Made You Alive

Fellowship – Snacks or a Meal (10 minutes with snacks; longer, obviously, if there is a meal).

Gathering Time (5-10 minutes). In pairs or groups of three, have participants answer, “Describe a time when you felt fully alive.”

Group Dialogue (Approximately 30 minutes). Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19).

What guidance does Paul give those who have “. . . received Christ Jesus the Lord”? [They are to continue in the way they have been taught to live lives of gratitude and devotion to Christ (Colossians 2:6-7).]

What is Paul’s warning to the Colossians? [Paul warns them not to heed leaders who would ensnarl them with philosophies, traditions, and principles that are not in accord with what they learned of Christ (Colossians 2:8).]

How do you discern what religious voices to heed in today’s environment of social media, YouTube videos, podcasts, and other avenues that teach spiritual philosophies, traditions, and principles?

• How does your church community empower that discernment?

At what point were the Colossians made alive with Christ? [When God forgave all their sin. (Colossians 2:13).]

• Name the images Paul uses to draw a picture of how God made the Colossians alive with Christ [Spiritual circumcision, baptism, erasure, nailing a list of sins to the cross (Colossians 2:11-15).]
• Which one speaks most deeply to you? Why?
• How can meditating on these images help you follow Paul’s guidance in Colossians 2:6?

The Preaching Notes for July 27 say, “. . . the only thing that brings this aliveness is the Christ at work in us. There are various practices, however, that can open our eyes and hearts to that divine work within us. . .. Some disciplines have long histories of effectiveness; some practices are needed to bring a sense of belonging and community, and others are uniquely suited to various personality types. But none are transformative in and of themselves.”

• Keeping this in mind, reflect upon your devotional life. What practices help you live into your aliveness in Christ? Is there a practice that you feel called to begin?

Prayer (10 minutes). Share prayer requests and respond appropriately.

Sending Forth (2 minutes). End with the following prayer, a similar prayer, or the Lord’s

Prayer: God of love and power, thank you that every day, Christ is making us alive. We ask for the wisdom and discernment to hold fast to Christ and the life he has given us, even in this world of contrary voices. Amen.

Rev. Sherry Bryant-Johnson, a United Methodist deacon, served extension ministries in the Mississippi Annual Conference for nearly three decades. Now retired, she teaches “Abiding in Christ Together: Creating Gospel-Centric Retreats” and Lay Servant Ministries courses online at BeaDisciple.com. An author and a spiritual director, she is an editor and essayist for the anthology, Embodied Spirits: Stories of Spiritual Directors of Color (Morehouse, 2014).