For June 28, 2009

News

1. CARE Ministry -- Every Tuesday night -- supper at 5:30, outreach/in reach activities at 6:00 p.m.

2. VBS -- Dates for Vacation Bible School are July 19-23. Be sure to remind class members about these dates and continue to ask if any would volunteer to help. If you get some names of volunteers to help, e-mail those names to me or post them under comments to this blog post.

Lesson Supplement for June 28

Explore the Bible
"Claim Your Freedom"
Galatians 5:1-15

Intro. – This week's lesson begins the second unit in our series of lessons for the summer. This unit is entitled, "Walking in Freedom." As we approach July 4th we turn our attention to celebrating the freedom we have as citizens of the United States. These lessons will help us to remember to celebrate and live in the victory that Christians have as citizens of the kingdom of God. Freedom is not free. It is purchased by the sacrifice of others. The freedom we enjoy as Christians was purchased at the cross with the death of Jesus Christ. This week's lesson encourages us to claim the freedom that He purchased for us.

Galatians 5:1A – What does our freedom as Christians include? It includes freedom from the slavery of sin. Without Christ we are slaves to sin. Sin controls the choices we make and causes the consequences we face. Life is a mess. The only way we can be set free from the control of sin is to place our faith and trust in Jesus Christ and believe that the gift of His payment for our release from sin is sufficient for our freedom from it. The Galatians would completely understand this analogy since slavery was a part of every day life at the time. Once a slave you were dependent on someone else to purchase your freedom because you could not do it on your own. The same holds true for us. As slaves to sin we are powerless to purchase our freedom and we rely on Jesus Christ and the price He paid to set us free.

Galatians 5:1b-6 -- Freedom in Christ also includes freedom from the law. In Paul's letters, we will read about how the Gentiles are not required to become circumcised in order to become followers of Christ. He was speaking out against some who were imposing Jewish laws on Gentiles as part of their salvation. Paul has already stated in verse 1A that Christ has given us freedom. When we add other "requirements" to salvation, we are basically saying that what Jesus did and the price He paid is still inadequate for salvation. Paul is saying that Jesus paid the price in full once and for all. Believers should accept this freedom, this gift, and not put themselves under the "yoke" of laws and requirements that restrict and really don't have any added effect to one's salvation any way.

Galatians 5:7-12 -- Do we see a little of Paul's anger in this section of scripture particularly in verse 12?? Paul sets the record straight. If anyone wondered where he stood on the issue of Gentile circumcision, he makes it clear in this passage. Yes, Paul was a Jew, but he does not believe Gentiles must convert to Judaism first in order to become followers of Christ. Don't let false teachers derail you from a good race. Don't let them place a yoke of any kind that restricts you from experiencing the joy of the freedom Christ gives. False teachers were adding a burden on the people much like a coach adding heavy weights on the body of an Olympic sprinter while at the same time cheering for him to win. If this has happened to us in our spiritual walk, we should retain the freedom we have in Christ. Repent of the "weights" that we or others have added and run the race with our eyes fixed on Jesus who is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-3).

Galatians 5:13-15 -- We have already discussed how our freedom in Christ includes freedom from slavery to sin and freedom from the law. In this final section of scripture we see that our freedom in Christ includes the freedom to please God. It was impossible as unsaved sinners, no matter how hard we may have tried, to please God in our own efforts. We all fall short of his glory (Romans 2:23). Because of what Jesus did for us, we can now offer our lives to God as pleasing sacrifices. We offer a pleasing sacrifice to God when we serve one another in love and when we live in obedience to Him. If we do these things, we are living in the full freedom that our citizenship in the kingdom of God grants us!

Commitment – Lead students to examine whether they have received and are living in the true freedom of Christ. They are not if they are attributing their salvation and their spiritual growth to any "good works" they be doing.

For Further Help with this Week's Lesson Visit http://www.lifeway.com/articleclick/?id=166474 and read Dan Kassis' weekly article

Bible Studies for Life
"God Builds Confidence"
1 John 5:12-21

Intro. -- During the month of June, we will study the book of 1 John to "Build Certainty" in our lives. In a world of uncertainties this study should strengthen and encourage us. This week's lesson focuses on the confidence that we can have in our salvation, our prayer life, and in our victory over sin.

1 John 5:12-13 -- How can we be certain that we have eternal life? John offers several checkpoints in this letter, but in these verses, he reveals specifically that we can know that we have eternal life if we have the Son. I have often said to people that the question that everyone must decide in life is "What are you going to do about Jesus?" You really only have two options, you either believe in Him or you don't. John makes this clear -- either you have the Son and have life or you don't have the Son and you don't have life. If you believe in Jesus and are committed to following Him, then you can be confident that you have eternal life.

1 John 2:7-11 -- If I have the Son that means that I am in Him and He is in me. I live my life in obedience to Him. I strive to live as Jesus would live. If this is so, then it follows that my desires are going to be in line with His desire. Therefore, when I pray, I can be confident that God will hear me because I will be praying in accordance to His will. I want what He wants. However, I have been guilty at times of praying, "your will be done" but deep down inside I really wanted God to do what I wanted. We can't hide that from God. He knows if we are sincere in praying for His will to be done. When our desires are in alignment with God, He hears us and He grants what we have asked Him for. Verses 16-17 deal with what we should do when we see a fellow believer commit sin. John tells us that we should pray for that brother or sister. It is God's will that His children walk in obedience to Him. Therefore, when we see a brother commit a sin, we can be confident that when we pray for him, that we are praying in accordance with God's will and He will hear us. God will then convict the brother in order to bring about the restoration that needs to occur. Obviously the restoration will occur as God does His work to convict and when the brother confesses and repents. We should pray for that time to occur in a brother's life.

1 John 5:18-21 -- Believers can be certain that they can live in victory over sin. When we are "born of God" we become members of His family. He has rescued us from the control that sin has held over us and He gives us the power to overcome the temptations that we face as we remain in this life. True believers do not habitually sin. True believers do sin on occasion but they immediately confess and repent when they become convicted of their sin and they strive to no longer do it. We are secure in our relationship with God because of Christ who "keeps" us from the "evil one" who "does not touch" us. John's concluding remark is that we should be on guard as we go through life. This too will help us live victoriously over sin!

Commitment -- Lead students to examine their levels of confidence in salvation, prayer, and victory over sin. This lesson should be an encouragement to believers that there is security in our relationship with the Lord. If we have Him, we don't need to be concerned about our salvation, we can know that our prayers are heard and answered, and we can be victorious over temptation and sin in our lives!

Comments Welcome -- Any ideas for illustrations, other scripture, or class activities to enhance the lesson?