Life Groups // Fall 2022 // Week 10
Posted November 11, 2022 — Lincoln Berean
Every day, on Mission, with Christ // Colossians 4:2-6
Introduction
Welcome to the final week of the Fall Life Group Session. After this week, we will take a break for the holidays. Signup for the Winter Session of Life Groups will launch on January 1, 2023. If you are continuing in your current Life Group, you DO NOT need to sign up again! The Winter Session officially starts the weekend of January 14/15, 2023.
If you didn’t have a chance to fill out the Life Group Survey last week, please take a few moments to fill it out this week. It will only take 5 minutes of your time. Here is a link to the survey:
https://forms.office.com/r/D10pY0VeZ3 Or use this QR Code:
Throughout our study in Colossians, we’ve seen Paul take large themes of the gospel message and apply them to the details of everyday life. Last week’s theme of relating well to one another brings us to one of the most intimate details of our lives: prayer. Having an intentional prayer life deepens our roots as we live out the gospel.
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. If you were able to listen to only one music album ever again, what would it be and why?
2. What are three things you are thankful for this week?
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.
Study Questions (Suggested time: 40 min)
1) Based on what you heard in the sermon, how would you rate the motivation and intent of your prayer life (1 is haphazard and 10 is fully devoted)? Explain your rating.
2) Read Luke 18:1-8. How would you summarize what Jesus says about devoted prayer?
How does Jesus’ idea of prayer coincide with Paul’s description in Colossians 4:2?
3) Paul refers to “the mystery of Christ” which is something we’ve heard of before in this letter (Col 1:26-27, 2:3). Remember a mystery is something that was previously unknown has been made known by God. How would you describe what Paul says is “the mystery of Christ” that has now been made known? (refer to the verses above and also Ephesians 3:4-6)
4) Just as Paul invites others to pray for opportunities to share the gospel, he also wants them to learn to be wise in how they approach those outside the faith. Based on what he says in verses 5-6, what are the key areas we should focus on?
In what ways would you like to learn and grow to more wisely interact with unbelievers?
5) As you reflect on this sermon series in Colossians, what is a “big idea” God has taught you through this letter? How will this idea make a difference in the way you live going forward? (pro-tip: use this as your Journal prompt in this week’s Spiritual Exercise below)
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.
Prayer for an Open Door: Paul’s prayer wasn’t for the doors of his prison cell to open, but for the hearts of his jailers to open to the gospel. Take his example by praying with intention for those around you this week who don’t know Jesus as Lord. Here’s a suggested progression:
- Ask for your heart to be softened and open so you notice those in need of Him.
- Pray to live out your faith in front of others so they become curious about what makes you different from the world.
- Pray to have words that invite and are skillful in sharing the gospel in a way that they will understand.
Journal: Look back through your sermon notes or your answers to discussion questions throughout this series. Take note of repeated ideas that stand out to you. Respond with freeform writing, not worrying about punctuation or form but just getting your ideas on the page. If you are more comfortable drawing pictures of your ideas, that’s fine too. The hope is that your writing/drawing will further your understanding of the scripture we’ve been studying.
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?