Breaking Ground
What is the best team you’ve ever been a part of (sports, work, hobby, etc)? Who was on it? What were you trying to achieve together? What made the team & experience of working together so good?
The Dig
This Sunday, we continued our series on the New Testament Book of Galatians. As a reminder, Paul is writing to the Galatians because they’ve been convinced by Jewish Christian missionaries to adopt circumcision, Torah observance, & Jewish cultural boundary markers as the foundation of Jesus’ Good News Story & their own spiritual transformation (as opposed to God’s grace & faith in Jesus). In the previous section, Paul used his story of conversion as part of urging the Galatians to return to a Gospel of grace. Now, he recounts a previous meeting in Jerusalem where the leaders of the early Church resolved this issue directly.
With this in mind, read Acts 15:1-31 (the original account of this meeting) & then Galatians 2:1-10 (Paul’s retelling of it). Next, consider the motivations of every party involved in this meeting.
What do you think led these Jewish Christian missionaries to insist that Gentiles adopt their national, ethnic, & cultural identity markers as part of following Jesus? How has this shaped their understanding of religion, what it means for others to convert to it, & how they treat those outside of their boundaries?
What argument does Paul make against it? Why does he view this as antithetical to the story of Jesus?
How do the leaders of the early Church respond to this conflict? How do they resolve it? Why do you think they reach their ultimate conclusion?
Close by reflecting on how this text might speak to us today.
Where do you see (or have you seen) Christians conflating their own political, ethnic, or cultural identity markers with following Jesus? How has this shaped their understanding of religion, what it means for others to convert to it, & how they treat those outside of their boundaries?
Where have you conflated your own political, ethnic, or cultural identity with following Jesus (in the past or present)? What impact has this had on your understanding of religion, what it means for others to convert to it, & how you treat others?
How do you think Paul would challenge those conflating their political, ethnic, or cultural identity with following Jesus today? How might this shape our own response to such movements (including when we find ourselves taking part in them)?
Getting Out of the Hole
Take time each week to reflect upon the Sunday sermon.
- Read Galatians 2:1-10 & Acts 15:1-31. Highlight & make of any language, images, or ideas that stand out to you from the passage.
- What leads to the conflict in these texts? Who is involved & what do each of them want?
- Where do you see people struggling with these issues of conflating faith with political, ethnic, & cultural boundary markers today? Where do you see yourself struggling with this?
- How might Paul’s teaching challenge you to change in this season of your life & world?
Additional Resources*
Centered Set Church by Mark D. Baker
Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer
TheBibleProject.com
Coming Up This Week:*
February 1st: Join us as we continue working through the New Testament Book of Galatians!
* Please see mye3.org for details.