On Sunday, June 6, 2021 at Wildwood Community Church, I preached a sermon based on Galatians 4:1-7. This message was part 5 in the “New Way” sermon series. Below are a set of questions related to the message for personal reflection or group discussion. You will also find the audio and video of the message to listen to/watch or share.
Sermon Questions:
- Pray
- Read Galatians 4:1-7
- What are some areas in your life where you long to “mature”? In what ways is the phrase “mature” better than just getting “older”?
- The ABC’s of religion are the “you need to’s”… most all religions have their own version of these kinds of commands. In what way do these commands make you a “slave”? How does God intend His Law to impact you?
- Jesus redeems us to His new way, making it possible for us to be adopted as a son of God and given His Holy Spirit. How does this change in identity and provision of His Holy Spirit make a difference in your life today?
- Do you think of yourself more as a “sinner/slave” or as a “son/heir”? How does understanding who you are in Christ change the way you think of your “ceiling” in life?
- What stands out to you most from this message? Any particular takeaway?
To access these questions in pdf form, click here.
To listen offline, click the link to download:
To listen online, use the media player:
To watch service stream, use YouTube online:
Good insights, Mark. I would like to hear a good definition of the word legalism. It seems like we all have a general idea of legalism but I had a hard time describing it myself.Also how would you characterize someone who is mature?
Dale – thanks for reaching out! In general, I would say that legalism (in this context) is a form of a spiritual “scorecard” where we grade ourselves (and those around us) based on our adherence to a set of religious or moral activities done in our own strength … with an eye toward impressing God. In this sense, legalism elevates us, and in the process, lessens the grace of God.
I understand Christian maturity to be growing and living out a life of dependence upon God’s Holy Spirit that is marked by the fruits of the Spirit in our attitudes and emotions, growing understanding of theology in our minds, and growing expression of true love for others in our our actions. In this way we are loving the Lord more and more with all our heart, mind, and strength.
I’m not sure that Christians understand the depth that our society has fallen. If we hold a biblical view of homosexuality, abortion or sexual immorality in general (for starters) we may automatically be branded as legalistic. At least we’ll be told we are judgemental. I hope that Christians do avoid using legalistic score cards to somehow make themselves feel better or whatever. But I have to ask myself, “does our silence or inaction when faced with these moral issues mean we are accepting of them?” We are living in tough times. Christians need to get ready as society is bound to get worse. I pray for you brother!