WHAT R U WEARING?

Sermon Notes, December 27, 2015

Rev. Garry McGlinchy

Rev. McGlinchy’s sermon was titled “What R U Wearing?” and his scripture reference was Colossians 3:12-17.  Pastor started by remembering his youth, when he would proudly wear one of his four favorite shirts and his special jeans with all the holes, and his mom would ask him “What on earth are you wearing?”  But as he matured, he had to get rid of those old clothes and wear more appropriate ones. 

In chapter 3 of Colossians, Paul tells the people to put to death sins of sexual attitudes and behavior.  These include sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed.  These sins of attitude and behavior are dangerous because of what they do to destroy any group, or in this case a church.  In verses 8 and 9 he also says to get rid of the sins of speech, such as anger and rage, any malicious behavior, slander and gossip, dirty language and lying.  These sins of speech do an amazing job of destroying relationships.

In verses 12-17, Paul tells us how to get rid of these sins and gives us a strategy for holy living.  In verses 12 and 13 he tells us to clothe ourselves in mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and forgiveness.  His plan boils down to this: imitate Christ’s compassionate, forgiving attitude; let love, His love, guide your life; Let God’s peace rule in your heart; always be thankful; keep God’s Word in your heart at all times; and live your life as God’s representative.

In order to forgive others, we need to remember how He forgave us.  Leave it to God to deal with all the pain and wrongs we have suffered.  This will allow us to live a new life in Christ.

All the virtues Paul writes about are held together with LOVE. (1 Corinthians 13)  LOVE is the constant thread that holds the universe together.  If we try to practice these virtues without love, they will all fall apart; they are manifestations of LOVE.

If we are to claim a life of Christ we must live in peace.  This doesn’t mean that there will be no differences of opinion, nor do we need to let others walk all over us.  It means that we, as loving Christians, have to work together with everyone God puts in our path regardless of our differences.  Clothing ourselves with love allows peace to grow in the body of believers, and between the church and the world.  The word for “rule”, brabeuo, used here in the New Testament, originally meant “to act as umpire.” We need to allow God’s peace to be the umpire, or referee, in our heart.

Thankfulness and gratitude allow us to worship Him freely.  They allow peace to rule in our hearts and allow love to flow through us.  We need to be thankful both to God and to each other, and let gratitude become a habit within us.

No matter what we say or what we do, we need to do it as a representative of Christ.  We represent Him everywhere we go, and in everything we do.

We need to get rid of the old earthly way of thinking, speaking and acting, and put on the holy garments of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, patience and forgiveness.  We must continue to ask ourselves “What on earth are you wearing?”