Rethink Yourself — Rethink, Part 2

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How do you introduce yourself to a stranger? How would someone else introduce you? Introductions tell us what people think about someone. If you died, how do you think God would introduce you to the angels? It might not be what you think, so maybe you should rethink yourself. Pastor Luke teaches from Galatians 4:1–11 in “Rethink Yourself,” part 2 of his 4-part series “Rethink.”

Talk It Over


1. Supposedly, everyone is connected by just six degrees of separation: you, the President of the U.S. or Russia, the Pope or the Sultan of Brunei, a sheep rancher in the Australian outback. Pick one and guess who might be the first couple of links in the chain that connects you to them.

UNPACK. Read Galatians 4:1-11

2. How is a minor child like a slave? How are they different? (vv. 1-2)

3. What is the “fullness of time?”

4. How are adoptive and natural-born children similar? How are they different? (vv. 5-6)

5. From your previous answer, how is Christ like those whom he redeemed? How is he different?

6. Is the main problem Paul describes in this passage one of immaturity? That is, can it be solved by growth and education? Why or why not? What (what else) can solve it? How?

7. In verse 7, is Paul saying that God will die and we will get his stuff? Why or why not? How would you restate Paul’s meaning in your own words?

8. What did Jesus do to redeem from slavery those who are being adopted as children?

APPLY. 9. How, according to this passage, can someone know for sure if they were redeemed from slavery and adopted as a child? Are you one?

10. What does it mean to be “known by God” (v. 9)? How is that superior to knowing God? (Consider the difference between knowing President Obama personally and knowing about him.)