Join us this Sunday for Trinity's Easter Services.

Friday, Good Friday Service, 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm Bethel Baptist Church (10705 East 86th Street North, Owasso, OK 74055)

Sunday, 7AM Easter Sunrise Service, Barnes Elementary Field (7809 E 76th St North, Owasso, OK 74055)

Sunday, 10AM Easter Worship, Barnes Elementary Gym (7809 E 76th St North, Owasso, OK 74055)

Join Us Sunday: 10am at Barnes Elementary

RISE Campaign | RISE to Identity | Discussion Questions, Week 2

READ

Colossians 2:6-7 (ESV)
[6] Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, [7] rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

SERMON SUMMARY

  1. Things with roots grow. In v. 7 we see that being "rooted" is not a command, but something that God has done for the Christian.
  2. The mechanism for being spiritually rooted is the Christian's justification by faith alone. Justification is the one-time act (not process) of God's free grace in which the Christian's sins are declared forgiven and the Christian is declared righteous in God's sight, not from our own righteousness, but from Christ's righteousness covering us. And all of this is received by faith alone.
  3. Growth and change without deep roots is impossible. Is your understanding of justification by faith merely theoretical, or is it practical? Does your day-to-day walk with the Lord rest upon how well you are obeying (sanctification) or upon your justification?

DISCUSS

In order for plants to grow and maintain any permanence, what we see below the ground (i.e., the roots) must be much more developed than what we see above the ground (i.e., the stem). In order for a stem to grow, the roots must also grow and develop.

  1. Why is identity in Christ (and specifically, justification, our being forgiven of sin and declared to be righteous) best understood spiritually as roots and not a stem?
  2. What is the danger of making things other than Christian identity roots?

The two questions above are primarily concerned with the individual. But think about the church as a singular organism.

  1. What is the interaction of an individual’s spiritual roots and the church’s collective roots?
  2. For young and/or delicate plants, both the roots and the stem often need assistance, e.g., fertilizer, appropriate soil, a stem stake, etc. What assistance might be needed for the church as an organism to ensure it grows in a healthy way that ensures its longevity?
  3. Is having a church building necessary/unnecessary? Is it helpful/unhelpful? In what way, if any, is a church’s building tied to its spiritual rootedness?

PRAY

Take prayer requests in normal fashion. Pray for these, as well as Trinity’s growth in the gospel through the RISE campaign.