经文 :【歌罗西书1章3-20节】
3我们感谢神、我们主耶稣基督的父，常常为你们祷告；
4因听见你们在基督耶稣里的信心，并向众圣徒的爱心，
5是为那给你们存在天上的盼望；这盼望就是你们从前在福音真理的道上所听见的。
6这福音传到你们那里，也传到普天之下，并且结果，增长，如同在你们中间，自从你们听见福音，真知道神恩惠的日子一样。 11/
7正如你们从我们所亲爱、一同作仆人的以巴弗所学的。他为我们（有古卷：你们）作了基督忠心的执事，
8也把你们因圣灵所存的爱心告诉了我们。
9因此，我们自从听见的日子，也就为你们不住的祷告祈求，愿你们在一切属灵的智慧悟性上，满心知道神的旨意；
10好叫你们行事为人对得起主，凡事蒙他喜悦，在一切善事上结果子，渐渐的多知道神；
11照他荣耀的权能，得以在各样的力上加力，好叫你们凡事欢欢喜喜的忍耐宽容；
12又感谢父，叫我们能与众圣徒在光明中同得基业。
13他救了我们脱离黑暗的权势，把我们迁到他爱子的国里；
14我们在爱子里得蒙救赎，罪过得以赦免。
15爱子是那不能看见之神的像，是首生的，在一切被造的以先。
16因为万有都是靠他造的，无论是天上的，地上的；能看见的，不能看见的；或是有位的，主治的，执政的，掌权的；一概都是借着他造的，又是为他造的。
17他在万有之先；万有也靠他而立。
18他也是教会全体之首。他是元始，是从死里首先复生的，使他可以在凡事上居首位。
19因为父喜欢叫一切的丰盛在他里面居住。
20既然借着他在十字架上所流的血成就了和平，便借着他叫万有─无论是地上的、天上的─都与自己和好了。
主旨句：感谢神，因祂成就万事。
1. 感谢神，因祂创造宇宙万有；（15-17节）
（1）耶稣具有神的形象；
（2）背负神的形象意味著成为神的代表。
（3）三位一体的上帝创造了万有；
（4）我们是万有的中的一员；
（5）不仅如此，我们还是万有中独特且尊贵的，因为我们是按着神的形象造的；
（6）因为我们背负神的形象，所以我们是神的代表，在地上代表神治理全地。
2. 感谢神，因祂赐下救恩；（13-14节，20节）
上帝的救赎计划是我们得救的根本，是我们得救的基础，也是我们应该向神感恩的最重要原因。这救赎计划就是我们所相信的福音。
讨论：感恩与不感恩的本质
感恩的本质，是为着一个我本不配得到，或者按照我自己的能力根本无法得到的东西，来向施与我这个东西的那个对象表达谢意，把功劳归给他，也把称赞和尊容归给他。
原来亚当夏娃在伊甸园里所犯的罪的本质，就是不感恩。原来不感恩上帝不是众多罪中的一种，而是众多罪的总和！罪的本质，就是把自己当作神，以至于觉得没什么要感谢上帝的，没什么好归功于上帝的！不感恩，不是一个小罪，不是众多罪中的一个；不感恩，就是罪的总和，罪的本质！
福音的到来要更新这一切，要更新我们的心，要打开我们心里的眼睛，使我们重新回到堕落前的伊甸园的世界，清楚的看见并认识到，原来我们所有一切的一切，都是上帝所恩赐的。
3. 感谢神，因祂按照祂的心意建立教会，并且使福音广传；（4-11节，18节）
(1) 建立教會並廣傳福音，是上帝的心意； 蒙上帝重塑了神的形象的基督徒應該以神的心為心； (2) 建立教會並廣傳福音，是上帝托付我們的使命； 上帝賜給我們大使命去傳揚福音，建造門徒。但最終真正為我們成就這事的是上帝，我們應該感謝祂，並歸榮耀給祂。 (3) 建立教會並廣傳福音，是上帝賜給我們的祝福； 上帝不是讓我們在這世上單打獨鬥，而是賜給我們地方教會，有一群弟兄姐妹相伴我們左右，所以我們應該為此感恩。
Scripture: Colossians 1:3-20
Thanksgiving and Prayer
3 We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, 4 because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people— 5 the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel 6 that has come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day you heard it and truly understood God’s grace. 7 You learned it from Epaphras, our dear fellow servant,[who is a faithful minister of Christ on ourbehalf, 8 and who also told us of your love in the Spirit.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask Go to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, 10 so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, 12 and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
The Supremacy of the Son of God
15 The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. 19 For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.
Key Sentence: Thank God for accomplishing everything.
1. Thank God for creating all things in the universe; (vv15-17)
(1) Jesus has the image of God; (2) To bear the image of God means to be a representative of God. (3) The triune God created all things; (4) We are a member of all things; (5) Not only that, we are unique and noble among all things, because we were created in the image of God; (6) Because we bear the image of God, we are the representatives of God and rule the whole earth on behalf of God.
2. Thank God for his salvation; (vv13-14, v20)
God's redemption plan is the basis of our salvation, the foundation of our salvation, and the most important reason why we should be grateful to God. This plan of salvation is the gospel we believe in.
Discussion: The nature of gratitude and ungratefulness
The essence of gratitude is to express gratitude to the person who gave me something for the thing that I do not deserve or cannot get according to my own ability, to give credit to him, and to give him praise and respect.
It turns out that the nature of Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden is not gratitude. It turns out that not being grateful to God is not one of many sins, but the sum of many sins! The essence of sin is to treat yourself as a god, so that you feel that there is nothing to thank God for, and nothing to owe to God! Ungratefulness is not a small sin or one of many sins; ungratefulness is the sum of sins, the essence of sin!
The arrival of the gospel must renew all of these, renew our hearts, and open our hearts to make us return to the world of the Garden of Eden before the fall, clearly seeing and realizing that everything in us is gifted by God.
3. Thank God for establishing the church according to His will and spreading the gospel; (vv4-11, v18) (1) It is God's will to establish churches and spread the gospel.
Christians who have been reshaped by God should take God's heart as their heart.
(2) It is God's mission to establish churches and spread the gospel.
God has given us a great commission to preach the gospel and build up disciples. But in the end, it is God who does this for us, and we should thank Him and glorify Him.
(3) Establishing churches and spreading the gospel is a blessing given to us by God.
God did not let us to fight alone in this world, but gave us a local church with a group of brothers and sisters to accompany us, so we should be grateful for that.