THIS IS A SPECIAL "HOME CHURCH" MESSAGE FROM PASTOR KYLE DURING THIS TIME WITHOUT CHURCH SERVICES BEING HELD DUE TO COVID19.

FOR PRINTABLE PDF OF THIS MESSAGE, CLICK HERE.

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Hello Church Family,
Below is a Bible study for you to use for your “at home” church service this Sunday.

Missing you all,
- Pastor Kyle

“Home Church” Bible Study Guide

Topic: The “One Another” Finale!

♦ Open in prayer—you may include prayer requests and praises that have come down the prayer chain this week.

♦ Sing some worship songs. Feel free to do this however you prefer, but at the bottom of this post are some options for you to sing acapella or with an instrument, if you can. Save the last song, “I Surrender All,” for the end of your Bible study time.

If there is any piece of Scripture in the whole Bible that could be considered the grand finale of the “one anothers,” Colossians 3:12-17 would definitely be it. This passage is loaded with rich truths about how we are to live with one another. But before we grasp the full weightiness of what’s said here, we need to first look at the context leading up to it.

Read Colossians 3:1-11

• What important point do you see in verse 1 that all believers should understand well?
• What important contrast do you see in verse 2?
• The death referred to in verse 3 is the death of our old, sinful self – the person we used to be before we were saved. If our old, sinful self has been put to death, and our new life is now hidden with Christ, how should that effect the way we live?
• Imagine a long line drawn on a huge white board. On one end of the line is an arrow indicating that the line is continuous, and on the other end of the line is a dot. Imagine that the dot represents our life here on this earth, and the rest of the line with the arrow represents eternity with Christ in glory. How should this understanding of the eternal hope that we have in Christ (as described in verse 4) motivate us to live godly lives now?

Verses 5-11 describes who we used to be before Christ saved us, and how we as children of God need to realize the important truth that we are no longer bound by the burden of these sins. Though we are saved from our former life of sin and now have the grace and strength given to us to overcome the temptation of sin, Scripture is clear that the responsibility is on each of us to utilize all that God has made available to us in order to overcome sin and live the life that we are meant to live.

Read Colossians 3:12-17

• The first part of verse 12 says: “So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved…” The word “So” ties verse 1-11 to verses 12-17, making it clear that we need to remember that we are no longer our old, sinful self, but we are a new creation and now part of the family of God. Why is it essential that we understand and always remember who we are in Christ in order to rightly apply all that is in verse 12-17?
• List the 5 things that we should “put on” in verse 12. How are each of these virtues essential to applying the “one anothers”?
• Verse 13 tells us how we should show grace and forgive one another. In what ways has Christ been our example of forgiveness? Why is this important?

In verse 14 Paul makes it clear that love is what holds this all together. Think of it as the metal hoops around a wooden barrel. Without the metal hoops, you would have nothing more than a pile of wood staves. But with everything in place, and the metal hoops holding it all together, the barrel is capable of holding all of the vital contents inside. In fact, the greater the pressure on the inside, the tighter the staves and hoops come together making an even tighter seal.

• 1 Corinthians 13:1 says: If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. And 1 John 4:7-8 says: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. Why is love so vitally important to everything that we think, say, or do as Christians?

• Back to Colossians 3. Verse 15 says that we should let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. If we choose to not rest on the promises of God, what destructive thing will take the place of peace in our heart? What effect will this have on us, as well as those around us?

• According to verse 16, what importance does the word of Christ have in the Church?

• Verse 17 says: “…do all in the name of the Lord Jesus...” This simply means to do all things in a manner that is consistent with His nature and is glorifying to Him. What will come as a result, if we are intentional to do all things in a manner that is glorifying to Him?

• How will remembering who we are in Christ and acting accordingly, affect one another in the body of Christ?

♦ SING CLOSING SONG

♦ CLOSE IN PRAYER