July 5th 2026
Holding Fast to the Head - Part 2
Colossians 2:16-23 / David VanAcker
16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 18 Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, 19 and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
20 If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations— 21 “Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch” 22 (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? 23 These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.
This is the second sermon on this passage. I think the heartbeat of this passage is a feeling common to every Christian: The feeling of missing something, of emptiness, of loneliness, of sadness, of doubt. We all experience those things to varying degrees at different times. Likewise, when we experience them, none of us wants to stay there for long. We all want them to lift asap. The main question, then, is this: What will we do when those feelings come upon us? That’s the key question Paul was trying to address in these few verses.
The big idea of this passage is that if you try to add anything to Jesus, take away anything from Jesus, or look to anything but Jesus for salvation or satisfaction, you will not get Jesus, salvation, or satisfaction. The main takeaway is to do a careful inventory of what you are holding fast to and put off all that is not Jesus.
The big idea of this passage is that if you try to add anything to Jesus, take away anything from Jesus, or look to anything but Jesus for salvation or satisfaction, you will not get Jesus, salvation, or satisfaction. The main takeaway is to do a careful inventory of what you are holding fast to and put off all that is not Jesus.
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Service Order
Welcome
Exhortation
Assurance of Pardon
All Creatures of Our God and King
Reading – Psalm 22
How Firm A Foundation
In Christ Alone
Offering
Sermon
O For A Thousand
Communion
Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me
Benediction
Memory Verse
Ephesians 6:10-11 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.Service Times
Prayer9:30-9:45am
Worship Service
10:30am-Noon