We remember that we don't have to work to get to heaven because heaven came to us in the power of the Holy Spirit poured out on the church at the first Pentecost. The Galatian church received grace for free, and Paul counsels against their attempts to be good enough to earn that very same grace.

The truth of the Gospel is that all who seek Jesus and believe in Him will be restored. Without our own effort, we still get what we don't deserve. But leaders of the churches in Galatia were trying to convince non-Jewish Christians to get into compliance with the Law for salvation. Paul argues that Jesus' grace is truly free and the end of the law is where faith begins.

Vineyard super regional leader John Elmer unpacks the Vineyard saying, "Everybody gets to play." As God's individual masterpieces, He has put in each of us a holy discontentment that drives us to our calling in the Kingdom. We're all made to play, and we need to step in faith into what God is calling us to.

Legalism demands total compliance with the letter of the Law before a person can know Jesus. But God's free grace, which offers belonging no matter our condition when we come to Him, can't coexist with legalism. So knowing God defeats legalism.

We are diving into the story of Paul and the church of Galatia mid-stream so have some catching up to do. Paul shows us that the free grace Jesus offers is not for our own benefit but to pass along to others who are lost. That free grace will change us, refine us, and make us more like Jesus.

As we wrap up our study of Jesus' defiance in Mark, we turn as a community to what's next. Paul's letter to the churches in Galatia show the body of Christ how to move forward together.

The threats of outside culture can't threaten us when we know who we are in Jesus. Our defiance of the prevailing culture and religion must reflect Jesus' compassionate rescue of the lost. Building the church happens when we break out of our own comfort and follow the template of defiance that Jesus left for us.

He is risen! The resurrection of Jesus is not proof of life after death but the beginning of life itself. We can't disqualify ourselves from the love of God, but we can fill the tomb again with our own chaos. Don't fill the tomb again!

This Palm Sunday, we look at Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem and how he defied the paradigm of the religious owning the rights to relationship with God.

Jesus interacts with a privileged young man who is doing all the right things. When the man asks Jesus what he must do to gain heaven, Jesus reads his mail and explains he has to be willing to follow in all areas of his life, which is too great an ask for the man. Jesus teaches on how losing your life and will actually means you will gain your life, and that it can't be earned but is given through relationship.