Colossians: A Bigger Jesus
Colossians 1:15-20
Connect:
Share how you have seen God in the Highs and Lows of your week.
Prayer:
Pray that God would lead your discussion time and bring fresh insight, conviction, and hope through your time together.
Review:
In a world constantly telling us we need more—more success, more knowledge, more spirituality, more control—the book of Colossians points us back to one unshakable truth: Jesus is enough. Paul writes to followers of Jesus who were being tempted to add other things to Jesus, but he reminds them that everything they truly need is already found in him. From our identity and transformation to our relationships, purpose, and mission, Jesus is not merely part of life—he is the center of it all. This series will explore how a bigger vision of Jesus changes everything. This week we looked at the significance of the absolute supremacy of Jesus Christ…
The Grand Tour of the message: Thinking back on what you heard this Sunday…
o What did you learn about God?
o What did you learn about people?
o What did you learn about yourself?
o What do you want to commit to putting into practice?
Reflection:
Personal Experience & Discussion:
Let’s say that you are trying to explain the difference between the Creator God and a household idol to a 5 year old. Divide into pairs for 3 mins and decide on how you would explain that. Report back to the group. The winning pair gets a “Hip-hip-HOORAY!” :)
Reflective Discussion (Remember to look at the context of the verses as you are reading! Look for key terms and help the group unpack and define them):
Read Col 1:15-20 together
When people encountered God, it was a pivot point in their lives. DISCUSS: What can we learn abut God from the following accounts of people encountering Him? (Gen 32:30, Ex 3:1-6, Is 6:1-5, Ez 1:26-28, Luke 9:28-36, Acts 26:12-18)
Jesus responded to the disciples request to “show us the Father” by talking about the mystery of the Trinity. DISCUSS: Looking at the following passages, talk about how God is known through Jesus (Jn 14:6-10, Matt 11:27, John 1:1-14, John 16:13-15, Heb 1:3, 1 Jn 5:20)
Read v 17-18 again. Jesus is supreme over Creation as both Creator and Redeemer, and the church is what the ‘redeemed’ are… and yet Ghandi once said, “I like your Jesus, but I don’t like Christians (as the Indian church had not retained caste distinctions). DISCUSS: How would you respond to Ghandi? (Phil 3:12-13, 2 Cor 3:18, Rom 7:21-8:5, Eph 4:22-24, Phil 1:6)
Read v 19,20. Discuss: How does this passage reveal the absolute distinction of Jesus Christ against all the other paths of “finding God” that the world has offered over millenia?
Application:
All of us have something that worries us; the passage today reminds us that anything we fear is limited compared to the supremacy of Christ, so our part is simply to seek first His Kingdom and continue doing good. What is one specific area where you need to make that commitment this week?
Prayer:
Spend some time closing in prayer together thanking God that we can know Him, approach His throne and live a life that is reconciled to Him this week.
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