Introduction

Suffering: Avoid or Embrace?

Colossians 1:24-29

Strange Joy (v. 24a)

Filling Up What is Lacking (v. 24b)

Epaphroditus & the Philippians (Phil. 2:29-30)

The Medium is the Message

Paul’s Stewardship & the Call of All Believers (v. 25)

Mystery Now Revealed (v. 26, 27)

HIM we PROCLAIM (v. 28)

Hope of Glory in our Worthy Toil (v. 29)

Enemies of Hope

Extending and Experiencing Hope

Community Meditations Questions

• In what areas of life do you find that struggle and toil produces life and hope both for others and in you?
• In what ways do you adopt a consumerist attitude toward the church , Christianity in general or even relationships in general? How can you take action to reverse these trends in your own life? What action could you take in your Missional Community, family, among friends and co-workers to engage the call to worthy toil?
• Have you ever seen God’s power meet you in the mids t of loving service to others? What did you learn from that experience?
• Look at the core identities of Jacob’s Well listed at the bottom of this program. In what ways might we more fully engage these identities if we truly believed that suffering extends hope to others and causes us to experience hope and life ourselves? 
• Read Colossians 2:1-8 for next week.