Six Disciples: Epaphras, the Power of Prayer” Colossians 1:1-8; 4:12-13 a Sermon by Rev
“Six Disciples: Epaphras, The Power of Prayer” Colossians 1:1-8; 4:12-13 A Sermon by Rev. Bob Kells A 6 year-old girl who was asked to return thanks before the family reunion dinner. The family members bowed their heads in expectation. She began to pray, thanking God for all her friends, naming them one by one. Then she thanked God for Mommy, Daddy, brother, sister, Grandma, Grandpa, and all her aunts and uncles. After that, she began to thank God for the food. She gave thanks for the turkey, the dressing, the fruit salad, the cranberry sauce, the pies, the cakes, even the Cool Whip. Then she paused, and everyone waited--and waited. After a long silence, the young girl looked up at her mother and asked, "If I thank God for the broccoli, won't he know that I'm lying?" (SLIDE 1, TITLE) We’ve been looking at the lives of some lesser-known disciples in this sermon series, examining their lives in Christ and what their experiences of Christ can teach us about being faithful disciples today. In previous weeks, we learned about obedience, self-giving love and leading with your gifts from people with strange names: Ananias, Epaphroditus and Phoebe. These disciples became part of the story of the Jesus movement—part of God’s story—because they yielded their lives to God. They allowed God to use them to accomplish important tasks that gave witness to God’s love. This week, we meet another unknown disciple whose name also is strange to us: Epaphras.
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