JESUS is LORD Sermon

Devotional

Day 1: Nailed to the Cross

Jesus stood before His disciples after rising from the dead, showing His scars as proof of His victory. He declared peace over their fears and breathed His Spirit into them. In Colossians, Paul reminds us that every sin and legalistic demand was nailed to Christ’s cross, disarming all powers that once held us captive. [09:40]

Jesus didn’t just defeat death—He canceled the debt of every failure and shame we carry. His resurrection means our old life of striving is buried, and we’re raised to walk in freedom. No rule, fear, or spiritual force can chain those He’s set free.

Many of us still act like prisoners, clinging to guilt or man-made rules. Jesus says, “You’re already forgiven.” Stop trying to earn what He’s freely given. Where are you still living like a slave instead of a redeemed child?

“Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness… He took it away, nailing it to the cross.”
(Colossians 2:14, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal one lie you’ve believed about earning His love. Thank Him for canceling its power.
Challenge: Write down one “rule” you’ve placed on yourself (e.g., “I must __ to please God”). Rip it up as a act of surrender.

Day 2: The Torn Robe

Caiaphas, the high priest, demanded Jesus answer if He was the Messiah. Jesus replied, “I am,” invoking God’s holy name from Exodus. The priest tore his robe, accusing Jesus of blasphemy—missing that God Himself stood before him. [21:40]

Jesus’ claim wasn’t just bold—it redefined every religious expectation. He wasn’t another prophet but God in flesh, fulfilling Daniel’s vision of an eternal King. Those who reject His lordship still tear their robes, clinging to lesser authorities.

You might call Jesus “Teacher” but hesitate to yield every area to Him. What part of your life—career, relationships, habits—still has a “No Entry” sign for God?

“I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One.”
(Mark 14:61-62, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one area you’ve resisted surrendering. Ask for courage to say, “You are Lord here too.”
Challenge: Text a trusted friend: “Jesus is Lord over my __.” Ask them to pray for your obedience.

Day 3: Bread from Heaven

Moses asked God’s name at the burning bush. Centuries later, Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life,” using the same divine name. He didn’t just point to God—He was God, feeding hungry souls with His own body. [20:27]

Every “I am” statement Jesus made shattered limits. He wasn’t a temporary fix but the eternal source of life. Idols promise fullness but leave us empty; Jesus, as true God, satisfies completely.

What have you nibbled on this week—approval, comfort, control—instead of feasting on Christ? His invitation isn’t to try harder but to taste His goodness.

“Jesus said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, before Abraham was born, I am!’”
(John 8:58, NIV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus for being your daily bread. Ask Him to starve any craving that competes with Him.
Challenge: Skip one snack or meal today. Use the hunger pangs as a prompt to pray, “Jesus, You’re enough.”

Day 4: Co-Lovers with God

The Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit—has always existed in perfect love. Jesus prayed we’d join this divine dance, loving others with the same unity He shares with the Father. [47:51]

God doesn’t need your help but invites you to share His heartbeat. When you love that difficult coworker or neighbor, you’re not alone—you’re partnering with the God who knit them together.

Who feels impossible to love? Jesus isn’t asking you to muster affection but to mirror His relentless pursuit. How can you join Him in loving them today?

“Love the Lord your God… and love your neighbor as yourself.”
(Matthew 22:37-39, NIV)

Prayer: Ask the Spirit to show you how God is already loving someone who frustrates you.
Challenge: Do one tangible act of kindness for that person today (e.g., send an encouraging text).

Day 5: Scars and Supper

After His resurrection, Jesus ate broiled fish with the disciples, His scars proof He was both crucified and alive. Thomas touched those wounds and declared, “My Lord and my God!”—the first time a disciple called Jesus God. [53:18]

Jesus’ scars didn’t disappear in glory. They remind us He’s a God who enters our pain, redeems our brokenness, and reigns as Lord even over death. Your doubts and wounds are places He wants to meet you.

What doubt or hurt have you hidden from Jesus? He stands in your locked room, offering His scars as proof: “I am here.”

“Then [Jesus] said to Thomas, ‘Put your finger here; see my hands… Stop doubting and believe.’”
(John 20:27, NIV)

Prayer: Tell Jesus one doubt you’ve carried. Ask Him to reveal His presence in that struggle.
Challenge: Share your doubt or healing story with one person this week. Start with, “Jesus met me when…”

Sermon Summary

From the earliest pages of scripture through Paul’s letter to the Colossians, the central claim stands: Jesus is God and Lord. Humanity repeatedly substitutes created things for the Creator, fashioning idols from power, comfort, religion, politics, and even good things that become ultimate things. These false lords promise control, favor, or identity, but always deliver brokenness. Paul counters the wandering hearts of the first-century church by insisting that in Christ the fullness of deity dwelt bodily, that the works binding people—legalism, angelic speculation, asceticism—have been nailed to the cross, and that baptism and resurrection mark a decisive reorientation into new life.

The text calls for a concrete response: yield to Jesus’ exclusive lordship by removing competing masters; receive the gospel as a gift rather than a merit-based system; and enter the life God offers by participating in relationship with Father, Son, and Spirit. Yielding requires relentless honesty about what captivates the heart and decisive action to abolish altars built for lesser things. Receiving requires abandoning performance-based approaches and allowing the mercy revealed in Christ’s death and resurrection to reframe identity. Participating means living as one who is indwelt by the triune God—doing the life God calls for not in solitary striving but in shared, empowered practice with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Practical steps ground each response: invite the Spirit to search the heart (Psalm 139), name and remove idols that absorb attention and resources, check motives daily to see whether acts of devotion spring from love or from a need to earn, and look for where God is already at work so one can join him. The narrative closes with a clear invitation to turn from hidden lords, to receive Jesus’ lordship openly, and to step into communal life marked by love and mission—the very posture that proves the truth of Jesus’ kingship in ordinary places and relationships.

Key Takeaways

1. Jesus is Lord and God The claim that Jesus is fully divine refuses any halfway devotion; he names himself with the divine "I AM" and stands as head over every power and authority. Accepting his lordship changes the axis of life: allegiance shifts from created substitutes to the Creator who judges and heals the heart. This recognition demands not mere assent but a reordering of priorities so that ultimate trust rests in Christ alone. [08:36]
2. Yield by removing modern idols True submission shows itself in the work of demolition—tearing down the altars that compete for allegiance, whether career, comfort, politics, or approval. Idol removal exposes how much of daily time, treasure, and imagination has been pledged elsewhere and frees those resources for life under Christ’s rule. The disciplined, ongoing practice of asking what rules the heart produces simpler, truer worship. [25:21]
3. Receive grace, not earned performance The gospel rescues identity from merit; salvation is not a ladder climbed by rituals, knowledge, or stricter rules but a gift received because Christ has paid the debt. Once received, holiness becomes fruit rather than currency—response flows from being loved rather than to secure love. Living from that received love dismantles anxiety-driven religiosity and opens room for rest and obedience. [32:21]
4. Participate in relational Trinity living Christian life is not solitary moralism but shared life with Father, Son, and Spirit—God’s presence enables the love and power Christians lack on their own. Participation reorients mission: one joins a God already at work, loves with him, and bears witness through cooperative action rather than merely moral exhortation. This trinitarian participation redefines eternal life as knowing God and walking with him now. [46:02]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[03:02] - Why affirm Jesus is God
[08:36] - Colossians 2:6–15 read aloud
[10:43] - Superstitions and hollow philosophies
[19:59] - Yield to Christ’s lordship
[30:57] - Receive God’s free love
[40:43] - Participate in Trinitarian relationship
[49:27] - Call to respond and altar invitation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
*Colossians 2:6-15 (NIV)*
*So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ. For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority. In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead. When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.*

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Observation Questions

According to Colossians 2:8-10, what specific warnings does Paul give about false teachings, and how does he contrast them with the truth about Christ?
The sermon mentions that Jesus’ lordship demands “removing competing masters” like career, comfort, or approval. What examples of modern idols were highlighted in the sermon? [25:21]
What does Paul say happened to the “legal indebtedness” that stood against us (Colossians 2:14), and how does the sermon connect this to grace versus performance? [32:21]

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Interpretation Questions

Why does Paul emphasize that “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9)? How does this truth combat the idea of adding other practices or beliefs to faith in Jesus?
The sermon states, “Living from received love dismantles anxiety-driven religiosity.” How does the cross’s work (Colossians 2:14-15) free us from striving to earn God’s approval? [32:21]
Paul warns against “hollow and deceptive philosophy” (Colossians 2:8). What might “hollow philosophies” look like in today’s culture, and why do they fail to satisfy like Christ?

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Application Questions

The sermon challenges us to “name and remove idols that absorb attention and resources.” What is one area (e.g., career, approval, comfort) where you sense God calling you to tear down an altar to a lesser thing? What practical step could you take this week? [25:21]
How might you “check your motives daily” (as mentioned in the sermon) to ensure acts of devotion flow from love rather than a need to earn God’s favor? What would repentance look like if you discover performance-driven motives? [36:51]
The sermon encourages “participating in relational Trinity living” by joining God’s work where He’s already active. Where do you see God at work in your relationships or community? How could you intentionally partner with Him there? [46:02]
The psalmist prays, “Search me, God, and know my heart” (Psalm 139:23). How could praying this daily help you identify hidden idols or areas resisting Jesus’ lordship?
The sermon warns against “Jesus plus” faith (e.g., politics, nationalism, superstitions). Is there a belief or loyalty in your life that subtly competes with Christ’s supremacy? How can you reorient your trust to Him alone? [15:08]

Sermon Clips

But, can I tell you the truth today that Jesus is Lord? That he is both God and human. He is all powerful by him and through him and for him. All things came into existence, and he did not simply come to give us a ticket into heaven and salvation to get us out of here. He came to be with us and to invite us into relationship with his father and with his spirit. In fact, that's what Paul was telling the church in Colossae. You've been buried with him. You've been raised with him. God made you alive with him. [00:42:48] (31 seconds) #JesusWithUs

I think a marker of a heart that is truly yielded to the Lordship of Jesus is one that actively and consistently gets rid of the idols that we ex have exalted in our hearts and in our lives. Because all throughout human history, we just talked about this, we have struggled with idols. I'm gonna name a few for for you. Other human beings, possessions, power, money, sex, careers, technology, comfort, status, the past, politics, success, hobbies, and ourselves. Tim Keller says it this way, what is an idol? It's anything more important to you than God. [00:25:28] (37 seconds) #RootOutIdols

If you're not sure where to start in this, I wanna give you a model prayer that I think is a beautiful prayer. I pray this prayer every Monday morning which is when my my heart is really raw and overflowing from a very full Sunday. I pray this every morning and I wanna encourage you to pray it as well. It's from Psalm one thirty nine. Search me God and know me. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there's any offensive way in me and lead me in your way everlasting. [00:30:00] (25 seconds) #Psalm139Prayer

He says, listen, you will know this because Jesus, in Jesus, all the fullness of the Godhead dwelt bodily and now through Jesus, he's leading you to that fullness in your own life. How? By his death and his burial and his resurrection, and he's saying, listen, the legalism that you see around you, it's been nailed to the tree. Listen, the powers that you think are around you, they have been conquered by the one who made a public spectacle of them, triumphing triumphing over them by the victory and the power of the cross. Amen? [00:31:41] (29 seconds) #FullnessInChrist

And here's the truth, because of these things, all of the doctrines that surround us just like they did the early church have been overcome. You and I and everybody else, we don't need anything but this truth, Jesus is Lord. He alone sets us free. He alone forgives our sin. He alone makes us whole. He alone offers us salvation and eternal life. He is the only one that loves the way that he loves. And we will never find it in worshiping anybody or anything else. [00:16:02] (29 seconds) #JesusAloneSaves

We're not just invited to believe he he did what he did. We're not just invited to know about the things that he did. We are invited to participate in relationship with the very trinity, the father, son, and holy spirit that set everything into motion and sustains it and calls us home to himself. Amen? So how do you do that? One practical way. So we're wrapping up today. I wanna encourage you to love with God. To love with God. God invites us to life with him, to live with him, and Jesus makes a way for that. Amen? [00:45:28] (34 seconds) #LoveWithGod

Just like Jesus was fully God and fully human, he's inviting us to be with him. And, when we declare him Lord and believe it in our hearts and confess it with our lips, we are invited not just to know it up here, but to participate it with our participate in it with our whole being. Amen? Darrell Johnson said it this way, at the center of the universe is a relationship. It's out of that relationship that you and I were created and redeemed. It is for that relationship that you and I were created and redeemed and it turns out that the community is a trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. [00:44:18] (32 seconds) #WholeHeartWorship

There are far too many people who say, yeah, by his stripes, I have been healed. But also, I'm gonna look for that in crystals and in astrological signs as well. I'm just gonna call it like it is today. Everybody with me? There are far too many people who believe that God is merciful, but they're afraid of him rather than understanding he is a loving, compassionate, merciful God. And, they're afraid of him because they are legalistic and hyper spiritual in their beliefs. [00:17:27] (31 seconds) #FaithNotCrystals

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