PRAYER
Our main goal in this time together is to build relationships and learn to walk alongside one another in all that God has called us to be and do. Let’s start by praying for each other.
Does anyone have prayer requests or personal stories of how God has been moving in your life that we can celebrate together?
OVER EVERY POWER TOPICS
Maturing Power
THIS WEEK
We’re in a series called Over Every Power: The Book of Colossians and The Supremacy of Christ. Over four weeks, we’re following Paul’s writings to show that life’s fullest purpose isn’t found in possessions, travel, or self-focus, but in the supremacy of Christ.
This week, Holding It All Together, Bria Lacour walks through Colossians 1 to show that living the life we’ve dreamed of isn’t about doing more or having more. Still, it’s about knowing the One who holds everything together, over every power that tries to pull us apart.
To begin, let’s reflect on these questions:
What’s one “power” in your life, like fear, stress, or busyness, you’ve noticed pulling at you lately?
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
SCRIPTURE
Have someone read Colossians 1:1-14, 28-29 aloud. As you listen, notice any words or phrases that stand out, and ask the Holy Spirit to highlight something for you.
Colossians 1:1-14, 28-29
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
2 To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ: Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people—
5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel
6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace.
7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant, who is a faithful minister of Christ on our behalf,
8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives,
10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God,
11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,
12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light.
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
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28 He is the one we proclaim, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ.
29 To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.
How do we live a life of maturity?
Jesus is King
In Colossians 1:15-20, Paul makes it clear that Jesus is not just a good or next idea to consider. Paul claims Jesus is supreme over all creation and the church. All people, places, and things were was made through Him, for Him, and held together by Him.
Because knowing Christ Jesus as King transforms how we live, it reshapes our priorities, matures us in faith, and helps us resist the pull of cultural pressures.
Like countless stories we encounter in our daily lives, when people discover Christ’s supremacy, their lives shift from self-driven pursuits to God-centered living. The question for us is simple: if Jesus truly is King, how will that reality reorder our lives?
Paul says Jesus holds all things together. Where do you see that truth at work in your own life right now?
What are some things, good or bad, that can easily take first place in our hearts instead of Christ?
How does knowing Jesus is King change the way you think about your purpose or priorities?
What might it look like for you to reorder one area of your life around His supremacy this week?
Jesus is Other
In verse 21 of Colossians 1, Paul reminds us that before Christ, we were separated from God and lived in opposition to Him. On our own, we lack every fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Jesus is holy, good, and just, everything we are not. Knowing Him as “Other” is what makes the Good News truly good: only He can reconcile us, make us whole, and bear lasting fruit in our lives.
Living a new life of maturity comes when we admit we cannot live without Him and allow His life to transform ours.
Paul says we were once separated from God. How does remembering where we came from shape how we live now?
Which fruit of the Spirit do you find hardest to live out, and why?
How does knowing Jesus is holy and “other” give you hope in areas where you feel weak or incapable?
Jesus is Hope
Toward the close of Colossians 1, Paul directs us toward a faith and love that flow out of a hope stored up in heaven and secured in Christ. This hope is like an anchor for our souls, steadying us when life feels unstable and fear takes over.
Because Jesus, in life, death, burial, and resurrection, has entered God’s presence on our behalf, we can live with confidence that He is making all things new and that our future is secure.
And in the words of Paul, therefore, knowing Jesus as our hope transforms how we endure trials, how we love others, and how we grow in maturity as His people.
Paul says faith and love spring from hope. How have you seen hope in Christ give rise to either faith or love in your own life?
How does believing that Christ is making all things new shape the way you face challenges right now?
Paul discusses proclaiming Christ so that others can grow into maturity. What might that look like in your everyday life, where you live, work, and play?
CLOSING THOUGHT
When we consider what it truly takes to live a life of maturity, Colossians 1 reminds us of three key truths: that Jesus is King, Jesus is Other, and Jesus is our Hope.
Because Jesus holds all things together when life feels like it’s pulling apart, He is everything we are not and everything we can’t live without. And He anchors us when anxiety and fear try to carry us away.
That’s not just theology on paper or some pie in the sky, but it’s a living truth that reshapes and reorients our hearts to Him in how we order our days, how we see ourselves, and how we love others.
Yet, the challenge is that we’ll always feel the pull of lesser powers, distractions, and desires. However, the encouragement is this: Christ is truly enough, and He’s already at work in each of us who surrender to Him, growing us into maturity.
The question is, will you let that truth take first place in your daily life, where you live, work, and play?
Let’s close in prayer: Lord Jesus, thank You for holding all things together, even when our lives feel scattered. Help us to trust You more than the things that compete for our attention. Give us strength to grow in faith, hope, and love, and to walk in a way that shows You’re first in our lives. Amen.