Breaking Ground
What has been the biggest world-changing innovation in your life (technological, social, political, economic, cultural, etc)? How did it change the world? How did you & others respond to it initially?
The Dig
This Sunday, we finished our series on the New Testament Book of Galatians.
Read Galatians 6:11-18. Here, Paul concludes his letter by writing several final lines in his own hand. Rather than offering a closing greeting (as would’ve been expected in ancient letters), Paul instead drives home the key arguments of the letter. In particular, he emphasizes one last time that his opponents (the Jewish Christian Missionaries trying to impose their culture on these Gentile communities) aren’t concerned with the Galatians’ well-being. Instead, they want to convert them to their vision of Christ’s story in order to:
- Avoid suffering for Jesus as their understanding of his story argued that it didn’t dramatically change our world or how God’s People practice religion.
- Use the Galatians in self-aggrandizing boasts about their own ability to persuade Gentile, heathens to embrace Jewish cultural/ethnic boundary markers.
In contrast to this egotistical boasting & cultural imperialism; Paul urges the Galatians to, instead, “boast in the Cross” & remember that Christ’s story has always been about God turning our world upside-down through bringing about His New Creation.
Why would the Missionaries’ vision of Jesus’ story help them avoid persecution? What does this reveal about their motives in promoting that vision of Jesus’ story amongst the Galatians? NOTE: Consider how Rome (the great imperial power of Paul’s day) or Jewish Zealots (fervent members of Paul’s own tribe who hated Gentiles) would’ve responded to the Missionaries’ vision of Jesus’ story, as opposed to Paul’s.
What does it mean to “boast in the Cross”? How does this boasting undermine the Missionaries’ goals, understanding of Jesus, & actions?
What does Paul mean by “new creation”? Why does he say that it’s all that matters now? How does seeing God as establishing an entirely new vision of Creation impact our understanding of following Jesus in the present?
Close by reflecting on your own life in this season.
Where do you need to experience total newness in your life? Why?
How have you relied upon your own will power or external, man-made identities to experience newness in the area you identified? What has been the outcome of such efforts?
How might Paul’s conclusion to Galatians change both where & how you go about seeking newness in that part of your life? How can you rely upon trusting Jesus & God’s grace for finding that radical newness in this next season?
Getting Out of the Hole
Take time each week to reflect upon the Sunday sermon.
- Read Galatians 6:11-18. Highlight & make of any language, images, or ideas that stand out to you from the passage.
- What does Paul mean by “new creation”? How does this apply to both each of us individually & our world at large?
- Where do you find yourself struggling to live in God’s new creation? Where do you still cling to old modes or patterns of being human that defined your life before you found Jesus?
- How can you, in trusting surrender, ask God to bring newness to the area of your life that you identified in this next season?
Journal, reflect, & pray on how God might be speaking to you through each week’s teaching. Share your experience with your growth group next week!
Additional Resources*
Centered Set Church by Mark D. Baker
Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer
TheBibleProject.com
Coming Up This Week:*
March 29th: Join us as we continue working through the New Testament Book of Galatians!
* Please see mye3.org for details.