Paul wants to make sure that his readers understand that there is a choice before them. What will your choice be? Freedom or slavery?

Many say that one of our basic needs is the need to be loved and to have a sense of belonging. "For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." We belong to the family of God!

What a blessing to know that by our participation "in Christ" we, too, can be the children of Abraham -- the children of promise!

Have we given up on the importance of faithfulness in our daily lives? If so, we are also being 'witless' or 'foolish'!

How well do you stay on the line when fear - whether fear of what others think or fear of failure - tempts you to alter your course? Even Peter had to be confronted by Paul at one point during the expansion of the church.

Truth and freedom go hand in hand according to the Scriptures. So what is it that Paul is stressing in terms of the 'truth of the gospel"? It is that we are entrusted with the Gospel and need to stand firm in our freedom -- from worldy judgments, ethnic prejudice, etc.

Paul says that the "gospel" (good news) he preached was 'not man's gospel' but a "revelation of Jesus Christ". He uses an important and specific word... it was an 'apokalypsis'. Dunn says this is a word that denotes a disclosure given from heaven, with heavenly authority, usually of heavenly secrets" (James Dunn, The Epistle to the Galatians, 53). What exactly was that message?

When people are turning to a gospel (of a different kind), Paul wants us to know that there is only one Gospel... "the gospel of Christ." So what is our message? Who are we serving / trying to please?

Make a checklist... How are you doing in terms of unhelpful associations/companionships, unfulfilled commitments; unkept promises, and choosing marriage partners? These are four areas Nehemiah had to deal with in Jerusalem (Nehemiah 13).

Can we learn anything from the story of Nehemiah? Why do the fires go out?