peace to live by

Reading Colossians in a Public Way, Part 1 (TMF:2922)

Tuesday, July 21, 2026
Peace to Live By: Reading Colossians in a Public Way, Part 1 (TMF:2922) - Daniel Litton
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       Verse 16: “And when this letter has been read among you, have it also read in the church of the Laodiceans; and see that you also read the letter from Laodicea” (ESV). A couple of points can be noted. The first is that it would appear that this letter Paul is sending to the Colossians is to be read publicly before the church, much like a sermon is delivered. It could also be the case that the letter would be passed around one on one and read by the members. That’s possible, and probably did happen to come degree. We are a little less familiar, it would seem, to having the public reading of a letter in our day and age. In 1700 and 1800s America, it probably would have been a more common occurrence. We are familiar with people standing up and reading prepared statements, but that’s probably about as close as it gets for us. Those are usually short. But it definitely seems to shed new light on a Biblical book when it is read out loud, or in our case in present day to listen to an audio version of the book.