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Feb 18, 2018

This is my beloved Son

This is my beloved Son

Passage: Galatians 3:26-4:7

Speaker: Patrick Lafferty

Series: Free, a study in the book of Galatians

From an early age we’re taught to make a good impression--that we don’t have a second chance to leave a first impression. And so we adopt certain practices, words, or mannerisms that indicate one thing about us, no matter how little they reflect the truth of us. Do that long enough and you end up playing a part rather than living a life; our only identity is a contrived identity. For three chapters now, Paul has sought to establish the authority of the gospel and the singular graciousness by which it comes to those who trust in it. In the passage we consider today we’ll find how the gospel has all to do with how we think of our identity in relationship to the God of all things. We come to learn that those who belong to Him are more than servants, but “sons.” In the knowledge of our sonship--its nature, how it comes to reality, and the strength by which we know it as more than a concept--we find the freedom to let go of making an impression.

Order of Worship

Call To Worship: John 1:1-3, 9, 11-12
Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 43:1-3a
New Testament Reading: Romans 8:14-17
Confession of Sin: St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Prayer After Communion
Assurance of Pardon: Micah 7:18-20
Sermon Title: This is my beloved Son
Central Text: Galatians 3:26:4-7
Response: Communion
Benediction: 2 Corinthians 13:14

02.18.18 Lyrics

02.18.18 Sermon Slides

Readings & Scripture

Call To Worship: John 1:1-3, 9, 11-12
LEADER: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.

PEOPLE: All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

LEADER: The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. . . . He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.

ALL: But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.

Old Testament Reading: Isaiah 43:1-3a
But now thus says the LORD, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you: when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. 3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

New Testament Reading: Romans 8:14-17
For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, "Abba! Father!" The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs-heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.


Confession of Sin: St. Pio of Pietrelcina, Prayer After Communion
Stay with me, Lord, for it is necessary to have you present so that I do not forget you.
You know how easily I abandon you.
Stay with me, Lord, because I am weak, and I need your strength, so that I may not fall so often.
Stay with me, Lord, for you are my life, and without you, I am without fervor.
Stay with me, Lord, for you are my light, and without you, I am in darkness.
Stay with me, Lord, to show me your will.
Stay with me, Lord, so that I hear your voice and follow you.
Stay with me, Lord, for I desire to love you very much, and always be in your company.
Stay with me, Lord, if you wish me to be faithful to you.
Stay with me, Lord, for as poor as my soul is, I want it to be a place of consolation for you, a nest of love. Amen.

Assurance of Pardon: Micah 7:18-20
Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. You will show faithfulness to Jacob and steadfast love to Abraham, as you have sworn to our fathers from the days of old.

Central Text: Galatians 3:26:4-7
for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.

Gal. 4:1 I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, 2 but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. 3 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. 6 And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.

Benediction: 2 Corinthians 13:14
LEADER: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
PEOPLE: Amen


Post-Service Text: 1 Corinthians 3:23
and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s.

Related Scriptures:

  • Luke 11:5-13
  • John 1:9-13
  • Philippians 2:1-11

Discussion Questions & Applications:

  1. Have you ever noticed how, or in what circumstances, you’re inclined to create an impression of yourself that may be a departure from who you really are? What might drive that? What’s harmless about it? What can be dangerous about it?
  2. We can grasp what it means to be a servant of God, but what makes being called a son of God (through faith in the Son) so remarkable? What comes with thinking of oneself as more than a servant--but a son?
  3. On what basis does Paul say one comes to be a son? How does that differ from how we might otherwise assume the privileged place of a son is established?
  4. What is the Holy Spirit’s role in our understanding ourselves to be sons?
  5. Name one area of your life--in relationship, aspiration, or responsibility--where really believing you were a son would have an impact on how you handled it. Why would thinking thusly of yourself have that effect?

Quotes:

  • Although it seemed a little bit simplistic to see this fear as just a male problem (try watching a girl stand on a scale sometime), it turns out that Dr. Gustafson was very nearly right in his concept of the two . . . . maybe the real root of my problem was not fraudulence but a basic inability to really love . . . David Foster Wallace, "Good Old Neon"
  • . .the Holy Scriptures testify that the predicament of fallen humanity is so serious, so grave, so irremediable from within, that nothing short of divine intervention can rectify it.  Fleming Rutledge The Crucifixion
  • Others see themselves in broader landscapes, in the context of longer narratives about forgiveness, or redemption or setback and ascent. Maturity is moving from the close-up landscape, focusing less on your own supposed strengths and weaknesses and more on the sea of empathy in which you swim, which is the medium necessary for understanding others, one's self, and survival. David Brooks
  • If we were really honest, our ads would read: "My heart has been shattered and I'm scared. Will someone take a chance on me?" Irene Sherlock

 

 

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