Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Prison Pen Pal
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Prison Pen Pal
https://youtu.be/fwn8Uw9gnfY
Prison pen pal (Colossians 1:1-8) *Verses in New Living Translation (NLT)*
Small Group Quesitons
Who are you encouraging to be a better Christian?
Do you support and encourage missions? Do you have a relationship with a missionary?
What missionaries do you pray for?
What are you doing to bring the gospel to the world?
Context/history:
- Last week we finished the Book of Acts, and it ended with Paul as a prisoner in Rome.
- This week we start the Book of Colossians. A “prison letter” written by Paul during that time.
- This letter is written to the Church in Colosse, a young and faithful church of mostly Gentiles. They were dealing with the influences of false teachings detracting from the all-sufficiency of Christ.
- Paul has actually never met them in person, but he knows them through Epaphras, who learned the Good News through Paul, and brought it home to Colosse, basically “planting” that church.
- The theme of this letter is that Christ is all sufficient, and above all things. Christians are made complete in Him alone, needing nothing else for salvation.
- Read Colossians 1:1-8
#1. Paul’s letter brings encouragement.
- Paul says things like, “May God give you grace and peace… We always pray for you… We have heard of your faith in Christ and love for God’s people.” and mentions their confident hope in heaven.
- This must have been so encouraging to here! Relatively new believers, still figuring out this church thing, faithful but also enduring constant pressure from the culture to compromise their beliefs.
- It’s like Paul is saying, “I see you, you have a great foundation, so don’t give up on doing good!”
- Example: I need this in my life! I thrive off of genuine positive encouragement. That’s why BOOT CAMP was so hard. Nothing but a constant threat of punishment for failure.
- Only motivated to avoid punishment, not to obtain the reward.
- Fear produces a short-term gain, but a long-term loss. (Negative bias, not wanting to try…)
- I learned the hard way what NOT to do, but I was never confident if I was doing the right things correctly. (Like learning how to march. “I AM leaning back and strutting!!”)
- The discipline I learned has been supremely valuable, but the method of delivery was damaging… but it didn’t have to be.
- (Could have been worse: Korean war vet who got butt stroked for messing up…)
- In today’s scriptures, Paul focuses them on the hope of heaven, not the fear of hell.
- Paul says, “…just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.”
- 1 Thess. 5:9-11, For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. 10 Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. 11 So encourageeach other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
- Romans 15:13, I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
- This is in no way saying that godly discipline is not n...
View all episodes
By Faith and Victory Churchhttps://youtu.be/fwn8Uw9gnfY
Prison pen pal (Colossians 1:1-8) *Verses in New Living Translation (NLT)*
Small Group Quesitons
Who are you encouraging to be a better Christian?
Do you support and encourage missions? Do you have a relationship with a missionary?
What missionaries do you pray for?
What are you doing to bring the gospel to the world?
Context/history:
- Last week we finished the Book of Acts, and it ended with Paul as a prisoner in Rome.
- This week we start the Book of Colossians. A “prison letter” written by Paul during that time.
- This letter is written to the Church in Colosse, a young and faithful church of mostly Gentiles. They were dealing with the influences of false teachings detracting from the all-sufficiency of Christ.
- Paul has actually never met them in person, but he knows them through Epaphras, who learned the Good News through Paul, and brought it home to Colosse, basically “planting” that church.
- The theme of this letter is that Christ is all sufficient, and above all things. Christians are made complete in Him alone, needing nothing else for salvation.
- Read Colossians 1:1-8
#1. Paul’s letter brings encouragement.
- Paul says things like, “May God give you grace and peace… We always pray for you… We have heard of your faith in Christ and love for God’s people.” and mentions their confident hope in heaven.
- This must have been so encouraging to here! Relatively new believers, still figuring out this church thing, faithful but also enduring constant pressure from the culture to compromise their beliefs.
- It’s like Paul is saying, “I see you, you have a great foundation, so don’t give up on doing good!”
- Example: I need this in my life! I thrive off of genuine positive encouragement. That’s why BOOT CAMP was so hard. Nothing but a constant threat of punishment for failure.
- Only motivated to avoid punishment, not to obtain the reward.
- Fear produces a short-term gain, but a long-term loss. (Negative bias, not wanting to try…)
- I learned the hard way what NOT to do, but I was never confident if I was doing the right things correctly. (Like learning how to march. “I AM leaning back and strutting!!”)
- The discipline I learned has been supremely valuable, but the method of delivery was damaging… but it didn’t have to be.
- (Could have been worse: Korean war vet who got butt stroked for messing up…)
- In today’s scriptures, Paul focuses them on the hope of heaven, not the fear of hell.
- Paul says, “…just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about God’s wonderful grace.”
- 1 Thess. 5:9-11, For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. 10 Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. 11 So encourageeach other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
- Romans 15:13, I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
- This is in no way saying that godly discipline is not n...