09-29-2019
09-29-2019
Dr. E. Dale Locke, Billy Langley, and Pastor Efrain Silva
Sermon Series: Colossians
Week 4: I Know
English PDF file for printing: 09-29-2019
Para imprimir el archivo PDF en Español: 09-29-19 YO SE PREGUNTAS
Icebreaker Question: There’s a saying, “It’s who you know…” Have you ever gotten some special treatment or been allowed special permission or entrance somewhere because of someone you know? If so, tell briefly what that experience was.
Keep practicing our theme verse together with your group. Read it out loud together, then try to say it from memory. Colossians 1:28: “He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.”
Read Colossians 2:1-10: “I want you to know how hard I am contending for you and for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not met me personally. 2 My goal is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, 3 in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. 4 I tell you this so that no one may deceive you by fine-sounding arguments. 5 For though I am absent from you in body, I am present with you in spirit and delight to see how disciplined you are and how firm your faith in Christ is. 6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.
9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.”Paul’s choice of the word “contending” in Colossians 2:1 reminds us of what we spoke about last week. Following Christ isn’t intended to be passive as some mistakenly think. Living a full life with Christ actually works best when we combine our effort with God’s energy. Share how you’ve experienced that truth in your own life.
Why do you think Paul was willing to put out so much effort for people he had never met?
This passage includes one of Paul’s clearest statements of his goal for Christ-followers. Describe that goal in your own words.
Paul stresses the importance of “complete understanding” - really knowing Christ. One aspect of that has to do with our mind. A lot of Christians “just believe” with very little intellectual understanding or knowledge to support their faith. Why is it important that we deepen our knowledge and understanding of what we believe and why we believe it?
Jesus asks us to love God with our mind. He says in Mark 12:30: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” How do we love God with our mind?
Our culture is full of ideas that sound sort-of Christian but are slightly off. Talk about some current deceptive ideas or philosophies that Christ-followers need to guard against.
While our mind is important, Paul’s desire for the Colossians’ “complete understanding” is also about experiential understanding. He wants the Colossian believers to know Christ personally in an ever-deepening genuine relationship. Describe the difference between just knowing intellectual facts about the Christian faith and knowing Jesus personally.
Paul writes in Colossians 2:6, “…just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him….” Recall how you felt in the moment when you first received Jesus Christ as your Lord. Share with your group about that experience and what it was like for you.
Jesus says in Revelation 2:4: “I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.” It’s easy to let our love for Jesus get old and tired. What helps a person continue to have a vibrant, personal connection with and love for Jesus?
Paul describes some of the “riches” that flow out of “complete understanding” of Jesus Christ. Describe some benefits or riches that result from deepening our understanding of Jesus Christ – both with our mind (intellectually) and with our heart (relationally).
In Colossians 2:7, Paul mentions thankfulness. How does a spirit of thankfulness help to guard us from deceptive ideas about life and faith?
In Colossians 2:9-10, Paul uses the word “fullness” twice. He says that the “fullness” of deity (of God) lives in Jesus. And he says that we are brought to “fullness” as we live “in Christ.” Describe the fullness that you’ve experience from living in Christ. How has knowing Christ made your life more full?
What was the most helpful idea from this passage or sermon for you?
Share about one way you can apply the truths of this passage practically in your life.