07/13/2026
https://youtu.be/O03EqiUZyiE
In this sermon on Colossians 3:12–17, Pastor Rick Cowan explores how God uses the local church as a vital means of grace, not by creating a flawless community, but by bringing imperfect, sanctified sinners together through the power of the gospel.
He contrasts an idealized, unscriptural vision of the church with the realistic, conflict-tested reality found throughout the New Testament, reminding believers that offenses and justifiable grievances are inevitable in a shared life of faith.
Drawing from the controlling principle of Colossians 3:13 and the sobering parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18, Pastor Cowan emphasizes that our horizontal relationships must be governed by our vertical relationship with God.
He unpacks a comprehensive framework for true, gospel-shaped forgiveness—defining it as full, free, undeserved, costly, restorative, and permanent—and challenges believers to examine their own hearts for bitterness. Ultimately, the message extends a profound hope: by extending the same radical mercy to others that Christ has freely given to us, the church stands as a powerful testament of grace to a watching world.
In this sermon on Colossians 3:12–17, Pastor Rick Cowan explores ho...
