Download discussion questions:  Galatians 5:13-18
Calvary Institute Index

Freedom

In an earlier discussion we had considered the qualification Paul put on freedom in Galatians 5:13.  This week’s discussion began on that same topic of the freedom Christ calls us into – what it is and what it is not:

“God promised to make you free. He never promised to make you independent.”
We are most free when we are most willing to acknowledge our interdependence. Adam and Eve were free until they saw each other as separate and autonomous, and afraid of their Creator.^[1]

Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  Galatians 5:13-18
Calvary Institute Index

Here is the passage for Sunday.  Click the “Download…” link above.

Before looking at the discussion questions on the right side of the page, read through the passage itself once or twice.

• What questions do you have as you read?
• What parts of the passage would you like our group to discuss when we meet on Sunday morning?
• How does this passage follow what Paul has said before? What new ideas does he introduce?

Download discussion questions:  Galatians 5:5-15
Calvary Institute – Fall 2018 Index

Our group began with a quotation reminding us of the importance of diligent study of even difficult or uncomfortable ideas in Scripture and in theology:

If our religion is something objective, then we must never avert our eyes from those elements in it which seem puzzling or repellent; for it will be precisely the puzzling or the repellent which conceals what we do not yet know and need to know.[1]

The passage under study may not have been a particularly difficult section of Scripture, but the reminder is always appropriate. Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  Galatians5:5-15
Calvary Institute – Fall 2018 Index

Here is the passage for Sunday.  Click the “Download…”link above.

As you look at the passage, think about leading the triad you will be in this week. 

• What do you see in thepassage? 
• What questions could you ask to help others in your triad explore the passage? 
• What parts of the passage would you like your triad to focus on? 
• What questions would you ask so your triad could help you understand the passage?

Download discussion questions:  Galatians 5:1-7
Calvary Institute – Fall 2018 Index

Discussion

This week we took a slightly different approach from our usual time of looking at the passage individually before our discussion.  Instead, we divided into groups of three (with no family members in the same group) to begin discussing the passage in the smaller “triad” context.  This week’s passage (Galatians 5:1-7) was also considerably shorter than most previous sections we studied.  One of the goals of Calvary Institute is to make joyful, passionate disciples who make joyful, passionate disciples.  A significant part of that process is learning from one another as we study Scripture together. Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  Galatians 5:1-7
Calvary Institute – Fall 2018 Index

Here is the passage for Sunday.  Click the “Download…” link above.

One of the reasonsI wanted us to study Galatians together was to see how Paul’s passionate defense of the gospel of grace (most of chapters 1-4) led into the application to relationships in the Galatian churches (chapters 5-6) – relational orthodoxy that makes disciples who make disciples.

In order to draw as much as we can from the remaining two chapters, I am planning to have us focus on shorter passages.  Hopefully that will give us more time for discussion of Paul’s words and more opportunityfor thinking and talking about application – how Calvary Institute can help us build that kind of community.

As we work through the end of Galatians, I hope to move toward one of the goals of Calvary Institute, that of finding practical ways to make disciples who make disciples.  With that in mind, note three new questions on the handout that can guide your approach to the passage:

How would you explore this passage?

• To understand it yourself?
• To explain it to someone?
• To lead others through it?

Download discussion questions:  Galatians 4:20 – 5:1
Calvary Institute – Fall 2018 Index

An Allegory

The most conspicuous feature of this passage is Paul’s extended allegory (“being taken figuratively” in CSB; allégoroumena, ἀλληγορούμενα).  The natural question is, “What is an allegory, and why is Paul using one here?”  We also discussed the question, “How would the new Galatian believers fresh out of paganism understand his figurative language if they were not familiar with the story the allegory is based on?” Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  Galatians 4:20 – 5:1
Calvary Institute – Fall 2018 Index

Here is the passage for Sunday.  Click the “Download…” link above.

Before looking at the discussion questions on the right side of the page, read through the passage itself once or twice.

• What questions do you have as you read?
• What parts of the passage would you like our group to discuss when we meet on Sunday morning?
• Is this passage more theological (like the first chapters of Galatians) or relational (like the later chapters)? Or would you put the passage into a different category?

Download discussion questions:  Galatians 4:8-20
Calvary Institute – Fall 2018 Index

Meat and Bones

Being Thanksgiving weekend, a turkey illustration seemed appropriate.  Like turkey, some Biblical passages are a combination of meaty parts and bony parts.   Our discussion started with the question, “What parts of this passage are “bony” – not lending themselves to straightforward understanding?  Which parts are “meaty” – probably the writer’s main point? Continue reading →

Download discussion questions:  Galatians 4:8-20
Calvary Institute – Fall 2018 Index

Here is the passage for Sunday.  Click the “Download…” link above.

Before looking at the discussion questions on the right side of the page, read through the passage itself once or twice.

• What questions do you have as you read?
• What parts of the passage would you like our group to discuss when we meet on Sunday morning?
• How does this passage follow what Paul has said before? What new ideas does he introduce?