TODAY'S SCRIPTURE

You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:13-14

Read: Galatians 5:13-14

Listen: Galatians 5

TODAY'S MESSAGE

The Apostle Paul wrote the letter of Galatians to first-century believers. They were new Christians still trying to understand the “grace effect.” In the midst of their confusion, Paul reminds them that they are free in Christ. He then encourages them to use this new freedom to serve one another.

Serving others was not easy for the Galatians. They all had needs, desires and fears of their own. Laying these aside for the good of others was a challenging task, but one Paul thought was important. To serve and love one another they had to understand their freedom, view one another as worthy of dignity, serve in community and trust God.

This letter was written two thousand years ago but we struggle with the same things. We’re afraid that if we serve others audaciously, we might miss out on things ourselves. We have needs—and wonder who will provide for our needs. Like the Galatians, we need to understand our freedom, view one another as worthy of dignity, serve in community and trust God.

IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY

This past weekend, Guest Speaker Pastor Jim Liske challenged us to “serve audaciously.” He encouraged us to find the brokenness and mess—and run toward it. To give the generous gift of our time and talent to serve to others. Take a few minutes today and dream about how you could serve in this way. Write down three specific ways you could serve audaciously this week.

Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.