Called to Freedom

Called to Freedom
Children's Sunday (fifth Sunday of the month)
Text: Galatians 5:1, 13-25
Series: Children of God: OMG
Presented by Pastor Christian Taylor
Discussion Questions
Ice-Breakers
How do you balance personal freedom with responsibility to others in your daily life?
Who in your life has shown you Christ-like love through service?
Which “works of the flesh” listed in verses 19–21 do you think are especially challenging in our culture today?
How can we encourage one another to “keep in step with the Spirit” within our community?
Sermon Based
Why do you think some Christians during the Jim Crow era misused their faith to justify oppression? How might we be tempted to do something similar today, perhaps in more subtle ways?
What are some barriers that keep people from choosing to love their neighbor as themselves? How might we begin to dismantle those barriers in ourselves or our communities?
Why do you think the disciples (and their mother!) were focused on status and recognition? Can you relate to that desire?
How can we tell if our “freedom” is producing the fruit of the Spirit or the fruit of the flesh?
Beyond the Text
How does the misuse of freedom under systems like Jim Crow challenge our understanding of the Imago Dei—the belief that every person is made in the image of God—and what does that mean for how we live out the Gospel today?
Jesus said, “If anyone wants to be my disciple, let them deny themselves, take up their cross, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). In what ways does this call to self-denial and sacrificial love contrast with the cultural version of “freedom” used to justify racial oppression—and how might the Church model a better way today?