Weekend Service

Sunday, March 8, 2026

Self-reliance, hard work, taking initiative—these are all positive traits that help us find success at work and in life. But what happens when we apply those traits to our relationship with God? Paul advances the argument of Galatians that as a gift of God’s grace we are made right with God by faith and that we make progress in our spiritual lives by faith with a story from Genesis. This weekend we discover who is eligible to receive God’s good gifts of grace. DISCUSSION QUESTIONS Warm Up 1. What is one thing you used to think or believe but don’t anymore or one piece of conventional wisdom you don’t think is correct? Explore the Scriptures 2. Read Galatians 4:21-31. Paul is reinterpreting the stories about Sarah, Hagar, and Abraham from Genesis 16-17 and 21:1-21 to deliver a message about living under the law and living under grace. What contrasts do you see in this passage between Sarah and Hagar? 3. What is the message Paul communicates in this passage and what makes it so important but also difficult to grasp? Apply Truth to Life 4. What did you hear this weekend that inspired you, challenged you, or sparked disagreement or further consideration? 5. When we trust in a Law (obeying commands, rules, or codes) for our relationship with God, we might either obey or disobey that law. But God invites us to life through his Spirit. How would you trace your spiritual journey through trusting in the law but disobeying it, trusting in the Law and obeying it, and trusting in the Spirit? 6. We need humility to accept our need for God’s grace. Read the story Jesus told in Luke 18:9-14. What motivated Jesus to tell this story? How can you become more like the tax collector and less like the Pharisee?