Warm Up

5-10 minutes

Like any small group, you want to begin with some conversation, checking in on how people are doing, and if it’s a new group, helping people to get to know one another. You can talk about whatever you’d like, but here are a couple of potential questions to get the conversation going.

• What is your favorite movie of all time, and why?

• What song have you been playing on repeat lately?

Discussion Questions

25 minutes

To get the most out of this group discussion, let’s agree to some ground rules:

• There are no perfect people allowed, so we won’t “fake fine” or pretend to be something we’re not.

• We aren’t here to fix each other, so we won’t advise each other unless asked. We’ll stick to listening and encouraging.

• We’ll keep our sharing short so that everyone is able to participate.

• We’ll keep what we hear to ourselves, since each person’s story is theirs alone to share.

• We’ll show up and join in, because everyone’s input matters and helps.

Below we’ve provided a number of questions that you can use to continue the conversation. Don’t try to work through all of these. Pick the ones you think will resonate most.

• Paul went through a radical heart and name change after encountering the resurrected Jesus. What area of your life do you think has changed OR needs to change as a result of encountering the resurrected Jesus?

• What makes it hard to paddle upstream in your life?

• What religious beliefs and attitudes are most influential in today’s culture? Why are these ideas so attractive?

• What did Paul say was the evidence that the Colossians had responded positively to the gospel? Do you see this kind of evidence in churches today? What about in your life?

• The Colossians learned the gospel from Epaphras (1:7). Who in your life is learning the gospel from you? Or, who do you think could learn the gospel from you?

• What are some things that help you stay hopeful during trying times? What are some things that make it difficult for you to stay hopeful?