Grow Group Questions • In Him • Colossians 1:21-2:1

Download PDFDownload Word Conversation Starter/Questions (10-15 minutes) *Read the below short article (link below) so that you can facilitate this conversation after asking these questions. What does the Bible say about humility? https://www.gotquestions.org/Bible-humility.html
What, in your opinion, makes a person a humble individual, and how do we experience or quantify that humility? Ask your group to provide examples of humble people in their lives and why you contend that they are humble.  Are there any rewards intrinsic to being a humble person? Why should you want to be humble? How, do you think, did we begin to understand humility as a positive virtue? Is this an aspiration for Christians, why?
Sermon Based Questions (15-20 minutes)
Read Col 1:21-2:1. Read Col 1:21-22. These verses highlight the “before and after” reality of the believer. These truths of the gospel should always propel (or fuel) the Christian in service to the Lord (and others) from a place of gratitude. If you were to rate your “gas tank of gratitude”, how full would you be? Consider the quote below on where part of the issue may be in your low “gas level” “When our spiritual self-centeredness (supposed piety) eclipse’s the wonder and awesome grace given in our salvation, then the fuel for service and humble attitude required for it dissipates completely.”
Read Col 1:24; 1:29-2:1; Phil 1:29. Pastor Thad communicated that we must embrace sacrifice as a vehicle for the gospel (not the only one, but perhaps the most effective). What do you think about his contention and how would you apply this principle of sacrifice in regards to your time, talent, and treasure? How can we, as a group, help hold you accountable to some of these actions. To help further cement this idea, read Matt Chandler’s quote below.“The gospel of Jesus Christ is worth living for, yes, and it is worth dying for, of course, but we show it is supremely valuable to us when we deny ourselves and take up our crosses to be a blessing to the people who the gospel is calling us to.”  ― Matt Chandler, To Live Is Christ to Die Is Gain
Read Col 1:29-2:1; Phil 2:13; 4:13,19. Where do we, as Christians, gain the power to serve sacrificially? How do you suppose that one does this beyond gratitude? The answer is prayer; the answer is in Him. Consider Col. 1:9-11. 
Are we willing to pray this week for the power to serve and the wisdom to know where and when?  One area you can serve immediately may be on Wednesday nights. Connect with Lisa or Billy to see if they have a place to serve open (I heard a rumor that AWANA has some open spots for serving).
Digging Deeper (15-20 minutes)
Read John 17:18; Phil 2:3-8; 1 Corinthians 4:1. Some pastors have lamented over the idea of asking Jesus into your heart and cite it as unbiblical. They would recommend rather, that we would ask people to bow the knee to Jesus and submit our lives to Jesus’ Lordship as we ask Him to “save”. In your group, talk about the difference between these two “asks” and whether or not you find the difference important. How might this change our idea of what it means to follow Jesus in light of the passages read?
Read Hebrews 12:1-2, 28; Phil 4:4-7; Col 115-23 and the quote below to be prepared to answer this final question.“As we gaze on Christ, the mind is informed, and the heart is inflamed, and the body begins to line up.”  ― Matt ChandlerIn lieu of all of this communication about sacrifice and serving, how can the Christian still have joy? The answer is in Him! What does that look like in your life?
Challenge and Prayer (15-20 minutes)
Given the truth of this passage and the challenge to find your servant attitude or vehicle of sacrifice for Christ, determine one practical way to serve others in Christ name. It could be as simple as helping someone shovel out their driveway. Let the world hear the gospel through your “battered feet”. Pray the heart of what is seen in Col 1:9-11: And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; Colossians 1:9–11 (ESV)
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