Colossians: Put off, Put On
Colossians 3:5-14
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 how we “put off the old, put on the new” when it comes to our life in 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:
Discuss: Some of us are organized about literally everything from our sock drawer to life and career; others of us are more… spontaneous. There’s no place like the dishwasher to bring out those differences! Have your group raise their hands on the following: “Raise your hands if you believe there is a correct way to pack the dishwasher.” Have your group make up, just for fun, the 5 irrefutable laws of the way a dishwasher must be packed to ensure everything gets clean.
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 3:5-14 together
One of the main points in Scott’s message this week was that identity is the starting point for everything, including our behaviors! DISCUSS: What does it mean to be “in Christ” in the way these passages talk about it? (Col 3:9-10, 2 Cor 5:17, Gal 2:20, 1 Peter 2:9-10)
It is easy to make light of sin. Our cultures celebrate it, our natures desire it, and there is a part of us that will crave out of selfish greed until our dying breath. DISCUSS: How do we “put to death” those aspects of our nature and “die to” those things that spring from our old nature? (Col 3:5-6, Rom 8:12-13, Matt 5:29-30, Jam 1:14,15, 1 Cor 10:13, Eph 4:29-32)
So much of our fears and am bitions rest on the desires and appetites of our old nature; this is transformed as we grow in our new life in Christ! DISCUSS: How does our new life, new identity, in Christ affect the way we perceive others around us (even those who need some extra grace!)? (Eph 2:14-18, Col 3:10-11, Jam 2:1-9, Acts 10:34-35, Rev 7:9-10).
One of the hardest things about loving others is the discipline of forgiveness. DISCUSS: Referring to the following passages, how can the will to forgive overcome our will for vengeance/ self-justice/ eye-for-an-eye? (Col 3:13, Matt 18:21-35, Eph 4:32, Luke 23:34, Rom 12:17-21)
Application:
This “put off, put on” is a daily, even moment to moment discipline! What are some thigns that this week you need to consciously “put off”, replaceing them with things that you consciously “put on” in this walk of faith, this life in Christ?
Prayer:
Spend some time closing in prayer together thanking God for the grace to live a new life in Jesus and to have the choice to walk in step with the transforming work and power of the Holy Spirit.
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