Flow Questions
November 10-11, 2012
Series: Greater Than
Passage: Colossians 2:8-23
INTRODUCTION – 5 MINUTES
Separate your group into two teams – those who were born in the months of January to June, and those born July to December. Have them come up with three reasons their birth months are better than the others. Then give them time to tell the other team why they are better.
OBSERVATION – 20 MINUTES
Read Colossians 2:16-23 What are the false ways of belonging?
UNDERSTANDING – 20 MINUTES
Why is this way of belonging compelling?
In these rules, what do you get that you want? What do you get that you don’t want?
What are ways people have tried to belong? What have been the results?
APPLICATION – 20 MINUTES
What are ways you’ve tried to belong? What have been the consequences?
After everyone has had a chance to answer the question, read Colossians 2:8-15. What is the treasure and how do we belong?
How do we belong?
LIVE IT OUT
When we’re in those false ways, what are we communicating to the world? What do we do about it?
Flow Questions with Leader Notes and Commentary
INTRODUCTION – 5 MINUTES
Separate your group into two teams – those who were born in the months of January to June, and those born July to December. Have them come up with three reasons their birth months are better than the others. Then give them time to tell the other team why they are better.
Leader note: The idea is to create the idea of false elitism which will play out in the upcoming questions, and it lets your group experience subtle exclusion.
OBSERVATION – 20 MINUTES
Read Colossians 2:16-23 What are the false ways of belonging?
Leader note: Be sure you start reading at verse 16, as you will read the first part of the passage at the end of the study.
Commentary: Some of the answers your group should come up with-
- Right diet
- Religion — rituals and festivals, asceticism (self-denial)
- common list of “don’ts”
- false humility — makes us think we’re better than we are (exclusionary)
- special, spiritual, experiences, visions, elitism
- good things become more important or necessary to add to Jesus (devalues Jesus)
UNDERSTANDING – 20 MINUTES
Why is this way of belonging compelling?
Leader note: Consider what you listed above and why these might be compelling – what makes them something those in Colossi would want belonging to mean and what makes them something we would want belonging to actually be.
Commentary:
Something I can control — salvation is in my hands, sense of security, boundaries, safety.
gives me a way to compare against other people
Tangible
comparison against other people
focus on the externals — don’t have to worry about the heart stuff.
2000 years of history — marked out God’s covenant people and their relationship with each other and him. There is some good parts to it.
gives you a way back “in” —
understandable and rational — objective.
can be seen by others.
In these rules, what do you get that you want? What do you get that you don’t want?
Leader note: Another way to ask this would be, “What are the consequences of trying to belong through those means?”
Commentary:
- going to tire you out.
- gives you a sense of your standing — I’m OK, all these things will cover my mistakes.
- false sense of who I am.
- Start to think I don’t even need Jesus – it’s what I do over what I am
- These things justify me. — self-righteous, pride
- tools from sin-management which keeps you from heart transformation
- forces you to become a judgmental person — have to judge and put down others to justify your own performance
- isolate — hiding, image management
What are ways people have tried to belong? What have been the results?
- NOT SINNING does not make me better, nor gives me the right to condemn.
- FALSE HUMILITY — turning down attention and credit and admiration
- SELF-DENIAL — not enough fullness of Christ.
- isolation… Hide because it’s all about image management
- LEGALISM: Grace versus works… I should be… I wish I was… I’m not allowed to…
- GOD COULDN’T POSSIBLY THINK I’M IN TROUBLE — Jesus I’m sorry.
- SCARY WITHOUT LAW-BOUNDARIES — false sense of safety, I can’t be trusted
APPLICATION – 20 MINUTES
What are ways you’ve tried to belong? What have been the consequences?
Leader note: Consider the list you’ve created. What are ways you have personally tried to belong and what were the results?
Examples: Growing up we were very legalistic, didn’t sing, dance, smoke or drink. Problem was friends did all those things, I was alienated from them but tended to judge them. It didn’t make me better. When I would try to talk about Jesus, He got lost in all I was doing. It wasn’t about Jesus, it was about what I was doing.
I decided to not allow our kids to watch TV. Then I realized when I was telling other people it was more about having them see how much better I was than they were, not about why I did it in the first place which was to spend quality time with my children and to have them use their time in more productive and creative ways.
On the other side of this, I wanted to know more about the Christian faith, but I would see all these people who seemed too good for me, I would have to do too much changing in order to be able to go in a place with them – like stop smoking, cover my tattoos. I thought it was about cleaning myself up and changing myself before I could let Jesus see me.
After everyone has had a chance to answer the question, read Colossians 2:8-15. What is the treasure and how do we belong?
8-10:
- Fullness of deity
- in Christ, we’ve been brought to it.
- life, transformed
- filled to the fullness — we have all we need, we lack nothing, overflowing, complete, god’s work is done, content
11-12:
- identity secured —
- before Christ = separated, condemned
- after Christ = forgiven, clean
- OT: identity came through circumcision (shadow of what is to come)
- NT: baptism
- membership in covenant community with God
- When Jesus died, you died
- When Jesus rose, you rose — in Christ.
- symbol of inward reality = same as OT circumcision
13-15
- all sins forgiven
- nailed to the cross
- no longer in debt
- debt came from… Law: list of charges against us — “legal indebtedness”
- nailed it to the cross
- that which condemns has been nailed to the cross
- public spectacle…of (sin, death, and power)
- The foolishness of Jesus, took wisdom of world and flipped it.
- “irony of the cross” — dying and then rising.
How do we belong?
- Forgiven, set-free, no longer slave to sin, etc.
- Jesus
LIVE IT OUT
When we’re in those false ways, what are we communicating to the world? What do we do about it?
Leader note: Consider this as you are serving. Follow up with these questions.
- When you’re serving – one of the most powerful thing is it breaks…
- When you serve and go as a critical self-righteous, false humility – they know you want to feel better about yourself.
- Serve out of religious obligation – you hurt people, about you, self-righteous, no one loved, no one’s life is changed
PRAY: As you end your time together, take a couple of minutes of silent confession where you come before God and confess how you have tried to belong in false ways – whether depending on yourself, rules, image management – whatever is the case, confess it to your forgiving Father. Then thank God for His family and the work on the cross which makes it possible for you to belong as a beloved child to this eternal family. Ask God to work on your heart to seek out those who want so much to belong, and just need to know how, and to extend the truth of Jesus alone being the way.