Life Groups // Fall 2022 // Week 2
Posted September 16, 2022 — Lincoln Berean
Qualified in Christ // Colossians 1:9-14
Introduction
Welcome to Week 2 of Colossians! Last week Pastor Ryan helped us understand how big the grace of Jesus is and how fruitful the good news of the gospel is. He also reminded us that our faith and love are not something we work up on our own. They spring from the hope laid up for us in heaven that comes because of the good news!
This week Pastor Bryan walked us through Paul’s beautiful prayer for the Colossians which can also be translated into our lives. We need the same things that Paul prayed for the Colossians! We have been qualified to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
To think through the main ideas in the sermon and prepare for your discussion together, we invite you to look over all the questions on the following pages and write your thoughts down before you meet with your group.
Warm Up (Suggested time: 30 min)
- In Colossians we are hoping to grow, rooted and established in our faith and overflowing with gratitude. What are 3 things you are thankful for this week?
- When you pray, do you tend to pray more for physical, temporal needs—things in the here and now? Or do you pray more for spiritual needs? Why?
Getting Started
Transition into group discussion.
1) Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items:
a. For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth
b. For the fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in your lives
c. For grace to hear and apply what the Spirit says to you
2) Choose someone to read the passage aloud for the group. Consider reading Colossians 1:1-14 to keep the flow of thought of the letter from the previous week.
Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)
1) What stood out to you during Pastor Bryan’s message this past weekend?
2) In verses 9-14, what does Paul pray God would do for the Colossians?
What does Paul pray that God would have the Colossians do?
What concepts or words are repeated within this passage from the previous passage?
3) Based on what Pastor Bryan said in the sermon, what does it mean to “be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding?”
Do you know anyone who you think lives from this type of knowledge/wisdom/understanding?
Have you experienced living from this type of knowledge/wisdom/understanding at some point in your life?
4) In these first few chapters of Colossians notice how often Paul and Timothy state what is true, rather than giving commands to their readers. Chapter 3 begins with “Therefore, if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above…”, marking the change from statements of truth to commands to live out that truth. This structure is common in Paul’s letters: He first lays a foundation of what is true about God, what is true about Christ, and what is true about the recipients as believers in Christ. Only then does he move on to telling the recipients of his letters how to live out truth. Keeping this idea in mind, what does Colossians 1:9-14 teach us about walking in a manner worthy of the Lord?
What is the source of this type of walk? (v. 9, 11-14)
5) N. T. Wright is a commentator who often puts scripture in common language. “The foundation of what he prays for is that the new Christian instinct may become firmly implanted in them. Just as the mother duck wants her brood [ducklings] to be able to work out for themselves how to feed, to avoid danger, and to live wisely in a threatening environment, so Paul longs to see young Christians coming to know for themselves what God’s will is (verse 9). They need ‘wisdom and spiritual understanding’; not just book-learning (though some of that may help) or human traditions (though they are often useful, too), but a deep inner sense of who they now are, of the newly created human life which they have received from God, and of what will nurture it or harm it. Christian teachers can talk till they’re blue in the face, but unless their hearers have this inner sense of wisdom and understanding, this awareness of the true God loving them and shaping their lives in a new way, it won’t produce genuine disciples.”
– N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone: The Prison Letters
How does this quote help you understand Paul’s prayer in this section?
6) In this passage, we learn that the Father has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light, rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the Kingdom of His beloved Son, redeemed us, and forgiven our sins. This is one of many areas where we tend to say we believe God’s Word, but we rarely live as if His Word is true. Do you believe that (or do you live like) you are qualified, a saint in the light, rescued from darkness, a redeemed and forgiven citizen of the Kingdom of Love? Why or why not?
What would change in your life this week if you were to really live out the truth that you are qualified, a saint in the light, rescued from darkness, a redeemed and forgiven citizen of the Kingdom of Love?
Personal Spiritual Exercises
Just like physical exercises help strengthen and stretch our bodies for healthy living, these spiritual exercises are meant to move us spiritually in ways that may be new so we might experience inner growth. Since God longs for us to experience Him with our whole selves—mind, body, spirit—we invite you along each week to strengthen your souls with suggestions and prompts. Next week in Life Group, take a few moments to share how the Lord may have used this exercise in your life.
Praying Scripture: Consider praying Paul’s prayer for the Colossians each morning this next week. Pray it for yourself or for others. As you pray these same words each day, try not to do it mindlessly or on autopilot. Pay attention to the words and pay attention to which words the Holy Spirit is drawing your attention to on a given day. Interact with Jesus about those words. Ask Him what he may be wanting to say to you about your life through these words.
Meditating on Scripture: Take time to read Colossians 1:1-14 each day this next week. Consider reading it from a different translation like The Message, just to hear the descriptions differently. Ask God what he wants to say to you through this passage.
Prayer (Suggested time: 20 min)
A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new or it may be familiar to you. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud signaling the next person in the group to pray. Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together.
Take a few moments to prepare a prayer request. What did the message, working through the above questions or the discussion cause you to notice about your own relationship with Jesus? Would you be willing to share your prayer request with the group?
Next Week: Read Colossians 1:15-23