3:16: How To Be Encouraged

 

Series Summary

In this series, called 3:16, we will be exploring several significant passages in the Bible that are located at the 3:16 chapter and verse marker in their respective books. These passages cover a wide range of variety, from a variety of authors, covering a variety of topics, through a variety of time periods of Israel’s and the church’s history. The only common denominator in this series is where each of those passages is located in the Bible, at a 3:16 mile marker. You likely already know that all Scripture is inspired by God. That fact is stated in 2 Timothy 3:16, which is one of the 3:16’s we’ll look at in this series. But while all Scripture is inspired, the chapter and verse designators are not. Those came later – the Old Testament around the 13th century, and the New Testament a little later. They were added to help make it easier to find a particular passage, especially when someone was trying to manipulate a bulky, awkward scroll instead of a book. But, even though the verse numbers aren’t inspired, it’s curious that so many weighty passages are found at the 3:16 mile marker. Maybe God knew that we needed some things to be easy to remember. In this series, we will be looking at several different passages that are found at 3:16, in different books of the Bible. In some cases, we may only look at the verse, or maybe two or three. For others, we may need a good portion of the chapter in order to understand it completely. But all of them are found at the 3:16 point. Among the 3:16's we'll examine are John, Genesis,  Proverbs, Colossians, Daniel, Ephesians, 1 Peter, 2 Timothy, and more. It'll be unique. It’ll be enlightening. And we hope you’ll join us as we examine the 3:16’s of the Bible!

Sermon Summary

In Colossians 3, Paul describes how we are to put on the new self, put on the things of Christ, and how we are to put off those things that are not of Christ. As Paul describes this, he emphasizes how we are to do so together, as a body, as a church. Because when we need some encouragement, what better place to find it than the church? Of all places, the church should be a place of encouragement and support and love, because our God is a God of encouragement. That indicates that we should be people of encouragement, too. But how are we to do this? In verses 16 and 17, Paul describes how we are to gain encouragement: it comes from the Word. And in these two verses, he describes several ways we can receive encouragement from Scripture, and how we can, in turn, pass it on.