“THE HARD WORK OF BRINGING OTHERS TO MATURITY IN CHRIST” (Part 2)

SERMON APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1. In Colossians 2:1, Paul continues to open up his heart regarding the struggles he is enduring in the work of the ministry. What Christian virtue motivates him to pour out his life, even for those he may never meet face to face? (Galatians 4:18)

2. Why is love for the church the hallmark of Christian maturity? (John 34-35; 1 John 4:7-8)

3. First Corinthians was written to a church made up of people who were at war with one another. According to chapter 13:4-7, how are we to love the unlovely in the church?

4. How does being “knit together in love” portray Christian unity? (Ephesians 4:3)

5. Although the local church is clearly established in the New Testament, using Paul’s example of struggling for those in Colossae and Laodicea whom he had never seen face to face, what does this teach us about our love for the church universal? List practical ways that we can help our brothers and sisters in Christ who we may never see face to face.

6. All of redemptive history had been moving towards the unveiling of God’s great mystery.  Discuss how God Himself, in the person of Christ, entered the world that He created to save sinners.  (Col. 1:15, 19)

7. Why is the church’s “good order” and “firmness of faith” the cause of the apostles “rejoicing” and how does this protect the church from the onslaught of false teachers that is surely to come?

8. Why is the following quote true…“The closer something is to the truth, without actually being the truth, the more dangerous it actually is”. - Frank Sells.