Paul H
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Posts posted by Paul H
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Q2. (Colossians 4:3-4) What prayer request does Paul ask of the Colossian believers? He asks them to pray for God to provide an opportunity for him to proclaim Christ
What does it mean to pray for an open door. He is asking for an opportunity.
Why does he ask for prayer in communicating the gospel? Isnt he an old hand at this? Why does he need help? Without God our efforts are hopeless and this applies to all Christians without exception, including Paul. Paul clearly recognises this.
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Q1. (Colossians 4:2) What guidelines does Paul give us to form our praying habits? To pray regularly and persistantly, to concentrate on what we are praying and why we are praying it and finally to give thanks to God for what He has done for us which both is pleasing to God, and is encouraging to us.
If you put these into practice fully, how would they affect your prayer life? Praying should be something which I do regularly and constantly and praying isn't just reeling off my latest wish list or a way of remembering people (which it can become) but it is a crucial part of my communion with God who is my creator, my saviour and my friend.
What problems would they help correct? As I say above, I think that it would overcome the tendency to simply list my wants like some kind of formula and/or to meaningless repetition
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Q4. (Colossians 3:25-4:1) What instructions does Paul give masters
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Q3. (Colossians 3:22-24) If you apply Paul
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Q2. (Colossians 3:20-21) In what way does obedience prepare a child for everyday life in the future? For spiritual life in the future? What can fathers do to keep from discouraging their children?
The relationship described here is the same as the relationship between God and humans. In that sense, the obedience which Paul refers to here is a model for the relationship which the children have, and will continue to have, with God. It also prpeares them for a life in which obedience to authority on some level is going to be a constant feature (whether to a boss at work, a teacher at school, or a Government). What to do to keep from discouraging? Be positive, be patient, be gentle but firm and above all be loving. In fact, look at how Jesus behaved with His disciples and learn from it.
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Q1. (Colossians 3:18-19) Why do you think Paul chose these directions to give to wives and husbands -- considering all the things he could have said? Why is true submission difficult for wives? Why is unselfish love difficult for husbands? What prompts harshness in a husband? Is the cause inner or outer?
I think Paul's directions given to Christian wives and husbands were designed to show non-believers of the time what a difference Christ makes in their lives. It must have been counter-cultural for wives to submit to or respect their husbands and for husbands to show love and compassion for their wives. Paul also wrote for wives and husbands to "submit yourselves to one another because of your reverence for Christ." (Eph 5:21 Good News Bible)
Paul
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Q4. (Colossians 3:12-14) Why are Christian virtues so important to Christ? Because they are all virtues of Christ and Christ want us to be like Him. God made us in His own image, and to be in His image, we must share His virtues
Why are they so important to the church? They hold it together.
Why are they so important to non-Christians? They lead them to Christ
Why are they so important in our homes? Same as for the Church, they hold it together.
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Q3. (Colossians 3:8) Why are sins of the tongue so easy to slip into? Because it is all around us. It is considered normal, but that is a lie. It isn't normal, at least as God intended normal to be when He created man in His own image. It is insidious and ultimately destructive
In what ways do they damage us and others? Each individual sin can seem small and insignificant, but it can become like a cancer growing within us and ultimately destroying us and causing grief and misery to those around us. How many times have I said something as an instant reaction to something which has happened, or worse, fired off an e mail or text message to someone without thinking. That kind of thing is what Paul is talking about here. The more we do it without thinking about it, the more normal it seems and so it grows
How can we break free of sins of the tongue? By being guided by the Holy Spirit within us. Everytime we do it we must confess to God and apologize to those around us who have been affected by it. As Pastor Ralph says "after a dozen or several dozen repitions of this process, our vocabulary gets much cleaner". It requires effort on our part, but this is one of the things which God sent His Holy Spirit for to help us and inspire us, and it does work, I have seen it work!
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Q2. (Colossians 3:5) Why is sexual l u s t so difficult for people, especially males? Though we cannot deny that we are sexual beings, how can we keep sexual desire from controlling us and causing us to sin?
Hi Pastor Ralph What did you say to the member of your congregation who said that he couldn't see anything in the Bible against sex before marriage? I guess I am asking where does it say that 2 people who love and are committed to each other, are not married to anyone else and who aren't intending to indulge in some sexual perversion (and I have no doubt that the couple you descibed in your congregation fell into this category) should not have sex notwithstanding that they aren't married? I know that this is a strong church teaching, but where does it come from? Which part of scripture can I point to when asked?
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Q2. (Colossians 3:5) Why is sexual l u s t so difficult for people, especially males? Though we cannot deny that we are sexual beings, how can we keep sexual desire from controlling us and causing us to sin?
It is in our nature, and especially in the male nature, to want to produce as many offspring as possible. In order to produce offspring, it is necessary to have sex and from that God given nature springs our sexual desire. The trouble is that this sexual desire, this gift from God, can be perverted and become a form of idolatry ever craving the next sexual high, from wherever it may come. Sex in itself is not wrong, but it is a gift from God to be used, to be enjoyed, but never to be abused. With sex, as with so many other forms of temptation the easiest way of looking at this is to remember that God sees everything and is with us at all times. Am I comfortable with that thought, that reality, in everything I do? Train your mind on that thought, and everything else falls into place.
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Q1. (Colossians 3:1-2) What does it mean to
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Q2. (Colossians 2:9-10) What does verse 9 teach about Christ
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Q1. (Colossians 2:8) Philosophy refers to a prevailing belief system. How can a belief system be empty and false? Unless it is based on Christ, any belief system will be empty and false.
Have you ever personally experienced being captivated by a belief system only to find it deceptive and hollow? Yes, before Christ found me I believed that the ultimate fulfillment and happiness was to be found in more and more material posessions and a higher and higher social status. God and Jesus did not feature in this belief system at all and I can tell you, it was empty and false.
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Q4. (Colossians 2:2-3) In what sense are
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Q3. (Colossians 1:28-2:1) What is the purpose of Paul
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Q2. (Colossians 1:26-27) What is the mystery that Paul talks about? He is talking about the mystery, or secret that God, from the beginning of time had intended that Christ, the Messiah, was to come not only for the Jews, but for all people, and that through Christ, reconcilliation with God would be available for all people.
In what sense was,
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Q1. (Colossians 1:24) How could Paul
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Q3. (Ephesians 2:17) What does it mean to have "access to the Father"? In what way does the Holy Spirit facilitate this access? In what way does Jesus enable this access? It means that we are able to communicate with God at any time. We do this through Christ as our intermediary and are enabled to make the communication by the Holy Spirit. To give a crude but human analogy, the Holy Spirit is the hand set and Christ is the exchange!
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Q2. (Ephesians 2:14-15) In what sense did Jesus as Messiah "fulfill" the Mosaic Law? What is the significance of that for Jewish people? For us Gentiles?
He became the perfect sacrifice for all of our sins and in doing so removed the barrier between God and Men symbolised by the tearing of the veil of the temple at the moment of His death. From that point all men, both Jew and Gentile, could have direct access to God through Christ
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Q4. (Colossians 1:23) If our salvation depends upon the grace of God, not us, why is it necessary for us to
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Q1. (Ephesians 2:11-12) Why does being out of touch with what it means to be "lost" impede our willingness to witness? I always wondered why Paul puts so much emphasis, here and in some of his other letters on what Christians were like before they became Christians and how hopeless their position was. To me, it always seemed very negative. This question explains why it is so important to remember what the alternative to Christ is. If we lose sight of where we have come from, then we lose sight of where others still are, and therefore of the necessity to witness to them.
In your own words, what is the spiritual condition of a friend or co-worker who doesn't know Christ? Wandering aimlessly in a wilderness with no hope and, ultimately, no future.
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Q3. (Colossians 1:22) How can we be presented
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Q2. (Colossians 1:20-22) By what means did Jesus accomplish this reconciliation? Through His death on the cross.
What does
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Q1. (Colossians 1:20-22). What does "reconcile" mean? What was our state before reconciliation? (verse 21)
Webster's 1828 dictionary says, "the literal sense is to call back into union." I like that because it affirms that mankind was originally "in union" with God in the garden and that it is God who calls us back into union with Him. Reconciliation is offered by God to restore our relationship with Him. Without reconciliation we are enemies, alienated, estranged, separated, and LOST!
A good point Rod and something which I hadn't focussed on. This is the state God intended for us and for which we were created. That state was disrupted, but its restoration has been made possible by Christ on the cross.
Q3. Conversations with Non-Christians
in 8. Final Instructions and Greetings (4:2-18)
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Q3. (Colossians 4:5-6) What instructions does Paul give us in sharing our faith with non-believers? To take every opportunity presented to us to share our faith graciously and lovingly
Why, do you think, we sometimes let opportunities slip by? Many reasons, but it all centres around a reluctance to stand out from the crowd, but we must remember that by becoming a Christian although we are still among the crowd, we are not a part of it
How will our conversation being full of grace help us represent Christ well? It will be loving, caring, humble, not condescending or pushy or negative, in other words, a reflection of Christ