The True Center

Colossians 1:1-29 

There is a human tendency to place ourselves at the center of our own little universe. With piercingly beautiful words and Spirit-inspired clarity, the apostle Paul declares that there is only one center around which a faithful Christian can orbit and not have life spin out of control. Jesus, the divine One, is our center.

WELCOME

Big, bold, brash claims! We have all heard them. Muhamad Ali, the great boxer known for his success in the ring and his equally effective verbal jabs outside the ring declared things like, “I float like a butterfly and sting like a bee!” He also claimed to be, “The greatest of all time!”

Decades later another sports story has been unfolding as people debate who is the best basketball player in history. Should the title go to Michael “Air” Jordan or LeBron “King” James? Who is the greatest basketball player to ever grace the courts of the NBA? Lots of people have claimed that Lebron James is the G.O.A.T! And lots of other people are equally sure that Michael Jordan is the Greatest Of All Time! The battle and debate rages on.

In the days of Jesus and the early Church, there was a procession of Roman emperors who claimed to be the divine center of the empire. One by one, they passed from this life and into history. Over time, it was clear that their claims were radically overstated and anyone who made these human leaders the center of their life had missed the mark.

More than 2,000 years ago, an itinerant rabbi with no home, no political influence, and no formal religious organization claimed to be “the way, the truth and the life” (John 14:6). On one occasion, this wandering teacher invoked the divine name of God when He spoke to Moses at the burning bush (see Exodus 3:14; John 8:58). The religious leaders of the day were so convinced that Jesus was claiming to be God, and the single way to eternal life with the Father, they had Him nailed to a Roman cross. They delighted as His blood poured to the ground and His life was snuffed out after only thirty-three years walking on this earth. When Jesus declared He was the divine center of all things, He made the boldest claim in the history of the world.

For more than 2,000 years His followers have worshiped Jesus as their Lord and sought to place Him at the center of their lives, homes, churches, and even their culture. Two millennia after the incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, more than 2.3 billion people practice some form of faith based on the teaching and life of this one man.

Though persecution of Christians continues and even grows in many parts of the world, Jesus is still Lord of all. Although secular philosophies blossom and thrive, Jesus is risen, alive, and invites every person to receive His grace and leadership.

The question is not, “Is Jesus the true center of all things?” He is!

The real question is, “Will I let Him be the center of my life today and every day?”

SHARE

Tell about a time on your journey with Jesus when He was at the center of your attention, heart, and life. How did this impact the way you lived, loved, and labored in that season?

WATCH

Watch the video segment for session one. As you watch, use the following outline to record any thoughts or concepts that stand out to you.

What is at the center?

Who is at the center? (John 14:6)?

The context and setting of Colossians (Colossians 1:1–5)

Syncretism and false teaching in the Church... then and now (Colossians 1:5; Philippians 3:20)

The primary reason for the letter to the Colossian church... course correction

The danger of materialism

The seduction of individualism

The lure of nationalism

Who is at the center — me or Jesus? (Colossians 1:15–20)

Was Jesus... Deceived?

Deluded?

Divine?

The importance and role of the firstborn in the ancient world (Colossians 1:15)

Opening our eyes to recognize the temptation of syncretism and fixing our eyes on Jesus, the true center of it all!

DISCUSS

Take a few minutes with your group members to discuss what you just watched and explore these concepts in Scripture. Use the following questions to help guide your discussion.

1. What impacted you the most as you watched Jay’s teaching?
2. The church in Colossae was facing the temptation to embrace syncretistic beliefs and practices. They were enticed to com- bine the current cultural and religious beliefs, values, and practices with their Christian faith. How are Christians today facing the temptation to fuse one of these “isms” with their faith in Jesus?

• Materialism
• Individualism
• Nationalism
• Some other “ism”

3. Read Colossians 1:3–6. The apostle Paul emphasizes “the true message of the gospel.” When you let any “ism,” belief system, or personal preference influence your faith in Jesus, things become murky and diluted, and your faith gets watered down. Describe a time you saw this happen in your life or the faith journey or someone you know. Why is this so dangerous that the apostle Paul warns you about it?
4. Read Colossians 1:15–20. Make a list of the things this passage declares about Jesus. What are the implications for the Church and your life of faith if each one is true?
5. When you understand that Jesus is the firstborn and live with him as your true center (both in community with God’s people and in your individual faith journey), what impact can this have on one of the areas below?

• How you deal with the enticement to sin and wander from God’s care
• How you’re late to other followers of Jesus in your church and community
• When you face times of darkness and pain
• How you relate to people who are far from Jesus or antagonistic to your faith
• How you care for and relate to members of your family
• Some other area or aspect of your life

6. What is a specific way you have learned to slow down and fix your eyes on Jesus in the busyness of life and the storms you face? How has this practice helped you keep Jesus in the center of your life?

MEMORIZE

At each session, you will be given a key verse (or verses) from the passage covered in the video teaching to memorize. This week, your memory verses are from Colossians 1:19–20:

For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether things on earth or things in Heaven, by making peace through His blood, shed on the cross.

Have everyone recite these verses out loud. Then go around the room and ask for any volunteers who would like to say the verses from memory.

RESPOND

What will you take away from this session? What is one practical next step you can take to fix your eyes on Jesus as the center of your life, community, and the world?

PRAY

Close your group time by praying in any of the following directions:

• Praise, worship, and celebrate Jesus as the divine center of the universe, your church, and your life.
• Pray for churches, other believers, and yourself to recognize when syncretism is slipping into our thinking and practices. Ask for the power of the Holy Spirit to resist this deceptive temptation.
• Confess where you have let any sort of “ism” or syncretistic thinking taint your purity of faith in Jesus alone. (You might want to do this as a group or make time for silent confession.)
• Lift up members of your group and pray that they will follow, worship, and live for Jesus as the true and only center of their life.

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Your Turn

Come share your thoughts on Colossians lesson one. We want to hear from you!