Week of November 1

Colossians: The X-Factor Difference of Christ in You
An X factor is the thing that makes the difference in how something turns out. In Colossians we discover how finding our life in Christ, and living our life in Christ, is the ultimate x factor that makes all the difference in how our lives and how life itself all turns out.

Week 9: Paul’s Appeal to Philemon – Colossians 4:1, 7-9, Philemon 1-25
Paul continues to drill down on what it looks to live a life transformed by the Gospel or living “in Christ”. This week we examine how Paul resolves a crisis between two believers, a master (Philemon) and a slave (Onesimus), showing how the gospel impacts our relationships, as well as our cultural and social structures. Making things right in a world gone wrong requires us to follow Christ our Heavenly Master wholeheartedly and love others sacrificially as our brothers and sisters.

DISCUSSION/REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
ICE BREAKER QUESTIONS:

  • If you needed forgiveness and wanted to smooth things over with a friend, what meal/dessert would you bring?
  • What is the difference between ‘forgiving’ someone and ‘reconciling’ with them?

READ: Colossians 4:1, 7-9, Philemon 1-25
Spend some time SOAPing this passage. You can either spend time SOAPing individually and documenting for a several minutes and then spend time sharing with each -OR- SOAP in real time with each other. Either way, make as many observations as you can.

  • OBSERVATIONS:
    1. What stands out to you from this passage? What are your observations?
    2. How would you summarize this passage in one sentence?
    3. What does this passage tell me about who Jesus is?
    4. What does this passage tell me about who I am in Christ?
  • QUESTIONS
    1. Culture vs. Kingdom. The sermon says Philemon’s culture expected him to punish Onesimus harshly, while the gospel called him to forgive and receive as a brother. Where do you feel a similar tension between where the surrounding culture/social environment views as normal and what it means to live “in Christ”? e.g. finances, relationships, forgiveness, gossip, or sexuality, etc.
    2. One life, not two. Paul wrote a seemingly private matter to Philemon and also to the whole church (Philemon 2), because “we don’t live two lives.” How do you view how your church community overlaps with your private conflicts? How might it help to invite your community into a difficult situation or relationship, and what makes that hard?
    3. Appeal over authority. Paul could have “ordered” Philemon as an apostle but chose to appeal “on the basis of love” (Philemon 8-9). Why do you think he held back? When have you seen someone persuade through love instead of pressure, and how did it affect you? How can we do the same when we want someone to do the right thing?
    4. Forgiveness that costs something. Paul didn’t excuse Onesimus’s wrong. He sent him back to be reconciled face to face, and he offered to cover the debt personally (Philemon 17-19). What does this show about the difference between forgiving and reconciling versus pretending the offense didn’t happen? How does Christ absorbing our debt shape your willingness to absorb someone else’s? Who in your life might you need to forgive, or reconcile with in person?
    5. From property to brother. Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus “no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother” (Philemon 16). This could be a quiet invitation to free him, and it would have been costly to Philemon’s reputation. What would it look like today to see someone in a new way, as a brother or sister rather than as a label or a past mistake? What might it cost us?
    6. Rethinking the offense. Paul suggests Onesimus’s absence may have had a purpose: “Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever” (Philemon 15). How does giving someone who wronged us a more generous interpretation of change impact how we see them? Is there a situation where God might be working through a painful separation or offense for you?
    7. What else stood out from this week’s sermon?

APPLICATION:
What is your big takeaway from this week’s sermon? Be specific.

NEXT STEPS:
Everyone has a next step to apply what we’ve learned. What’s your next step? Be specific.

MEMORY VERSE: *Challenge yourself or your group to commit this verse to memory:
Philemon 6 I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.

PRAYER:
Spend some time praying as a group Philemon 6

Scripture References:
Colossians 4:1, 7-9, Philemon 1-25, Colossians 3:1-14