Colossians: Post #4

Last week (Nov 14), we paused the study in Colossians to address a topic that people had brought up back in October.

This week, we will resume our Colossians study. And, the verses are powerful. I am going to aim for 5 verses, but these are so amazing, we may not be able to get through one of them. What are these verses? Here they are:


Colossians 1: 9-14

9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

I don't want to share too much of the lesson before Sunday, but I would like to open with one question. Just think about this and post a response if you have one:

What are you supposed to do when you don't feel God in your life? What actions should you take? Should you be worried? Overall, what should you do?

-- Brent

Colossians: Post #3

Ok, this blog will catch us up from my laziness of not posting anything last week. This time, I am going to try something new. I am going to post part of the blog about what happened this past Sunday, and I will quickly introduce what we will be doing this Sunday, so you can read/study ahead if you like.

Last Sunday (Nov 7)
We entered a new set of verses. We studied Colossians 1: 6-7. Here they are:

Colossians 1: 6-7
6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth,

7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf

With these verses, we discussed two main points.
First, from verse 6, we discussed how the gospel is bearing fruit and growing in the whole world. We also broke down common religions terms like "gospel" and "bearing fruit" and tried to define them in a way that anyone would understand it.

Second, from verse 7, we discussed how Epaphras was the one leading the church in Colosse, not Paul. We discussed how Epaphras was a convert of Paul and when on a trip to Rome, had visited Paul as he was on house arrest.

Question:
We see in verse 6 that the gospel is bearing fruit and growing. This can be translated in today's terms as saying that mission work is being done and the message of Christ is spreading. So, what does mission work mean to you? Are we all required to do it? If so, what do we need to do? (Answer as specific as possible.)


Next Sunday (Nov 14)
In our lesson two weeks ago (Oct 31), someone brought up a question about "judgments". They wanted to know how many we would go through, what the judgment(s) would be like, and what we should expect. I have studied and developed a lesson on this issue, and I'll be sharing it with you this Sunday. If you want to read ahead, read the following passages, as I'll be drawing most of my lesson from these scriptures:

* Ecclesiastes 12:14
* Matthew 12:36
* Matthew 16:27
* Matthew 25:31-46
* Romans 14:10-12
* 1 Corinthians 3:10-15
* 2 Corinthians 5:10
* 1 John 4:17
* Revelation 20: 11-15

I am looking forward to your response to the question on Missions, and I am excited for our lesson this Sunday on the judgments, which will relate to and lead us into the upcoming lesson(s) on Colossians 1:7-12.

--Brent

Colossians: Post #2

Ok, I apologize. I did not post last week. So, we are behind one week.
Consider this post the one for last week.

In week 1, on the first blog for Colossians, no one commented on Week 1.

However, someone did comment on Week 2, which dealt with Colossians 1: 3-5. When reading these verses, it appears that Paul is saying that we increase our faith and love because of our "hope laid up/stored up for us in heaven". So, do you believe that we get our motivation or our passion for our faith and love because of the treasures we have stored up for us in heaven? Please respond.

Here are the verses:

Colossians 1: 3-5 (NIV)
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—
5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel


Colossians 1: 3-5 (ESV)
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints,
5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel

Again, here is the question:
So, do you believe that we get our motivation or our passion for our faith and love because of the treasures we have stored up for us in heaven? Please respond.

-- Brent