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1) Colossians 1:1 - 12 NKJV
1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are in Colosse: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints;
5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as it has also in all the world, and is bringing forth fruit, as it is also among you since the day you heard and knew the grace of God in truth; 7 as you also learned from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, 8 who also declared to us your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; 12 giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.
a. In verse 4, what did Paul hear about faithful brethren and saints in Colosse?
b. Would the universal Church of Jesus Christ be more effective if people could tell that we had faith in Christ and love for all the saints?
c. Did the brethren in Colosse know the grace of God in truth?
d. Now that Paul knew that the Colossian Church had faith, love, grace, truth and was bearing fruit, why was he praying for them without ceasing?
e. What was he praying for them to receive?
f. What does it mean to walk worthy of the Lord?
g. What must we do to qualify to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light?
2) Colossians 1:24 - 29
24 I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church, 25 of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26 the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
28 Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus. 29 To this end I also labor, striving according to His working which works in me mightily.
a. What is the mystery which was hidden from ages and generations that is now revealed to the saints?
b. What does "Christ in you, the hope of glory" mean?
c. Since the members of the Colossian Church had faith in Christ, wouldn't Christ already be in them? Why, then, was Paul praying for them to receive this revelation?
d. Was Paul praying for a greater manifestation of something? What would that be?
e. What is glory, and should we want more?
f. What does hope mean?
g. Can we expect more glory if we have Christ in us?
h. Can we become more and more aware of Christ in us?
i. How do we grow our expectancy of more of Christ manifesting His glory in and through us?
j. Can our imagination increase our expectancy?
k. In Psalm 8:4 and Hebrews 2:6 it says that God's mind is full of man. Can our minds be full of God? How would that affect our lives?
l. Can meditation on God and His Word grow our imagination in the things of God and increase our expectancy and the glory of God we see in our lives?
3) "Dietrich Bonhoeffer has always been one of my great heroes of the faith. Such appreciation, of course, hardly makes me distinct. Bonhoeffer, the German pastor-theologian who opposed the Nazis and was executed in a concentration camp, is passionately admired by millions of Christians." (From Strange Glory by Charles Marsh)
4) Can Dietrich Bonhoeffer make a difference in twenty-first century preachers and preaching? (From the bonhoefferblog):
The first reason why Dietrich Bonhoeffer can impact our preaching is the high premium on the meditation on the Scriptures. To Bonhoeffer, meditation on God's Word was absolutely essential for every follower of Jesus. In his work, Meditation of Psalm 119, he wrote:
Therefore, it is never sufficient simply to have read God's Word. It must penetrate deep within us, dwell in us, like the Holy of Holies in the Sanctuary, so that we do not sin in thought, word or deed.
To Bonhoeffer, scripture meditation was even more important for pastors and preachers because if the word of God did not become full in his heart through meditation and prayer, how could he expect to properly explain the word to his congregation? He wrote, "I will offend against my calling if I do not seek each day in prayer the word that my Lord wants me to say that day".
a. What lessons regarding meditation can we draw from the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer?