Colossians: Worthy is the Lamb
Today we are going to talk about the centerpiece of Chapter 1 which is the “Messiah Poem” found in verses 15-20:
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.”
What a beautiful poem about the resurrected and exalted Messiah! This poem has two parallel stanzas crammed with language and imagery from the books of Genesis, Exodus, the Psalms, and Proverbs (was perhaps from an early Christian hymn). It explores how Jesus is the true image of God. In him, the full character and purpose of God is embodied in a human…
But….let’s focus for a minute on the first part of this poem–”For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him…”
Have you ever really thought about the WHOLE creation–heavens and the earth? What an amazing feat it is? Have you ever felt awe about creation?
OK, well here are a few wild facts to consider:
- Scientists estimate that there are roughly between 200 billion to 2 trillion galaxies within the observable universe–and note that says observable meaning ONLY what we can see from earth
- Comets have vapor trails up to 10,000 miles long.
- The earth travels around the sun about eight times the speed of a bullet fired from a gun.
- There are more insects in one square mile of rural land than there are human beings on the entire earth
- A single human chromosome contains twenty billion bits of information. How much information is that? If written in ordinary books, in ordinary language, it would take about four thousand volumes.
We serve a BIG God! Wow.
So, getting back to the verses, Paul shows how the truth of this poem transforms his own experience of suffering in prison….BUT, his suffering is not a defeat. It’s actually Paul’s way of participating in Jesus’ own suffering, which was also done as an act of love. How do we participate in Jesus’ suffering in today’s world, do you think? Staci?
Deny ourselves
Lent willing walking into denying our cravings
We live in an instant gratification society
If my amazon package is more than 2 days, I am upset
If my chic fil a isn’t ready as soon as I get in the drive through that’s a problem
My phone doesn’t load the video instantly
Netflix thinks dropping weekly episodes is ok?!
If we don’t think those things form us, then we misunderstand how we are formed
A seed must fall to the ground and die to produce John 12:24
Our life is hidden in Christ Col 3:3
Where are we dying to self? Honestly, during this Lent season, where are you laying down cravings to experience a darkness so that new life can emerge?
That brings us to the end of the chapter with this verse:
The chapter comes to a close with a Verse you may be familiar with:
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory…” (1:27)
What a gift! Our hope isn’t in our own hard work or devotion to God, or any of our own power. Instead, it is the abiding presence of Jesus–Christ in you.
Be sure to come back next week as we dig into Chapter 2 where we will explore our new life in Christ…
SAVOR MOMENT:
Easter is rapidly approaching, so I think we need to have a recipe for an Easter family tradition…My grandmother used to make an Easter Lamb cake every year–are you familiar with this? Apparently it is a midwest thing…
Now, you will first need to buy a lamb cake mold on Amazon–it isn’t easy, but so worth it–if you want a quick laugh, Google “lamb cake fails”...
Ingredients
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1 teaspoon vinegar and enough milk to make 1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
butter and breadcrumbs to prepare pan
for the frosting:
1 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening (not something I normally use in cooking, but it helps with the “buttercream” texture)
6 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 – 5 tablespoons milk & more for glaze
jelly beans for eyes
Instructions
for cake:
Preheat oven to 325
Cream butter and sugar, add eggs one at a time
Combine dry ingredients and add to batter alternating with buttermilk and vanilla
Prepare pans by spreading lightly with butter and dusting with dried breadcrumbs
Pour batter into the bottom of your two cake pans, assemble according to direction on your lamb cake mold
Bake for approximately one hour
Cool the cake for 10 minutes, remove from pan
Cool to room temp and refrigerate
for frosting:
Mix butter, shortening, powdered sugar, vanilla, and just 3 tablespoons of milk, gradually adding more milk until the consistency is similar to light and fluffy mashed potatoes, it should be stiff enough to hold its shape when you pipe it, but soft enough to pipe easily
Place about 1/2 cup in a small deep bowl and blend in enough milk to make a thick glaze, the texture should be thicker than heavy cream, kind of like a thin pancake batter
Dip the lambs face into the glaze, covering the face and front side of the ears, and allow the glaze to drip off (I occasionally gave it a wipe to help the process)
Add a small amount of frosting to the center of your serving platter, place the lamb on top, this will kind of glue it to the plate, I do this with all cakes, but it’s especially helpful with this top-heavy cake
Add a star tip to a piping bag and pipe swirls of frosting onto the lamb’s body
If desired, use food coloring to tint a small amount of the frosting, literally a tablespoon or two, a light pink or peach color, use this to pipe the inside of the ears and nose
Add jelly beans for eyes, I used a plastic straw and pushed it into the cake where I wanted the eyes to be, it gave me an opening to push the jelly beans into
Refrigerate until you’re ready to put it on the table
