teaching/sermons/col-1-15-20/series/00_frank_preview.md

Week 0 — Frank Williams — pre-series preview (series tagline first appearance)

Series mate for Week 3 (Col 1:15-20, May 31). Frank didn't formally start the Colossians series in this sermon, but he previewed the series tagline — "Jesus First: Christ crucified in love, raised in power, reigning forever as King" — and surrounding framing material. Pull-out target: how Frank first introduced the language the rest of the series will be built on.

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Audio

Sermon title (from transcript)

"Jesus is first. Jesus first. Most seen in the love and comfort of a mother."

This is the Mother's Day sermon — Frank used the day's framing (the sacrificial love of mothers) as the entry point for the Jesus First tagline that the formal Colossians series picks up.

The tagline — verbatim, full declaration

The single cleanest statement of the series tagline in this sermon:

"Jesus is first, not because I say so, but because he was crucified in love, raised in power, and he reigns as our king."

Earlier in the sermon, Frank states it three times in succession:

"Jesus first means that we remember that Christ was crucified in love. Remember that Christ was crucified in love. He was raised in power. And right now, he is reigning as our king."

Word counts across the sermon: "Jesus first" appears 11 times, "raised in power" 10 times, "crucified in love" 9 times. This is the sermon where the room first absorbed the tagline as a refrain.

Transcript

Auto-transcribed via Replicate Whisper (vaibhavs10/incredibly-fast-whisper). Raw output, lightly paragraphed at sentence boundaries. Verbatim — including filler words, repetitions, and any transcription artifacts.

The segment covers from when Frank stepped up for the offering (47:28) through end of sermon (~1:23:25). The first ~3-4 paragraphs are the offering/announcements section before the sermon proper begins.

where we take up our weekly offering i also wanted to mention that we are looking ahead to sunday june 7th where we as a family will be taking up a special missions offering and that focus uh will i'll bring it into more light on the 7th but but, you know, we're looking ahead, by the grace of God, to seeing this family who has been in this building for a number of years. Well, thank you. And, you know, seeing our family go from one church, being one church, but being in multiple locations throughout the Springs.

We, many of our family drive 30 or so minutes to get here, and so grateful, some an hour. But if we're going to reach this city with the gospel of Jesus Christ, we need to be in our neighborhoods. We're also praying about the future and where God is going to take us even throughout Southern Colorado, planting a church in Pueblo, Durango, throughout Southern Colorado, planting a church in Pueblo, Durango, Gunnison, you know, wherever God may lead.

Amen. But whether, I'm going to bring it back to right now. Whenever we give anything, it can be easily done if it's done 52 times a year on a Sunday, a tradition, right? And I see the numbers when it comes to offering, and I see black, and I see red, and I try to ignore those colors because what's most important to me about what we do is why we do it.

Today, I was in the office, and a living, breathing example of sacrifice walked up to me in the form of one of our young men. He just came, a young boy's in our children's ministry, and he came up and he goes, I want to give to the church. And a lot of people think you give to the church because you're giving this to me. And I am grateful, as the staff is, for your support.

But I asked him, I said, why are you giving it to me? And he goes, I want to give it to the church. And I said, do as the staff is, for your support. But I asked him, I said, why are you giving it to me?

And he goes, I want to give it to the church. And I said, do you think I'm the church? And he said, yes. And you know what?

One of our greatest visions, and I pray this, we're going to work this out together, but that we would move the future. What I mean by that is that we would stop when a young man or a young woman, our littles, as Melissa calls them, comes up to us and wants to talk and give his offering. You would stop and take a moment to teach and take a moment to thank them and take a moment to really lift them up.

I'm not sure how old this young man is, but 9, 10 maybe? Yeah? He gave me everything he had. And I said, you know why you're doing this?

Because Jesus is first. That's a mandate that he made, not me, not the church, but he did. And I said, I want you to never forget this. If you would, look at Romans 12.

It's always more important to think about why you give than what you give. Because I pray that whatever you give will be done with great joy. Yes, it's sacrificial, but it's worship. And if Jesus is going to be first, and he must be, he commands it, he deserves it, and we will follow it.

Amen? But why? Well, let me share with you what that young man taught me this morning. In Romans 12, verse 1, therefore, in verse 1, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy off of your bodies as living sacrifices that are holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of worship.

I believe in one minute that young man taught me something about being pleasing to God. He gave, not because his mom and dad told him to, and I even, they didn't know. He did it because he loves Jesus. And I pray that right now you and I will focus on the cross and remember why we give anything.

I never take money from anybody, so I'm going to find the ushers. Ministers and money don't go well, but you know what? I applaud that young man, and I thank God for his example, and may I encourage you, not only as you give, but next time to move the future, kneel down, talk with them, inspire their faith, because our young people are an inspirational group of people in that back room. Amen?

Amen. Let's pray for us older people. Father, thank you for the jobs that we have. Thank you for the money that you provide.

Thank you for Costco. Thank you for all the things that we have in this country, God, that we honestly take for granted. People in this world live on $2 a month, a day. I don't know.

I know it's $2, but God, thank you that we have been given so much. But I just thank you for that young man today that just reminded me. It's not always about what. It's more important to remember why.

And may our why drive what we do in this church. I pray that everyone will give, Father, in this family like that young man because we, Father, someday he'll understand this, but we have been given your mercy and your grace. We have been rescued from the dominion of darkness. May we not be greedy.

May we give back to you, Lord Jesus, because you are first. And may we do it with great joy because of the salvation that you have given to us. We love you. We pray all this in Jesus' mighty name.

Amen? There it is. Well, while the trays are being passed, happy Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day.

I understand that Mother's Day is such a joy, and it is. It's the third most attended day for a church, second to Easter and Christmas. And I am really grateful to have you all here with us this morning. And I am truly grateful for all of the moms, grandmothers, sisters that just provide comfort and care and love in this family.

I also want to acknowledge that today might be a very challenging day for you. You may have lost your mother. Your mother may be alive and you may not be close to her. And I hope today that I can provide comfort and encouragement because I do believe that in this room, one of the greatest examples of a Jesus first life is our moms across the board.

Whether you have children or not, we celebrate all of you. I'm grateful for Julie and her conviction to really make sure that all of the women know that you are an integral part of this day and deeply needed in this fellowship. Amen. Amen.

Let's pray, though, before we go any further, that the Spirit of God will help us to hear His voice. Lord Jesus, thank You, God, that we have this body. In Christ Jesus, we just rejoice, Father, that we are from all different places in this world, God. But thank You, God, that we can come together and praise and glorify You.

Father, on this day as we, Father, glorify you, remember our moms. Father, I pray that you comfort your people, build them up, strengthen them to hear your voice, to declare your gospel. And Father, just like you did in my life today, thank you for moving my heart through that young man. God, I just thank you for how you're moving in this church.

Please, God, keep leading. You are leading us. You're leading me. And I pray that you will lead us right now, Father, as we move from the cross to the resurrection and into the throne room of our King to bring you glory and honor as we leave this building today.

We love you. We pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Turn with me to Isaiah 66. Amen. Turn with me to Isaiah 66. I'm going to try to make it through today.

It's good to see you guys out there smiling. And I'm going to need your help today. Amen. Okay.

My title of my lesson is Jesus is first. Jesus first. Most seen in the love and comfort of a mother. Jesus is first.

Amen. In this church and in my life and in yours, he will be first. I am not mandating that. That is not a mandate for a man.

That is from Jesus Christ himself. What a joy to put him first. Amen. Luke 14, he tells us, you know, he was telling the large crowd, you know, Jesus had megachurches following him.

And he says, if anyone would follow me, he must hate his father, his mother, his brothers, his sisters, his children. Yes, even his own life. And I guarantee you in that moment, the crowd dispersed. Jesus would never teach us to hate anyone.

But what he was teaching is love me more than any of those, especially your own life. For in that is joy unceasing. Amen? Jesus is first.

In Revelation 2, we're reminded the Ephesian church that you have forsaken your first love. You've forgotten that I'm your first love. Come back to me. Love me.

Walk with me. Everybody gets all why he thinks he was telling him to go obey me. He's not. Come back to me.

Love me first. And I really do believe one of the greatest examples for us, sometimes we just need visual things. I'm visual. I'm a visionary.

I need to see things. And I often live, I strive to live by faith in the unseen. But one of the greatest visuals that we have of a Jesus first life, it comes from our mothers. It comes through the love and the comfort of a mother.

Amen? You know, the main kind of point that I want to make today is that when Jesus is first, and that's challenging to maintain, but it's easily seen in our mothers that His love and His comfort flows through our lives through the example of our mothers. And God really lifts up moms in Isaiah chapter 66, which is a chapter where God is rebuking the Israelites for their hypocrisy, for forgetting his glory and his majesty, for not being able to hear his voice.

He says in verse five, hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at his words. I mean, God wants us to hear his voice. Amen? And I hope today that you do.

In Isaiah 66 and verse 13, hear his voice. Read with me. As a mother comforts her child. As a mother comforts her child.

So I, God says, will comfort you and you will be comforted over Jerusalem. When you see this, your heart will rejoice and you will flourish like the grass and the hand of the Lord will be made known to his servants, but his fury will be shown to his foes. See, the Lord is, I can't stop reading. See, the Lord is coming with fire, fire that brings purity.

But you know what I really want to focus on? As a mother comforts her child, God says, so I will comfort you. You know, as I've been praying and reflecting on this lesson, there are few things that are more powerful in this world than the love and comfort of a mother. Amen?

A mother can calm fear with just the touch of her hand. And she can also put fear in your heart with the touch of her hand. I remember that. She can strengthen a child with just one sentence and drop them to their knees with another.

She can carry burdens that no one sees. She prays when nobody else is praying. She keeps believing when others quit believing in you and I. And some of the strongest people under the rule and reign of God are mothers who quietly carry the weight of a family while continuing to love with all faithfulness and endurance.

I have never met a mother that would tell their child, you can't come back home. Me as a dad, a little different story. But a mother, this is always going to be home. Today's message is not ultimately about glorifying moms.

It's about glorifying Jesus Christ. Amen. Because of the greatest mothers are not, the story is not centered on moms or dads. It's centered on Jesus.

Amen. But a godly mother reflects something so deep about Jesus. What we see in moms is the compassion of Christ. Amen.

We see the tenderness of Christ. We see the sacrifice of Christ. And we often feel the comfort of Christ. The love and comfort of a mother are earthly reminders of the greater love and the eternal comfort that are found in Jesus Christ our King.

Amen? What I see in a mom living out the Jesus first life is love from a mother is sacrificial that reflects the sacrifice of our King. I really don't believe there's anyone else under heaven that understands sacrifice like a mom. Mothers lose sleep.

They carry burdens. They give when they are absolutely empty. They hurt quietly and sometimes not. They pray for you and I in great secret.

And they continue to show up day in and day out. Many mothers spend years pouring out their lives without applause. I believe one day is just not sufficient. Every sacrifice, though, points to one thing, that is Jesus Christ.

Jesus first means that we remember that Christ was crucified in love. remember that Christ was crucified in love. He was raised in power. And right now, he is reigning as our king. And I hope that the reigning as our king will bring you great comfort as we ultimately look at Christ in our moms.

But more than that, the cross that illuminates Jesus as does the resurrection and his rule from heaven. But the cross is the ultimate picture of sacrificial love. Jesus did not love emotionally only. He did.

He cried. He wept. He even said, I want to gather Jerusalem together like a hen. He wanted to get not a rooster, a hen.

He wanted to gather God Not a rooster. A hen. He wanted to gather. God's children.

To himself. He didn't just love though. Emotionally. He loved.

Sacrificially. Look at Romans chapter 5. Verse 8. Romans 5.

Verse 8. Says. Through the power of the Holy Spirit. But God.

Demonstrates. His. Own. Romans 5 verse 8 says, Through the power of the Holy Spirit, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this.

While we were still sinners, powerless, Christ died for you. Amen? Now compare that to a mother. A mother's love says, I will carry this burden for you.

But the greater love of Jesus says, I will carry your sin. I'll carry your shame. I'll carry your punishment and even your death. That's greater love.

The best moms in the world always point themselves to Christ Jesus. Again, I would remind you of our main text, Isaiah 66, as a mother comforts her child, so I will comfort you. This is one of the most tender pictures of God in all of Scripture. God compares his comfort to that of a mother.

Why? Because mothers know something that of a mother. Why? Because mothers know something that most don't.

They know how to set aside pain. They stay during suffering. They comfort through tears. And they love not only their children, but people while they heal.

Some in this room still remember moments when their mother comforted them during fear, sickness, heartbreak, and failure. Remember those times? Others ache today because that comfort might be gone. We acknowledge that.

We're with you. You're not alone. I'm not alone. Maybe your heart is broken because that comfort, that comfort is gone.

Some of you may never experienced it in the way that you should have. But I want you to hear this clearly. Even the greatest earthly comfort is only a shadow of the comfort that we find in Jesus Christ first. People will fail you.

I will fail. will fail. The church was never meant to put its faith in a priest or a pastor or an elder or an evangelist or a teacher or even the congregation. This family is just a beautiful example of a hot mess. Amen?

That's why we take communion, so we can remind ourselves, God, I need your love. People will fail. Parents will disappoint you. Families may break your heart.

But Jesus Christ, Hebrews says, I will never abandon you. I will never leave you. Your wallet may, your inheritance might, your stock market may crash. But Jesus says over and over again, I will comfort you with this reality.

I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. Jesus never abandons his children. He comforts the grieving.

He comforts the lonely. He comforts the exhausted, the anxious, the ashamed, He comforts the exhausted, the anxious, the ashamed, the brokenhearted. But only when Jesus is first will we see that. When Jesus is first, comfort is not a temporary emotion.

It becomes a holy restoration that comes from the very presence of God. Let me just read that one more time for myself. When Jesus is first, comfort is not a temporary emotion. It becomes a holy restoration from the very presence of our God.

That's why we say Jesus is first. We're just echoing his words. But then we say he was crucified in love. And we don't have Jesus hanging on the cross because he was raised in power.

Amen. But I think there's one area that we don't draw comfort from or humility from or repentance from or obedience from is that he's reigning as our king. Not a lot of amens on that one. That one might be a little scary, but he's not like the kings of old or the kings of today or the kings of tomorrow.

He reigns and rules over us with perfect righteousness, perfect love, perfect comfort, perfect authority. There is nothing that ever has or will or is or will happen that Jesus Christ does not have dominion and authority over in your life. May you find comfort in that. Timothy was shaped by the faith of Eunice and Lois.

Timothy was shaped not just by Paul. The next generation is often formed quietly, not in sanctuaries or buildings, but around kitchen tables where mom and dad sit and share their faith during bedtime prayers. I tell you the truth, that young man did not give me $2 today because he woke up and wanted to give $2. Mom and dad are being used by God.

They're praying for that little man. They're teaching that young man. I even heard his dad say when I was walking away, when I was in college and I didn't have anything, I gave. The next generation is being formed through faithful correction, through tears, through consistency, through worship, and through sacrifice.

Amen? We can't let our little children, including us, follow the way of the world that celebrates fame when our God honors faithfulness. I think some of you as moms, you might feel unnoticed. And we work hard to make sure that you don't, but heaven notices every prayer when we don't.

Heaven notices, mom, every act of love, every moment of endurance, every sacrifice that you made for him, And I believe he catches every tear. Galatians 6, 9, I want to say this to the moms and brothers. I say this to you as a charge. Galatians 6, 9 says, let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Amen? Some mothers today, you might feel weary. You have prayed for your children who are wandering. You've cried over situations that you cannot fix, and you carry burdens that no one else sees.

Don't give up. Men, don't give up. Our our king who rules with perfect righteousness and love and power and authority sees you and the love of christ flowing through your life will be shaping eternity more than you realize i remember one time when we came uh kellyd and I traveled here to Colorado Springs for a meeting. I think it was sometime around 21, maybe, something like that.

And the whole room was, all the chairs were gone. And tables were set up, and we had this big meeting. And then, you know, all of the brothers and the men and their wives went out for dinner, and they forgot Kelly and I. How dare you?

And so Kelly and I, we were at the fish place. Is that what it's called? Is that what it's called? I was going to call it, say, a goldfish grill, but we had the opportunity to sit with Rene and Joelel had never met them before didn't know who they were what they did in the church here but i remember renee and joel just vulnerably sharing about the loss of their daughter and the tears Tears.

God saw that. And used them in that moment of pain and vulnerability to impact Kelly and I in ways I would never have thought. I never, at that moment, I had no idea that I would be here. But it was a moving moment to see the heart of a mother and a father, but to see that heart, that love, but the comfort that they were drawing from Jesus.

And the love of Christ does that in our lives. It flows from our lives. And you and I are shaping eternity, not only for our children, but for one another. And when you find life hard, remember, reflect on a Jesus first life because you're reflecting on his compassion.

The church desperately needs the compassion of Christ again. Amen. Not our self-righteousness and how much we know what the church needs, what the world needs from the church is compassion because we live in a world that's filled with anger and division and coldness and outrage and selfishness and isolation, but the Spirit of Christ is crying out, where is my church with compassion? We have a great example in Reggie, but also when his wife rose.

You know what happened to her. They both went through a horrible moment that God used for good. And yet on Friday night, they stood up with just a heartfelt plea. Don't forget the poor.

They're just a reflection. I mean, Rose, Reggie, I love Reggie. He's a tough, tough man. But man, whenever I'm around Rose, I just feel the compassion of Christ.

The spirit of Jesus produces compassion, and a mother often reflects this naturally. They're gentle, patient. They're nurturing. They're merciful.

They're endurance. They're steadfast in their love. These are not weaknesses. These are kingdom strengths.

And the church must become a place where people experience the truth with compassion do you hear that the truth of god's word unwavering with compassion because if we don't have compassion we're just self-righteous and mean correction with grace holiness of tenderness that's what the women have taught me in this church. And conviction with love. I would remind myself and you that Jesus was full of both grace and grace and truth.

When Jesus is first, we stop treating people like projects and start loving them like souls. Let me just close with this. Today we honor mothers. But more importantly, we honor Jesus Christ first.

The source of every true expression of love and comfort. Some of you have had extraordinary moms and thank God for them. Some of you carry wounds from your childhood, but Jesus can heal them. Amen.

Some mothers here feel exhausted and unseen, but Jesus sees every sacrifice. Some are grieving today, but Jesus is near. Someone reminded me today to the brokenhearted. Thank you.

Some children are far from God. Don't stop praying. Jesus first means we can trust Christ to still transform lives. The greatest comfort a mother can give, ever give her child is not success, protection, and achievement.

It's what Kristen said today. It's Jesus Christ. I've known Kristen a long time. Very godly woman who had a meltdown in a hamburger place.

I do that too when I go to In-N-Out and it's not done right. But Kristen and all of the women in this church, all of you, all of you, remind me of Jesus Christ because only in him can he save, heal, restore, and redeem, and he reigns forever as king. Jesus is first. Amen, church?

Let's focus on communion and how we do that together. Amen? Jesus is first. Amen, church?

Let's focus on communion and how we do that together. Amen? Jesus is first. In this family, the rock in this church is Jesus Christ first.

But how and why? Three, in love, raised in power. Is that me? And he reigns as king.

Jesus is first, not because I say so, but because he was crucified in love, raised in power, and he reigns as our king. So how does this, this was a question Colby asked Friday night. I thought, Colby, you know how. But it was a wonderful question.

Colby Warren, Sarah, I love the question because it's good to never forget not only the why, but how. Here's how. He was crucified in love. May our faith, our belief be locked in on the Son of God who loved us and proved that love when he sacrificed himself for you and me on the cross.

He gave himself up. We're no longer driven by guilt, fear, self-centered living, but by faith in the Son of God who loved us, gave himself up for us. And I pray to that extent that you believe that. May his love compel you and move you and I like no other power could ever do.

But if he just died on the cross, then we should put Jesus up there and just look at that all the time. That's not the end of the story. He was raised in power. The gospel.

Here's how. The gospel is the power of God that brings salvation for everyone. If I had time to read 1 Corinthians 15, Paul just goes into such detail about the resurrection of Christ and us. But he says, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, we are to be pitied above all people because we anchor our entire life on the resurrection of Jesus.

What have we done? We've made it an Easter time to talk about the resurrection, not here. He was crucified in love. He was raised in power so that as you and I were raised by that same power through baptism, that we would continue to be transformed and changed as resurrected people to this day.

And finally, he reigns as our king. Amen? He's not just a savior. He's our king.

And his reign calls for reverence and awe. Let's just start there. When is the last time we fell down with reverence and awe of our king? I don't think we do that very well in the church worldwide.

You know why? Because too many people are looking to the church to be reverent and worthy of awe, and it's not. The only one that can move your soul is Jesus first. He was crucified in love, raised in power, and he reigns as our king.

And if you truly believe that, and I will admit there's a little bit of a Christian atheist in me at times. I don't always feel his love. I don't always see his power, and I often ignore his reign. And God's leading.

I want you to know this, if you're joining us for the first time, God's leading me through pain and chaos in my life over this, not even a year, it's coming up as a year, but God has led me with you as he leads this church. And my charge to you is found in Romans 1 as we reflect. Let's close out there and we'll take communion. Say, how are these to move me when I leave the building today?

Romans 1, verse 16 through 18. I am not ashamed of the gospel and I pray that you are not either. I am not ashamed of the gospel. Why?

Because it is the power of God that brings salvation to who what? Believes. For in the gospel, a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith. From first to last, just as it is written, the righteous will live by faith.

The charge that I give to myself and you today, if Jesus is going to be first, then we have to choose to believe and start with faith that he was crucified in love, raised in power, and he reigns as our king. Faith. Let's take down the Christian atheist that's inside all of us and give our heart to Jesus first because he was crucified in love, raised in power, and he reigns as our king. To that end, that you believe those three things, you and I will live a Jesus first life.

If you don't believe one, two, or three, you don't believe one of them, all of them fall. If you don't believe that by faith, you and I will not live a Jesus first life. But I bring you to the cross. Your faith is in the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you.

Put your faith there, and God will take you further than you've ever known before. Amen? Let's pray. Father, I just thank you so much for the cross.

I just thank you so much for the cross. But God, thank you for just that tender and beautiful example of your love, compassion, tenderness, and sacrifice that we see in our sisters. God, I pray that you will comfort every soul in this room and beyond. That we, as we take up communion, that we would lock our faith comfort every soul in this room and beyond.

That we, as we take up communion, that we would lock our faith not in the perfection of the church, not in the perfection of relationships because there are none, that we would look to the simple reminder that Paul made, my faith is in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. I pray that that will drive this church to be so convinced that we would live with awe that you were raised in power.

But more than that, right now in heaven, hallelujah is being sung over and over again because you, Lord Jesus, are king. Muhammad is dead. David is dead. Moses is dead.

Elijah is dead. Every man and woman, whoever was, is, and will be, will die. But Jesus Christ, you came back from the dead, and you reign in heaven with perfect righteousness. And may we rejoice in that now as we reflect on the cross, but look forward as we leave this building, that we're walking with our King.

And may we do so this week powerfully in the name of Jesus Christ, we pray, and the church said, amen.

Notes — to be filled in after listening

[After listening, capture here. Specifically:]

How this connects to Week 3

The preacher (Week 3) is preaching Col 1:15-20 with Frank's tagline as the explicit declaration the series is built around. If Frank introduced the language here — in a non-Colossians sermon — the congregation has already been hearing it for weeks. Echoing it on May 31 lands as continuation, not novelty. That's a craft note: tone and pacing of your delivery should assume the room has internalized the phrase, not that you're teaching it for the first time.

Series context (from series_packet.md)