By Mike Dawson
Pastor Emeritus, First Baptist Church, Columbia
Focal Passage: Colossians 3:18-4:6
Sometimes I teach an old yet fun way to remember the order of four New Testament books, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Using the first letter of each book, G, E, P, C, I say the phrase “Gentiles Eat Pork Chops.” You may know a couple of other phrases to help us recall the order; but all of them are equally silly!
I mention that to say (seriously) what a blessing it’s been to study “P.C.” — Philippians and Colossians — over the past three months. I’m a bit sad that today’s lesson brings us to the end of such an inspiring, enriching study.
Bible readers generally know that all of the books mentioned except for Galatians were ‘prison epistles.’ They were letters written from a Roman jail by the Apostle Paul who was imprisoned for preaching the Gospel. Both Philippians and Colossians follow a similar format, the first part of each letter dealing with doctrinal matters and the second part teaching practical things. [Read more…]