Faith, Love and Hope

Col 1:1-8

1:1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, 2 To the saints and faithful brothers [1] in Christ at Colossae. Grace to you and peace from God our Father.3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, 5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. Of this you have heard before in the word of the truth, the gospel, 6 which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing—as it also does among you, since the day you heard it and understood the grace of God in truth, 7 just as you learned it from Epaphras our beloved fellow servant. [2] He is a faithful minister of Christ on your [3] behalf 8 and has made known to us your love in the Spirit.

Footnotes
[1] 1:2 Or brothers and sisters. The plural Greek word adelphoi (translated “brothers”) refers to siblings in a family. In New Testament usage, depending on the context, adelphoi may refer either to men or to both men and women who are siblings (brothers and sisters) in God's family, the church
[2] 1:7 Greek fellow bondservant
[3] 1:7 Some manuscripts our

• How often do you consider the hopes that fuel your life? Is it easy
  for you to feel hopeless?
  
• Who do you always pray for?
  
• How is the hope you have expressed in your faith and love?
  
• Where does your hope come from?
  
• How is the gospel producing fruit in your life?
  
• Why is it necessary to understand the gospel instead of just hearing it?
  
• What does it mean to understand the grace of God in truth?