Sermon Response Guide
PRIMARY SCRIPTURE:
Galatians 4:1-7 ESV
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.
Key Points
- Our freedom comes from Christ’s maturity – not ours.
- In the Kingdom of God, maturity looks like greater dependence on God.
- If dependency on Christ is the goal, then weakness is an advantage.
Memory Verse
Ask God to write this word on your heart this week:
“And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”
-Galatians 4:6 ESV
Questions for Reflection
Take time to reflect and respond to these questions on your own in the presence of the Holy Spirit, or with trusted friends or family members:
1: What do you think marks someone as spiritually mature in the eyes of the world?
2: What do you think marks someone as spiritually mature in the eyes of God?
3: Maturity in our society is qualified by independence. In following Christ, it’s the opposite: the more you see you need God, the more mature you are.
· How has the Holy Spirit opened your eyes to see your need for God lately?
· What are you doing in response to that revelation?
4: Immaturity, by Paul’s definition, is confusing a step backward as a step forward.
· How have you experienced this in your own faith journey?
5: Coming into today’s sermon, how would you have defined spiritual maturity?
6: Coming out of today’s sermon + response guide, how do you now define spiritual maturity?
7: What do you think is the benefit of spiritual maturity?
8: What are you going to do with the truth God entrusted to you today?
Pray
Lord, thank you for sending your Spirit into our hearts so we can cry out to God as our Father. When we wake up in the morning, and when we go to bed at night, remind us that you delight in our dependence. Open our eyes to see where we have been striving to live independently of you. Free us to live lives that require nothing less than renewed trust in you.
References
For those interested in further study, our pastors want to share resources that have aided them in their sermon preparation (in conjunction with the Bible and the Holy Spirit):
· The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution by Carl R. Trueman
