In this week’s message, entitled “Old and New”, we examined Colossians 3:1-17. We heard that God’s call for us, as Christians, is to become who we already are in Christ. To better understand this call upon our lives, let us consider these questions:
- How strongly do you see theology or doctrine as being connected with life? How does this tend to affect the way that you read your Bible?
- How did you connect with the description of how we can read the Bible with a “that’s God - that’s me” filter mechanism? How did the message help you with this?
- Have you ever thought of the Christian life as mainly believing the right things and doing the right things? In what ways does this understanding of the Christian life differ from the one presented from Colossians 3:1-17?
- Have you ever struggled to understand what it means to be united with Christ? How was Sunday’s explanation a help to you?
- How is putting to death what is earthly and putting on what is holy connected with God’s work of grace in your life?
- How does the understanding that God has given you a new nature affect the way that you embrace God’s ongoing work in you and through you?
Let’s pray this week that God will give us a greater understanding of all that is found in our union with Christ.
This week’s Father’s Day message was entitled “From Generation to Generation”. From Psalm 78:1-8 we heard how we are called by God to pass the baton of the gospel to the next generation. While this message clearly presented implications for parents, the call to proclaim the gospel to the next generation is for us all. In order to better understand this call, let us consider these questions:
- When it comes our roles with the children in our lives, why is it so important that we be gospel centered?
- Would you describe your relationship with the children in your life as consistently “gospel centered”?
- In these relationships, what challenges tend to divert your attention away from a focus on the gospel?
- In the midst of these challenges, what would being “gospel focused” look like?
- How can you prepare for these challenges so that you can maintain a proper focus?
- Name a few ways that you can be intentional in passing the baton of the gospel to the next generation.
Let us pray that God would empower us this week, by his grace and by his Spirit, in proclaiming the gospel to the next generation.
Written by Aaron Campbell
I’ve heard nothing but great reports from the folks who attended NEXT over the Memorial Day weekend! The messages from the conference have recently been added to the NEXT website for free download or listening online.
The person of Christ was the theme of the main sessions and speakers included D.A. Carson, Sinclair Ferguson, Kevin DeYoung, C.J. Mahaney, and Joshua Harris. I encourage you to join me in adding these messages to your summer playlist…
MP3 Christ’s Preeminence - Joshua Harris
MP3 Christ’s Incarnation - D.A. Carson
MP3 Christ’s Life - Kevin DeYoung
MP3 Christ’s Death - C.J. Mahaney
MP3 Christ’s Resurrection - Sinclair Ferguson
MP3 Christ’s Return - Sinclair Ferguson
MP3 Panel Discussion - Mark Dever, Sinclair Ferguson, Justin Taylor, Kevin DeYoung, C.J. Mahaney, and Joshua Harris
MP3 Just Do Something - Kevin DeYoung
MP3 Radical Womanhood - Carolyn McCulley
MP3 Entrust: The Transfer of the Gospel - Dave Harvey & Jared Mellinger
MP3 Church Planting Information Meeting - Dave Harvey, Mark Prater, and Rob Flood
This week’s message was entitled “Dawn of the Dead”. From Colossians 2:16-23 we heard how life should look different now that we are alive in Christ. In order to better know how to live as the living, let us consider these questions:
- Describe a time when you, as a Christian, thought that God wanted you to suffer for your sin? What negative affects did this thinking have on you? Why is this understanding so misguided?
- Describe some “do’s and don’t’s” that you once thought made you holy? How has your understanding changed, what difference has this made in your relationship with God?
- As a Christian, have you ever sought a particular experience in order to be more “spiritual” or more “right with God”? How did this understanding tempt you to discouragement or pride?
- How do the “self-made religions” of legalism, asceticism, and mysticism compare to genuine life and growth in Christ? Take some time to reference particular scriptures in Colossians and elsewhere in the Bible.
Let us be determined this week to hold fast to nothing and no one other than our Head, Jesus Christ.
There is a vast array of parenting resources out there, but if you are like me, you are always on the search for resources that provide biblical counsel and genuine encouragement.
This week I would like to highlight a blog that frequently provides this kind of help. It is the The Shepherd Press Blog. Tedd Tripp, who you may remember from one of our parenting workshops, regularly posts to this blog, as well as Jay Younts.
“Standing Firm with Your Teenager” is a recent post that you will find particularly helpful. This article brings a wonderful clarity to the relevance of the gospel in our parenting. What can be more helpful or encouraging than that?
Written by Aaron Campbell
Colleen and I 
had the privilege of attending the Sovereign Grace Ministries Pastors College graduation this past Sunday evening. In the decade since my own graduation we have been able to make the trip to Gaithersburg, MD for the ceremony more years than not.
Each year we attend I experience a flood of memories and a fresh gratefulness to God for what we received there - and what the current crop of graduates has been blessed to be a part of. We’ve celebrated with several friends from KingsWay and other regional churches over the years.
As far as schools go, it’s a unique experience: nearly 40 classes, weekly fellowship groups, care groups, research papers, Greek, and a lot of relationship building - all within the context of Covenant Life Church, and all jammed into one very packed year.
This year was a special celebration for our family in particular as my younger brother Adam took his place among the graduating class. After interning several years at CrossWay Church in Charlotte, they sent him to the PC last fall. He and his family will be moving to Fredericksburg to serve alongside the Delages, for which I couldn’t be more thrilled.
Keith Brault, senior pastor from the Sovereign Grace church in Chesapeake, VA, preached yesterday from Col. 2:6-15. His message is titled Living in Him. Here are a couple application questions for us to consider this week:
1. Do you view sin as a desperate problem? Why or why not? How might your perspective on sin in your heart affect your perspective on God’s grace?
2. How has conviction of sin in your own life left you vulnerable to look for salvation in “human tradition”? Share a specific example.
3. Why does legalism never cause us to “abound in thanksgiving”? Where are you tempted to look for peace with God in your own performance?
4. How can you be taken captive according to Christ? Has he satisfied your desperate problem?
5. Is your life characterized by gratitude for the Savior? What would those closest to you say? How can you grow in thanksgiving for Christ by pursuing satisfaction in Christ?
6. Do you ever feel like Satan has grounds to put you to shame before God? What specific accusation is hard for you to hear as the “clicking of an empty revolver”? How can you grow in confidence of your standing before God?
In this week’s message, entitled “The Ministry of the Gospel,” we examined Colossians 1:24-2:5. We considered Paul’s description of the ministry entrusted to him by God and made application to the way we think about the ministry to which God calls us as believers. To better understand this reality and make application in our lives, let us consider these questions:
- Paul described his extreme sufferings (see 2 Corinthians 11:24-27) as joyful because God used them to reflect His powerful love to others. How do you consider trial and sufferings in your life? How can you prepare for future sufferings today?
- God has entrusted to every believer a stewardship to proclaim the Gospel which Paul powerfully expressed in these words: “Christ in you, the hope of glory!” (Col 1:27) Since faithful “stewardship” implies an accountability, how can you more effectively create and maximize opportunities to reach your friends, neighbors, and co-workers with the Gospel?
- Paul’s ministry–and ours–should be characterized by “struggling with all His energy” to accomplish the task God has entrusted to us. It’s an exertion marked by dependance on God. What is one change God is calling you to make this week so that a wholehearted and clear focus on the Gospel characterizes your life?
