Galatians 3:1-9

Calvary Chapel Fluvanna

Galatians 3:1-9

February 16, 2020 • Pastor Steve Feden

We will open our Bibles to Galatians 3 on and read along as Paul continues to battle against a gospel that claims blessing from God is a reward for good behavior.

After giving them the reason for his letter in Chapter 1, Paul has spent a good deal of ink describing his own personal experience with God's message of grace.
In Chapter 3, he will ask them to consider their own experience of Christianity!

Do remember when God came crashing into your life! Do you remember what life was like then? Do you remember how it felt? Remember, Paul is appealing to the non-Jews who have become "spellbound" by traditional Judaism and tempted to turn to rule-keeping to try to earn God's blessing!

Have you ever had a bad day, difficult circumstance, or painful period, and during it you have wondered, "What have I done wrong? Maybe I should have prayed more, or tithed more, or served more!" Have you felt guilty like it was something you did or didn't do that brought the adversity from God?

For this and many other reasons you will want to watch with an open heart and curious mind! VIEW AND SEE!

Steve

Galatians 1:1-10

January 5, 2020 • Pastor Steve Feden

Given that the year we are starting is 2020, it is hard to avoid the visual theme. It is in that spirit that the theme for our Galatians study will be “Seeing Christianity Clearly”. After having been with the Corinthians for about the last two years, I think you will find the “pamphlet sized” letter to the churches in the region of Galatia a welcome change of pace. The issues in the church that prompted Paul to write this letter have given the church through history a basic primer on what Christianity is, and what it is NOT! This will be Christianity 101 as we look at what really makes Christianity different from every other world religion and pseudo-christian cult. Grab your notebooks and bibles, invite a friend, and join me as we take a simple and clear look at what it means to be a Christian! View and See! Steve

Galatians 1:11-24

January 12, 2020 • Pastor Steve Feden

I am excited (nothing new) about this Message! “Why”? Well, I am glad you asked! This is one of those Sundays where there will be a few special surprises! “What are they”? If I told you, then they wouldn’t be surprises! But, I can tell you that we will watch a very special testimony. If you know someone who feels stuck or makes excuses…..or if that someone is you…then I believe the testimony will really touch and challenge you. You will also get to briefly meet a friend and fellow servant of God from Ghana who is visiting with us! And then of course, back into Galatians 1-2. This is one of those passages I have been looking forward to preaching. What a pleasure to help people see what is in God’s Word! Paul spends the rest of chapter 1 and all of chapter 2 defending the basic message of the Bible using his personal experience with Jesus and with the apostles. Question. Do you trust the message of the Bible? Can we know that Jesus really lived and died and rose from the dead? Is the Bible just a made up story that has been changed over the years? I think it will be fun to compare the historicity of Christ with that of Muhammad. Yes, there will be a little history lesson that I think you will find encouraging and fascinating! Grab your journal and invite a stuck or skeptical friend to……View and See! Steve

Galatians 2:1-10

February 2, 2020 • Pastor Steve Feden

In this message, we will pick up where we left off in Galatians. That means chapter 2, vs. 1-10. As we focus the beginning of 2020 on "seeing Christianity clearly", we see the Apostle Paul fighting to defend the idea/truth that acceptance by God is based on a willingness to trust Him and not adherence to tradition, as important as tradition may be. Every age has its spiritual battles to fight. In our own day the church is being tragically divided over same sex marriage and homosexuality. In the earliest days of the church, the issue was circumcision. For us, circumcision is for most a medical or hygiene decision made at birth for boys. But for the Jew, it was a matter of acceptance by God. The big question was, "Can a person be accepted by God without submitting themselves to ritually religious circumcision and all that it meant. Paul is willing to die on the hill of grace. For him there is no compromise on this issue. It is central to salvation itself. View and see how Paul defends both the message of grace and his authority to spread it to ethnic groups other than Jews! Steve