Epaphras

It's bringing forth fruit as it is also among you since the day you heard about it and knew the grace of God in truth.

Verse 7, as you also learned from, here's his name, Pastor Epaphras.

As you also learn from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.

Now here's what you need to understand about this church.

Paul didn't start this church.

I know it's pretty obvious.

Somebody else did start it.

His name was Epaphras.

Anyway, he commended this guy because he was laboring in prayer.

Epaphras or Epaphroditus, one of those guys.

He commended him because he was laboring in prayer.

He was outlaying energy.

So, thank God for Botts' dots.

[laughs] What does that have to do with the book of Colossians? Colossians is the equivalent of Botts' dots to a minister by the name of Epaphras and the church he is pastoring in the town of Colossae.

It seems that they have gotten off course.

They have swerved from the center line, which is Jesus Christ, and they are being infiltrated with a belief system that is very dangerous.

It's a little more formal, but it's, uh, something we practice in the Presbyterian Church.

And, and, uh, uh, if I got you a robe, would that be okay?" And I said, "With all due respect, thank you very much, but I am not gonna wear a robe as a pastor." And I remember him just shaking his head thinking, "It's never gonna work." But all I came here with is what I started with, Jesus, and if that wasn't enough, then I didn't wanna be part of anything that didn't include just that.

So Paul writes a letter because the leader of the church, the pastor of the Church of Colossae, a man by the name of Epaphras, has traveled to where Paul is.

Paul is in Rome.

At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, for I am hoping that through your prayers I will be graciously given to you.

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you, and so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit." And we talked about the direct appeal that Paul makes really in verses 17 through 19.

I know we're picking up in 19, but just remind us of the direct appeal that Paul makes right before he, uh, begins what we read today.

Uh, what do we learn from how Paul closes this particular letter?

Well, some of these individually we know better than others.

Of course, we know, um, Epaphras from, uh, Colossians.

Uh, and so that's an important individual there.

At the same time, prepare a guest room for me, and I am hoping that through your prayers, I will be graciously given to you.

Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends greetings to you.

And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.