Loving Jesus Style

Scripture: Galatians 1:6-10 6  I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7  not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8  But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one, we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9  As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. 10  For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ. [1]   Commentary:             Paul begins this epistle, not with a thanksgiving, which would be his usual opening. Paul here begins to skip right to the problem in the churches in Galatia as he sees it. He uses graphic Greek words here to express his bewilderment that the churches

Scripture Passage: 1  Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2  and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: 3  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4  who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5  to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen. [1]   Commentary:           Each of Paul’s letters begin with a salutation written especially for that church (or in this case a group of churches). Paul here is very terse and to the point. Not so with other churches he had written to for example. “ In his other letters Paul lavished compliments on the churches to whom he wrote. It was “the church of God in Corinth … sanctified … and called to be holy.” The Colossians were “holy and faithful brothers in Christ.” The Philippians were his partners in the gospel; the Thessalonians,

                The following is a study and commentary on the book of Galatians. We begin with an overview of the book in general. Unlike many of the epistles we have from Paul in the New Testament, Paul’s authorship of this letter is virtually unquestioned. The letter is addressed to “the churches in Galatia” there has been great debate as to what specific churches the letter is addressed to.             One theory holds that the letter was addressed to the congregations in the northern part of Asia Minor (now Turkey) who were known as racially Galatians including cities where Paul established churches on his second and third or is Paul is referring to the province of Galatia which included the northern cities as well as extending to the south of Asia Minor (the Roman province of Galatia) including cities where Paul had established churches on his first missionary journey.             Establishing a date for this letter depends on which theory you believe in. If you follow the “s

  A Parable of Two Cultures   “A man had two sons. 12  The younger son told his father, ‘I want my share of your estate now before you die.’ So, his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. 13  “A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and moved to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money in wild living. 14  About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. 15  He persuaded a local farmer to hire him, and the man sent him into his fields to feed the pigs. 16  The young man became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. 17  “When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, ‘At home even the hired servants have food enough to spare, and here I am dying of hunger! 18  I will go home to my father and say, “Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, 19  and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on a

Scripture: Haggai 1:12-15 12  Then Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the whole remnant of God’s people began to obey the message from the Lord their God. When they heard the words of the prophet Haggai, whom the Lord their God had sent, the people feared the Lord . 13  Then Haggai, the Lord ’s messenger, gave the people this message from the Lord : “I am with you, says the Lord !” 14  So the Lord sparked the enthusiasm of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the enthusiasm of Jeshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the enthusiasm of the whole remnant of God’s people. They began to work on the house of their God, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, 15  on September 21 of the second year of King Darius’s reign. [1]   Devotion:             The Jerusalem temple lay in ruins for many years. The people had been carried away to Babylon and the land had become a desolation. Eventually the Persians took over Babylon’s king