Growing in Faith Together Through Christ's Ways

Devotional

Day 1: Wisdom’s Call to Wholehearted Trust

Growing in faith begins with surrendering the illusion of control. Proverbs paints trust as active loyalty – leaning not on human logic but anchoring in God’s character. This trust embraces God’s sovereignty over life’s uncertainties, His providence in chaos, and His wisdom over fleeting insights. It rejects self-made security, choosing instead reverence for the One who charts straight paths through crooked valleys. Trust becomes daily bread, not abstract theology. [35:54]

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
(Proverbs 3:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you instinctively rely on your own insight rather than God’s guidance? Name one decision this week where you’ll consciously “acknowledge Him” first.

Day 2: Rooted Foundations in a Shifting World

Faith grows like a tree – not by reaching for novelty, but by sinking roots deeper into Christ. Paul warns the Colossians: flashy philosophies crumble, but Christ’s truth holds. Being “rooted” means clinging to the gospel’s core – Christ’s death, resurrection, and lordship. It’s resisting the itch to chase spiritual trends, instead letting ancient truths fortify your soul against modern storms. Stability comes not from trendy soil, but timeless bedrock. [42:10]

Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught.
(Colossians 2:6-7, ESV)

Reflection: What current cultural pressure tempts you to compromise gospel essentials? How does being “established in the faith” guard against this?

Day 3: The Rhythm of Remembering and Doing

Wisdom isn’t a one-time download but a lifelong dance of memory and obedience. The sage repeats instructions not to nag, but to reorient hearts prone to wander. Like resetting a compass north, we daily recall God’s commands through Scripture, communion, and community. But memory fuels action – each “remember” must lead to “do,” turning sacred words into street-level love for neighbors and enemies alike. [37:25]

My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments, for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you.
(Proverbs 3:1-2, ESV)

Reflection: What spiritual practice helps you “keep” God’s commands beyond mere mental agreement? How will you embody one teaching this week?

Day 4: Christ’s Fullness in Our Emptiness

Colossians confronts our addiction to “more” – more rituals, more knowledge, more self-help. Paul thunders: Christ contains all God’s fullness. Growing in faith means stopping the scavenger hunt for spiritual supplements. His forgiveness covers every failure, His presence outshines every angelic vision, His cross outworks every self-improvement plan. We don’t climb to God; we receive the God who came down. [43:01]

For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.
(Colossians 2:9-10, ESV)

Reflection: What empty “supplement” have you been tempted to add to Christ’s sufficiency? How does His fullness meet that specific lack?

Day 5: Communion’s Soil for Communal Growth

The Lord’s Table isn’t a solo sacrament but a communal planting. As wheat grains ground into one loaf, we’re reminded: faith flourishes in togetherness. Here, grace nourishes not just individual souls but the body’s shared mission. The bread whispers that our “growing” is bound up with others – their wounds, their wisdom, their need for Christ’s brokenness to mend our fragmentation. [46:41]

The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.
(1 Corinthians 10:16-17, ESV)

Reflection: How does partaking communion reshape your view of personal faith growth? What step will you take to invest in someone else’s growth this week?

Sermon Summary

Proverbs and Colossians frame growing in faith as a lifelong pursuit that begins and ends in Christ. The phrase “growing in faith” refuses any claim that disciples have finished the journey, because faith involves ongoing doing, trusting, remembering, observing, and living. Wisdom in Proverbs appears as a virtue to be sought, a way of life that embraces what gives life and avoids what destroys it.

Proverbs calls God’s people to trust in the Lord with all their heart and not depend on their own insight. Trust in God means loyalty, steadfast love, faithfulness, reverence, and dependence on God’s sovereignty, truthfulness, promises, knowledge, and providence. The sage’s instruction to remember and observe does not function as rebuke, but as a repeated reminder that guides people toward lives of piety, morality, well-being, and favor with God and neighbor. Long life without well-being, Proverbs insists, is not a blessing at all.

Faith formation reaches beyond Sunday school, Bible reading, and programs within church walls. Christian growth requires deeply loving and caring for one another, then putting into practice what Scripture teaches in everyday life. Community informs piety and morality because faithfulness is lived with fellow human beings, not in isolation from them.

Paul writes to the Colossians because false teachings have muddled their faith and obscured the gospel. Human insight, human traditions, elemental powers, angel worship, mystical claims, and severe treatment of the body promise a path to God while robbing believers and misdirecting them. Paul answers those empty and deceitful teachings by reminding the church of the fullness already received in Christ.

Christ reveals the infinite fullness and majesty of God bodily, fully divine and fully human. Christ forgives sins, sustains the world, gathers the church as one body, and stands as its authority and head. Paul therefore calls the Colossians back to the basics: continue to walk in Christ, remain rooted in dependable teaching, build upon Christ as the foundation, and depend on God rather than personal insight.

Growing faithfully at First Presbyterian Church Gastonia means strengthening faith together through the lifelong pursuit of Christ’s ways. The Holy Spirit renews believers as they gather, ask honest questions, engage Scripture, and seek relevant ways to live out faith. The Lord’s Table gathers Christians around the world by the Spirit, fills them with grace, and nurtures wisdom, renewed minds, and lives shaped by God’s commands.

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Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[30:32] - Growing in Faith
[34:07] - Wisdom in Proverbs
[35:22] - Trusting God Wholeheartedly
[37:36] - Faith Formation in Community
[38:33] - Paul’s Letter to Colossae
[39:25] - The Colossian Crisis
[41:19] - False Teachings That Misdirect
[42:10] - Rooted and Built Up in Christ
[43:01] - The Fullness of Christ
[44:33] - Returning to the Basics
[45:36] - Growing Faithfully Together
[46:41] - Communion and God’s Grace
[62:11] - Worship and Proclamation
[73:00] - Closing Amen

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” [35:47]

Colossians 2:6-7
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” [31:13]

Colossians 1:19-20
“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.” [43:01]

Observation questions

In Proverbs 3:5–6, what contrast is made between trusting the Lord and relying on one’s own understanding? [36:46]
What words and images does Paul use in Colossians 2:6–7 to describe a life that continues in Christ?
What kinds of teachings and practices were confusing the Christians in Colossae, and what did those teachings promise to offer? [39:55]
According to Colossians 1:19–20, what does Christ’s fullness reveal about who he is and what he does? [43:01]

Interpretation questions

Why might Proverbs connect wholehearted trust in God with acknowledging God in every part of life, rather than treating trust as only a private belief? [36:53]
Paul warns against teachings that are empty and deceitful because they can rob and misdirect believers. What makes a spiritual idea seem convincing even when it subtly shifts attention away from Christ? [41:35]
What does it mean for a Christian to be “rooted” and “built up” in Christ? How do the images of roots and a strong foundation describe steady growth over time? [42:10]
If the fullness of God is revealed in Christ, why is returning to Christ—not finding a new spiritual technique or secret—central to faithful growth? [43:10]

Application questions

Where are you most tempted to depend on your own insight: a decision about family, work, finances, health, relationships, or something else? What might it look like to trust God in that particular situation? [36:46]
Faith grows through loving, caring for, and practicing God’s ways with other people. Who has helped shape your faith through everyday life, and how might you offer that kind of care to someone else this week? [38:18]
What messages—from social media, popular culture, religious voices, or personal habits—promise security, wisdom, or spiritual fulfillment apart from Christ? How can you test whether those messages are drawing you toward Christ or away from him? [41:44]
When faith feels confused, dry, or uncertain, what “basics” help you return to Christ: Scripture, prayer, worship, trusted Christian friends, service, or Communion? Which of these do you need to receive or practice more intentionally right now? [44:49]
Where do you see an opportunity to put something you know from Scripture into practice outside the church building this week—in a conversation, a conflict, a responsibility, or an act of mercy? [38:24]
The Lord’s Table gathers Christians as one body and offers God’s grace for continued growth. How might remembering that you belong to Christ and his worldwide church change the way you approach Communion and the people around you? [46:33]

Sermon Clips

63s

#GrowInFaith

“What does Paul's letter tell us today? How does it urge us to grow in faith? As believers in Christ, calls us to participate in Christ's mission. We are reminded to return to the basics. Remember our teaching and obey God's commands to walk with Christ, to be rooted in faith, to have Christ as our foundation, to pledge and renew our trust in God, to praise and worship God, to depend on god, and not on our own insight. And when we are lost, to look up to Christ who embodies the infinite fullness and majesty of god.”

59s

#TrustInGod

“The sage urges the students to be loyal to God. Loyalty is also trust, steadfast love, and faithfulness. Trusting God is a core virtue of practicing faith. In other words, trusting God is central and a virtue for growing in faith. Trusting god means relying wholeheartedly on god's sovereignty, truthfulness, integrity, authenticity, promises, knowledge, and providence. Trusting god is also fear of god or reverence for god as almighty creator and sustainer.”

58s

#WorldCommunionSunday

“The holy spirit renews us when we gather to ask honest questions as we engage scripture and explore relevant ways to live out our faith. On this world communion Sunday, we join Christians around the world here at the lord's table. Gathered by the spirit, we are filled with god's grace as we receive the bread and the cup. God's grace nurtures us to grow faithfully, renewing and transforming our minds so we can live pious and moral lives. May we remember and observe God's commands each time we gather at the Lord's table. May we receive God's grace and grow in wisdom.”

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