SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON - MAY 1ST

Week of May 1 - Expressing the Truth

Lesson Passage Outline
1. Unending Trust in Him (Col. 1:21-23)
2. Serving Through His Power (Col. 1:24-29)
3. Having Confidence About Him (Col. 2:1-3)
4. Growing Commitment to Him (Col. 2:4-7)

Biblical Truth -We can express the truth about Christ because of our experience with Him.

Introduction - by Eli Landrum, retired from Lifeway Christian Resources after having served as an editor for over 23 years. Prior to working at Lifeway, he served in church ministry for 16 years, including 9 years as a pastor. He & his wife are members of First Baptist Church, Nashville TN.

A famous newscaster did a popular segment he called “The Rest of the Story.” He began the segment by relating the first half of an account of a person or event, paused in mid-segment to inject an interlude, and then launched into the conclusion by saying, And now, the rest of the story. A dramatic twist and a surprising ending followed.
As a pastor, I once preached a sermon titled “Tell the Whole Story,” based on Ephesians 2:8-10. The sermon’s thrust was that too many Christians read verses 8-9 about salvation by grace through faith, and then stop. Verse 10, the “rest of the story,” states: “For we are His creation—created in Christ Jesus for good works.” The salvation experience is a beginning, not a culmination.
 Why do you think some people view their salvation experience as the end of a process rather than a beginning?
To hear some people’s explanation, one might think that the experience of a person’s being reconciled to God through Christ is all that matters. This view, however, is not true to the New Testament; and people who accept it rob themselves of enriching experiences with Christ. Furthermore, they rob themselves of opportunities to express the whole truth about Jesus; and they rob others of hearing, knowing, and/or accepting this truth.