those who participate in it and how willing the people are to be open and vulnerable in the group.
  
  So if you’re leading the discussion, feel free to model and encourage person-centred and story-centred sharing by reflecting on how some parts of the sermon resonate with you personally.

  Additionally, what contributes to a more authentic group discussion is when people can share not about the abstract and theoretical applications, but one or two practical things they are taking away from either the sermon or the discussion.

  So, you can end your time together with this question:

  • What is one thing you are taking away from either the sermon or the discussion we’ve just had?

• Service Songs & Prayers

  CALL TO WORSHIP Psalm 23

  MUSIC Curated by Kevin & Alyssa Borst
  Bethel Music - Raise A Hallelujah
  Hillsong Worship - What A Beautiful Name
  City Alight - Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
  Bethel Music - Heaven Come
  
  EUCHARIST INVITATION
  Written by Scott Wall

  Today, as part of our worship, we pause and come to the Eucharist table.
  
  As we gather around simple elements on this Father’s Day, we do so as the reimagined family that Christ intended we become.Jesus taught his friends and followers to pray to God as Father
  
  And he did this to assert that, in a world made new through death and resurrection, the boundaries of our love are able to expand. To include those who stand beside us in community. To make space for all those who’ve been dads and mentors and fathering presence in our lives.
  To help us in the complex work of forming healthy, meaningful connections in the world.

  So as we prepare to come, pray with me —Risen Christ,
  You came and encouraged us to imagine a God whose care is gracious and parental — A God whose compassion extends to all.
  
  And so, as we gather around your table again, may we celebrate the ways your gentle presence takes form in the world and relationships around us.
  Amen.
  
  SERIES BUMPER
  Cosmic Thoughts for Daily Life