Meeting# 6| This Week’s Leader: David Goodno
Colossians has four main points:
Christ is God – Jesus is God in human form.
Christ is the Head of the Church – Jesus is the highest authority and first in our lives.
Union with Christ – We are reconciled with God through Jesus.
Warning against false teaching – Jesus is our hope and source of wisdom.
Introduction: This is the sixth meeting of the Fall Semester. The Men’s “Called” Growth Group’s meets weekly 7:00pm – 8:30 pm on Wednesdays through November 13, 2024 (11/13/2024).
Everyone is welcome to join; you do not have to have been at a previous meeting to attend. This semester, Called Men’s Group is conducting a Bible study of the Book of Colossians.
The Book of Colossians is a book of connections, we are connected to the Father God through Jesus. And we are connected to Jesus through His sacrifice on the cross and our faith in the resurrection. We should remain connected to Christ in our faith, so that we may have a restored relationship with God the Father and have eternal life.
Paul writing from prison in Rome, warned the Colossians against false teachings infiltrating the Colossian Church. The problem was syncretism; combining ideas from other philosophies and religions; like paganism, Judaism, and Greek philosophies and mythologies with Christian beliefs. Known as “Gnosticism” which emphasizes special hidden knowledge. Satan in the form of a snake tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden with the promise of special knowledge too.
The Gnostic point of view was that knowledge, especially the pursuit of hidden knowledge, leads to salvation. Many Biblical Scholars believe that Christians in the Colossian Church were being tempted to combine their Christian faith with these false cultural beliefs. Paul was reminding those who read his letter to know that Jesus was fully God and fully human and purchased our salvation with the payment of His life.
In this past Sunday’s sermon, Candace challenged us to a 16-day worship challenge. Did anyone take up the challenge? - How did you do? Discuss among the group.
This Week’s Prayer: Dear Lord, we thank you for allowing us to come together and study your word tonight.
Lord, we thank you for loving us unconditionally, help us to also love you with all our heart, all our mind, and to pursue your truth sending Jesus to us, we are grateful for His sacrifice. Help us to grow our faith and bear good fruit. – Amen
Scripture: Read – Colossians Chapter 2:1 – 23
Observation, Application & Questions: (Identify/Discuss Among the Group)
Laodicea was located a few miles northwest of Colosse. The city was a wealthy center of trade and commerce, but later Christ would criticize the believers in Laodicea for their lukewarm commitment (Revelation 3:14-22). The fact that Paul wanted his letter passed on to the church in Laodicea indicates that Paul believed that false teaching may have spread there as well; or perhaps Paul wanted to prepare the church in Laodicea in case Gnosticism and false beliefs ever came to Laodicea.
Paul was combatting Gnosticism and false beliefs that were contradicting biblical doctrine, and undermining Christianity. Gnosticism insisted that secret knowledge was hidden from believers; Paul said that Christ provides all the knowledge we need. Gnosticism taught that the body was evil, and that Christ only seemed to be human, but really wasn’t; Paul said that Jesus was God in human form, living in a human body – Jesus was fully human and fully God.
Even in Paul’s day there were false ideas that sounded attractive to many. Exposure to such teaching could easily seduce a church that wasn’t well rooted in Christian doctrine. Similar teachings still threaten many in the church today. We become grounded in God’s word through Bible study and being mentored and mentoring others in sound Bible teaching.
Agree/Disagree, discuss among the group.
The key is centering ourselves on Christ and surrounding ourselves in His word. We should learn daily about Jesus, our Savior. Study and read the Bible often; stay humble and press towards wisdom, pray for knowledge and understanding. God has given us minds for learning. Receiving Christ as our Lord and Savior is just the beginning, we must continue to grow and follow His leadership; being rooted, built up and strengthened by faith.
Agree/Disagree, discuss among the group.
Paul uses the example of being “rooted” in Christ, just as plants draw nourishment from the soil and through their roots, we too draw our life-giving strength from Him; from Jesus Christ. We should avoid being fooled or drawn away from Biblical teaching by those who claim to have secret knowledge; or philosophies based on human ideas and experiences. We must use our minds to resist false teaching, study God’s word and keep our eyes on Christ.
What are some false teachings today that are contrary to Biblical beliefs? Discuss among the group.
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What can we do to protect ourselves from distortions of the gospel? – Discuss.
Why is it difficult for people to accept the fact that we can do nothing to earn our salvation? – Discuss
Why is the gospel a mystery to some people? Why might some Christians want to keep it a mystery? – Discuss
Why might some Christians feel uncomfortable about sharing their faith? What can be done to overcome these uncomfortable feelings? - Discuss
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What was the context? What was going on at the time this was written?
What and where is this happening?
What makes what was happening meaningful?
Is there anything special about the location (or locations)?
Who is involved?
How do they respond to God?
What character traits do you notice about them?
What is the significance of their involvement?
What do you think is the key message?
Did anything stand out, or something that surprised you? What was it?
Were there any repetitive words or themes that stood out to you? What were they?
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Is there anything that stood out to you? Share with the group and discuss.
Is there anything that left you with more questions? What were they? Share with group, discuss and research.
Biggest takeaway?
Prepare for next week’s meeting. Read: Colossians 3:1-25 Is there anything that stands out when reading these verses? Be ready to discuss it at the next meeting.
REMINDER: This Fall 2024 Semester Men’s group will be meeting every Wednesday, 09/04/2024 through 11/13/2024; 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm. Please monitor https://fv.church/events for more information.
References/Acknowledgements:
Elements of today’s Bible study were copied from:
1. NLT Courage for Life Men’s Bible, New Living Translation (NLT); copyright 2023 Tyndale House Ministries Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation https://www.tyndale.com/sites/courageforlifebible/
2. ESV Study Bible, copyright 2008. The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV); copyright 2001 by Crossway, Wheaton, Illinois.
3. NLT, Life Application Bible Studies, Philippians and Colossians; copyright 1998, 2009, Tyndale House Publishers Inc, Carol Stream, Illinois.
Schedule:
Month, Meeting Number, Date, Book/Chapters/Verse/ (Total Verses)
September 2024:
_x_ 001, 09/04 Philippians 1:1-30. (30 Verses)
_x_ 002, 09/11 Philippians 2:1-30. (30 Verses)
_x_ 003, 09/18 Philippians 3:1-21. (21 Verses)
_x_ 004, 09/25 Philippians 4:1-23. (23 Verses)
October 2024:
_x_ 005, 10/02 Colossians 1:1-29 (29 Verses)
___ 006, 10/09 Colossians 2:1-23 (23 Verses)
___ 007, 10/16 Colossians 3:1-25 (25 Verses)
___ 008, 10/23 **UPDATED** TBD
___ 009, 10/30 Colossians 4:1-18 (18 Verses)
November 2024:
___ 010, 11/06 Bible Translations (Video and Discussion)
___ 011, 11/13 TBD (FINAL MEETING OF THE SEMESTER)