This Week’s Reading
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—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 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf, and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
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, 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, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 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. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
—Colossians 1:1-14
Listen to the podcast
Caleb Clardy, founding pastor at Trinity Grace Church, teaching from Colossians 1:1–14 on the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, the first in our "In Christ by the Spirit for the City" series, speaking at Middle School 51 on October 6, 2019.
Themes to Consider
The type of hope that springs up for other people once you are united to Jesus - Fruit of the Gospel
Praying Thankfulness for People
Faith, Love, and Hope in the Gospel Message
The Impact of Epaphras - one life sharing the Gospel - Relational Kingdom
How to Intercede for Someone
The Prayer - Wisdom, Life, Fruit, Endurance, Joy, Identity, Forgiveness
Discussion Questions
Do you find yourself regularly giving thanks or does complaining come more naturally? What do you feel the most gratitude for? Have our ever tried a practice of daily gratitude, i.e. a gratitude list or daily prayers of thanks?
Have you ever had the experience of sharing your story of coming to faith in Christ or sharing the Gospel with someone? What was that like? What are roadblocks to you speaking openly about Christ?
Is there someone God used as an Epaphras in your life?
Who is God prompting you to share the hope of the gospel with? Are there people you know who might be a good candidate for an invite to Alpha?
What are your hopes for the people that you love? How much do they align with the prayer in verses 9-14?
This Week’s Practices
We are challenging ourselves to engage two practices throughout the series as a whole and they are listed under Daily Spiritual Practice and Love in Action. Below those, we will also provide a couple other weekly practices that correspond to each passage as we move through the letter.
—
1 / Daily Spiritual Practice — ongoing
Spend daily time in the Gospels; be with Jesus.
There are many ways that you might select a Gospel reading for the day. You could just pick one of the four Gospels and start making your way through a bit at a time. Or you could use a resource like the Daily Office Lectionary which always has a selection from the Gospels as a part of its daily readings. The main thing is simply to find a passage that is a manageable length for the time you have set aside.
Before you read, offer a short prayer asking the Holy Spirit to guide you. You might pray that you would like to spend this time with Jesus and ask that the person of Christ would be revealed to you during your time.
Slowly read the passage from the Gospel, asking the Holy Spirit to direct your attention to Jesus. What do you see Jesus doing? What do you hear Jesus saying? What is the situation and circumstance that Jesus is in? Does Jesus act according to your expectations or in a different way? What is challenging? What is encouraging? What is confusing?
Once you have read, perhaps a few times if needed, sit in silence for a moment and see what the Holy Spirit brings to your mind. Perhaps you have a question to reflect on later or in community. Perhaps you have an insight. Imagine Jesus being right there present to you.
You may want to end by jotting down something you sensed from the Spirit, or by worshipping Jesus, or by writing or saying a prayer.
—
2 / Love in Action — ongoing
In our time and context it may feel challenging or embarrassing to speak openly about faith in Christ, but there are some powerful and important reasons to overcome those difficulties.
Jesus directs us to let the light of our life with God and His Kingdom shine. It is an integral part of how the relational Kingdom of God expands. We tell our story and we tell the story of Jesus. We are not proselytizing to grow the tribe of those who agree with us, but so that many others may experience the tremendous love of God that has changed our lives. It is one of the greatest joys of the Christians life to be involved in someone coming to faith in Christ because we were willing to share the Gospel with them.
We are challenging ourselves and our whole church to share the Gospel this fall. You may begin by opening up to a friend or coworker about your story and faith. You could begin by inviting a friend to Apha. You can make a list of people you would like to pray for and ask God for opportunities to speak with them about faith in a meaningful way.
You may also want to have a conversation with those in your group about the idea or experience of sharing your faith. What thoughts or feelings does it bring up for you? Do you feel like you would know some of what to say? Do you wish you had some specific help in the process. These are all things that are helpful to process in community.
—
3 / Prayers of Gratitude — weekly
Gratitude is much more than merely saying thanks; it’s an attitude of the heart we can cultivate.
As we practice gratitude, it changes the way we see God, ourselves and others and makes us more aware of how all of life is a gift. A grateful spirit has the power to shift our perspective when we experience difficulty — instead of despairing, we can recognize God’s goodness and mercies even in the midst of our suffering. Here is a simple outline for how to practice gratitude prayerfully at the end of the day:
Ask God to guide you as you reflect upon the day.
Declare that the day you have just lived is a gift from God and that you want to be grateful for it.
Ask yourself, “What am I grateful for?”
Make a list of things / people that come to mind in your journal.
As disappointments or concerns enter your thoughts, ask God to reveal how his grace is at work, even in your pain.
Thank God for the gifts of the day, big and small, and ask him to help you to receive the day to come as a gift as well.
—
4 / Prayers of Intercession — weekly
The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
The message is clear: History belongs to the intercessors, who believe the future into being….Even a small number of people, firmly committed to the new inevitability on which they have fixed their imaginations, can decisively affect the shape the future takes. These shapers of the future are the intercessors, who call out of the future the longed-for new present…the reign of God. —Walter Wink
Paul speaks powerfully about his robust hopes for the believers in Colossae. He then forms those hopes into prayers of intercession for them. We can do the same.
Ask God to direct your mind and heart to a few specific people to intercede for.
Ask the Holy Spirit to direct you and spend some time thinking about them. What is their life like? What challenges or opportunities are they facing right now? What are your hopes for them? What are ways you would like their life to flourish? Do they have a need for healing, for breakthrough, for provision, to know God’s character in a new way, to experience God’s presence, to receive a spiritual gift, to be encouraged?
Take those hopes for the person and make them into a prayer for them. Once you have prayed you may also ask if God has some way for you to be a part of the answer to your intercession for them.
Recommended resources
VIDEO: Overview of Colossians from The Bible Project
This nine-minute video gives a theologically rich overview to the entire letter to the Colossians.
PDF: Cultural context for the epistle from Colossians Remixed
This seven-page excerpt from the 2004 book by Brian Walsh and Sylvia Keesmaat provides some helpful cultural context for the letter to the Colossians with some comparisons to our own culture.
PODCAST: Telling Others in this Cultural Moment
Sermon given by Ger Jones at Bridgetown Church on sharing faith in our time.
PDF: Excerpt from the book Intercessory Prayer
This excerpt from Dutch Sheets’ book provides a Biblical overview on the ministry of intercession.
