• Read Galatians 1:1-24

    Paul begins by saying that he is writing to the Galatians to celebrate what God has done and is doing. He then says that the true message of the gospel — Jesus living a perfect life, being crucified, and rising from the dead to set us free from sin — is the only message we should believe.
    To wrap up chapter 1, Paul tells how God worked in his life personally. He says that he was quickly advancing in Judaism and actively persecuting Christians. As Paul began to understand the gospel — Christ crucified and resurrected to unite us with God — he became a Christian himself! Not only was he sharing his story, but he says that others were coming to know Jesus because of it.

    • Who are the people in my life that I could tell about who God is and what God has done?

    • What lies that contradict the Bible do I most often believe? In what ways does that affect my relationship with God?

    • What are the things that God has forgiven me for and set me free from? Like Paul, do I share that story of God working in my life with others?

  • Read Galatians 2:1-21

    In verses 1–10 of chapter 2, Paul says that he and many of the other apostles had met about what message they were preaching and who they were preaching to. Despite Paul’s past, the other apostles accepted him and invited him into God’s mission with them. Paul also states that he had to talk to Peter (also called Cephas) about one way that Peter had been hypocritical.


    Paul spends the rest of the chapter explaining that our faith in Jesus is what unites us with God — not our good works. He says that our inability to keep God’s law is why we needed Jesus to come. Now that Jesus has come, we are free to live God’s way in response to His goodness, not out of a responsibility to prove our own goodness. A faith in Jesus changes our desires and our actions. We can’t live our lives in relationship with Jesus while pursuing the things of this world.

    • Who are the other believers in my life that I am on mission for Jesus with?

    • Have I put my faith in Jesus to forgive me for my shortcomings?

    • Is my life motivated by a response to God’s goodness or by a responsibility to follow the rules and prove my own goodness?

  • Read Galatians 3:1-14

    Paul begins chapter 3 by restating how crazy it is that the Galatians would look to anything other than Jesus for their hope and salvation. He then explains how salvation through faith in Jesus is a fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham in the Old Testament. The main idea is that there’s nothing we can do in our own power to become perfect or whole, but Jesus took the curse of sin from us through His death on the cross — making us perfect and whole.

    • What things or people other than Jesus do I look to for fulfillment or to make me feel more whole?

    • Have I ever thought about how cool it is that Jesus’ life and death fulfilled God’s promises from thousands of years earlier in the Old Testament?

    • In my everyday life, what specific ways do I see the effects of God setting me free from the curse of sin?

  • Read Galatians 3:15-29

    In the last half of chapter 3, Paul explains in greater detail how Jesus fulfilled God’s promises in the Old Testament. He then explains how the law served to guard God’s people from trouble and heartache until Jesus came. Finally, he concludes by saying that we now have a direct relationship with God because Jesus paid for our sin, and because of that, we can live lives in pursuit of God rather than in pursuit of things that will hurt and disappoint us.

    • Do I see the Bible as a burden? Do I feel as if its commandments are trying to keep me from fun things?

    • Do I see the Bible as a blessing? Do I feel as if it keeps me from trouble and heartache?

    • Based on today’s reading, which of those would Paul say is the correct view of the Bible?

  • Read Galatians 4:1-20

    Paul begins this passage with the analogy of a son being an heir to his earthly father. He says that even though the father would die and leave his inheritance to his children, the children had to wait to receive it until they were mature enough to use it responsibly. Paul says that this is the same as the law of Moses. Our inheritance as spiritual heirs is the promise of freedom, and the guardian is the law of Moses. The law was protecting us until we were ready to receive the valuable gift of freedom that Jesus provided us on the cross. It showed us our need for Jesus because of our inability to follow the law on our own.

    Paul also uses the analogy of being a slave. He says that we’ve all been slaves to other gods and sins, but now, we’re free through our faith in Jesus! Why would we want to return to those gods and sins? Relationship with God invites us into a fulfilling life, while the gods and sins we used to be controlled by only disappoint us.

    • What things has God set me free from in the past?

    • In what parts of my life today do I most often feel enslaved or disappointed?

    • Do I believe that God can set me free from those things like He’s set me free before? Pray that He would.

  • Read Galatians 4:21-31

    Let’s be honest — most of us don’t know much, if anything, about Hagar and Sarah! However, the Galatians knew ALL about these Old Testament stories. They knew their drama like we know about our favorite celebrities. The Old Testament is the story of God’s pursuit of His children, and the Galatians wanted to know all about it. Maybe we should too.

    Anyway, the point Paul is making is that our relationship with God is a gift to us as a fulfillment of His promises. We are given relationship with Him not because of any of our good works, planning, or scheming, but because of God’s kindness to us. And that life is better than any life we could create on our own!

    • If the Bible is a gift to help us understand who God is, why do we often grow bored or disinterested in it? Pray that God would give you a passion for His Word.

    • What areas of my life do I feel more comfortable plotting, planning, and scheming rather than trusting God?

  • Read Galatians 5:1-15

    Paul begins this passage saying that no one will ever find salvation by doing all the right things but “only faith working through love.” You will never find freedom or salvation in worldly things. God gave us free will not so we could pursue sins, but so we could love Him and each other.

    • In what ways am I good at loving God and the people around me?

    • In what ways could I grow in loving God and the people around me?

  • Read Galatians 5:16-26

    Our sinful nature and the Holy Spirit are always at war with each other. This often makes it feel as if we can’t carry out good intentions. When you let evil take control of your life, the results will be clear; in the same way, when you let the Holy Spirit rule every part of your life, you will see the fruit. As believers, we should nail our sinful desires to the cross with Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to lead our lives. God’s promise is that His Spirit in us has the power to change our desires. He is working to make our hearts more like His. All we have to do is let Him!

    • What “works of the flesh” listed in this passage are a part of my life? (sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these)

    • What “fruit of the Spirit” listed in this passage are a part of my life? (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control)

    • Pray that God would make your heart more like His.

  • Read Galatians 6:1-18

    Paul begins chapter 6 by challenging the Galatians to help fellow Christ followers overcome sin and pursue God. Those who live only to get satisfaction from their own sinful nature will only reap death and decay, whereas those who live to please the Spirit will reap everlasting life.

    He concludes by recapping the whole letter, saying that nothing we do is ours to boast about. It was all done through the cross that bears our burdens and separates us from this world’s interests. The only thing that matters is that we have become new through our faith in Jesus.

    • Who are the other Christians in my life that I can share burdens with?

    • Talk to at least one of those people about what God has taught you and convicted you of through reading Galatians.