1. INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS Jesus is Creator – Colossians 1:16-17

2. Colossians 1:9-10 9 And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, 10 so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

3. Last Week Colossians 1:15 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.

4. Colossians 1:15–16 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. Why does this matter?

5. Why do you matter? (a slightly loaded question) What is life’s purpose? “Purpose” presupposes design. Jesus made the universe (and you) with a purpose.

6. But hasn’t science ruled out a creator? “Science is a way of knowing about the natural world. It is limited to explaining the natural world through natural causes. Science can say nothing about the supernatural. Whether God exists or not is a question about which science is neutral.” -US National Academy of Sciences

7. Stephen Hawking – “We are each free to believe what we want, and my view is that the simplest explanation is there is no God. No one created the universe and no one directs our fate. This leads me to a profound realization: there is probably no heaven, and no afterlife either. We have this one life to appreciate the grand design of the universe, and for that I am extremely grateful.”

8. “Biology is the study of complicated things that give the appearance of having been designed for a purpose” Dawkins – The Blind Watchmaker Ben Stein’s Question – What would you do if you met God (the designer) after you died? Dawkins reply: “Bertrand Russell had that point put to him and he said something like, ‘Sir, why did you take such pains to hide yourself?’”

9. Irony of Dawkins’ Response Dawkins writes a book in order to explain why a universe that looks designed is not designed. When asked what he would say to the designer if he met him he answers that he would ask the designer why he designed the universe in such a way that made it difficult to tell that it was designed.

10. Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Knowing “why” you are requires knowing whose you are. Knowing “whose” you are requires knowing your designer (Jesus). Matthew 16:15 Who do you say that I am?

11. INTRODUCTION TO COLOSSIANS Gospel Sanctification