Union Church

Listen along as we have family worship and wrap up our series through Galatians.

Notes//Quotes:

Galatians 6:11-18

Bear Video (attached)

Monkey video (attached)

“He who cannot rest, cannot work; he who cannot let go, cannot hold on; he who cannot find footing, cannot go forward.”

“Discipleship is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you.” - Dallas Willard 

1. Grace! 'Tis a charming sound,

        2. Grace first contrived the way

        3. Grace first inscribed my name

        4. Grace led my wandering feet

        5. Grace taught my soul to pray

        6. Grace all the work shall crown

Listen along as we near the end of Galatians.

Notes//Quotes:

Galatians 6:1-10

“The person who loves their dream of community will destroy community, but the person who loves those around them will create community.” - Dietrich Bonhoeffer 

“Jesus was a revolutionary, who did not become an extremist, since he did not offer an ideology, but Himself." - Henri Nouwen

“There is one burden that we cannot share … and that is our responsibility to God on the day of judgment. On that day you cannot carry my pack and I cannot carry yours.”

Listen along as we continue our series through Galatians.

Notes//Quotes:

Galatians 5:13-26 - Larry and Jorgen

“the “freedom” of the Messiah’s people cannot be used as “opportunity” (aphorme (ah-for-may),  a “base of operations”) for “the flesh.” 

“In verse 3, Paul implicitly says that Christians are freed from obligation to obey the whole law. Then in verse 13, he tells us to “serve one another in love”; and in verse 14 he says that the summary of the law is to love one another! So Paul says bluntly that the Galatian Christians must obey the law. How do we understand this? Are we obliged, or are we not obliged?! Essentially, the answer is “yes”. In one way we are obliged to keep the law, but in another way we are not. If we look at verse 3, Paul immediately follows: “[You are] required to obey the whole law” with: “You … are trying to be justified by law” (v 4). The obligation that is gone for the Christian is the obligation to obey the law to be saved, which is impossible to achieve. But now that we are saved wholly and freely by grace we are, if anything, more obligated to obey the law! Why? Because we have more reason to love God than we ever did before. Love arises from gospel faith and hope (v 5–6), and overflows into loving and serving our neighbors, rather than using them to serve ourselves. And loving our neighbor is “the entire law … summed up in a single command” (v 14).” 

“A Christian man is the most free lord of all, and subject to none; a Christian man is the most dutiful servant of all, and subject to every one.” 

“What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?” — James 4:1

“18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. 20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.” 

“destructive attitudes such as selfish ambition, namely competitiveness, a self-seeking motive; envy, coveting, desiring what others have; jealousy, the zeal and energy that comes from a hungry ego; and hatred, meaning hostility, an adversarial attitude...the results of these attitudes in relationships: discord, being argumentative or seeking to pick fights; fits of rage, outbursts of anger; dissensions, divisions between people (which is what rage leads to); and factions, permanent parties and warring groups.” 

Galatians 5:1-15 - Kim J

“The topic of circumcision had been in the background of Paul’s polemic against the Judaizers all along. In chap. 2 Paul reminded the Galatians of his successful resistance against the efforts of certain “false brothers” to have the Gentile Titus circumcised during their visit to Jerusalem. Similarly, those who belonged to “the circumcision group” had provoked the incident which led to Paul’s confrontation with Peter at Antioch. However, only here in chap. 5 does Paul engage the issue head on in terms of the crisis in Galatia. Now we know for sure what must have been perfectly clear to the original readers of the epistle all along, namely, that the Galatian agitators were demanding that Paul’s converts should get circumcised. According to Acts 15:1–2, the Judaizers believed that acceptance of this ancient Jewish ritual was absolutely necessary for salvation and incorporation into the people of God.”

“Because however wrong the false teachers may have been, their message met a sinful inclination deep inside the human heart: we all secretly love a gospel that relies on us. We love being the hero, or at least a celebrated sidekick. Self-reliance feeds our self-esteem and self-worth.” - Marshal Segal

“By nature and by training we all seek solutions to our problem of sin. To varying degrees, these solutions include doing something—law keeping, good works, etc—to please or appease or satisfy the God who is one day going to judge us. The idea of contributing to one’s own salvation is universal. It’s the engine which propels every religion.”  - Ed Moore

1. The Work of Philanthropy

“Christian freedom is the precious birthright of every believer…For the Galatians then to accept circumcision and all that it implied was for them to throw away the precious gift of freedom and step back onto the unceasing treadmill of self-justification.

“Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of our country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance, that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen."

Listen along as we continue our series through Galatians.

Notes//Quotes:

Galatians 4:21-31 - Faith C. Reading

Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they've been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It's an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It's a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing. - Muhammad Ali

At certain key points, Paul uses the Jewish technique of alluding to each section of the Hebrew Scriptures—Torah, Prophets, and Writings, though not necessarily in that order. I propose that he does this in 4:21–5:1 with an allusion to Psalm 87 in verse 26 alongside his references to Genesis and to Isaiah 54. Paul is bringing this polemical letter to a climax, doing so appropriately and ironically by constructing a paragraph with a rich scriptural backbone. He is appealing to Torah against those who want to impose Torah. - NT Wright

Hagar//Sarah Graphic

The burden of his message is clear. The great reversal envisaged by Isaiah—from barrenness to fruitfulness, from despair to joy, from desolation to blessing—can only be accomplished by the unilateral intervention of God himself. How dare anyone say to a person in such dire straits as the woman in this example that she should sing, rejoice, and shout for joy! The words ring hollow until we realize that it was the Lord himself who spoke thus to her. How could she not be afraid or fear disgrace when there was so much against her? Later in the same chapter (Isa 54:5) God himself provided the answer: “For your Maker is your husband—the Lord Almighty is his name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” Again, Paul was pointing to God’s gracious sovereignty and infinite love that is the foundation of our justification, freedom, and hope. - Timothy George

In vain we search the heavens high above, The God of love is kneeling at our feet. Though we betray him, though it is the night, He meets us here and loves us into light. - Malcom Guite 

Waiting is a herculean widening of everything within you into a canyon—that can fill with a rising ocean of hope. And all this waiting isn’t destroying us — the waiting is growing us.  Waiting isn’t loss—it’s enlarging. The longer the heart waits, the larger the heart expands to hold the largeness of the abundant life. The waiting is widening us—so Hope is never running out— but more hope in Christ is running in. Waiting is the sacrament of the tender surrender, the art of a soul growing large. - Ann Voskamp 

Listen along as we continue our series through Galatians and arrive at Paul's first command in the text.

Notes//Quotes:

Gal 4:8-20 - Larry and Jorgen

Galatians 4:8-20

Worship is the continuous outpouring of all that I am, all that I do and all that I can ever become in light of a chosen or choosing god - Harold Best

“Evil, is the force, residing either inside or outside of human beings, that seeks to kill life or liveliness. And goodness is its opposite. Goodness is that which promotes life and liveliness. The evil create for those under their dominion a miniature sick society.” M. Scott Peck

“Since the primary motive of the evil is disguise, one of the places evil people are most likely to be found is within the church. What better way to conceal one's evil from oneself as well as from others than to be a deacon or some other highly visible form of Christian within our culture. Evil people tend to gravitate toward piety for the disguise and concealment it can offer them.” - Martin Buber

Unlike his opponents, Paul is not telling the Galatians what they would like to hear. He is telling them “the truth” (v 16), and he is being vilified for it. Paul would love to be able to be affirming and gentle, to be able to “change my tone” (v 20). But he would rather hold out the gospel than receive the praise. After all, it is the gospel which brings people to Christ-dependence, shapes people in Christ-likeness, and provokes people to Christ-praise. The gospel frees us from the need for people’s approval and adoration so that we can confront and anger the people we love if that is what is best for them. And although it does not always work, this is the only kind of communication that really changes people. If you love a person so selfishly that you cannot risk their anger, you won’t ever tell them the truth they need to hear. If, on the other hand, you tell a person the truth they need, but with harshness and not with the agony of a lover, they won’t listen to it.” - Tim Keller

“It has been said that we become what we behold. I believe there is nothing more transformative to our lives than beholding God in his word. After all, how can we conform to the image of a God we have not beheld?” Jen Wilkin

Listen along as Mike Gaston continues our series through Galatians.

Notes//Quotes:

Slide 1

Who do you think you are?

Slide 2

“The most important belief we possess is a true knowledge of who God is.


Neil Anderson

Why is the period of Christ’s coming termed ‘the fulness of the time’? Various factors combined to make it such. For instance, it was the time when Rome had conquered and subdued the known inhabited earth, when Roman roads had been built to facilitate travel and Roman legions had been stationed to guard them. It was also the time when the Greek language and culture had given a certain cohesion to society. At the same time, the old mythological gods of Greece and Rome were losing their hold on the common people, so that the hearts and minds of men everywhere were hungry for a religion that was real and satisfying. Further, it was the time when the law of Moses had done its work of preparing men for Christ, holding them under its tutelage and in its prison, so that they longed ardently for the freedom with which Christ could make them free.

John Stott

Romans 6:16-18

Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? 

17 But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, 

18 and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. 

Romans 8:15-16

15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 

Who do you think you are?

“I am a child of God by faith in Jesus, set free by His death and adopted into His family, 

Slide 7

But our penchant for earning paralyzes us before God’s offer of true grace. We don’t know how to receive favor without working for it. And so we subtly (or not so subtly) trade away the one true gospel because we prefer to work for and serve God as slaves (or at least as employees), and not as sons. We don’t feel safe letting him do all the work, and earning gives us some semblance of control. We simply can’t believe eternal security and everlasting life could be offered as a gift.

Marshall Segal

Do I know my own real identity? My own real destiny? “I am a child of God. God is my Father; heaven is my home; every day is one day nearer. My Savior is my brother; every Christian is my brother too.” Say it over and over to yourself, first thing in the morning, last thing at night, as you wait for the bus, and any time when your mind is free, and ask that you may be enabled to live as one who knows it is all utterly and completely true.

For this is the Christian’s secret of – a happy life? – yes, certainly, but we have something both higher and profounder to say. This is the Christian’s secret of a Christian life, and of a God-honouring life; and these are the aspects of the situation that really matter. May this secret become fully yours, and fully mine.

J.I. Packer, Knowing God

Listen along as Anthony teaches Galatians 3:15-29.

Notes//Quotes:

Galatians 3:15-29 - Mike G. reading 

“Paul may well have been responding here to the popular Jewish claim that they alone, along with a few proselytes, were the “true sons of Abraham.” Paul wanted to show that the greater fulfillment of the promise is not biological but Christological.”

“After God gave the promise to Abraham, He gave the law to Moses. Why? He had to make things worse before He could make them better. The law exposed sin, provoked sin, condemned sin. The purpose of the law was to lift the lid off man’s respectability and disclose what he is really underneath—sinful, rebellious, guilty, under the judgment of God and helpless to save himself. And the law must still be allowed to do its God-given duty today. One of the great faults of the contemporary church is the tendency to soft-pedal sin and judgment … We must never bypass the law and come straight to the gospel. To do so is to contradict the plan of God in biblical history … No man has ever appreciated the gospel until the law has first revealed him to himself. It is only against the inky blackness of the night sky that the stars begin to appear, and it is only against the dark background of sin and judgment that the gospel shines forth.”

 “the trap and the tutor remove freedom. In both cases, the relationship with the “law” is not intimate or personal; it is based on rewards and punishments. And in both cases, we are treated as children or worse.” 

All non-gospel-based religion can be being characterized by: 

But in a gospel centric relationship…

Questions:

Who Are You Married To?

We were married to Mr. Law.  He was a good man, in his way, but he did not understand our weakness.  He came home every evening and asked, “So, how was your day?  Did you do what I told you to?  Did you make the kids behave?  Did you waste any time?  Did you complete everything I put on your To Do list?”  So many demands and expectations.  And hard as we tried, we couldn’t be perfect.  We could never satisfy him.  We forgot things that were important to him.  We let the children misbehave.  We failed in other ways.  It was a miserable marriage, because Mr. Law always pointed out our failings.  And the worst of it was, he was always right!  But his remedy was always the same: Do better tomorrow.  We didn’t, because we couldn’t.

Then Mr. Law died.  And we remarried, this time to Mr. Grace.  Our new husband, Jesus, comes home every evening and the house is a mess, the children are being naughty, dinner is burning on the stove, and we have even had other men in the house during the day.  Still, he sweeps us into his arms and says, “I love you, I chose you, I died for you, I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  And our hearts melt.  We don’t understand such love.  We expect him to despise us and reject us and humiliate us, but he treats us so well.  We are so glad to belong to him now and forever, and we long to be “fully pleasing to him” (Colossians 1:10)!

Being married to Mr. Law never changed us. But being married to Mr. Grace is changing us deep within, and it shows.

Today we cover Galatians 3:10-14 and continue our series through the letter of Galatians.

Notes//Quotes:

Galatians 3:10-14 

“If we allow the Bible to become fragmented, it is in danger of being absorbed into whatever other story is shaping our culture, and it will thus cease to shape our lives as it should. Idolatry has twisted the dominant cultural story of the secular Western world. If as believers we allow this story (rather than the Bible) to become the foundation of our thought and action, then our lives will manifest not the truths of Scripture, but the lies of an idolatrous culture. Hence, the unity of Scripture is no minor matter: a fragmented Bible may actually produce theologically orthodox, morally upright, warmly pious idol worshippers! - Mike Goheen

“These few verses offer a theological blueprint for the redemptive history of the world.” - William Dumbrell

Heb 11:8-16

The shocking fact of a crucified Messiah stands out. God’s purpose was fulfilled, not in a smooth line moving inch by inch forward from Abraham, through multiple developments, into covenant renewal and gentile inclusion, but in the previously unthinkable curse-bearing death of the Lord’s Anointed. Galatians 3:13 joins up with Paul’s other statements about Jesus’s death, in this letter and elsewhere, to form an overall picture in which the powerful divine love goes to the darkest possible depths to enable the rescue operation to take place. NT Wright

In the Cross is salvation; in the Cross is life; in the Cross is protection against our enemies; in the Cross is infusion of heavenly sweetness; in the Cross is strength of mind; in the Cross is joy of spirit; in the Cross is excellence of virtue; in the Cross is perfection of holiness. There is no salvation of soul, nor hope of eternal life, save in the Cross. - Thomas A Kempis

Thomas A. Kempis Picture (attached in files)

When I base my Christian life on my Christian experience, I become locked in the labyrinth of my own performance. I am only as sure of God as my current emotions and obedience allow. My eyes are fixed on myself. The gospel, the good news, is the way the Holy Spirit turns our eyes away from ourselves and onto Christ. The gospel brings you into union with Christ. Christ enters your heart and gives you faith. By that faith, you receive Christ and all his fullness. Faith fixes your eyes on Christ and rests in him. - Rankin Wilbourne, Union With Christ

Final screen(s) - A hymn - As many lines as can fit for a screen or two:

Nothing, either great or small—  Nothing, sinner, no; 

“It is finished!” yes, indeed, Finished, ev’ry jot; 

When He, from His lofty throne, Stooped to do and die, 

Weary, working, burdened one, Wherefore toil you so? 

Till to Jesus’ work you cling, By a simple faith, 

Cast your deadly “doing” down— Down at Jesus’ feet; 

“It is finished!” yes, indeed, Finished, ev’ry jot; 

Listen along as we continue our time in the letter of Galatians.

Notes//Quotes:

Galatians 3:1-9 

“Being “a successful, effective storytelling engine,” is a business model that has been changed by an era of technology disruption. What was very, very clear to me is that technology would provide us the opportunity to tell more stories to more people.” - Bob Iger 

“Odysseus, bravest of heroes,
Draw near to us, on our green island,
Odysseus, we’ll teach you wisdom,
We’ll give you love, sweeter than honey.
The songs we sing, soothe away sorrow,
And in our arms, you will be happy.
Odysseus, bravest of heroes,
The songs we sing, will bring you peace.” - The Odyssey 

John 16:13-15