The following is written by the Shelby Kennedy Foundation. It is found in THE PARENT GUIDEBOOK.
Week One: Colossians 1: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8
Summary: The book of Colossians is not really a book. It was originally a letter written by Paul to Christians in a city called Colossae around 62 A.D. Colossae was a city on a main trade route and was influenced by many different cultural backgrounds. The first verses are like the introduction and conclusion
of a letter all rolled into one. He is always thanking God for the Colossians when he prays for them because he has heard a good report about their faith in Jesus and their love for each other. He explains to them that this faith and love are a result of having hope, and this hope comes from the good news about Jesus that they heard from Epaphras--good news that is spreading all over the world!
Week Two: Colossians 1: 9, 10, 11, 12,13,14
Summary: Paul not only gives thanks for these Christians, he also prays for them. He asks that God would make His will known to them so they could live lives that would be pleasing to Him, and so they in turn would thank God for graciously bringing them out of the clutches of darkness and into a realm of light--the community of Christians who have been forgiven of their sins through Jesus Christ.
Week Three: Colossians 1: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23
Summary: This Jesus who has saved us is none other than the very picture of the God who is invisible! He is the most preeminent Being in all the universe because the entire universe was created through His power and for His glory. He existed before the universe came into being, and He even keeps the universe existing! When Jesus became a man, all the fullness of God became a man, and God used Jesus to reconcile everything in the universe back to Himself--through the blood of Jesus on the cross. Jesus created the universe, and then when that universe had gone astray, he also reconciled it to God the Father by dying on the cross. Paul describes Jesus' work of reconciling the whole universe to God. As Christians, Jesus has reconciled us to God in a special way: His purpose for us was that one day we would stand perfect before God, even though we have lived lives of such sin before we knew Jesus. But we have to hold onto the good news of what Jesus has done for us. The gospel is the only way to be saved!
Week Four: Colossians 1: 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29; Colossians 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Summary: God gave Paul the special task of taking the good news about Jesus to non-Jewish people. Taking this message to the world involved both suffering and hard work on Paul's part, and the message he preached was a "mystery"--God had kept key parts of His plan of salvation through Jesus a secret for a long time. But now it was time for the secret to be let out! God would save people through Jesus coming and living in them! And this "secret" had to be made known to the whole world. Paul's goal was to spread the good news of this secret revealed, so that Christians would stand before God the Father as perfect people someday. This was the goal that Paul worked toward, as God provided the strength for him to do the work.
Week Five: Colossians 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Summary: Paul wanted the Colossians and the Laodiceans to know how much he was struggling for them. These struggles were not just for the people he knew personally, but also for many people (like us!) that he would never meet face to face. He did not tell them about his struggles for them so that they would think he was really great; he told them so they would be encouraged in their faith and know God's "secret"--Jesus! The real treasures of wisdom and understanding about life are found in Him, and Paul wanted the Colossians to remember this so that no one would deceive them away from Jesus--even though he could see that their faith in Christ was firm.
Week Six: Colossians 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15
Summary: The Christians at Colossae had made Jesus the Lord of their lives. Paul encourages them to maintain that commitment to Jesus as they continue to walk with Him. Just as they were anchored to Christ at the beginning of their Christian walk, so they need to continue to grow in Him with a faith that is firm and with thanksgiving that is overflowing. Paul warns these Christians again not to let anyone kidnap them with teachings that are based on human rules and ideas rather than based on Jesus. Jesus is the very fullness of God in human form and has given us fullness in our lives. Therefore we need nothing other than Him! God took away our sinfulness when we died and rose with Jesus--He nailed the record of our sins to the cross. Through the cross, God conquered evil spiritual forces and paraded them through the streets (as it were)!
