Set Free Stay Free: A Bible Study Podcast with Matt Dawson

After 25 years of pastoral ministry, one question keeps coming up: Do I actually have a spiritual gift? And does it really matter for my everyday life?In this special bonus episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson sits down with Paul Ryden from Global Book Network for a conversation about his book Gifted: On Purpose for a Purpose — a practical, accessible guide to understanding and activating your spiritual gifts where you live, learn, work, and play.If the last few episodes walking through Ephesians 4 left you wondering what your specific gifts might be and how to actually use them, this conversation is for you. Matt breaks down the difference between talents and gifts, explains why so many believers take their gifts for granted without realizing that's exactly what a gift looks like, and unpacks some of the most misunderstood gifts — including the mercy gift, the teaching gift, and the ministerial gifts Paul lists in Ephesians 4.The bottom line? God didn't give you the Holy Spirit so you could use your gifts for an hour on Sunday. He gifted you on purpose, for a purpose — and that purpose touches every area of your life.In this conversation:The difference between a talent and a spiritual giftWhy most believers already have a ministerial gift without knowing itWhat the mercy gift actually looks like — and why it's so misunderstoodWhy spiritual gifts are tools to be wielded, not collectibles to be admiredHow couples can use spiritual gifts to strengthen their marriagesHow to take the free spiritual gifts assessment at mattdawson.tv/yourspiritalgifts📖 Referenced passages: Ephesians 4:7–16, Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12🔍 Keywords: spiritual gifts, Bible study podcast, Gifted on purpose for a purpose, Christian discipleship podcast, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Scripture-first Bible study

Have you ever wondered if your life actually matters? If you're really contributing anything — to the church, to the people around you, to what God is doing in the world?Paul has an answer. And it's not vague encouragement. It's specific.In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson digs into one of the most practically rich sections of Ephesians — chapter 4, verses 7 through 16. Christ himself, after descending to our lowly world and ascending to fill the entire universe, gave gifts to his people. Not just to pastors and leaders. To every single believer. And those gifts have a purpose: to equip the church, to help each other grow, and to move the whole body toward maturity in Christ.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt walks through all five of the Ephesians 4 ministerial gifts — apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor/shepherd, and teacher — breaking down what each one actually looks like in everyday church life. He connects this to his book Gifted: On Purpose for a Purpose and makes the case that most believers already have one of these gifts in their mix without even knowing it.The goal of it all? A church that is healthy, growing, and full of love. And the warning Paul gives along the way is just as important: immaturity looks like being tossed around by every clever-sounding lie that feels like truth but isn't rooted in the word of God.This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who has wondered whether God has actually given them something to offer — and needs to hear that he has.In this episode:Why Christ both descended and ascended — and what that has to do with your giftsA breakdown of all five Ephesians 4 ministerial gifts and what they look like in real lifeWhy maturity in the church means speaking truth in love and growing more like ChristWhat immaturity actually looks like — and why it's dangerousHow every part of the body working together produces health, growth, and loveA closing prayer for the church to step into its gifts and grow toward Christlikeness📖 Passage: Ephesians 4:7–16 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Who are you living your life for? And does the way you actually live it match what you say you believe?With one word — therefore — Paul pivots the entire letter. Everything in chapters 1 through 3 was foundation: chosen, adopted, saved by grace, sealed by the Spirit, empowered by unlimited resources. Now comes the turn. Therefore, live a life worthy of the calling you've received.In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson opens Ephesians chapter 4 and Paul gets remarkably practical right out of the gate. Not a list of rules. Not a performance checklist. Just four things — and most of us would struggle to live out even one of them on any given day.Always be humble. Always be gentle. Be patient. Make allowances for each other's faults.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks what it actually looks like to pre-decide humility before the rude text arrives, to make allowances for people's failures the way a company builds buffer into a cash drawer, and to choose peace with fellow believers not out of weakness but out of the one unifying reality that holds us all together — one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God.This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who wants to know what a life worthy of Christ actually looks like in practice — and who knows they can't pull it off without the Holy Spirit.In this episode:Why "therefore" is the hinge point of the entire letterWhat "a life worthy of your calling" actually means — and doesn't meanThe cash drawer illustration of making allowances for others' faultsWhy unity among believers isn't optional — and what it's rooted inThe one Lord, one faith, one baptism declaration and why it mattersA closing prayer for the Holy Spirit's strength to live humbly and gently today📖 Passage: Ephesians 4:1–6 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Have you ever felt spiritually weak? Thin on the inside? Exhausted from trying to be faithful when you're running on empty?Paul has a prayer for that — and it's one of the most powerful passages in all of scripture.In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson arrives at his absolute favorite section of Ephesians. Chapter 3, verses 14–21. Paul falls to his knees and prays that the church would be empowered with inner strength through the Holy Spirit. That their roots would grow down deep into God's love and keep them strong. And that they would have the power to experience — even if they can't fully understand — just how wide and long and high and deep that love really is.Matt shares a deeply personal story of a November trip to a cold, nearly empty beach during one of the weariest seasons of his life — and what happened when he sat down with this passage and stared at an ocean he couldn't see the end of.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks the roots-and-branches illustration of faith versus feelings, what it means that God can accomplish infinitely more than we could ask or imagine, and why the closing doxology of chapter 3 is one of the great benedictions in all of the New Testament.This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who is spiritually weary and needs to be reminded where their strength actually comes from.In this episode:Why inner strength comes from the Holy Spirit — not from trying harderThe roots and branches illustration of faith, feelings, and what keeps us strongA personal story of experiencing God's love at an empty November beachWhat "more than you could ask or imagine" actually looks like in a real lifeWhy Paul closes chapter 3 with glory to God in the church — and what that meansA closing prayer for weary believers to be strengthened by God's unlimited resources📖 Passage: Ephesians 3:14–21 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Have you ever looked at the church — with all its mess, its hurt, its broken people and broken leadership — and wondered why God would choose this as his plan?Paul has an answer. And it's bigger than you might expect.In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson opens Ephesians chapter 3 and lands on one of the most surprising statements in Paul's entire letter. God's purpose in bringing Jews and Gentiles together into one people wasn't just about them. It was to use the church to display his wisdom — in all its rich variety — to rulers and authorities across the heavenly realms. That was his eternal plan. Plan A through Z. The church.Not a gas station. Not an airport hub. A display of God's wisdom to the watching world.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks Paul's deep sense of privilege in being called to bring this mystery to the Gentiles, why the church matters more than we often give it credit for, and what it looks like to walk boldly and confidently into God's presence because of what Christ has done. He closes with a personal reflection on what it means to consider suffering in ministry an honor — and a challenge to share this study with someone this week.This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who has underestimated what God actually wants to do through his church.In this episode:Why Paul calls himself the least deserving of all God's peopleThe mysterious plan revealed — Jews and Gentiles as one new peopleWhy God chose the church as his eternal plan to display his wisdomWhat it means to come boldly and confidently into God's presenceWhy Paul considers his suffering in prison an honor, not a burdenA closing prayer for the church to embrace its calling with courage📖 Passage: Ephesians 3:1–13 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Have you ever felt like an outsider? Like you didn't quite belong, weren't quite included, didn't quite make the cut?That's exactly where the Gentiles stood — and Paul wants to make sure they never forget how far they've come.In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson continues the Season 2 Ephesians Bible study with chapter 2, verses 11–22. Paul draws another sweeping contrast: once you were strangers, foreigners, excluded from the covenant promises of God, living without hope in the world. But now — through the blood of Christ — you've been brought near. The wall of hostility has been torn down. And two groups that were deeply, historically hostile toward one another have been made into one new people.That's not a small thing. That's a miracle.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks why Jewish and Gentile hostility was so deeply rooted, what it cost Christ to end it, and what it means that we are now the temple — the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, carefully joined together with Christ as the cornerstone. The application lands somewhere practical: we're still building that temple, one person at a time, as we share the hope of Christ with those who are still on the outside.This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who has forgotten how far grace actually brought them.In this episode:What it meant for Gentiles to be called "outsiders" in the ancient worldThe deep historical hostility between Jews and Gentiles — and why it matteredHow Christ ended that hostility by ending the law's dividing powerWhat it means that we are now God's temple and dwelling placeThe cornerstone illustration — and how the whole building depends on ChristA closing prayer for sharing the good news with those still far away📖 Passage: Ephesians 2:11–22 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Have you ever tried to change something about yourself and found that no amount of effort, resolve, or doubling down could actually do it?Paul has a reason for that — and two of the most powerful words in all of scripture to answer it.In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson opens Ephesians chapter 2 and Paul draws the sharpest contrast in the entire letter. Before Christ? Dead. Not struggling, not wounded, not mostly dead — fully, completely, without-hope dead. And dead people can't do anything to save themselves.But God.So rich in mercy. So full of love. That even while we were dead, he gave us life. Not after we cleaned ourselves up. Not after we proved ourselves worthy. When we believed — that's when grace moved.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks why this passage is one of the clearest summaries of the gospel in all of scripture, revisits the gift card versus discount card illustration to show why we can't contribute even a dollar to our salvation, and lands on one of the most encouraging truths in Ephesians: you are God's masterpiece, created for things he planned long ago.This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone still trying to bring something to a gift that was already paid in full.In this episode:Why Paul starts chapter 2 with the bleakest possible picture of our starting pointWhat "dead in trespasses and sins" actually means — and why it mattersThe gift card vs. discount card illustration of graceWhy salvation can't be a reward — and what that frees us fromWhat it means to be God's masterpiece created for good worksA closing prayer of gratitude for grace that required nothing from us📖 Passage: Ephesians 2:1–10 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

What if your greatest spiritual problem isn't that you don't know enough — it's that you can't see what you already know?That's the prayer Paul prays for the church in Ephesus. Not that they would learn more, study harder, or achieve greater things. He prays that God would open their eyes. That they would have spiritual wisdom and insight. That their hearts would be flooded with light so they could walk in the confident hope that's already theirs in Christ.In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson finishes out Ephesians chapter 1 with verses 15–23. Paul's closing prayer for the Ephesian church is one of the richest in all of scripture — and it cuts straight to something most believers quietly wrestle with. It's not a lack of knowledge. For most people who have grown up in church, the knowledge is already there. The question is whether we can actually see it, connect the dots, and walk in the freedom and inheritance we already have.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks Paul's two-part prayer — open their eyes to who God is, and help them understand where true authority really lies. In a culture full of competing voices, rulers, and pressures, Paul's answer to the Ephesians is the same answer we need today: the power that raised Christ from the dead lives in you, and Christ is head over everything.This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who already knows the right things but needs God to make them real.In this episode:Why Paul prays for wisdom and insight rather than more knowledgeThe difference between knowing truth and being able to see itWhat "confident hope" looks like as a daily way of livingWhy Paul emphasizes Christ's authority over all rulers and powersThe laminin illustration — from the cosmos to our DNA, he fills all thingsA closing prayer for open eyes and a deeper sight of God's power and grace📖 Passage: Ephesians 1:15–23 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

How do you know your salvation is going to last? How do you know God won't take it back? And when life falls apart, how do you hold onto the idea that any of this is part of a plan?In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson continues the Season 2 Ephesians Bible study with chapter 1, verses 7–14. Paul moves from the wonder of being chosen to something even more grounding: the guarantee. Your inheritance isn't held together by your effort, your consistency, or how well you finish. It's sealed by the Holy Spirit of God himself — and what God seals cannot be broken.But Matt doesn't rush past the harder question. What do we do with the idea of God's plan when we're standing in the middle of real pain, real loss, real brokenness? This episode holds that tension carefully — helping listeners understand the difference between God's sovereign plan and the brokenness of a world still waiting to be fully restored under Christ.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks what the sealing of the Holy Spirit actually means, why context matters when we read scripture, and why the evidence of the Spirit at work in you is often found in the very fact that you're still wrestling.This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone who needs something more solid than their feelings to stand on.In this episode:What it means that God purchased our freedom through Christ's bloodHow to read "God's plan" passages without losing people in their painThe difference between written to us and written for usWhy the Holy Spirit is described as a seal and a guaranteeWhat the evidence of the Holy Spirit actually looks like in a believer's lifeA closing prayer for trust in God's plan beyond our current circumstances📖 Passage: Ephesians 1:7–14 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

How much of your life is driven by trying to prove yourself? To be good enough, faithful enough, successful enough?What if God settled your worth before you ever had the chance to earn it?Welcome to Season 2 of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast. Host Matt Dawson opens the Ephesians Bible study right where Paul begins his letter — not with a challenge or a warning, but with something that reorients everything: your identity was established before the foundation of the world.Paul writes to the church in Ephesus, a thriving port city in what is now modern-day Turkey, where he spent two remarkable years planting and growing a community of believers. And from a prison cell in Rome, he opens this letter not with theology to master or rules to follow, but with a declaration that cuts straight against every cultural pressure to perform, achieve, and prove: God chose you. Before you did anything. And it gave him great pleasure to do so.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks what it means to be adopted into God's family — not as a last resort, not by default, but because of grace so glorious it has nothing to do with what you brought to the table.This Ephesians Bible study is for anyone still trying to earn a place they've already been given.In this episode:A brief introduction to the city of Ephesus and Paul's time thereWhy Paul starts his letter with identity, not instructionWhat it means to be chosen in Christ before the world was madeThe adoption language — and why it matters more than we realizeA closing prayer of gratitude for grace that required nothing from us📖 Passage: Ephesians 1:1–6 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Ephesians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

How do you know you'll finish well? Not just start well — but endure all the way to the end?In this final episode of Season 1, host Matt Dawson brings the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast's walk through Galatians to a close. And Paul ends the way he began — with urgency, clarity, and his eyes fixed on one thing alone: the cross of Jesus Christ.Picking up in Galatians 6:6–18, Paul makes his closing arguments. You reap what you sow — no exceptions, no shortcuts, no mocking God's justice. If you sow to the flesh, decay and death follow. If you sow to the Spirit, everlasting life follows. It's not complicated. But it does require endurance. So don't give up doing good. Don't get tired. At just the right time, the harvest comes.And then Paul picks up the pen himself — in large, unmistakable letters — and says it one final time: the Judaizers just want followers. They want to look good. But as for me? I will boast in nothing except the cross. Everything else has been crucified. What matters is not circumcision or uncircumcision. What matters is transformation — becoming a new creation in Christ.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt reflects on all fourteen episodes, what the book of Galatians has built, and what it looks like to finish the race in the freedom Christ has called us to — not because we believed all the right things, but because we were transformed by the only One worth boasting in.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who wants to finish well — not just start well.In this episode:The sowing and reaping principle — and why you can't mock God's justiceWhy Paul writes the closing words himself in large lettersThe Judaizers' real motive — and why Paul is done with the argumentWhat it means to be a new creation in ChristA final prayer of gratitude for the freedom found only in the cross📖 Passage: Galatians 6:6–18 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Have you ever blown it and wondered who would stick around? Or have you ever watched someone else stumble and felt quietly relieved it wasn't you?Paul has something to say about both of those moments.In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson opens Galatians chapter 6 and Paul lands on something surprising as he closes out his letter. After spending the entire book fighting for freedom, he turns to show what that freedom actually looks like in practice — and it doesn't look like self-righteousness, comparison, or condemnation. It looks like gentleness. It looks like humility. It looks like bearing one another's burdens and helping restore those who fall.Because freedom, Paul says, isn't proved in isolation. It's shown in how we treat each other.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks the critical difference between Holy Spirit conviction and the guilt and shame that comes from our sinful nature — one tears you down and keeps you there, the other lifts you back up. And he asks the church a searching question: are you part of the restoration, or part of the condemnation?This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who has confused self-righteousness with spiritual maturity — or who needs a reminder that we're all fighting the same battle.In this episode:Why restoration requires gentleness and humility — not judgmentThe difference between Holy Spirit conviction and guilt and shameWhy comparing yourself to others will never give you real satisfactionWhat it means to be accountable for your own conduct before GodHow bearing one another's burdens fulfills the law of ChristA closing prayer for the humility to help restore rather than condemn📖 Passage: Galatians 6:1–5 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Why do you keep doing what you don't really want to do? Why does change feel so inconsistent? And have you ever felt your heart genuinely divided over something?Paul has an answer — and it's not what most people expect.In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson works through the second half of Galatians 5, where Paul names what every believer quietly knows but rarely talks about: there are two desires constantly at war inside you. The flesh and the Spirit. And they never take a break.This isn't about trying harder. It's about learning to walk in sync with the Holy Spirit — surrendering moment by moment to what He's producing in you rather than feeding what your flesh keeps demanding. The fruit of the Spirit isn't a checklist you complete. It's what grows when you get out of the way.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt walks through the works of the flesh versus the fruit of the Spirit — and makes a distinction that changes everything. The flesh list is full of outcomes. The Spirit list is full of desires. One is about feeding yourself. The other is about surrender. And only one leads to the freedom Paul has been fighting for all season long.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who is tired of trying harder and ready to learn what walking in step with the Spirit actually looks like.In this episode:Why the flesh and the Spirit are constantly fighting — with no days offThe critical difference between the works of the flesh and the fruit of the SpiritWhy the fruit of the Spirit can't be manufactured — only producedThe three-legged race illustration of keeping in step with the SpiritWhat it looks like to crucify the passions of the flesh in real, daily lifeA closing prayer for choosing the Spirit over self in every moment📖 Passage: Galatians 5:16–26 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Are you really free? And if you are — does your life actually look like it?In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson arrives at the passage this entire podcast was built on. Galatians 5:1 — it is for freedom that Christ has set us free — is the heartbeat of the whole letter. And Paul isn't done fighting for it.This is where Paul takes the gloves off. If you think one rule — any rule — is what makes you right with God, Paul says you get nothing. No grace. No freedom. You're cut off from Christ. It sounds harsh. But it's actually the most liberating thing in the letter.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt walks through Paul's sharpest argument yet against the Judaizers, unpacks the "yeast" warning about how false teaching quietly spreads through everything it touches, and then lands on something surprisingly practical: your freedom in Christ was never given to satisfy yourself. It was given to serve others. And the moment you use it for pride, politics, or self-righteousness — you're already drifting.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who knows they're free but suspects they may be using that freedom for all the wrong reasons.In this episode:Why Paul says one rule means all the rules — and you get nothingThe "already but not yet" tension of living in freedom with fleshHow false teaching works like yeast — small, subtle, and ruinousWhy political opinion is one of the most misused freedoms in the churchWhat freedom was actually given for — and it's not about youA closing prayer for living in freedom that serves rather than satisfies📖 Passage: Galatians 5:1–13 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Are you managing your spiritual life — or receiving it?In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson works through one of the most creative moments in Paul's entire letter. To close out his argument in Galatians chapter 4, Paul reaches back into one of the most familiar stories in all of Jewish scripture — Hagar and Sarah, Ishmael and Isaac — and turns it into a picture of two covenants, two ways of living, and two very different destinations.One child came from human effort. One came from God's promise. And Paul's point is as direct as it gets: you are not the child of effort. You are the child of promise. So why are you living like you still have to earn it?Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks why this ancient story speaks so clearly to the modern struggle of trusting God versus trusting ourselves — even when we've slapped a spiritual label on our own agenda. The difference between slavery and freedom, Paul says, is not behavior. It's trust.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who keeps trying to help God out — and wonders why it never quite feels like freedom.In this episode:Why Paul uses Hagar and Sarah to illustrate two covenantsWhat Ishmael and Isaac represent in Paul's argumentThe difference between human effort and the child of promiseWhy "it can't be that simple" is exactly what Paul is pushing back againstThe thief on the cross — and what he knew that we often forgetA closing prayer for releasing control and trusting God's grace📖 Passage: Galatians 4:21–31 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Have you ever tried to help someone grow and instead of leaning in, they pulled away? Have you ever shared a hard truth and suddenly found yourself cast as the enemy?That's exactly where Paul is in this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast. Host Matt Dawson steps into one of the most personal, emotionally raw sections of Paul's entire letter. Paul isn't arguing doctrine here — he's grieving. He remembers when the Galatians would have given him their own eyes. And now, because he keeps telling them the truth, he's become their enemy.Picking up in Galatians 4:12–20, Paul calls out the false teachers for what they really are — not people who care about the Galatians, but people who want followers. He warns against the TikTok preachers of his day, the ones who cut you off from truth and keep you looking only at them. And then he lands on something deeply human: I wish I could change my tone. I wish I were there with you.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt draws out the heart behind the letter — that real spiritual formation isn't about information, it's about transformation. And the people willing to tell you hard truths are usually the ones who love you most.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who has confused a truth-teller for an enemy — or who needs the courage to keep speaking truth anyway.In this episode:Why Paul shifts from theology to grief in this passageWhat Paul's sickness reveals about his first visit to GalatiaHow false teachers isolate people from truth — then and nowThe "text message problem" — why tone gets lost at a distanceA closing prayer for loving people enough to keep telling the truth📖 Passage: Galatians 4:12–20 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Freedom sounds beautiful. But what does it say about your freedom when the people around you still see chains?In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson moves into Galatians chapter 4 and Paul makes one of his most personal appeals of the entire letter. You've been adopted. The Judge has signed it and broken the pen — it cannot be undone. You are no longer a slave. You are no longer a servant. You are a son. You are a daughter. You have an inheritance. So why would you choose to chain yourself to weak and useless things all over again?Paul's question isn't rhetorical. It's desperate. I fear for you.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks the powerful picture of sonship and adoption — including the beautiful detail of a broken pen sealing what cannot be reversed — and then turns it into a searching application. What are the weak and useless spiritual principles you've tied yourself to? What do people see when they look at your freedom?This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who claims freedom in Christ but suspects their life might still be telling a different story.In this episode:The inheritance illustration — and what it reveals about the law as guardianWhat "Abba, Father" actually means and why it mattersThe broken pen: why adoption in Christ cannot be undoneHow pagan, cultural, and religious principles all lead to the same chainsWhy Paul says "I fear for you" — and what that should stir in usA closing prayer for living unchained from weak and useless things📖 Passage: Galatians 4:1–11 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

What if the way you've been living your faith doesn't match who God actually says you are?That's the tension Paul lands on in this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast. Host Matt Dawson digs into Galatians 3:15–29 — and Paul's argument here is sweeping, historically rich, and personally convicting. He takes us all the way back to the Abrahamic covenant, that ancient, bloody, irreversible promise God sealed by himself, to make one thundering point: the law that came 430 years later didn't cancel a thing.So why was the law given at all? It was a guardian. A custodian. A temporary fence to protect a people who had spent 400 years as slaves and didn't yet know what freedom looked like. It was never meant to save. It was always meant to point.And now that Christ has come? The guardian has served its purpose. You're not a slave. You're not a servant. You're not someone trying to earn a place at the table. You are a son. You are a daughter. You are an heir.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks the full sweep of this passage — from the Abrahamic covenant to the fence-building instinct of human religion — and lands on a simple but powerful application: gratitude. We don't obey because we're obligated. We obey because we're free.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who's been living like a servant when God has already called them his child.In this episode:The Abrahamic covenant — and why God sealed it aloneWhy the law was given and what it was never meant to doThe "fence on a cliff" illustration of how religion adds to God's commandsWhat it means to put on Christ like a cloakWhy there's no Jew or Gentile, slave or free — only heirsA closing prayer of gratitude for the freedom we already have📖 Passage: Galatians 3:15–29 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

What if the heaviest thing you're carrying isn't a circumstance — it's a conviction that you're still not enough?In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson lands on one of the most staggering statements in all of Paul's writing: Christ became a curse for us. That's not a footnote. That's the whole point. And if you've been quietly hauling the weight of Christian performance — trying to prove yourself, earn your standing, or keep God happy through sheer effort — this episode is for you.Picking up in Galatians 3:10–14, Paul makes it plain: the law doesn't lift you up. It condemns. It was never designed to carry you — and neither were you designed to carry it. Christ took the curse. All of it. So that you wouldn't have to.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt connects Paul's argument to something we don't talk about enough in the church — Christian anxiety. That subtle, grinding weight of am I doing enough, am I enough, have I measured up? It's not from God. And Paul would call it what it is: foolish.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who started in freedom and somehow ended up back under a weight they were never meant to carry.In this episode:Why depending on the law puts you under a curse — not in God's favorHow Christ's death was a substitution, not just an exampleThe counterweight illustration — and what it reveals about the crossWhy "Christian anxiety" is more common than we admitA closing prayer for walking in the freedom you already have📖 Passage: Galatians 3:10–14 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

How did your relationship with God start? Was it because you tried harder — or because you trusted?In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson opens Galatians chapter 3 and Paul asks one of the most piercing questions in the entire letter: How did you begin? Because the way you start your faith journey isn't just a footnote — it's the foundation for everything that follows.The Galatian church had started in the Spirit and was now trying to grow through human effort. Paul calls it out plainly: foolish. And his argument cuts all the way back to Abraham — centuries before the law, before circumcision, before any religious system — to show that faith has always been the only path to righteousness.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt walks through the difference between justification, sanctification, and glorification — and why so many believers get the first one right but quietly drift into performance mode for the second.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who started with grace but somehow ended up back in effort.In this episode:Why "foolish Galatians" is one of Paul's sharpest rebukesHow the Holy Spirit came — and why that changes everythingWhy Abraham's faith matters to this argumentJustification, sanctification, and glorification explained simplyA closing prayer for living out of grace, not effort📖 Passage: Galatians 3:1–9 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

You can believe in grace and still live like everything depends on you. It happens more than we'd like to admit — and in this episode, it happened to Peter.In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson continues the Season 1 Galatians Bible study with chapter 2, verses 11–21. Paul goes public with a confrontation that nobody in the room saw coming. Peter — one of the pillars of the church — had been eating freely with Gentile believers. But the moment certain people showed up, he pulled back. Not because his theology changed, but because he was afraid of what people would think.And Paul called him out. In front of everyone.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks why peer pressure is one of the most subtle ways the gospel gets diluted — and why grace stops being grace the moment we try to add something to it. The gift card illustration alone is worth the listen.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who has ever caught themselves trying to earn something that was already freely given.In this episode:Why Paul confronted Peter publicly — and why it matteredHow fear of criticism quietly pulls us back into performance-based faithWhat the law was always meant to do — and why it was never enoughThe gift card vs. discount card illustration of graceA closing prayer for the courage to live in freedom, not approval📖 Passage: Galatians 2:11–21 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Everybody wants unity. Everybody wants to get along. But what happens when unity comes at the cost of the truth?In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson continues the Season 1 Galatians Bible study with chapter 2, verses 1–10. Paul picks up his personal story — now 14 years into his ministry — and takes us inside a pivotal meeting with the leaders of the Jerusalem church. They were in agreement on the gospel. But lurking inside that same gathering were false believers, secretly inserted to spy, manipulate, and pull people back into Jewish regulations.Paul's response? We didn't give in for a single moment.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt unpacks why the pressure to compromise the gospel doesn't always come from outside the church — and why real freedom requires the courage to hold the line on truth, even when it's uncomfortable. The application cuts straight to today: watch out for a "Jesus and..." culture, in your church, in your social media feed, and in your own heart.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone navigating the tension between keeping the peace and keeping the truth.In this episode:Why Paul's trip to Jerusalem 14 years later still mattersHow false believers infiltrated the early church from the insideWhat the Judaizers were actually trying to do — and why it workedThe danger of a "Jesus and..." culture in the modern churchA closing prayer for courage to stand firm without sacrificing love📖 Passage: Galatians 2:1–10 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

Have you ever been completely certain about something — and then had God interrupt everything you thought you knew?That's exactly what happened to Paul. In this episode of the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast, host Matt Dawson continues the Season 1 Galatians Bible study with chapter 1, verses 11–24. Paul pulls back the curtain on his own story — the education, the zeal, the reputation as a Pharisee of Pharisees — and shows how a direct revelation from Jesus Christ shattered his religious certainties and gave him something better: real freedom.Before God sends you anywhere, He reshapes who you are.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt walks through how Paul's testimony — not just his theology — became his most powerful argument. And the application hits close to home: your story of transformation might be more powerful than you think, even when your life still feels messy.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who has ever felt unqualified to share their faith or wondered if God can really use someone with a past like theirs.In this episode:Why Paul's authority came from revelation, not reputationWho Paul was before Christ — and why it mattersHow God interrupts religious certainty with transformational truthWhy your testimony may be your most powerful witnessA closing prayer for the courage to walk in your story📖 Passage: Galatians 1:11–24 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible, Christian discipleship podcast

What if you could be completely sincere and yet still be completely wrong?That's the tension Paul addresses right out of the gate in his letter to the Galatians — and it's just as relevant for the church today. In this first episode of Season 1, host Matt Dawson opens the Set Free Stay Free Bible study podcast with Galatians 1:1–10, where Paul skips his usual encouragement and goes straight to alarm.The Galatian churches weren't abandoning Christ — they were adding to Him. And Paul's response is stunning: there is no other gospel.Using the SOAP method (Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer), Matt walks through why spiritual freedom doesn't begin with passion or sincerity — it begins with truth. You'll also get an introduction to the Judaizers, the group quietly twisting the good news inside early Christian communities, and why their tactics aren't so different from what we see today.This Galatians Bible study is for anyone who wants to go deeper in God's Word and learn how to stay rooted in the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ.In this episode:Why Paul opens with alarm instead of encouragementWho the Judaizers were and what they were teachingThe danger of adding to the gospel — then and nowHow social media mirrors the same threat Paul warned againstA closing prayer for discernment and rootedness in truth👉 Download the free SOAP guide here: https://www.mattdawson.tv/read-your-bible-guide✍🏼 Free Spiritual Gifts Assessment https://www.mattdawson.tv/yourspiritualgiftsBOOK - Gifted On Purpose For Purpose: https://amzn.to/4r1MdbY📖 Passage: Galatians 1:1–10 (New Living Translation)🔍 Keywords: Galatians Bible study, Bible study podcast, SOAP method Bible study, Christian Bible study, Scripture-first Bible study, Set Free Stay Free, Matt Dawson, walking through the Bible

Welcome to Set Free Stay Free: A Bible Study Podcast with Matt Dawson — a Scripture-first Bible study that walks through books of the Bible one season at a time.In this brief intro, host Matt Dawson gives you a clear picture of what to expect from the podcast: a season-by-season journey through Paul's prison epistles — Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon — using the simple but powerful SOAP method of Bible study.SOAP stands for Scripture, Observation, Application, and Prayer. Each episode opens and closes in prayer, trusting the Holy Spirit to open God's Word and show us how to live it out daily.Whether you're new to Christian Bible study or looking for a consistent, Scripture-first rhythm to walk through the Bible, this podcast is for you. Grab your Bible, open it up, and let's study together.In this episode:What is the Set Free Stay Free podcast?What books of the Bible we'll cover (starting with Galatians)How the SOAP method works and why it mattersWhy every episode begins and ends with prayer👉 Download the free SOAP guide here: https://www.mattdawson.tv/read-your-bible-guide✍🏼 Free Spiritual Gifts Assessment https://www.mattdawson.tv/yourspiritualgiftsBOOK - Gifted On Purpose For Purpose: https://amzn.to/4r1MdbY