PREACHING IN THE MIDST OF WHITE SUPREMACIST PROVOCATEURS CHAPTER 6 Bible study and guid

CHAPTER 6 PREACHING IN THE MIDST OF WHITE SUPREMACIST PROVOCATEURS “FOR FREEDOM CHRIST HAS SET US FREE. STAND FIRM, THEREFORE, AND DO NOT SUBMIT AGAIN TO A YOKE OF SLAVERY.” GALATIANS 5:1, NRSV Text Galatians 1:3-5 and Galatians 5:1-10 What is freedom? I’ve felt a sensation of freedom several times in my life. I remember the day we made the final payment on my husband’s school loans. Another time was writing a check for the last of the medical bills after Jack’s back-to-back surgeries last year. Whew. It felt like someone had lifted a weight off my shoulders. We had discretionary money again. No more fear that we would be turned over to a credit agency and penalized for not paying soon enough. No more reminders in the mailbox that we owed something to somebody. It was a wonderful feeling. Q1: When have you experienced a sense of freedom? The book of Galatians is often called the charter of Christian liberty. Read Galatians 1:1-10 Q2: Why would Paul connect the Gospel message with the imagery of freedom? Paul uses some strong language about those who would dare mess with the gospel message. The first thing we need to ask ourselves is: What is the Gospel? What important components of the Gospel does Paul mention in Galatians 1:3-5? Paul makes it very clear that we cannot save ourselves. God is such a holy God that even one sin would separate us from His holiness. There is no way possible that we can fulfill the entire law, so why even try to do it on our own? If you base your salvation on obeying one particular law, then you must obey every law, which is impossible for any of us. Over the centuries, what large groups have tampered with the Gospel message and have added other practices and requirements to membership in God’s Kingdom? Why would Paul cringe at these attempts? We can easily point fingers at groups who have added practices, written second volumes to the Bible, and made long lists of rules for membership to their brand of Christianity. We need to acknowledge that a large portion of the American Christian world will never commit to the task of dismantling White supremacy. The rest of us have to start this work with or without them, because the entire country is on the line, and beyond these United States, perhaps the world and ourselves. American Christianity needs a revival. I mean, it’s mostly a whitewashed version of the first-century church. This church is a group of people who get together and like to think about how they used to take down empires with the power of God and make sure the marginalized are centered and offered salvation, mercy, and grace. American Christianity tells stories of people who did those things, but we hardly ever do them ourselves anymore. Were it not for Dr. King, Rosa Parks, and thou- sands of others who bravely confronted Jim Crow in the 1960s, Blacks might still be sitting in the back of the bus in Birmingham and drinking from segregated water fountains. Indeed, many of the gains we now take for granted were achieved only by moral leadership and dogged determination during the civil rights era. Q3: WHY DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WANT TO ADD LEGALISM TO OUR FAITH IN CHRIST? WHY DO WE STILL TRY TO PLEASE GOD BY WHAT WE DO? IS GOD PLEASE WITH WHITE FRAGILITY? Get The full Study Guid and Book You can get the free Bible Stud by clicking here https://1drv.ms/w/s!Alj4UNXUR9-ki9pQ-ynkUXBy2nCUgw?e=bOYqkX or Join the Class Register in advance for this meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkcOygrj0jE9zh9hXLR_4bDCMVqXRAB3cm After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.