Colossians 1:13-29

Colossians 1:13-29

1. What did God do for us through Jesus, by reading v. 13-14?

• Rescues us from the dominion of darkness
• Offers us redemption through the forgiveness of sings
• We are brought into the Kingdom of the Son, Jesus

As we saw in the first part of Chapter 1, this is also why we work to please God.


2. What do we learn about Jesus from v. 15-20?

This section covers a litany of qualities of Jesus:

• Image of the invisible God
• Firstborn over all creation
• By Him all things are created
• Visible and invisible in heaven and on earth
• Whether thrones, rulers, powers or authorities
• All things were created by Him and for Him
• Jesus as the king
• He is the head of the body, the church
• He is before all things, holds things together, is the beginning, and the firstborn from among the dead
• What does it mean to say that he is the head of the church? He is the ruler of the kingdom yet to come. He was, is, and is to be

We discussed the incredible nature of the "invisible" quality of Jesus, which reflects the same quality of God. Jesus transcends the material and physical manifestations of reality as we understand it. We also discussed Jesus as the firstborn and the beginning. This also establishes our call to be the first in service, whatever the conditions. Whoever you might work with or whoever your immediate supervisor may be, whether in church or at work, God is our ultimate supervisor.


3. Read v. 21-22. Do you feel worthy that through Christ we are presented as holy, blameless, and beyond reproach, although we were once alienated from Him, doing evil, and dwelling in the dominion of darkness?

Inevitably, but surely, we cannot ever feel worthy, but we can continually strive to live lives that honor him by...

• Living lives of joy because of the salvation we find in Him
• Living lives of confidence because all things in the universe were created by Him and for Him
• Living lives of service because He leads his church for His purpose

4. Why is Paul so committed and passionate about being a minister of the gospel as seen in v. 24-26?

God commissioned him to do so.


5. In v. 26-27, Paul explains his God-given commission. Why is this specifically applicable to the Colossians?

• Romans 1:16
• Ties into the spreading of the Gospel throughout the world
• They were chosen by God to hear the good news
• One of the fruits should be obedience and Paul is embodying that by carrying out the commission

6. Paul discusses his zeal for fulfilling God's commission. Do you have experiences of supernatural energy to complete a task in serving the Lord?

Prayer and Praise

All, this is a post of prayer and praise. After reading Betsy's prayer request, I've been keeping an eye out for verses on prayer. I happened to be reading the book of James, and James 5:16 says this:

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective."

And there's always Philippians 4:6-7:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I hope we may all be praying for the family, as God promises us that the prayers of a righteous man are powerful and effective, and that the peace of God will guard us in Christ. Let us never forget that!

As for praise, Noelle passed all her exams and graduated from her class! Praise God. We look forward to having you back on a consistent basis, Noelle.

A Little Encouragement

A passage we took a look at last week that I wanted to post as a little encouragement at the start of this week:

"Why do you say, O Jacob,
and complain, O Israel,
"My way is hidden from the LORD;
my cause is disregarded by my God"?
Do you now know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

-- Isaiah 40:27-31

This passage reminded me of the verse in Colossians 1:11, "being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience". Though we may be going through our individual struggles in this season of our lives, the Lord gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak so that we will soar on wings like eagles and be able to endure with patience, to keep running and walking and not grow weary or faint. What a wonderful promise that we are not in this alone!

Colossians 1:1-12

What do we learn about the Colossians and their character from v. 3-5? What attributes do you see referenced by Paul?

• they have faith in Christ Jesus
• love they have for all the saints
• the hope stored up in heaven that the faith and love spring from

What do we learn about the gospel from v. 6? What effect has it had on the Colossians?

• the gospel came to them-- it was not of their own doing or acquiring of "special knowledge"
• the gospel is bearing fruit and growing

What do v. 9-11 say it means to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord?
Paul and Timothy pray that the Colossians may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way by:

• bearing fruit in every good work
• growing in the knowledge of God
• being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that they may have great endurance and patience
• joyfully give thanks to the Father

What is one essential ingredient necessary for the Colossian people (and us!) in order to please the Lord and live a life worthy of Him?

• Prayer-- it is our means of communicating with the Lord, of spending time with Him and getting to know Him while deepening our relationship. We cannot accomplish the four tasks above without God's grace, and we receive that by asking him-- through prayer.

Some applications to keep in mind:

• Can you think of an example where God provided you with the strength to bear fruit in your life, whether it be in ministry, in the workplace, with friends, or in any other setting? Thank Him for His faithfulness and goodness.
• How can we please Him in all respects and bear fruit in every good work? What does this look like? How does this happen? What are some practical steps you can take?
• What are some tangible steps you are going to take to increase in the knowledge of God?
• How can this small group help you get there? Feel free to bring up any ways that we as a group may be able to help you along your walk with the Lord. That's what we're here for-- to walk alongside each other, encouraging each other to endure and persevere.
  

5/13 Minutes!!

Sorry about the delay on the minutes!!

To start off....UPCOMING ANNOUNCEMENTS!!

Frontline Summer Retreat: May 15th....register soon! Spots fill up quickly!

Shape Workshop at McLean Bible: June 14th

Small Group Leadership Training: June 7th

Thursday Night Bible Study: Every Thursday at 7:50

Free Showing of Amazing Grace on Friday night at 7

Next Week:
Yang's Going Away Party!! Plan A: mini golf!
Plan B: bowling!
**More info will be coming out tomorrow about where to meet**

Prayers:

Keep Betsy's Boyfriend (Hunter) in your prayers....all of us know how stressful jobs and life after college can be..
Natalie's life in general...
Yang--as she moves into a new place
Pray for Lydia as she considers new jobs
A Praise!! Serena's Chiropractor!
Keep Aimee in your prayers...even if you can't pinpoint uneasiness..prayers always help
Noelle's PT Test on May 27th!!
Another Praise for Cristina--thankfulness for being surrounded by wonderful people and how God has blessed her.

Welcome!

We now have a blog!

Thanks to the brilliant suggestion of Serena and Aimee, we now have a place to share and record notes from our weekly meetings, prayer requests and praises, ideas about service projects or socials, updates, personal spiritual insights, and just about anything that's relevant to our small group!

Everyone can post (I've invited everyone to be an admin). And everyone is encouraged to write something or check here periodically--don't be shy!

If you're not familiar with Blogger and have questions on how to post...or if you want to make changes to the look of the blog, let me know!