God Sent Forth His Son

In one paragraph

The pastor worked through Galatians 4:1-5, tracing the movement from slavery and immaturity to full adoption as children of God. The passage lands on what he called "some of the best two verses in a row in the whole Bible," and he wanted to sit with that thought rather than rush past it. He opened by connecting this week's text to the previous week's. The word "heir" carries straight over from...

Read together

1. Proverbs 18:10 opened the service: 'The name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and are safe.'
2. Galatians 3:23-29 reviewed as last week's text before moving into chapter four
3. Galatians 4:1-5 the main preaching text for the sermon
4. 1 Corinthians 13 quoted to illustrate the 'when we were children' language: 'when I was a child, I acted as a child. But when I became a man, I put away those childish things.'
5. 1 John 1 referenced to say that anyone who claims they have not transgressed the law is a liar
6. John 1:12 paraphrased near the close: 'To as many as believed, he gave the right to become children of God.'
7. 1 Corinthians 11:23-25 quoted during the Lord's Supper: 'on the same night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread... this is my body... this is the new covenant in my blood'

Talk about it

1. The pastor used the image of a son working his way through every job at a sawmill, no different from a slave even though he owns everything. Where have you seen that kind of 'working your way up before you inherit' pattern in your own life, and what did it teach you?
2. The pastor described the 'elementary principles' as the foundational things instilled in us from the beginning, whether good or bad. What were the elementary principles you were raised with, and how have they shaped the way you relate to God?
3. The pastor pointed to the phrase 'when the fullness of time had come' as a powerful turn in the passage. Can you think of a moment in your own life when you recognized that God's timing, not your own, was at work?
4. The pastor described two ditches on either side of the road: legalism on one side and license on the other. Which ditch have you found yourself drifting toward, and what has helped pull you back toward the center?
5. The pastor talked about adoption and the question some adopted children carry about whether they are truly accepted as a real member of the family. How does Paul's language of full adoption as sons and daughters speak to any doubts you carry about your standing before God?