Colossians Study Series

This 5-lesson study guide goes along with the Fall 2004 sermon series: "New Life - Full and Free".

The study sheets are available as PDF files, which you can download and print.

Study Introduction

The apostle Paul wrote his Colossian letter to a group of people he probably never had the chance to meet. He had heard about them and what he heard was good and encouraging. But he still had concerns and those concerns prompted him to write this letter.

Paul had heard that the believers in Colossae were hearing things that went counter to the message of the gospel and they were starting to believe some of these things. They lived in a very diverse community where Christianity was only one of many religions. In such an environment it was easy to lose sight of the uniqueness of the gospel and to let their culture shape their ideas of who Jesus was.

Many of the early Christians could see through these cultural values pretty easily. However, an even more confusing teaching was coming from some of the people within the church! They were undermining the Colossian Christians' confidence that they were really Christians. We can only guess at exactly what these false teachers were saying by looking at Paul's arguments against them. From the things Paul says, it seems that they were teaching that becoming a Christian was a good first step but that there was a 'higher order' of spirituality that was only accessible through their teachings and rituals.

Paul wanted to assure the Colossian church that they already had everything they needed as Christians. He also exhorted them to continue learning what that meant and how they could cooperate with the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives and their community.

It's not hard to see how Paul's words are pertinent for us, too. We live in a world that is shaped by many different values and ideas that conflict with what we, as Christians, know to be true. Our culture tries to conform us to its image and is sometimes as difficult for us to distinguish as water is to a fish. Paul's clear presentation of Jesus as Lord of all creation is an encouragement for us to keep our worldview centered on Christ and his place in all of life.

Some of us may feel stagnant or unchallenged or even defeated in our Christian walk. We wonder if maybe we've missed something. For us, Paul clearly presents all the spiritual resources that are available to us as Christians and gives us clear and direct teaching about how these can change our lives.

The beginning of a new school year seems to be a good time to reflect again on the truth that Jesus is Lord of all (even in an election year!) and to be reminded of what it means to follow him. Pastor John will be preaching a five week series on this book and this study guide will be available on-line for small groups or individuals who would like to study along with the sermons.

These study materials were developed by Andy Gathman and Debbie Schmidt.
They are meant to be freely used, but please contact us if you would like
to distribute them from somewhere other than our website.
© 2004, Central Presbyterian Church, Baltimore, MD 21204 410/823-6145
www.centralpc.org