Prayer for All Members Based on Pastor Jared’s Message, January 1, 2023 Colossians 3:1-4
Set Your Mind on the Things Above

Introduction: These verses in Colossians give us four truths that give us hope this year and every year to come.

1. The Truth About Jesus Gives Us Hope. (3:1) ... above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

   • He is above. He is more than physically above us – He is above us in every way. We needed someone who was above us to accomplish what we needed the most.

   • He is at the right hand of God. He is in the position of high honor and authority. He is Lord of everything. He rules and is interceding for us.

   • He is seated. For Him to be seated means that He has finished the work of the cross.
     Father, please help us always to remember and rejoice that our hope is in Your Son, Lord of all.

2. The Truth About Death Gives Us Hope. (3:1, 3) For you have died, [you have been raised], and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

   • You have died. You will suffer pain and loss, but if you are a child of God bought by the blood of the Lamb, the worst is behind you. For those of us who are in Christ, spiritual death has passed over us.

   • You have been raised with Christ. We have already been spiritually raised with Christ, and we will also have a physical resurrection because of what Christ has done.

   • Your life is hidden with Christ in God. You are secure in Christ. If you are His, you will always be His. The reality is that nothing compares with the life you have in Christ that you will have forever.

     Father, thank you for the glorious reality that we have died with Christ, we have been raised with Him, and our life is hidden securely with Him in You. Please help us to take hold of this truth and hold it fast.

3. The Truth That Christ Is Returning Gives Us Hope. (3:4) When Christ who is your life appears...

   He will come and right all the wrongs. He will appear in all His glory. And He is coming for His bride.

   Father, when we see all the pain and destruction and evil in this world, please help us to remember that it will not always be this way. Help us to rejoice in the sure hope that Jesus is coming again!

4. The Truth of Our Future Gives Us Hope. (3:4) ...then you also will appear with him in glory.
   When He is revealed in His glorious body, we also will be revealed with bodies like His. Our citizenship is

   in heaven with Him.

   Father, please give us confidence and joy in the glorious future that awaits us in Christ with You.

Conclusion (3:1-2): In light of these truths, how should we live in 2023 and beyond?

Seek the things that are above... Set your minds on the things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

The things that are above deal with Christ’s sovereign reign, His power, His character, His finished work, and the reality of heaven with Him. In Christ you have a reason not only to hope but also to live with certitude.

Father, please help us set our minds on Christ and His finished work, lay aside our old, earthly self, and put on our new life in Christ. Depending on You alone, help us live every day in Christ’s love and peace.