Our Hope: God's Grace - Week 4: We Are Rescued - Galatians 3:1-14

Galatians 3:13-14
13 But Christ has rescued us from the curse pronounced by the law. When he was hung on the cross, he took upon himself the curse for our wrongdoing. For it is written in the Scriptures, “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”14 Through Christ Jesus, God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham so that we who believe might receive the promised Holy Spirit through faith.


Icebreaker:
If you could live anywhere in the world for a year, where would it be and why?

Discussion Questions:

1. Read Roman 6:23 Share your experience on how you accepted Jesus. Looking back at your life, can you think of a specific time where you received God’s grace when you felt you didn’t deserve it?

2. Read Galatians 3:1. Although the Galatians received the Gospel message and received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they were still susceptible to some Jewish follower's false teaching. We, too, can be deceived, if not on guard. Have you ever been swayed by a rule or tradition that was outside of the gospel message? How did you address it, once known?

3. Read 1 John 4:1 (The Message Version) We are called to examine everything we hear as believers, to know what is of God or not. How do you examine what you hear in your daily faith walk?

4.As a believer, have you ever criticized someone because they presented themselves in a manner that was different than that of church ‘norms’? How did God deal with or convict your spirit, when your behavior was revealed to you?

5. Read Galatians 3:14 God chose and redeemed us to be holy, blameless, and adopted children according to His pleasure. By faith, we accept and believe the Gospel message of grace. While we don’t earn the Holy Spirit (thank God!), our love and gratitude of God and the eternal gift of salvation should propel our faith to be put into action to glorify God and bear witness to His testimony. Personally, how do you put your faith into action in a tangible way that people are able to see God’s testimony through you? If you haven’t yet put your faith into action in a tangible way, how is God leading you to do so?


Homework:
Read the remainder of Galatians chapter 3 in preparation for next week’s lesson.


Verses used:
Ephesians 1:3-8
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he[b] predestined us for adoption to sonship[c] through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us.

1 John 4:1 (The Message)
My dear friends, don’t believe everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers loose in the world.

Romans 6:23
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[a] Christ Jesus our Lord.

Hebrews 9:11-14
11 But when Christ came as high priest of the good things that are now already here, [a] he went through the greater and more perfect tabernacle that is not made with human hands, that is to say, is not a part of this creation. 12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves, but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, thus obtaining[b] eternal redemption. 13 The blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkled on those who are ceremonially unclean sanctify them so that they are outwardly clean. 14 How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death,[c] so that we may serve the living God!