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