Christ the Center of Christianity – Part 5

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Tonight we continue the series: “Christ the Center of Christianity — Part 5.” The Book of Colossians repeatedly insists that Jesus Christ must have preeminence in the believer’s life. In chapter three the apostle Paul moves us from doctrine to daily practice — from who we are in Christ to how we must live for Christ. The call is not merely to be saved, but to be sanctified: to put off the old, sinful self and to put on the new man fashioned after the Lord.

Quote from Preacher

We’re going to continue our study in the Book of Colossians. As we have been going through, we have been looking and dealing verse by verse in the Book of Colossians with the truth and this aspect. The theme of the Book of Colossians is that Christ is the center of Christianity.

Outline

1. The New Routine: Seek and Set
   1. Seek the things above: We are instructed to “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Seeking heavenly priorities reorients decisions, relationships, entertainment, and ambitions so Christ is central in every arena of life.
   2. Set your affections: Affection drives action. If your heart pursues temporary pleasures, your feet will follow. If your heart pursues Christ, your life will reflect Christ.
2. Resources for Death: Put to Death the Earthly
   1. Mortify your members: The command to “mortify…your members which are upon the earth” is spiritual action. It calls for intentional, decisive resistance to sin—not self-mutilation, but spiritual warfare against lustful desires and habits.
   2. Specific sins named:
      1. Fornication: Sexual immorality outside the bounds of Scripture and marriage destroys testimony and fellowship with God.
      2. Uncleanness: Impurity of thought, speech, and action that stains the believer’s life.
      3. Inordinate affection: Infatuation for a forbidden desire; lust for what God forbids.
      4. Evil concupiscence: The insatiable appetite for more sin — the escalating nature of unrestrained desire.
      5. Covetousness (idolatry): When desire for things replaces reliance on God; to covet is to make an idol of the created rather than worship the Creator.
   3. Practical explanation: These are not merely categories to quote in a sermon; they are the daily enemies of young Christians. Recognize them, name them, and take decisive steps to mortify them through prayer, Scripture, accountability, and repentance.
3. Reasons for Displeasure: The Wrath of God
   1. Consequences follow continued sin: “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Willful persistence in the flesh brings God’s righteous displeasure and practical loss of blessing and testimony.
   2. Remember the pit you were dug out of: We must recall our own past and the grace that saved us, lest pride or carelessness drag us back into bondage.
4. Things to Put Off: The Old Man’s Works
   1. Put off the old life: Conversion begins salvation’s journey, but daily sanctification requires removing friends, influences, music, media, and patterns that perpetuate the old ways.
   2. Put off the sinful attitudes and actions:
      1. Anger (lividness): Unchecked anger will ruin relationships and ministry; be careful to discern righteous anger from sinful habit.
      2. Wrath (lunacy): Rage that leads to loss of self-control and destructive behavior must be mortified.
      3. Malice: Deep-seated hatred and loathing toward another are incompatible with Christlikeness.
      4. Blasphemy: Slander, slur, or misuse of God’s name or the things of God — including preaching mere opinion instead of God’s Word.
      5. Filthy communication: Guard speech; avoid crude jokes, vulgarities, and conversations that dishonor Christ.
      6. Lying: Truth must characterize our speech; partial truths or manipulative narratives damage trust and witness.
   3. Practical tools: Accountability partners, removing tempting influences, confession, and immediate repentance are practical steps to put off these sins.
5. Requirements for Deliverance: Put On the New Man
   1. New Self: “And have put on the new man” — this is not a cosmetic change but a spiritual identity. Galatians 2:20 says I live, yet not I, but Christ living in me. The new man represents Christ’s life expressed through you.
   2. New Knowledge and Image: The new man is “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” Regular Bible study and preaching renew understanding, conforming us more to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29).
   3. New Society: In Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, bond nor free — believers form a new community that transcends social, ethnic, and cultural barriers. Your true family is now those who belong to Christ.
6. What to Put On: The New Spirit, Support, and Solidarity
   1. New Spirit: “Bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” — virtues that contrast with anger, malice, and pride. Meekness is not weakness but strength under control.
   2. New Support: “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another” — the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. We must bear one another’s burdens and forgive as Christ forgave us (Galatians 6:2).
   3. New Solidarity: “Above all these things put on charity” — love is the supreme garment. All Christian virtues hang on love; without it our acts are hollow. Love binds the Christian community and perfects the believer’s witness.
   4. Practical growth steps: Regular Bible intake, participating in the local church, serving others, and intentional relationships will clothe you with these virtues.

Summary

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Tonight we continue the series: “Christ the Center of Christianity — Part 5.” The Book of Colossians repeatedly insists that Jesus Christ must have preeminence in the believer’s life. In chapter three the apostle Paul moves us from doctrine to daily practice — from who we are in Christ to how we must live for Christ. The call is not merely to be saved, but to be sanctified: to put off the old, sinful self and to put on the new man fashioned after the Lord.

Quote from Preacher

We’re going to continue our study in the Book of Colossians. As we have been going through, we have been looking and dealing verse by verse in the Book of Colossians with the truth and this aspect. The theme of the Book of Colossians is that Christ is the center of Christianity.

Outline

1. The New Routine: Seek and Set
   1. Seek the things above: We are instructed to “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Seeking heavenly priorities reorients decisions, relationships, entertainment, and ambitions so Christ is central in every arena of life.
   2. Set your affections: Affection drives action. If your heart pursues temporary pleasures, your feet will follow. If your heart pursues Christ, your life will reflect Christ.
2. Resources for Death: Put to Death the Earthly
   1. Mortify your members: The command to “mortify…your members which are upon the earth” is spiritual action. It calls for intentional, decisive resistance to sin—not self-mutilation, but spiritual warfare against lustful desires and habits.
   2. Specific sins named:
      1. Fornication: Sexual immorality outside the bounds of Scripture and marriage destroys testimony and fellowship with God.
      2. Uncleanness: Impurity of thought, speech, and action that stains the believer’s life.
      3. Inordinate affection: Infatuation for a forbidden desire; lust for what God forbids.
      4. Evil concupiscence: The insatiable appetite for more sin — the escalating nature of unrestrained desire.
      5. Covetousness (idolatry): When desire for things replaces reliance on God; to covet is to make an idol of the created rather than worship the Creator.
   3. Practical explanation: These are not merely categories to quote in a sermon; they are the daily enemies of young Christians. Recognize them, name them, and take decisive steps to mortify them through prayer, Scripture, accountability, and repentance.
3. Reasons for Displeasure: The Wrath of God
   1. Consequences follow continued sin: “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Willful persistence in the flesh brings God’s righteous displeasure and practical loss of blessing and testimony.
   2. Remember the pit you were dug out of: We must recall our own past and the grace that saved us, lest pride or carelessness drag us back into bondage.
4. Things to Put Off: The Old Man’s Works
   1. Put off the old life: Conversion begins salvation’s journey, but daily sanctification requires removing friends, influences, music, media, and patterns that perpetuate the old ways.
   2. Put off the sinful attitudes and actions:
      1. Anger (lividness): Unchecked anger will ruin relationships and ministry; be careful to discern righteous anger from sinful habit.
      2. Wrath (lunacy): Rage that leads to loss of self-control and destructive behavior must be mortified.
      3. Malice: Deep-seated hatred and loathing toward another are incompatible with Christlikeness.
      4. Blasphemy: Slander, slur, or misuse of God’s name or the things of God — including preaching mere opinion instead of God’s Word.
      5. Filthy communication: Guard speech; avoid crude jokes, vulgarities, and conversations that dishonor Christ.
      6. Lying: Truth must characterize our speech; partial truths or manipulative narratives damage trust and witness.
   3. Practical tools: Accountability partners, removing tempting influences, confession, and immediate repentance are practical steps to put off these sins.
5. Requirements for Deliverance: Put On the New Man
   1. New Self: “And have put on the new man” — this is not a cosmetic change but a spiritual identity. Galatians 2:20 says I live, yet not I, but Christ living in me. The new man represents Christ’s life expressed through you.
   2. New Knowledge and Image: The new man is “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” Regular Bible study and preaching renew understanding, conforming us more to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29).
   3. New Society: In Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, bond nor free — believers form a new community that transcends social, ethnic, and cultural barriers. Your true family is now those who belong to Christ.
6. What to Put On: The New Spirit, Support, and Solidarity
   1. New Spirit: “Bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” — virtues that contrast with anger, malice, and pride. Meekness is not weakness but strength under control.
   2. New Support: “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another” — the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. We must bear one another’s burdens and forgive as Christ forgave us (Galatians 6:2).
   3. New Solidarity: “Above all these things put on charity” — love is the supreme garment. All Christian virtues hang on love; without it our acts are hollow. Love binds the Christian community and perfects the believer’s witness.
   4. Practical growth steps: Regular Bible intake, participating in the local church, serving others, and intentional relationships will clothe you with these virtues.

Summary

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Tonight we continue the series: “Christ the Center of Christianity — Part 5.” The Book of Colossians repeatedly insists that Jesus Christ must have preeminence in the believer’s life. In chapter three the apostle Paul moves us from doctrine to daily practice — from who we are in Christ to how we must live for Christ. The call is not merely to be saved, but to be sanctified: to put off the old, sinful self and to put on the new man fashioned after the Lord.

Quote from Preacher

We’re going to continue our study in the Book of Colossians. As we have been going through, we have been looking and dealing verse by verse in the Book of Colossians with the truth and this aspect. The theme of the Book of Colossians is that Christ is the center of Christianity.

Outline

1. The New Routine: Seek and Set
   1. Seek the things above: We are instructed to “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Seeking heavenly priorities reorients decisions, relationships, entertainment, and ambitions so Christ is central in every arena of life.
   2. Set your affections: Affection drives action. If your heart pursues temporary pleasures, your feet will follow. If your heart pursues Christ, your life will reflect Christ.
2. Resources for Death: Put to Death the Earthly
   1. Mortify your members: The command to “mortify…your members which are upon the earth” is spiritual action. It calls for intentional, decisive resistance to sin—not self-mutilation, but spiritual warfare against lustful desires and habits.
   2. Specific sins named:
      1. Fornication: Sexual immorality outside the bounds of Scripture and marriage destroys testimony and fellowship with God.
      2. Uncleanness: Impurity of thought, speech, and action that stains the believer’s life.
      3. Inordinate affection: Infatuation for a forbidden desire; lust for what God forbids.
      4. Evil concupiscence: The insatiable appetite for more sin — the escalating nature of unrestrained desire.
      5. Covetousness (idolatry): When desire for things replaces reliance on God; to covet is to make an idol of the created rather than worship the Creator.
   3. Practical explanation: These are not merely categories to quote in a sermon; they are the daily enemies of young Christians. Recognize them, name them, and take decisive steps to mortify them through prayer, Scripture, accountability, and repentance.
3. Reasons for Displeasure: The Wrath of God
   1. Consequences follow continued sin: “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Willful persistence in the flesh brings God’s righteous displeasure and practical loss of blessing and testimony.
   2. Remember the pit you were dug out of: We must recall our own past and the grace that saved us, lest pride or carelessness drag us back into bondage.
4. Things to Put Off: The Old Man’s Works
   1. Put off the old life: Conversion begins salvation’s journey, but daily sanctification requires removing friends, influences, music, media, and patterns that perpetuate the old ways.
   2. Put off the sinful attitudes and actions:
      1. Anger (lividness): Unchecked anger will ruin relationships and ministry; be careful to discern righteous anger from sinful habit.
      2. Wrath (lunacy): Rage that leads to loss of self-control and destructive behavior must be mortified.
      3. Malice: Deep-seated hatred and loathing toward another are incompatible with Christlikeness.
      4. Blasphemy: Slander, slur, or misuse of God’s name or the things of God — including preaching mere opinion instead of God’s Word.
      5. Filthy communication: Guard speech; avoid crude jokes, vulgarities, and conversations that dishonor Christ.
      6. Lying: Truth must characterize our speech; partial truths or manipulative narratives damage trust and witness.
   3. Practical tools: Accountability partners, removing tempting influences, confession, and immediate repentance are practical steps to put off these sins.
5. Requirements for Deliverance: Put On the New Man
   1. New Self: “And have put on the new man” — this is not a cosmetic change but a spiritual identity. Galatians 2:20 says I live, yet not I, but Christ living in me. The new man represents Christ’s life expressed through you.
   2. New Knowledge and Image: The new man is “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” Regular Bible study and preaching renew understanding, conforming us more to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29).
   3. New Society: In Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, bond nor free — believers form a new community that transcends social, ethnic, and cultural barriers. Your true family is now those who belong to Christ.
6. What to Put On: The New Spirit, Support, and Solidarity
   1. New Spirit: “Bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” — virtues that contrast with anger, malice, and pride. Meekness is not weakness but strength under control.
   2. New Support: “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another” — the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. We must bear one another’s burdens and forgive as Christ forgave us (Galatians 6:2).
   3. New Solidarity: “Above all these things put on charity” — love is the supreme garment. All Christian virtues hang on love; without it our acts are hollow. Love binds the Christian community and perfects the believer’s witness.
   4. Practical growth steps: Regular Bible intake, participating in the local church, serving others, and intentional relationships will clothe you with these virtues.

Summary

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Tonight we continue the series: “Christ the Center of Christianity — Part 5.” The Book of Colossians repeatedly insists that Jesus Christ must have preeminence in the believer’s life. In chapter three the apostle Paul moves us from doctrine to daily practice — from who we are in Christ to how we must live for Christ. The call is not merely to be saved, but to be sanctified: to put off the old, sinful self and to put on the new man fashioned after the Lord.

Quote from Preacher

We’re going to continue our study in the Book of Colossians. As we have been going through, we have been looking and dealing verse by verse in the Book of Colossians with the truth and this aspect. The theme of the Book of Colossians is that Christ is the center of Christianity.

Outline

1. The New Routine: Seek and Set
   1. Seek the things above: We are instructed to “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Seeking heavenly priorities reorients decisions, relationships, entertainment, and ambitions so Christ is central in every arena of life.
   2. Set your affections: Affection drives action. If your heart pursues temporary pleasures, your feet will follow. If your heart pursues Christ, your life will reflect Christ.
2. Resources for Death: Put to Death the Earthly
   1. Mortify your members: The command to “mortify…your members which are upon the earth” is spiritual action. It calls for intentional, decisive resistance to sin—not self-mutilation, but spiritual warfare against lustful desires and habits.
   2. Specific sins named:
      1. Fornication: Sexual immorality outside the bounds of Scripture and marriage destroys testimony and fellowship with God.
      2. Uncleanness: Impurity of thought, speech, and action that stains the believer’s life.
      3. Inordinate affection: Infatuation for a forbidden desire; lust for what God forbids.
      4. Evil concupiscence: The insatiable appetite for more sin — the escalating nature of unrestrained desire.
      5. Covetousness (idolatry): When desire for things replaces reliance on God; to covet is to make an idol of the created rather than worship the Creator.
   3. Practical explanation: These are not merely categories to quote in a sermon; they are the daily enemies of young Christians. Recognize them, name them, and take decisive steps to mortify them through prayer, Scripture, accountability, and repentance.
3. Reasons for Displeasure: The Wrath of God
   1. Consequences follow continued sin: “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Willful persistence in the flesh brings God’s righteous displeasure and practical loss of blessing and testimony.
   2. Remember the pit you were dug out of: We must recall our own past and the grace that saved us, lest pride or carelessness drag us back into bondage.
4. Things to Put Off: The Old Man’s Works
   1. Put off the old life: Conversion begins salvation’s journey, but daily sanctification requires removing friends, influences, music, media, and patterns that perpetuate the old ways.
   2. Put off the sinful attitudes and actions:
      1. Anger (lividness): Unchecked anger will ruin relationships and ministry; be careful to discern righteous anger from sinful habit.
      2. Wrath (lunacy): Rage that leads to loss of self-control and destructive behavior must be mortified.
      3. Malice: Deep-seated hatred and loathing toward another are incompatible with Christlikeness.
      4. Blasphemy: Slander, slur, or misuse of God’s name or the things of God — including preaching mere opinion instead of God’s Word.
      5. Filthy communication: Guard speech; avoid crude jokes, vulgarities, and conversations that dishonor Christ.
      6. Lying: Truth must characterize our speech; partial truths or manipulative narratives damage trust and witness.
   3. Practical tools: Accountability partners, removing tempting influences, confession, and immediate repentance are practical steps to put off these sins.
5. Requirements for Deliverance: Put On the New Man
   1. New Self: “And have put on the new man” — this is not a cosmetic change but a spiritual identity. Galatians 2:20 says I live, yet not I, but Christ living in me. The new man represents Christ’s life expressed through you.
   2. New Knowledge and Image: The new man is “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” Regular Bible study and preaching renew understanding, conforming us more to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29).
   3. New Society: In Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, bond nor free — believers form a new community that transcends social, ethnic, and cultural barriers. Your true family is now those who belong to Christ.
6. What to Put On: The New Spirit, Support, and Solidarity
   1. New Spirit: “Bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” — virtues that contrast with anger, malice, and pride. Meekness is not weakness but strength under control.
   2. New Support: “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another” — the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. We must bear one another’s burdens and forgive as Christ forgave us (Galatians 6:2).
   3. New Solidarity: “Above all these things put on charity” — love is the supreme garment. All Christian virtues hang on love; without it our acts are hollow. Love binds the Christian community and perfects the believer’s witness.
   4. Practical growth steps: Regular Bible intake, participating in the local church, serving others, and intentional relationships will clothe you with these virtues.

Summary

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Tonight we continue the series: “Christ the Center of Christianity — Part 5.” The Book of Colossians repeatedly insists that Jesus Christ must have preeminence in the believer’s life. In chapter three the apostle Paul moves us from doctrine to daily practice — from who we are in Christ to how we must live for Christ. The call is not merely to be saved, but to be sanctified: to put off the old, sinful self and to put on the new man fashioned after the Lord.

Quote from Preacher

We’re going to continue our study in the Book of Colossians. As we have been going through, we have been looking and dealing verse by verse in the Book of Colossians with the truth and this aspect. The theme of the Book of Colossians is that Christ is the center of Christianity.

Outline

1. The New Routine: Seek and Set
   1. Seek the things above: We are instructed to “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Seeking heavenly priorities reorients decisions, relationships, entertainment, and ambitions so Christ is central in every arena of life.
   2. Set your affections: Affection drives action. If your heart pursues temporary pleasures, your feet will follow. If your heart pursues Christ, your life will reflect Christ.
2. Resources for Death: Put to Death the Earthly
   1. Mortify your members: The command to “mortify…your members which are upon the earth” is spiritual action. It calls for intentional, decisive resistance to sin—not self-mutilation, but spiritual warfare against lustful desires and habits.
   2. Specific sins named:
      1. Fornication: Sexual immorality outside the bounds of Scripture and marriage destroys testimony and fellowship with God.
      2. Uncleanness: Impurity of thought, speech, and action that stains the believer’s life.
      3. Inordinate affection: Infatuation for a forbidden desire; lust for what God forbids.
      4. Evil concupiscence: The insatiable appetite for more sin — the escalating nature of unrestrained desire.
      5. Covetousness (idolatry): When desire for things replaces reliance on God; to covet is to make an idol of the created rather than worship the Creator.
   3. Practical explanation: These are not merely categories to quote in a sermon; they are the daily enemies of young Christians. Recognize them, name them, and take decisive steps to mortify them through prayer, Scripture, accountability, and repentance.
3. Reasons for Displeasure: The Wrath of God
   1. Consequences follow continued sin: “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Willful persistence in the flesh brings God’s righteous displeasure and practical loss of blessing and testimony.
   2. Remember the pit you were dug out of: We must recall our own past and the grace that saved us, lest pride or carelessness drag us back into bondage.
4. Things to Put Off: The Old Man’s Works
   1. Put off the old life: Conversion begins salvation’s journey, but daily sanctification requires removing friends, influences, music, media, and patterns that perpetuate the old ways.
   2. Put off the sinful attitudes and actions:
      1. Anger (lividness): Unchecked anger will ruin relationships and ministry; be careful to discern righteous anger from sinful habit.
      2. Wrath (lunacy): Rage that leads to loss of self-control and destructive behavior must be mortified.
      3. Malice: Deep-seated hatred and loathing toward another are incompatible with Christlikeness.
      4. Blasphemy: Slander, slur, or misuse of God’s name or the things of God — including preaching mere opinion instead of God’s Word.
      5. Filthy communication: Guard speech; avoid crude jokes, vulgarities, and conversations that dishonor Christ.
      6. Lying: Truth must characterize our speech; partial truths or manipulative narratives damage trust and witness.
   3. Practical tools: Accountability partners, removing tempting influences, confession, and immediate repentance are practical steps to put off these sins.
5. Requirements for Deliverance: Put On the New Man
   1. New Self: “And have put on the new man” — this is not a cosmetic change but a spiritual identity. Galatians 2:20 says I live, yet not I, but Christ living in me. The new man represents Christ’s life expressed through you.
   2. New Knowledge and Image: The new man is “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” Regular Bible study and preaching renew understanding, conforming us more to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29).
   3. New Society: In Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, bond nor free — believers form a new community that transcends social, ethnic, and cultural barriers. Your true family is now those who belong to Christ.
6. What to Put On: The New Spirit, Support, and Solidarity
   1. New Spirit: “Bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” — virtues that contrast with anger, malice, and pride. Meekness is not weakness but strength under control.
   2. New Support: “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another” — the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. We must bear one another’s burdens and forgive as Christ forgave us (Galatians 6:2).
   3. New Solidarity: “Above all these things put on charity” — love is the supreme garment. All Christian virtues hang on love; without it our acts are hollow. Love binds the Christian community and perfects the believer’s witness.
   4. Practical growth steps: Regular Bible intake, participating in the local church, serving others, and intentional relationships will clothe you with these virtues.

Summary

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Tonight we continue the series: “Christ the Center of Christianity — Part 5.” The Book of Colossians repeatedly insists that Jesus Christ must have preeminence in the believer’s life. In chapter three the apostle Paul moves us from doctrine to daily practice — from who we are in Christ to how we must live for Christ. The call is not merely to be saved, but to be sanctified: to put off the old, sinful self and to put on the new man fashioned after the Lord.

Quote from Preacher

We’re going to continue our study in the Book of Colossians. As we have been going through, we have been looking and dealing verse by verse in the Book of Colossians with the truth and this aspect. The theme of the Book of Colossians is that Christ is the center of Christianity.

Outline

1. The New Routine: Seek and Set
   1. Seek the things above: We are instructed to “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Seeking heavenly priorities reorients decisions, relationships, entertainment, and ambitions so Christ is central in every arena of life.
   2. Set your affections: Affection drives action. If your heart pursues temporary pleasures, your feet will follow. If your heart pursues Christ, your life will reflect Christ.
2. Resources for Death: Put to Death the Earthly
   1. Mortify your members: The command to “mortify…your members which are upon the earth” is spiritual action. It calls for intentional, decisive resistance to sin—not self-mutilation, but spiritual warfare against lustful desires and habits.
   2. Specific sins named:
      1. Fornication: Sexual immorality outside the bounds of Scripture and marriage destroys testimony and fellowship with God.
      2. Uncleanness: Impurity of thought, speech, and action that stains the believer’s life.
      3. Inordinate affection: Infatuation for a forbidden desire; lust for what God forbids.
      4. Evil concupiscence: The insatiable appetite for more sin — the escalating nature of unrestrained desire.
      5. Covetousness (idolatry): When desire for things replaces reliance on God; to covet is to make an idol of the created rather than worship the Creator.
   3. Practical explanation: These are not merely categories to quote in a sermon; they are the daily enemies of young Christians. Recognize them, name them, and take decisive steps to mortify them through prayer, Scripture, accountability, and repentance.
3. Reasons for Displeasure: The Wrath of God
   1. Consequences follow continued sin: “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Willful persistence in the flesh brings God’s righteous displeasure and practical loss of blessing and testimony.
   2. Remember the pit you were dug out of: We must recall our own past and the grace that saved us, lest pride or carelessness drag us back into bondage.
4. Things to Put Off: The Old Man’s Works
   1. Put off the old life: Conversion begins salvation’s journey, but daily sanctification requires removing friends, influences, music, media, and patterns that perpetuate the old ways.
   2. Put off the sinful attitudes and actions:
      1. Anger (lividness): Unchecked anger will ruin relationships and ministry; be careful to discern righteous anger from sinful habit.
      2. Wrath (lunacy): Rage that leads to loss of self-control and destructive behavior must be mortified.
      3. Malice: Deep-seated hatred and loathing toward another are incompatible with Christlikeness.
      4. Blasphemy: Slander, slur, or misuse of God’s name or the things of God — including preaching mere opinion instead of God’s Word.
      5. Filthy communication: Guard speech; avoid crude jokes, vulgarities, and conversations that dishonor Christ.
      6. Lying: Truth must characterize our speech; partial truths or manipulative narratives damage trust and witness.
   3. Practical tools: Accountability partners, removing tempting influences, confession, and immediate repentance are practical steps to put off these sins.
5. Requirements for Deliverance: Put On the New Man
   1. New Self: “And have put on the new man” — this is not a cosmetic change but a spiritual identity. Galatians 2:20 says I live, yet not I, but Christ living in me. The new man represents Christ’s life expressed through you.
   2. New Knowledge and Image: The new man is “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” Regular Bible study and preaching renew understanding, conforming us more to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29).
   3. New Society: In Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, bond nor free — believers form a new community that transcends social, ethnic, and cultural barriers. Your true family is now those who belong to Christ.
6. What to Put On: The New Spirit, Support, and Solidarity
   1. New Spirit: “Bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” — virtues that contrast with anger, malice, and pride. Meekness is not weakness but strength under control.
   2. New Support: “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another” — the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. We must bear one another’s burdens and forgive as Christ forgave us (Galatians 6:2).
   3. New Solidarity: “Above all these things put on charity” — love is the supreme garment. All Christian virtues hang on love; without it our acts are hollow. Love binds the Christian community and perfects the believer’s witness.
   4. Practical growth steps: Regular Bible intake, participating in the local church, serving others, and intentional relationships will clothe you with these virtues.

Summary

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Tonight we continue the series: “Christ the Center of Christianity — Part 5.” The Book of Colossians repeatedly insists that Jesus Christ must have preeminence in the believer’s life. In chapter three the apostle Paul moves us from doctrine to daily practice — from who we are in Christ to how we must live for Christ. The call is not merely to be saved, but to be sanctified: to put off the old, sinful self and to put on the new man fashioned after the Lord.

Quote from Preacher

We’re going to continue our study in the Book of Colossians. As we have been going through, we have been looking and dealing verse by verse in the Book of Colossians with the truth and this aspect. The theme of the Book of Colossians is that Christ is the center of Christianity.

Outline

1. The New Routine: Seek and Set
   1. Seek the things above: We are instructed to “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Seeking heavenly priorities reorients decisions, relationships, entertainment, and ambitions so Christ is central in every arena of life.
   2. Set your affections: Affection drives action. If your heart pursues temporary pleasures, your feet will follow. If your heart pursues Christ, your life will reflect Christ.
2. Resources for Death: Put to Death the Earthly
   1. Mortify your members: The command to “mortify…your members which are upon the earth” is spiritual action. It calls for intentional, decisive resistance to sin—not self-mutilation, but spiritual warfare against lustful desires and habits.
   2. Specific sins named:
      1. Fornication: Sexual immorality outside the bounds of Scripture and marriage destroys testimony and fellowship with God.
      2. Uncleanness: Impurity of thought, speech, and action that stains the believer’s life.
      3. Inordinate affection: Infatuation for a forbidden desire; lust for what God forbids.
      4. Evil concupiscence: The insatiable appetite for more sin — the escalating nature of unrestrained desire.
      5. Covetousness (idolatry): When desire for things replaces reliance on God; to covet is to make an idol of the created rather than worship the Creator.
   3. Practical explanation: These are not merely categories to quote in a sermon; they are the daily enemies of young Christians. Recognize them, name them, and take decisive steps to mortify them through prayer, Scripture, accountability, and repentance.
3. Reasons for Displeasure: The Wrath of God
   1. Consequences follow continued sin: “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Willful persistence in the flesh brings God’s righteous displeasure and practical loss of blessing and testimony.
   2. Remember the pit you were dug out of: We must recall our own past and the grace that saved us, lest pride or carelessness drag us back into bondage.
4. Things to Put Off: The Old Man’s Works
   1. Put off the old life: Conversion begins salvation’s journey, but daily sanctification requires removing friends, influences, music, media, and patterns that perpetuate the old ways.
   2. Put off the sinful attitudes and actions:
      1. Anger (lividness): Unchecked anger will ruin relationships and ministry; be careful to discern righteous anger from sinful habit.
      2. Wrath (lunacy): Rage that leads to loss of self-control and destructive behavior must be mortified.
      3. Malice: Deep-seated hatred and loathing toward another are incompatible with Christlikeness.
      4. Blasphemy: Slander, slur, or misuse of God’s name or the things of God — including preaching mere opinion instead of God’s Word.
      5. Filthy communication: Guard speech; avoid crude jokes, vulgarities, and conversations that dishonor Christ.
      6. Lying: Truth must characterize our speech; partial truths or manipulative narratives damage trust and witness.
   3. Practical tools: Accountability partners, removing tempting influences, confession, and immediate repentance are practical steps to put off these sins.
5. Requirements for Deliverance: Put On the New Man
   1. New Self: “And have put on the new man” — this is not a cosmetic change but a spiritual identity. Galatians 2:20 says I live, yet not I, but Christ living in me. The new man represents Christ’s life expressed through you.
   2. New Knowledge and Image: The new man is “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” Regular Bible study and preaching renew understanding, conforming us more to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29).
   3. New Society: In Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, bond nor free — believers form a new community that transcends social, ethnic, and cultural barriers. Your true family is now those who belong to Christ.
6. What to Put On: The New Spirit, Support, and Solidarity
   1. New Spirit: “Bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” — virtues that contrast with anger, malice, and pride. Meekness is not weakness but strength under control.
   2. New Support: “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another” — the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. We must bear one another’s burdens and forgive as Christ forgave us (Galatians 6:2).
   3. New Solidarity: “Above all these things put on charity” — love is the supreme garment. All Christian virtues hang on love; without it our acts are hollow. Love binds the Christian community and perfects the believer’s witness.
   4. Practical growth steps: Regular Bible intake, participating in the local church, serving others, and intentional relationships will clothe you with these virtues.

Summary

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Colossians 3:1-14

Scripture Reference

Colossians 3:1-14 (KJV)

Introduction

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu

Tonight we continue the series: “Christ the Center of Christianity — Part 5.” The Book of Colossians repeatedly insists that Jesus Christ must have preeminence in the believer’s life. In chapter three the apostle Paul moves us from doctrine to daily practice — from who we are in Christ to how we must live for Christ. The call is not merely to be saved, but to be sanctified: to put off the old, sinful self and to put on the new man fashioned after the Lord.

Quote from Preacher

We’re going to continue our study in the Book of Colossians. As we have been going through, we have been looking and dealing verse by verse in the Book of Colossians with the truth and this aspect. The theme of the Book of Colossians is that Christ is the center of Christianity.

Outline

1. The New Routine: Seek and Set
   1. Seek the things above: We are instructed to “set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Seeking heavenly priorities reorients decisions, relationships, entertainment, and ambitions so Christ is central in every arena of life.
   2. Set your affections: Affection drives action. If your heart pursues temporary pleasures, your feet will follow. If your heart pursues Christ, your life will reflect Christ.
2. Resources for Death: Put to Death the Earthly
   1. Mortify your members: The command to “mortify…your members which are upon the earth” is spiritual action. It calls for intentional, decisive resistance to sin—not self-mutilation, but spiritual warfare against lustful desires and habits.
   2. Specific sins named:
      1. Fornication: Sexual immorality outside the bounds of Scripture and marriage destroys testimony and fellowship with God.
      2. Uncleanness: Impurity of thought, speech, and action that stains the believer’s life.
      3. Inordinate affection: Infatuation for a forbidden desire; lust for what God forbids.
      4. Evil concupiscence: The insatiable appetite for more sin — the escalating nature of unrestrained desire.
      5. Covetousness (idolatry): When desire for things replaces reliance on God; to covet is to make an idol of the created rather than worship the Creator.
   3. Practical explanation: These are not merely categories to quote in a sermon; they are the daily enemies of young Christians. Recognize them, name them, and take decisive steps to mortify them through prayer, Scripture, accountability, and repentance.
3. Reasons for Displeasure: The Wrath of God
   1. Consequences follow continued sin: “For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience.” Willful persistence in the flesh brings God’s righteous displeasure and practical loss of blessing and testimony.
   2. Remember the pit you were dug out of: We must recall our own past and the grace that saved us, lest pride or carelessness drag us back into bondage.
4. Things to Put Off: The Old Man’s Works
   1. Put off the old life: Conversion begins salvation’s journey, but daily sanctification requires removing friends, influences, music, media, and patterns that perpetuate the old ways.
   2. Put off the sinful attitudes and actions:
      1. Anger (lividness): Unchecked anger will ruin relationships and ministry; be careful to discern righteous anger from sinful habit.
      2. Wrath (lunacy): Rage that leads to loss of self-control and destructive behavior must be mortified.
      3. Malice: Deep-seated hatred and loathing toward another are incompatible with Christlikeness.
      4. Blasphemy: Slander, slur, or misuse of God’s name or the things of God — including preaching mere opinion instead of God’s Word.
      5. Filthy communication: Guard speech; avoid crude jokes, vulgarities, and conversations that dishonor Christ.
      6. Lying: Truth must characterize our speech; partial truths or manipulative narratives damage trust and witness.
   3. Practical tools: Accountability partners, removing tempting influences, confession, and immediate repentance are practical steps to put off these sins.
5. Requirements for Deliverance: Put On the New Man
   1. New Self: “And have put on the new man” — this is not a cosmetic change but a spiritual identity. Galatians 2:20 says I live, yet not I, but Christ living in me. The new man represents Christ’s life expressed through you.
   2. New Knowledge and Image: The new man is “renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him.” Regular Bible study and preaching renew understanding, conforming us more to Christ’s image (Romans 8:29).
   3. New Society: In Christ there is neither Greek nor Jew, bond nor free — believers form a new community that transcends social, ethnic, and cultural barriers. Your true family is now those who belong to Christ.
6. What to Put On: The New Spirit, Support, and Solidarity
   1. New Spirit: “Bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” — virtues that contrast with anger, malice, and pride. Meekness is not weakness but strength under control.
   2. New Support: “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another” — the church is a hospital for sinners, not a museum for saints. We must bear one another’s burdens and forgive as Christ forgave us (Galatians 6:2).
   3. New Solidarity: “Above all these things put on charity” — love is the supreme garment. All Christian virtues hang on love; without it our acts are hollow. Love binds the Christian community and perfects the believer’s witness.
   4. Practical growth steps: Regular Bible intake, participating in the local church, serving others, and intentional relationships will clothe you with these virtues.

Summary

Colossians 3 calls Christians to a dramatic reorientation: put to death the residues of the old life and put on the life of Christ. The passage moves from diagnosis (the resources for death), to warning (the reasons for displeasure), to prescription (the requirements for deliverance). The Christian life is not a passive attendance at services — it is active sanctification, daily mortification of sin, and conscious clothing with Christlike virtues. Above all, Christ must be all and in all. When He is, the church will be renewed and the lost will see a compelling, loving witness.

Quote to Ponder

We don’t have to face them anymore. But the reality is we choose to go back to bondage. We choose to go back and chain ourselves up to the things of this world because we want to hold on to the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

Application for the Week

This week take concrete steps to allow Christ to be central in your life. The following are practical, measurable actions to help you mortify the flesh and put on the new man.

1. Daily Bible Intake
   1. Action: Read Colossians 3 each morning this week. Underline the “put off” and “put on” items.
   2. Goal: Know at least three items to put off and three virtues to put on by the end of the week.
2. Confess and Remove One Stronghold
   1. Action: Identify one habitual sin (music, media, a relationship, or an activity) and take a decisive step to remove it this week (delete apps, leave a gathering, avoid a place).
   2. Goal: Report to an accountability partner or your pastor what you removed and when.
3. Accountability & Prayer
   1. Action: Ask a mature Christian to pray for you and to check in twice this week. Confess struggles and victories.
   2. Goal: Practice transparent confession and ask for specific prayer for victory over the named sin.
4. Practice Putting On Love
   1. Action: Deliberately do one small act of mercy or kindness each day (a note, a meal, a phone call, an encouraging text) and make it anonymous if possible.
   2. Goal: By week’s end you will have practiced mercy and counted each act as evidence of Christ working in you.
5. Guard Your Speech
   1. Action: Each time you are tempted to gossip, lie by omission, or use filthy language, pause and choose a different, Christ-honoring response.
   2. Goal: Keep a simple log (private notes) of instances you refrained. Celebrate progress and repent where you fail.
6. Serve in Church
   1. Action: Volunteer for one service opportunity this week—ushering, visitation, children’s ministry, or a workday.
   2. Goal: Experience the new society of believers and practice longsuffering, meekness, and humbleness in service.

Make an appointment this week with your Bible and the Lord in prayer. Ask God to reveal one major area where you need deliverance, and then act. Remember: Christ is the center of Christianity — make Him the center of your life.

Preacher: Dr. Terry LeQuieu