This past weekend I had the opportunity to speak at my church.  I enjoy having the opportunity to communicate God’s Word to people in a way that applies to life.  My effort is always to make it clear what the Bible is calling people to do.

The title of this message was “We Need Your Help.”  It reviews the two requests that Paul makes of the people of Collosae in Colossians 4:2-6. Paul is out in the trenches of ministry, and he is asking for them to support his mission of taking the Gospel to the world (see the outline below).  He wants the people to support the mission (1) with their prayer life and (2) with their public life.

Today, the same requests may be made to the people of God in our churches. We need help.  We need people to pray diligently and deliberately for the spread of the Gospel.  We need people to support the mission in their public life by the things that they say (communication) and the things that they do (conduct).  If we are going to impact our communities with the truth of the Gospel, we are going to need help from everyone who claims to be a Christ follower.

For those interested, here is the bare bones outline. The illustrations are missing, but perhaps this outline will be helpful to some of you.

1. Support the Mission with Your Prayer Life.

– We Must Pray Diligently.
“Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert…” (4:2)

– We Must Pray Deliberately.

1. Pray for the Communicators who Preach the Gospel
“pray for us, too” (4:3a)

2. Pray for Chances to Preach the Gospel (4:3b)
“pray…that God may open a door”

3. Pray for Clarity in the Preaching of the Gospel (4:4)
“Pray that I may make it known as I should”

2. Support the Mission with Your Public Life.

– Our Conduct Must Be Godly.
“Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders” (4:5)

– Our Communication Must Be Gracious.
“Let your speech always be gracious” (4:6)