Questions for Personal Reflection and Group Discussion
Read Colossians 3:1-14:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. 6 Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. 7 You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. 8 But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. 9 Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. 11 Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. 12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Icebreaker: Tell about one area that you’ve become quite good at through lots of practice. It could be a sport, a musical instrument, an artistic talent, cooking, woodworking, handyman skills, or anything else that you became accomplished at because you practiced.
- If you’ve ever known someone like Anna Helena, who was full of joy, love and kindness despite living through great difficulty, tell about that person. What do you think made them the way they were?
- Read 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!Share about how you’ve experienced this in your own life. What are some things that have changed in you since you became a Christian?
- Read Philippians 2:12b-13: “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.”What are some ways we can partner with God’s work in us, “working out our salvation”?
- Why do New Year’s resolutions so often fail?
- What helps you personally to set your heart on things above?
- What is the difference between “training” and “trying” when it comes to our spiritual lives?
- How do we go about training ourselves to be godly? (see 1 Timothy 4:7-8)
- Dallas Willard sees humans as being made up of four dimensions: heart, mind, body and relationships. Talk about what each of these areas are and some of the ways a person could reshape each one if they have an ingrained habit they want to change.
- What did you sense God saying to you through this passage and this message?
