Where Do We Go From Here?

Where Do We Go From Here?

Many of you who subscribe to my blog are loyal Frontliners (those who attend Frontline each week) who have been listening to the DaVinci Code series. Many of you also subscribe from all around the country and aren’t directly involved with Frontline which is why I rarely devote large portions of my blogs to Frontline specific information. But, I’m beside myself with excitement at what has happened in the past few weeks at FL and hope that all of you can be blessed by what I’m about to share: hundreds of new people visited Frontline for the first time during this series and many of those visitors were friends of yours who haven’t darkened the door of a church for years. I received many emails from Frontliners – likely many of you are among them - who shared that their friend, co-worker, or family member started a relationship with Jesus at some point during the DaVinci Code series! We are truly fulfilling our God-given mission to impact our generation in secular Washington with the message of Jesus Christ. This is also further proof that “in all things God works for the good of those who love, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

So, what’s next? If you were at FL this past Sunday night you know that Lon Solomon, our senior pastor at McLean Bible Church (Frontline’s parent church), will be teaching a series over the next three weeks called “Jesus’ Most Outrageous Sayings!” This is going to be an incredible series to attend and a great opportunity to invite unchurched friends. For those of you who don’t live in the Washington D.C. area we post all of our messages on our web site! You can listen to them on your computer or you can subscribe to our pod cast and the messages will download automatically to your mp3 player each week.

After Lon finishes his series, I’ll be doing a five week series on what is quite possibly the most powerful letter in the New Testament – Colossians. Some of you might be thinking (as my good friend and fellow pastor, Will Pavone is thinking right now) “Are you kidding? Romans is without a doubt the most profound letter in the N.T.!” I lean that direction as well. Colossians, though, has so much of the essence of Christian theology packed into such a tight little package that I’m forced to admit Colossians gives Romans a run for the money.

So, for those of you who either attend Frontline or will now begin to listen to the messages online, I’m going to place sections of Colossians in each blog I post for the next four or five weeks. By July each of us will have read Paul’s letter to the church at Colossae (or Colosse). Most of the time these passages will be added to the end of an otherwise unrelated blog, so that you can chose to read the letter along with me or just read the blog for that day and skip the Colossian passage. Either way, I’m truly honored that each one of you chose to read (and respond) to my blogs. I hope each blog serves as a catalyst to somehow foster a deepening relationship between you and God.

Carpe Deum! (Seize God!)
Todd Phillips
www.toddphillips.net

Passage from Colossians 1:1-14
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse: Grace and peace to you from God our Father. 3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel 6 that has come to you. All over the world this gospel is bearing fruit and growing, just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and understood God’s grace in all its truth. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit. 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.