Below is a summary for Lesson 2 in our study of Paul's letter to the Galatians. Again, I hope you take a little while to read and reflect on it.
While Paul has been busy laying the groundwork for dealing with some specific issues in the churches in Galatia, we have focused our first two weeks reviewing the gospel message and why we should consider it good news. In Lesson I, we discussed how the gospel calls us to see and relate to God in a way which is often contrary to human nature. We somehow think it is within us to fix things with God, but the gospel tells us it is ultimately God, and only God, who can make things right between us and Him. In Lesson 2, the gospel challenged us to see and relate to those around us differently and to see that the worth of our lives is more than an equation of accomplishments minus failures. Paul's life has been transformed by the gospel, and he is baffled why anyone would want to distort or abandon it. Over the next few weeks, we will see he is more than puzzled. He is angry. Yep, that's right. Someone is fixin' to get hauled out back to the spiritual woodshed for some not-too-private tutoring lessons from the apostle Paul; and if that someone includes us, I'm sure Paul would tell us it is only for our own good. Yeah, my parents told me that, too.
I hope you can be present on Sunday, when we discuss:
Lesson 3. United in the Gospel. Good in Theory, But What If I Don't Like Some Of These People (Read Gal. 2:1-10)
Tom
While Paul has been busy laying the groundwork for dealing with some specific issues in the churches in Galatia, we have focused our first two weeks reviewing the gospel message and why we should consider it good news. In Lesson I, we discussed how the gospel calls us to see and relate to God in a way which is often contrary to human nature. We somehow think it is within us to fix things with God, but the gospel tells us it is ultimately God, and only God, who can make things right between us and Him. In Lesson 2, the gospel challenged us to see and relate to those around us differently and to see that the worth of our lives is more than an equation of accomplishments minus failures. Paul's life has been transformed by the gospel, and he is baffled why anyone would want to distort or abandon it. Over the next few weeks, we will see he is more than puzzled. He is angry. Yep, that's right. Someone is fixin' to get hauled out back to the spiritual woodshed for some not-too-private tutoring lessons from the apostle Paul; and if that someone includes us, I'm sure Paul would tell us it is only for our own good. Yeah, my parents told me that, too.
I hope you can be present on Sunday, when we discuss:
Lesson 3. United in the Gospel. Good in Theory, But What If I Don't Like Some Of These People (Read Gal. 2:1-10)
Tom
