Welcome to week 6 of Colossians for Families! The focus of our study will be on Colossians 3:12-14 and how important it is to put on characteristics that reflect Jesus.
Click here for Colossians Week 5 – Put Off
Let’s Study the Bible Together
Opening Prayer
Dear Lord, we’re thankful for the important work you’re accomplishing in our lives and we are excited about what you’re going to teach us today in our study of Colossians. Give us courage and strength to live for you. In Jesus name, Amen.
Read Colossians 3:12-14
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
Note for Parents: Read the background information and share what might be helpful as you teach your kids. You know them better than anyone else, so make this work for your family.
Background Info for Parents
A couple of weeks back, we looked at Colossians 3:1-4, where Paul called us to take a heavenly perspective of our lives. It’s a perspective that comes from our new identities in Christ. Before we knew Jesus, we were incapable of living for him because we were only concerned with the things that our old selves loved. It was a sad situation. But the good news is that because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, we died to our old selves and have been raised to new life in Him. We have a new identity and a new way of looking at things!
This week, we’re focusing on “Putting On” those things that should naturally flow from the new self. We don’t try to live out these good characteristics to earn God’s love. We live out these good things because God already loves us and has given us the power to live for him. Here is the list that Paul gives us:
Note for Parents: Try to write a short explanation for each of these virtues so that you can help your kids understand these commands better.
- Compassionate hearts
- Kindness
- Humility
- Meekness
- Patience
Discussion Questions
1. What do you think it means that God has called you holy + beloved? If you are God’s child who has been redeemed by Jesus, he really does see you like this. It’s because of Jesus’ holiness that God considers you holy and it’s because of his great love for us that calls us his beloved.
2. Which one of the good characteristics that we read about sticks out to you as really important? Why?
3. Which one of these good characteristics do you struggle with the most?
4. Why do you think it’s so tough to forgive another person who has done something against you?
5. Paul tells us that love is the most important thing on this list. Do you have any idea why “love” might be the most important thing that you put on?
Family Life Application
Memory Verse
Colossians 3:14 “And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.”
In today’s Bible Study, we talked about a list of virtues that we area supposed to be living out when we know Jesus. Have one person list each virtue on a sheet of paper and have the family work together to write a short description of each on. Once you’re done, tape it up somewhere for the family to see throughout the week.
Prayer Focus
- Thank God for sending Jesus to the earth to live, die on the cross, and rise again.
- Ask God to help us to forgive each other.
- Pray for each family member’s love to grow for one another.
Additional Resources
Understanding the Gospel: Are Parent’s Guide
Family Discipleship: A Biblical Guide for Parents
Join our family discipleship community! Sign up for weekly emails with encouragement and practical ways to help your kids grow in Christ.
Leave a Reply