Prepared by Ken Edgecombe 

When I was a kid, I went through a phase of collecting autographs of famous people, as a lot of kids do. I still have the book, replete with signatures from Stirling Moss and Peter Snell, a complete All Black team, Edmund Hillary, sundry cricketers including Neil Adcock and JR Reid, and Everton Weekes. Cliff Richard’s in there too, and various others. I can still remember bailing Murray Halberg up under the grandstand at Eden Park and talking him into signing: he didn’t want to, for some reason. But the brush with the famous was worth talking about later, and the signature was there to prove it.

A signature: great. But what about a whole letter, that the famous person had chosen to write of their own accord — would you value that, or what? For the church at Colossae, Paul was a celebrity, and a letter from him would have commanded both respect and attention. And they were also asked to share it with the pc3 churches in the neighbouring valley, and to read the letter the crowd at Laodicea had received. I’ll bet they did it, too. And then, at the end, he says, “I write this with my own hand. Grace be with you.” I wonder who souvenired the original, after all the copies had been made?

Great to have a letter from Paul. Better, though, to have his thoughts. We still do. Let’s have a look at them.

Colossians 1: Specific Questions

1. What is it about the church there that inspired Paul to give thanks?
2. What are the three linked qualities that characterise the church?
3. What do you think is the “fruit” that Paul talks about in verse 6?
4.  What is it that probably causes this fruit to grow?
5.  “…spiritual wisdom and understanding” (verse 9) — good things. But not just for their own sake. Why does he want them to have these qualities?
6. Note verse 11 — “great endurance and patience”. What does this mean for us?
7. Read verses 15 to 23 again, and let every member make one comment.
8. See verse 27, “Christ in you.” How have you seen Christ in your own life? (You may answer this silently if you prefer to, or make a comment to the group. Or you may like to say how you have seen Christ in one or more of them.)

More general Questions

1. See verse 23, “if you continue in your faith.” How can we continue?
2. Also in verse 23, “this is the gospel.” What is?
3. “Alienated from God by your evil behaviour” (verse 21). What is the sort of evil behaviour that alienates us from God still? How can we guard against it?
4. In what ways would you personally most like to be encouraged by other members of your group?