The Gospel of Christ and Thankful Prayer | Resources
Sermon Text: Colossians 1:1–8
“Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by God’s will, and Timothy our brother: To the saints in Christ at Colossae, who are faithful brothers and sisters. Grace to you and peace from God our Father. We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, for we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints because of the hope reserved for you in heaven. You have already heard about this hope in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you. It is bearing fruit and growing all over the world, just as it has among you since the day you heard it and came to truly appreciate God’s grace. You learned this from Epaphras, our dearly loved fellow servant. He is a faithful minister of Christ on your behalf, and he has told us about your love in the Spirit.” (CSB)
Devotional
I’m guessing my prayer life is somewhat typical regarding where it is focused. I generally begin recognizing and praising God for who He is, then move on to my life. I pray for the people and things closest to me: my wife, my children, their spouses, and our grandchildren. Then, I move on to our broader family, our small group, and friends. Next comes the broader church, its leadership, and the other ministries we are directly involved in. In all these areas, I tend to focus on the list of “needs.” I focus my prayer on these because I generally consider meeting these needs will lead to thankfulness.
In the first eight verses of Colossians, Paul gives us a better example of a prayer of thankfulness that I too often miss in my prayers. He is thankful for the Colossians’ faith in Jesus, their love for the saints, the hope they have laid up in Heaven, and that the gospel is bearing fruit through them. Paul gives thanks for all that God is doing in their lives even though he knows they are facing trials of their own.
I need to be more thankful for how God works in the spiritual growth of my family, friends, and the church. I need to better recognize and praise God when I see the people in my life honoring Him because it is His work in them through the Holy Spirit that brings glory to Him. The more I desire this, the more I will pray for it. Lord, help my prayers reflect a spirit of thankfulness as you work in your church and the lives of those I love.
Discussion Questions
1. Summarize how Paul describes each person of the Trinity’s role in verses 1-8.
2. Why is Paul rejoicing in verses 3-8? Do you have similar reasons to rejoice? Share stories of where you are seeing God work.
3. What does this text show us or teach us about biblical community? How does this challenge you?
4. What does this text teach us about the gospel?
5. In light of this text, what does it look like to obey the prompting of the Spirit this week?
Memory Verse
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3 (CSB)