Life Groups // Fall 2022 // Week 3

Posted September 23, 2022 — Lincoln Berean

The Supremacy of Christ // Colossians 1:15-23

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Introduction

Our passage in week three of the Rooted in Christ sermon series is one of the strongest statements about the divine nature of Christ found anywhere in the Bible. Often referred to as the “Christ Hymn”, Paul poetically writes a picture of the supremacy of Christ as it relates to his identity in God, in creation and in the church universal.

Following the lead of the passage, questions for this week are intended to fix our gaze on Christ and to respond with our lives as worship. Allow yourself and your group to wrestle with these foundational topics. It is ok to not have an immediate answer or course of action.

To think through the main ideas in the sermon and prepare for your discussion together, we invite you to look over all the questions on the following pages and write your thoughts down before you meet with your group.

Warm Up (Suggested time: 30 min)

  1. As you heard announced on the weekend, we are encouraging each of us to love and engage with our neighbors during the month of October. As we head into this month, consider this question together: What are some of the ways you have felt loved by your neighbor in the past?

 

  1. If you could design and build a room of your own, what would it be like?

     

     

 

Getting Started

Transition into group discussion.  

1) Open group discussion with prayer. Here are a few potential prayer items: 

a. For the Spirit of God to lead you in truth 

b. For the fruit of the Spirit to be cultivated in your lives 

c. For grace to hear and apply what the Spirit says to you

2) Choose someone to read the passage aloud for the group. Consider reading Colossians 1:13-23 to keep the flow of thought of the letter from the previous week.

Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)

1) In what way has your view of Christ expanded after engaging with the sermon and scripture?

 

 

2) Paul first fixes our gaze on Christ by connecting Him to creation. Identify the “He is…” statements in verses 15 – 17. Write them in the space provided:

 

    • He is

 

    • He is

 

Discuss as a group what these foundational statements mean. How is the identity of Christ described further with the “by Him”, “through Him”, and “for Him” elements?

 

What does this view of Christ mean to you personally in terms of how you choose to walk out your faith?

 

 

3) Next, Paul fixes our gaze on Christ by connecting Him to redemption. Identify the “He is…” statements in verses 18 – 20. Write them in the space provided:

 

    • He is

 

    • He is

 

Discuss as a group what these foundational statements mean. How is the identity of Christ described further with the “in Him” and “through Him” elements?

 

What do you learn about God’s heart behind this redemption plan?

 

 

4) How do verses 18-20 fit with verses 15-17 to help you understand that salvation found in Christ is more than a ticket to heaven?

 

 

 

What would be a better way to describe your salvation now that you have thought through the Christ Hymn?

 

 

 

5) Now that our gaze is fixed on Christ, Paul invites us to consider what He has done on our behalf. Paraphrase Christ’s redemptive work in verses 13-14 and 21-22.

 

 

 

What was Christ’s role in this work and what was our role?

 

 

 

6) The purpose of our salvation is to demonstrate with our very lives that Jesus reigns supreme over everything. Living in response to this truth is our sincerest form of worship. What are some key components found in verse 23 that indicate a life surrendered to the incomparable Christ?

 

 

 

What does it look like for you right now to continue in faith and remain steadfast to the hope of the gospel? What are some intentional choices you make to daily remind yourself of this hope?

 

 

 

Personal Spiritual Exercises

Just like physical exercises help strengthen and stretch our bodies for healthy living, these spiritual exercises are meant to move us spiritually in ways that may be new so we might experience inner growth. Since God longs for us to experience Him with our whole selves—mind, body, spirit—we invite you along each week to strengthen your souls with suggestions and prompts. Next week in Life Group, take a few moments to share how the Lord may have used this exercise in your life.

 

Journal Scripture: Sometimes we just need to visualize scripture to better understand what it is saying. In your own creative way (e.g., flow charts, tables, diagrams, pictures/drawings), visually define the four “He is…” statements found in the Christ Hymn. You may even want to take a deeper dive with each one by reading multiple Bible translations or cross reference verses.

Meditating on Scripture: Take time to listen to Andrew Peterson’s song, “All Things Together”, multiple times throughout the week. You can find his song on music streaming platforms. Use it as a way to fix your eyes on Christ and the hope of salvation. As you begin to internalize the words to the song, you are also memorizing Colossians 1:15-20.

Prayer (Suggested time: 20 min)

A significant part of “coming together” is being open and honest with our lives. Sitting in a group of people for prayer may be new or it may be familiar to you. If you would rather not pray aloud when it is your turn, feel free to pray silently and then say “Amen” aloud signaling the next person in the group to pray. Whether or not you choose to verbalize your prayer, everyone is a participant in sharing this time before God together.

Take a few moments to prepare a prayer request. What did the message, working through the above questions or the discussion cause you to notice about your own relationship with Jesus? Would you be willing to share your prayer request with the group?

 

Next Week: Read Colossians 1:24-2:5