The Priority, Purpose, and Promise of personal prayer as set forth in the Sermon on the Mount

Paul prays for the knowledge of God and His will to fuel a life focused on pleasing God in every way, producing fruit in every work, and progressing in personal communion with God.

Paul does not just give thanks to God for His work of grace among the Colossians, he also goes to God on their behalf desiring and pleading with God to continue working among them. As he prays, he not only shares his heart for them, but he also begins attacking the error creeping in among them, and the place of first concern in both his prayer and his attack is the foundation, namely the foundation of knowledge.

In this lesson we focus on practicing observation and interpretation together.

In light of God's mercies displayed in the gospel, the only reasonable and proper response is total surrender, sacrificial service, and separation from the world.

Gospel fruitfulness does not diminish the requirement for gospel faithfulness- it intensifies it.

Interpretation -7- Principles -3- -In this study we continue to consider various tools of analyzing unclear passages.