11May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully

12giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. 13He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. 15He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; 16for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers?all things have been created through him and for him. 17He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. 19For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.

What Disciples Do. Not just what disciples believe. That has been our focus over the past two months. Everything we have discussed has been connected to what we are doing as disciples of Jesus Christ. Our belief is important, but our actions speak louder than our words. Jesus cares more about how we live out our lives than by what we say, our actions more than just going through the motions. So we have explored how disciples take their faith seriously, how we seek people for Christ and church, how we practice generosity, how we take faith home, the importance of wrestling with God, the call to not judge, the importance of living by faith, and today the importance of our allegiance to Christ. Overall these are some heavy topics, but all are important when looking at our lives as people who claim to follow Jesus. I know it has been a challenge to our family with evaluating how we are living out our faith together and in the community?and we aren?t done with doing so. I pray it has been a challenge to you as well. As we dive into this last day talking about what disciples do, I am going to warn you it is going to be a little all over the place. I decided it was important to give you various examples that all connect to the passage for today. So I invite you to pray with me.

In our text for today, disciples willingly give their ultimate allegiance to Jesus Christ, king and ruler over all creation. Colossians 1 affirms an extremely high Christology. Meaning, this is known as one of the Christ centered passages in the entire New Testament. The text speaks of Christ?s ?glorious power? and speaks of ?the kingdom of God?s beloved Son.? Jesus is the ?image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.? Jesus is the ?head of the body, the church.? Finally, Christ is to ?have first place in everything.? In short, Jesus is the king of all creation, reigning over the universe, the church, and individual believers. Wow! Jesus is the One! If Jesus is all of these things that are proclaimed in this passage, and we believe all of these things, then what we do about that information is very important. Some might say this passage is ultimately about an eschatological hope, the future, what will be; but disciples today still should be attempting to make Christ their king here and now. Living life today out of your belief in Jesus is what we are called to do. Therefore, disciples of Jesus Christ boldly and willingly profess their ultimate allegiance not to self, family, or country?but to Jesus Christ the King. Sounds easy right? For me, if this is the one who we believe in, then how can we keep it to ourselves? How can we not live our lives differently than those who don?t believe? So then the struggle is how to live out this belief and allegiance in a way that is authentic and real to everyone we meet. And it continues with where we started.

The challenge to live out the exciting call of Jesus, the call to ?Follow me.? Following by definition, means not being first, not being the leader, not being in charge. Our ongoing challenge is going to be to showing our ourselves, our families and our community how we are truly living out the command to ?follow me? and live a life that shows others who Jesus is through us. This can be very uncomfortable thought for many of us. Americans value independence and self-sufficiency. Many of us are very self-centered and we want to do what is best for me. We forget about our actions affect other people, even people across the country. If it doesn?t impact us, then do we really care about it? We like feeling we are in complete and total control of our lives and destiny, and not letting anyone or anything have power over us. Yet verse 18 says, ?18He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything.?

But sometimes people say it is such a ?me? generation. And it is the ?me? generation that is not coming to church. You see, if you look at generational studies, which we know are over generalized?there are two ?me? generations: Baby Boomers and Millennials??.and a majority of the Millennial?s are children of Baby Boomers. Research has gone as far to say that Baby Boomers are the ?me? generation and Millennials? are the ?me, me, me? generation. And if you think about what is happening in churches across the country, the two generations that are largely missing from being a part of a congregation are younger Baby Boomers and Millennials?. When we only think about ?me? it is hard then for Jesus to have first place in everything.

I think part of the problem in our society, our culture is that we have forgotten who should be at the center of our lives, who should have first place. Many of us have made ourselves, our family, our children, and/or our jobs the center of our lives. And many of us have pushed God to the periphery of everything in our lives. I know I have asked similar questions this series as to this, but to me it is worth asking again. What would our lives look like if we really were the type of disciples Jesus has called us to be and we put God at the center of everything that we did?

Disciples who put Jesus at the center of everything believe in his command to follow me. When we follow Jesus, something changes about how we are disciples. Instead of being discipled only in worship or Bible study or small groups, we are now going out into the world?we become apostles. One of my professors from Seminary shares that the movement from being disciples to living lives of apostleship and it is key for the future of the church. Living lives as apostles means we believe we are sent out. Being a sent people who believe in Jesus Christ who ?who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.? Rodger shares the following information and claims apostles are to be EPIC. Experience, Participation, Imagistic, and Communal. Let me walk you through some examples of being EPIC.

All of this made me thin of this story a colleague shared about a teacher who, while cleaning out her attic, came upon a cross she purchased years earlier. It was a crucifix?a wooden cross with a silver image of Jesus hanging on it. She put the cross on her home office desk and left it there for a few days. However, she needed some space to work, so she laid the cross on top of her checkbook and her bills. It made her think about how her faith should impact her finances. If her money were really under the cross of Jesus, what would she buy? What would she not buy? How much would she give away? How much would she keep?

A few days later, more papers accumulated on her desk, so she put the crucifix on top of some papers she was grading for her students. It made her think about how her faith should impact her work. If her job were really under the cross of Jesus, how would she treat her students? How would she treat her colleagues? How would she prepare for her classes?

A few days later the cross ended up on top of some recent photographs of her family and friends. It made her think about how her faith should impact her relationships. If her relationships were really under the cross of Jesus, what kind of wife would she be? What kind of mother? What kind of grandmother? What kind of friend?

For several weeks that cross lay on her desk, and it seemed to ask her, on a daily basis: ?What difference does my faith make in my life? What impact does my religion have on my finances, my job, and my relationships? In short it asked, ?What would it mean for me to truly make Christ the King of my life??

I ask you the same question today. What would it mean for you to truly make Christ the King of your life? How would everything you do look like a follower of Christ? If you put a cross on your finances, your relationships, your politics, your work, how would your faith be impacting all of those areas?? It is my prayer that you continue to think about how you are showing your allegiance to our God in everything that we do as we live as disciples who do and are sent out into the world. May we all be sent out to be disciples who do life in a way Jesus would look upon us and say, ?Yes, those are my disciples.?

I also believe that many of us are good at saying the proper words, using the Christian phrases, and acting like ?good? people; but we are struggling on the inside with who we are, what we have done, what we have said, how we have acted, and for our questions and doubts. Instead we put on the ?Christian? face, but we are hurting on the inside and wondering why God doesn?t feel present in our lives. This to me is called ?going through the motions? and I think many people do this well. I know there are times when I go through the motions?it is easier to answer the question ?how are you?? with ?fine,? rather than tell people how you really are doing.

Thinking about this led to me thinking about the song Matthew West wrote called ?The Motions.? This is the phrase that has always stuck with me from this song: ?I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking, What if I had given everything, Instead of going through the motions?? And every time I hear this song, it causes me to ask myself, am I going through the motions, or am I giving everything? And then these lines get me too: ?No regrets, not this time I’m gonna let my heart defeat my mind, Let Your love make me whole

I think I’m finally feeling something, ‘Cause just okay is not enough, Help me fight through the nothingness of this life.? It is as if is reminding us that today, I am going to start over. Every day we have the option to do something different. So I am going to do life differently, today. I am going to live knowing that Jesus is the one I follow, that Jesus is the one who I believe in, and I am going to let Jesus be the one who is at the center of my life?this time?my heart will defeat my mind. Love, God?s love, will make me whole?through God?s love, I am finally feeling something real about who I am, what my life is for?because this life here on earth, my purpose is to not be okay with the status quo, but to make a difference each and every moment of the day.

The Motions by Matthew West

This might hurt, it’s not safe
But I know that I’ve gotta make a change
I don’t care if I break,
At least I’ll be feeling something
‘Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of life
I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking,
What if I had given everything,
Instead of going through the motions?
No regrets, not this time
I’m gonna let my heart defeat my mind
Let Your love make me whole
I think I’m finally feeling something
‘Cause just okay is not enough
Help me fight through the nothingness of this life
Cause I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking
What if I had given everything,
Instead of going through the motions?
Take me all the way (take me all the way)
Take me all the way (’cause I don’t wanna go through the motions)
Take me all the way (I know I’m finally feeling something real)
Take me all the way
I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking,
What if I had given everything,
Instead of going through the motions?
I don’t wanna go through the motions
I don’t wanna go one more day
Without Your all consuming passion inside of me
I don’t wanna spend my whole life asking,
What if I had given everything,
Instead of going through the motions?
Take me all the way (take me all the way)
Take me all the way (I don’t wanna go, I don’t wanna go)
Take me all the way (through the motions)
Take me all the way
I don’t wanna go through the motions

Have you ever heard of the ?Me? generation? Well, there are two of them. According to Time Magazine (and others) different generations respond to the world differently. For instance, I am part of Generation X?we were labeled as a generation who was defiant, lazy, and wouldn?t do anything of impact in the world. Many are also considered geeks, independent thinkers, and artists. We have been a much more behind the scenes generation, we are change agents from within
www.wmfc.org/uploads/GenerationalDifferencesChart.pdf
people.howstuffworks.com/culture-traditions/generation-gaps/generation-x3.htm

www.talentedheads.com/2013/04/09/generation-confused

time.com/247/millennials-the-me-me-me-generation