What We're Doing this Month

October 20 – November 24, 2024

By the middle of the first century CE, the formerly important mercantile city of Colossae in modern-day Turkey, had dwindled in size and significance. Extensive earthquake damage had caused much of its trading activity to shift to more stable locations nearby. But in this small city, a group of people had embraced the good news of Jesus Christ, brought to them by Epaphras, a friend of the apostle Paul. The young church was eager to learn how to follow Jesus, and soon came to be characterized by faith, hope, and joy.

Colossae was also home to a well-established Jewish community, numbering in the thousands. Devout Jews, with their ancient traditions, ceremonial purity laws, and ascetic practices, scorned the predominantly Gentile church that pirated their Scriptures and claimed to be coheirs of God’s promises to Israel. Similarly, adherents of Greco-Roman philosophies that offered paths to wisdom and spiritual enlightenment challenged the simplicity of the young church’s faith in Christ.

Epaphras was anxious about the spiritual wellbeing of this small community, and he brought his concerns to Paul, who was at that time imprisoned. Unable to visit the Colossians himself, Paul wrote a letter, which he sent to them with his “dear brother and fellow servant” Tychicus. This letter exhorts the church to be confident in their faith, and to continue bearing fruit and growing in wisdom and understanding. He assures them that Christ is supreme over all creation—all religions and philosophies pale into insignificance before him. The Colossians have died and been raised with Christ, and therefore have everything they need. As they live in Christ and clothe themselves with love, their lives, households, and community will be transformed.

During this six-week series, we will look at Paul’s claims about Christ, “the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.” Like the Colossians, we will consider the implications of these claims for various aspects of our lives. And like them, we will seek to grow in spiritual understanding, bear good fruit, and “live the kind of life that honors and pleases the Lord in every way” (Colossians 1:10).