Christ Our True North: Content, Competent, Complete, Crowned

I invited us to see God’s Word as our compass and Christ as True North. Using the picture of magnetic north and declination, I warned how even small deviations—ideas that feel clever, spiritual, or urgent—can pull a life miles off course if we don’t keep recalibrating to Christ. Colossians 2:6–15 gives four True North principles: in Jesus we are content, competent, complete, and crowned. Paul writes from house arrest, yet content, to a church being lured by “Jesus plus”—extra philosophies, mystical add-ons, and rule-keeping. He calls us back to what we first received: Christ Jesus as Lord. Rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith, we abound with thanksgiving.

That contentment shows up in how we love one another. Church isn’t a building or a calendar block. It’s a Spirit-shaped people practicing the “one anothers” day after day. This stands in stark contrast to the cultural current that moves us from gratitude to grasping within 24 hours of Thanksgiving. So we resist the pull by daily engaging Scripture and letting the peace of Christ rule our hearts. The Word doesn’t drift; it endures forever. Jesus doesn’t drift; He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He is fully God and fully man—our true compass point.

In Him we are not just resourced; we are complete—filled up with ongoing effects—because He is the head over every power and authority. We don’t need Jesus plus anything to become whole. By His cross and resurrection we’ve been transferred out of the domain of darkness into the kingdom of the Son. That transfer is pictured in baptism: buried with Christ, raised with Him, now living as citizens of a new society under a new King with a new heart. On the cross Jesus declared tetelestai—paid in full. He nailed our debt to His cross and triumphed over every power. Because He is crowned with glory and honor, we are crowned in Him—not to preen but to serve, endure, and shepherd with His strength. So whatever is trying to pull you off True North today, lay it down at the cross. Open the Scriptures, ask the Father, and let His Spirit align your steps.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Live content under Christ’s compass Contentment isn’t passivity; it’s a steady yes to Christ’s rule that frees us from chasing every shiny alternative. Rooted and built up in Jesus, gratitude becomes our ballast against cultural currents of envy and hurry. The church practices this stability through the “one anothers,” embodying a love that proves we belong to Him. [54:51]
• 2. Grow competent through Scripture’s stability Competence in Christ means we navigate by revelation, not by appetite. Desires make a fickle compass; God’s Word does not drift, and it trains our conscience to recognize true north when our feelings fog. One verse obeyed can alter a whole trajectory, replacing anxiety with quiet strength. [61:36]
• 3. You are complete in Jesus Completion is not an achievement; it’s a fullness received and continually renewed in Him. “Jesus plus” always sounds sophisticated, but it subtly denies His sufficiency and our adoption. Resting in His supremacy over every power loosens our grip on performance and fuels real growth into maturity. [65:19]
• 4. Transferred to the King’s kingdom Salvation is a change of citizenship—out of darkness, into the kingdom of the Son—with a new heart and new loyalties. Baptism is our public pledge of allegiance: buried with Christ, raised to live His kingdom culture here and now. Kingdom people measure success by obedience, not applause. [70:49]
• 5. Crowned to serve with endurance At the cross, our debt was canceled and our adversaries disarmed; now our crowns are assignments, not accessories. Faithfulness in discipline, witness, righteousness, endurance, and shepherding becomes worship, because Christ supplies the strength He commands. We wear crowns only to cast them at His feet. [77:29]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [46:06] - Opening Prayer and Surrender
• [47:16] - True North: Compass Illustration
• [50:20] - Four True North Principles
• [51:31] - Paul’s Story and Contentment
• [53:29] - False Teachings and Add-Ons
• [54:51] - Rooted, Built Up, Thanksgiving
• [60:36] - Jack Sparrow’s Compass vs. Desire
• [61:36] - Scripture as Our Unmoving Compass
• [65:19] - Complete in Christ, Above Powers
• [70:49] - Transferred to the Kingdom
• [72:46] - Baptism: Allegiance to the King
• [74:37] - Tetelestai: Debt Paid in Full
• [77:29] - Crowns, Calling, and Perseverance
• [80:25] - Final Charge: Let the Word Dwell

Bible Reading

Colossians 2:6–15 — 6 Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, 7 rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. 9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, 10 and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority. 11 In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.

Observation Questions

1. What four “True North” realities does Paul present in Colossians 2:6–15 (words or phrases he uses to describe the believer’s standing and life)?
2. Which false influences and practices does Paul warn the Colossians against in verse 8, and how did the preacher summarize those threats (examples like legalism, asceticism, angel-worship, added philosophies)? [53:29]
3. How does Paul describe the change that happens to a believer in verses 11–12 (what imagery does he use and what do those images point to in life and practice)?
4. What physical picture and words does Paul use to show Jesus’ victory over sin’s debt and spiritual powers (look at vv.14–15), and how did the sermon explain the meaning of “it is finished”? [01:14:37]

Interpretation Questions

1. How should Paul’s phrase “you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority” (v.10) be understood against the Roman context that claimed Caesar’s supremacy? [01:06:13]
2. What does Paul mean by “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit” (v.8)? In what ways is he describing a subtle drift rather than an obvious false teaching? [59:51]
3. How does the “circumcision made without hands” (v.11) relate to the concept of a new heart and to being “translated…into the kingdom of his Son” (see vv.11–13)? [01:09:15]
4. In what sense is Jesus’ cross described as both paying the debt and publicly shaming the opposing powers (vv.14–15), and how does that shape the believer’s confidence? [01:14:37]

Application Questions

1. Identify one “Jesus plus” idea, habit, desire, or practice in your life that acts like a magnetic pull away from Christ (something that sounds spiritual, clever, urgent, or necessary but competes with Jesus). What specific step will you take this week to lay that down at the cross? [48:09]
2. Choose one short verse from Scripture you will use as your daily compass when desires or anxieties try to steer you. Which verse will you memorize or carry with you, and when exactly will you review it each day this week? [01:01:36]
3. Who in your small circle needs the “one another” command (encourage, forgive, pray for, serve)? Name one person and one concrete action (call, text, show up, pray aloud) you will do for them before our next meeting. [55:57]
4. If you have not been baptized after confessing Christ, will you treat baptism as the next obedient step this month? If you are baptized, how does that baptism change one real choice you will make this week (speech, use of money, time, influence)? Set a specific date or action. [01:12:46]
5. Of the crowns the sermon named (self-discipline; leading others to faith; righteousness; endurance; faithful shepherding), which feels like an assignment you’ve been avoiding? What is one small, measurable habit you will start this week to move toward that calling? [01:17:29]
6. The day after a holiday or a stressful week can quickly slide from gratitude into grasping or anxiety. When that happens to you, what will be your first practical response (who will you call, which psalm or verse will you read, what short prayer will you pray)? Make a concrete plan for the next time. [58:34]