Colossians and Philemon: In Christ Alone

So far as we know, first-century Colossae was a town of faded glory – populated by low-born, ‘ordinary’ people who farmed crops and looked after sheep, working in the associated trades of shearing and dyeing wool, and selling it in the market.

And yet it’s ones like these whom Paul addresses as ‘God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ’. Paul locates them geographically in Colossae and theologically in Christ. Crucially, their Christian faith doesn’t remove them from the world: they continue to live and work and raise their families ‘in Colossae’. But they do so as those who are ‘in Christ’. Seated with Christ at the right hand of God, they’re also called to live out their faith in everyday life, with their identity in Christ touching every area of their daily existence – as shepherds and farmers, as wool dyers and market traders, as spouses and slaves.

Like the Christians of Paul’s day, we too are faced with the challenges of following Jesus in an indifferent or hostile society, with competing ‘religious’ options on offer. Paul’s letter to the Colossians – and its companion, the short letter to the slave-owner Philemon – centres us around the message of the gospel and the greatness of Christ, showing who Jesus is, what he has done, and how that works out in the everyday lives of ordinary men and women.

Who it’s for and how it works

This day workshop (taking place over Thursday afternoon and Friday morning) will be especially valuable for those who have already done some theological training, including pastors and those in other types of ministry leadership. You might like to consider signing up as a teaching team, and perhaps come with a view to preparing to work through Colossians and Philemon as part of your preaching programme.

The sessions will involve a combination of input and interaction, giving participants the opportunity to wrestle with Colossians and Philemon in a group of fellow learners. We’ll explore issues of interpretation raised in the text as well as focus on the practical implications of the letters.

For church leaders and preachers, we’ll reflect together on how the letters of Colossians and Philemon form members of our congregations as followers of Jesus in their everyday contexts, but the workshop will be suitable for all those who would value an opportunity to explore how Scripture nurtures Christian identity and mission in today’s world.

Register on the Winter Conference booking page.