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The Goal of Freedom: Freedom!
Gal 5:13-15 “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free”
Freedom is its own reward! Sounds so simple doesn’t it? We all want to be free – so why aren’t we? Perhaps more importantly how can we be… Especially when everyone (including ourselves) seems intent on putting us right back into slavery?! Join us on Sunday, as we explore what True Freedom looks like and how we can live into the freedom that (in Christ!) is already ours.
The Face of Freedom: Born in Zion
Gal 4:21-31 Islam seems to be a daily topic in the media and conversations. But do we understand Islam and how we can relate to Muslims? Our study in Galatians this week centers on Abraham’s two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, and their two mothers, Sarah and Hagar. The apostle Paul presents a surprising spin on the OT story as it relates now to freedom in Christ. And because Ishmael, from whom the Arab race descends, will be a part of our study on Sunday morning, Bernard Bell will be sharing Sunday night on the topic of Islam. This is a rich opportunity to grow in our understanding of an important topic for our times.
The Appeal for Freedom: A Pastor’s Heart
Gal 4:8-20 Our deepest desire is to be transformed into the image of Christ rather than becoming a cardboard cutout of religious perfection. We don’t want to just talk about freedom. #free2live.
The Key to Freedom: Being the Beloved
Gal 4:1-7 The story of the prodigal son in Luke 15 portrays God as a father who shows extravagant love to his two sons and desires to have an adult relationship with them, meaning a relationship based on total acceptance, free of judgment, fear, and control. Believe it or not this is the relationship that God wants to have with each of us. God wants us not only to know his love but to be the beloved, even as his Son.
Galatians is a book that talks about gospel freedom as opposed to living under law. Christ sets us free from a rule-keeping, performance-based relationship with God where we try through our own efforts to gain his approval and love. But it is hard to break away from living as a slave to law. The key to the free life is knowing in our hearts, not just in our minds, that we are beloved daughters and sons of the Father. This incredible relationship comes as a total gift. Jesus redeems us from the law and the Holy Spirit allows us to address God as “Abba.”
In preparation for our study this week I would encourage you to read Luke 15 and Galatians 3:25-4:7 and think through how you would describe your relationship with God.
The Promise of Freedom
Gal 3:15-29 Long ago God made a promise to Abraham: “In your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Who is this seed and what is the blessing? The next passage in our summer series on Galatians (3:15-29) answers these questions. The seed is Jesus Christ. No matter what our identity, when we identify by faith with Jesus and his faithfulness even unto death, we receive the promised blessing, the gift of the Holy Spirit. We are adopted into God’s family as the true children of Abraham, the man of faith. We have a new identity: we are “in Christ,” in whom God is bringing everything together. I encourage you to read Galatians 3 and think about your identity: How do your define yourself and what marks your identity? On Sunday evening we will have a forum to consider the implications of this new identity for our understanding of Israel and the Church.
The Gospel of Freedom: What a Gift!
Gal 2:15 – 3:9 We continue our studies in Galatians this week in chapter 2 where Paul begins his long explanation of the Gospel so that the Galatians will not resort to living under law. He begins by explaining what the authentic Gospel really is. What we find is the Gospel is a love story written by a gracious God and centered around his son Jesus, who loved us and gave his life for us (Gal 2:20). “Gracious”, “loved” and “gave” – these three words show us that the Gospel is all gift, not to be earned, but to be received in faith. The Gospel of Freedom has nothing to do with what we do, but has everything to do with what Christ has already done. Oh, what a gift! In preparation for this Sunday, I would encourage you to read Galatians 2:15-3:9, but also Ephesians 2:8-9. A question you might ask yourself is how have you experienced the love and grace of our good, good God in your life? Feel free to post a response to #free2livepbcc.
The Struggle for Freedom
Gal 2:1-13 Jesus ushered in a new era for the people of God, one where we are set free from rule-keeping and empowered by the Spirit to live a transformed life. But the free life is not easy to maintain. There are many factors that pull us back into slavery under the law.
We can know intellectually that we are a new creation but the reality of our lives is often different. Freedom goes against our natural inclinations and default mechanisms. If we want the free life we are in for a battle.
This week we continue the journey from law to freedom by looking at the apostle Paul and his battle for freedom against the early church leaders. We realize that if Paul had not taken such a firm stand on the gospel of freedom that was revealed to him by God the Christian life would still be defined by rules. In preparation for this week I would encourage you to read Galatians 1:11-2:14 and think about the question, why is it hard for you to live in freedom? You might even want to post a response to #free2livepbcc before Sunday.
Journey from Law to Freedom: Introduction to Galatians
Gal 1:6-9 Many people outside the church have a negative perception of organized religion. And many others who have attended church deal with negative experiences. Church is often viewed as an oppressive system of do’s and don’ts where people keep track of your progress. Tragically, people live with a distorted picture of God.
In the book of Galatians, the apostle Paul dispels the myth of a rule-keeping God and calls us to life and freedom. As Paul explains the gospel through the lens of Israel’s story, we get a clear picture of God and his love for us. Christ sets us free from the bondage of law, and the Spirit empowers us so that we can become the holy and loving people of God. Sounds great, doesn’t it? But living this out isn’t always easy.
This Sunday we are going embark on a journey from law to freedom. Plus, since Paul’s explanation of the gospel centers on Israel’s story and the “seed” of Abraham, we will have two evening forums to allow more in depth discussions:
July 16 – Israel and the Church
August 6 – Understanding Islam
(Both forums will be from 7:00-8:30pm)
Our hope is that God would open our minds and hearts to a deeper understanding of the gospel and a renewed relationship with God. Indeed, Jesus has set us #free2live. Bring your friends. This is exciting stuff!
Preserving Freedom for All
Acts 15:1-29 The Apostolic Council in Acts 15 is the watershed moment in the book of Acts. Luke demonstrates how the church has finally caught up with God’s initiative and formally declares that God has fulfilled his covenant with Israel and that the door is now thrown wide open to all without distinction to be part of God’s family. The implication is that we must never make ethnic or national distinctions a barrier to welcoming all races and nationalities into the kingdom. It is an on going battle, but as a church we are called, like Paul, to preserve the freedom of all, even when it is costly. “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal 5:1).
Fortifying the Foundations our Faith
Acts 14:20-28 On their first missionary, Paul and Barnabas have endured more violent resistance than one can imagine-slander, ridicule, death threats and stoning. After their final stop in Derbe, one would think they would choose the shortest and safest route home. To our surprise, they head straight back into the fire and retrace their steps all the way home. For the fledgling groups of disciples must be strengthened and the foundations of their faith fortified, if they have any chance of surviving the onslaught of persecution they will experience in the apostles’ absence. How strong are your fortifications? Could you withstand such an attack on your faith? How do we remain strong and strengthen each other’s faith?
Struck Down but Not Destroyed
Acts 14:8-28 Commenting on our text for this week, Luke Timothy Johnson observes, “The growing resistance to Paul’s messianic preaching by Diaspora Jews reaches a savage pitch in Lystra.” After jealous rage and ridicule in Antioch and death threats in Iconium, Paul is now stoned and left for dead in Lystra. However, as God would have it, Paul’s life is anything but finished. He simply gets up, goes back into the city and the following day Paul and Barnabas set out for their final destination, Derbe, where they make many disciples unhindered. What Luke demonstrates is that the more violent Jewish resistance becomes, the more receptive is the Gentiles’ acceptance of the gospel. What a mystery! Given the violent resistance they’ve encountered, one would think they would choose the shortest and safest route home. To our surprise, they head straight back into the fire and retrace their steps all the way home. What are they thinking?
The Fruit of Rejection
Acts 13:42 – 14:7 As we continue following Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey, things begin to heat up. After the conversion of the Roman proconsul in Cyprus and a very positive response to Paul’s sermon in Antioch, opposition arises and quickly becomes violent, spreading like wildfire among the people. Yet, to our surprise, Paul and Barnabas refuse to be intimidated. Instead of cowering in fear, they appear more courageous and confident with every move the enemy makes. They are like champion chess players, who had predetermined their responses to every move their opponents will make to the very end of the game. However, in this case, God has predetermined all the moves and has given them their endgame strategy. There is no need to be anxious when you know how the game ends. Do you?