Holy Hypocrites

Gal 5:16-26. Jesus said in Matthew 6, no one can serve two masters. You can’t serve the world and Christ, because one says its all about you and the other says it all about Him. And Paul says here in Galatians 5, the fruits, the results of serving the flesh are exactly opposed to the results of serving the Spirit.

Gal 5:1-15. What matters? How about this… You have been set free to love and serve others. 

Gal 4:21-31. Paul is repetitive on purpose. As we’ve already seen in Galatians, if you are under the law, its already over. Because to be saved by the law, you have to be completely in every way perfect. That’s the bar under the law. But you, he says in verse 28, you are children of promise!

Psalm 33. In this time of uncertainty, some fear and instability around us… Please remind yourself who God is, what he is capable of and what his feelings are for his children. His word is upright. His work is faithful. His council stands forever. His eyes are on his children…

Galatians 4:8-20. Remember the Pharisees, the legalist religious leaders used the law as a source of pride. You are fundamentally different creatures. Paul pleads with the church.

Galatians 4:1-7. Notice the trend? We were children, slaves to the world… But God sent his son.. Through him, God redeemed… so that we might receive adoption as sons. And God sent the Spirit. So instead of being slaves, we are sons and daughters and as sons and daughters, then heirs.

Galatians 3:15-29. If we could EARN life, then we would not need God. We would pay out enough obedience to pay for eternal life. Many other faiths operate this way, where God is almost just the cashier… he scans your salvation, ensures you pay the right amount and you might never even know his name.

Galatians 3:1-14. Now it is EVIDENT - clear, obvious - that no one is justified before God by the law… you cant EARN it... But “The righteous shall live by faith.” THIS IS BIG, AMAZING NEWS! We need to be shouting it from rooftops.

Psalm 32. Bask in that truth this weekend. If you have confessed your sin, if you have surrendered it to God, it’s forgiven and clean and gone as far as the east is from the west. You are a child of God. Period. Forever.

Galatians 2:11-21. "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." I'm a fundamentally NEW PERSON! Paul says to the Corinthians, If anyone is in Christ, he is a NEW CREATION, old has passed away behold new has come! Scientist...

Galatians 2:1-10. For years, I didnt own a pocket knife. And I dont remember more than once or twice where I wished I had one and missed a chance to cut something. But wouldn’t you know, as soon as I bought one and sharpened it, suddenly I was surrounded by opportunities to use it… If you know the gospel, and you have it in your toolbox, I bet you find opportunities, open...

Galatians 1:11-24. "“He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” And they glorified God because of me." What change has God brought about in your life? And who are you telling about it?

Galatians 1:1-10. "If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed." Jesus told his followers no one can serve two masters. We have a choice as his disciples to follow him and preach his gospel, or not. There is no in-between. 

What’s the plan for Season 3 and when does it start?

Psalm 31. Verse 14, "But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand; rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!

John 20:19-23. He comes through locked doors and his first words are “peace be with you,” and his next words are, “peace be with you,” and his next act is to send them out. Peace, not as the end of something, but as the beginning.

John 16:25-33. In this world, you will have trouble... Be of good cheer, not because all the conflict is taken out of your life, but because any conflict of this world can’t even touch my peace.

John 14:27-31. The world's peace and prosperity is temporary. But if your peace is in Jesus Christ, the son of God, risen from the dead and seated at the right hand of the Father, your peace is untouchable, unshakeable and eternal.

Philippians 3:12-21. It's okay to struggle. It's okay to fall. It's okay that following Jesus is hard a lot of the time! We live in a world built to pull us away from Christ. But the goal is worth the struggle. Press on! 

Psalm 30. We sabbath in the Psalms. As we remember who God is, we find joy in the midst of suffering, trials or loneliness.

Mark 5:25:34. Twelve years. How long have you lived with your conflict? How long since you gave up hoping for peace, or looking for peace despite the conflict? Reminder: Jesus is not the source of things that bring us peace. He is our peace. Changing perspective can change everything.

Mark 4:35-41. Who is this that even the wind and the waves obey him? Now THAT is the right question... 

Luke 1:67-79. Jesus didn't come to lead us away from hardships. His peace is not the kind that avoids conflict. Rather, the peace Jesus brought was peace in spite of conflict. Psalm 23, the good shepherd doesn't lead his flock away from death, but through it because they are safe with him. 

Luke 2:8-14. Let me give you my working definition, and it’s incomplete and imperfect. Whole series of books have been written to define peace. But for sake of something we can bite down on for the next few weeks, peace is the lack of conflict.

Psalm 28. Power can be terrifying or brilliant. Passages like this, or Genesis 1 or Job 38 can be terrifying without understanding who God is, and what his relationship is to us. But in that context, these are sources of tremendous peace and rest for this Sabbath in the Psalms.