Colossians: What You Love Most

Colossians 3:1-4

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 way loving God FIRST in all things helps us to navigate life…

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:

• Discuss: Looking back on your schedule for last week, what you spent time/money on, what consumed your attention most… If you were to lay that out in front of a total stranger, what would they walk away thinking was the top 3 priorities in your life?

• 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 3:1-4 together

  • The way Paul writes this letter, our actions are an outcome of our identity. DISCUSS: How does this spiritual reality of being “raised with Christ” affect the way you think about obedience to God’s intent in your life? Use the following Scriptures to support your discussion (Rom 6:1-14, 2 Cor 5:17, Gal 2:20, Eph 2:4-10, 1 Pet 2:9-10)

  • The focus on “things above” is a focus not only on heaven to come, but the Person, work and Lordship of Jesus Christ here and now. DISCUSS: What difference does it make in every day life to make Christ the focus in your day? Use the following Scriptures to support your discussion. (Micah 6:8, Heb 12:1-3, John 3:12-17, Phil 2:3-11, Col 3:23-24)

  • So many of us are hindered from living out of the freedom we have in Christ by our “stuff”— guilt, fears, lack of vision, lack of support… How does the reminder that our life is “hidden with Christ in God” affect the way we move past that into the life God has called us to in Christ? (Col 3:3-4, Rom 8:31-39, John 10:27-30, Eph 1:13-14, 1 Peter 1:3-5, Heb 7:23-25)

Application:

We al have things from our old nature, our old life, that hold us back from walking in the calling and freedom that our inheritance in Christ. Commit to ask the Lord to highlight those in your life, and choose a new habit, a new set of behaviors that will redirect your focus in those times and places back to Christ.

Prayer:

Spend some time closing in prayer together thanking God that we can live a new life that is “hidden with Christ in God”, living out of the new life, new calling as HIs children, as new creations in Christ!

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