COME STUDY COLOSSIANS WITH ME!

 Come explore the book of Colossians with me!  In this study of the book, some have called the most important letter written by Paul, you will be an active participant.  Assignments and study questions will be provided and are designed to help you be a careful observer of the text, understand the original message to the church at Colossae and see the application to you as a follower of Christ today.

Here is what you will need:

1. Bible (I will be using the CSB and NIV.  Either of these, ESV, NKJV or KJV will help you follow along  best with the lesson.  Other interpretative versions my be used to gain understanding but should be used much like the a commentary.)
2. Notebook 
3. Colored pencils and a few colored pens
4. Bible dictionary
5. Commentary (Aside from getting a bit of history as to what was going on in the church at Colossae in the beginning, you will not use the commentary until you first have done a significant amount of observation.  So if you don't have one right now, don't let that stop you from starting this study.)

As a side note, although I write and mark heavily in my Bible, you may not wish to do so, or find you don't have the space you need.  If that is the case, then  you may wish to go online, copy Colossians, add double spacing and use the printed copy during the study.  That is your preference.  

I am a firm believer that God rewards the careful observer.  As a disciple of Christ it is important for us to OBSERVE the text. 

"The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of the law."  Deut 29:29

The careful observer will find that there are truths on the pages of scripture God is longing to reveal to us.   Unfortunately, many of us read the Bible but don't understand how to actually study the Bible.  To sit and read the Bible has great devotional value, however, you may be missing so much of what God is speaking through the pages of scripture, if this is your only approach.  To truly observe, interpret, connect and apply is foundational if you want to study the Bible-and this will  how we will encounter God through the pages of scripture in this particular study. 

Over many years of discipling new believers and those who want to grow deeper in their walk with the Lord, I have realized  that many do not know how to begin.  They started out but have not been successful and felt very frustrated.  The simple tips below may help you get on your way to a deeper experience with Christ.

PREPARATION:

1. Determine the time of day you will do your study.  For me, I committed many years ago that I would make time with God the first priority of  my day.  My house is quiet early in the morning, so it leads to uninterrupted time with Him.  After considering when and  how much time you want to spend in the Word and prayer, you will be able to determine the best time for study.  I do however, strongly encourage you to attempt the practice of doing your study in the morning. 
2. Determine the place you will study.  It should be comfortable, but not so comfortable that you fall asleep!  It should be a quiet place, free of distraction. 
3. Make preparations the night before.
• Gather your Bible, pens, dictionary, commentary etc 
• Prepare the place you have chosen, so everything will be accessible to you when you begin your study
• Set your alarm
4. Before you begin your study, silence your phone and any other distractions

ENCOUNTER:

Remember you are sitting down to spend time with a PERSON-GOD! What a privilege! We have access to our Creator, the one who knows us intimately.   He allows us to experience Him and His presence every time we sit down to study the Word.

1. Begin with prayer
• Adoration:  Tell God how much you love Him.  Praise Him for His attributes.
• Confession: Scripture is clear that sin causes a barrier between us and God. (Isa 59:2) Often we say, "Forgive all my sins," and think that takes care of it all.  I'm not saying God doesn't honor a contrite spirit,  but I want you to name the sin , repent and ask Him to forgive you. Naming our sin is us agreeing with God that our sins are grievous and have the effect of making us more aware when we are tempted the next time.  Afterwards rejoice that He is faithful and just to forgive us. (1 John 1:9) 
• Thanksgiving:  List those things for which you are thankful. 
• Ask God to help make clear what you are about to read and help you understand how you are to apply this to your life.  The goal of Bible Study is not about obtaining information, but about life transformation and that can only be done as we apply it to our lives. 
2. Begin with the passage of Scripture
• Read and re-read it
• Read verses before and after the recommended segment of scripture for context
3. Begin detailed observation and start using those colored pencils. You can determine what colors you want to use for each of these.  Make yourself a legend and use these colors consistently in your studies
• Any reference to God, Christ or the Holy Spirit 
• Proper names/people
• Places
• Repeated words or phrases (this really takes some consistent reading-no skimming the text)
• Comparison and contrasts
• Misc.  I use red to mark any word that pertains to the gospel, such as grace, mercy, peace, references to Jesus blood, cross etc
• This is certainly not an exhaustive guide of words to color code, but it is a good place to begin. Ill point out other markings as we move forward.
• Marking helps you slow down as you read, promotes concentration and allows you to notice things from the passage that you might otherwise miss by casual reading. 
• We will work through this observation method a bit more in the next few posts. 
4. Over the next few posts we will move from observation, to interpretation and application. You will continue to work through these during your allotted time
5. Close with Prayer
• Ask God to help you apply what you learned
• Bring to Him  requests for others and lastly, yourself.  What I have found to be true is that we often jump right into our list of  requests, needs and wants, with only little time spent in praise, confession and thanksgiving.  We spend minimal time seeking Him and yet are quick to seek His help. If you will do this, you will begin to see your depth of relationship with Him change-and after all, God's truth is transformational!  

 So what do you think?  Are you ready?  Well, if you want to join me, here are your next steps before moving on to the next post.

• Read the entire book of Colossians in one sitting.
• Read it again in its entirety in one sitting.
• Grab a commentary and read the background on the book only. ( You will not start reading the verse by verse account until later.)
• Answer the following questions before moving to the next section
1. Who wrote the letter to the Colossians?
2. Where was he when the letter was written?
3. When was the book written?
4. What was going on in the church that prompted the letter?
5. From your reading what do you think is  the overarching theme of the book?
• Now, it's time to break out the colored pencils and start marking chapter 1.
• In our next post we will cover the first 8 verses-so after you have marked those verses answer the questions below.  If you don't know the answer it is fine to not know.  This is strictly observation with the exception of question 5, so you may use a Bible dictionary for that question, but don't use a commentary to answer any of these. Just do some careful observation.  
1. How does the author identify himself? Why do you think he used that description?
2. Who is with the author?
3. Who does he address the letter?
4. What does he say in the greeting? (v2b)
5. Define grace? Define peace? What part do these play in the gospel message?
6. What had the author heard about this congregation?
7. What was the basis of their love for one another?
8. According to v5 how had they heard about this hope?
9. What do we learn about the gospel in v 6?
10. From whom has the author learned about the church in Colossae?

Next post we will answer these and dig deeper into the text. Below I have provided a list of some of the resources that I use and have found helpful.  Although helpful,  the goal is to spend more time trying to understand the Word and not exhaustively reading commentary after commentary, so in no way am I recommending that you go out and purchase these.  If you do choose to purchase any resource let it be a good Bible commentary. 

RESOURCES

Tony Evans Commentary

Life Application Commentary on Colossians 

NIV Bible Background Commentary

IVP Bible Dictionary

Dictionary of Paul and His Letters

Apps:

Bible Ref app

STEP Bible app

Logos app (there is a free version)

Got Questions?

Let's dive into the book of Colossians together!

DISCLAIMER:  I am not a seminary graduate or even a student.  I don't have a degree in Christian studies and I am not an expert on Greek and Hebrew.  I AM, however, a lover of Jesus Christ and of the Word.  I feel God has called me to a life of discipling those who are new believers or  those who may have been following Christ but want to grow in their walk with the Lord.  My intent and my fervent prayer is to present the Word of God accurately and without error and to lead people into the truth of the gospel.