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Weekly News for Sunday, July 19, 2020

July 19, 2020

Son or Slave?

Galatians 4:1-7

Sons and Heirs Through Christ

4 Now I say that the heir, as long as he is a child, does not differ at all from a slave, though he is master of all, 2 but is under guardians and stewards until the time appointed by the father. 3 Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world. 4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born[a] of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, [b]“Abba, Father!” 7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir [c]of God [d]through Christ.

Sermon Notes

The Apostle Paul has been trying to help the Galatian church understand the difference between law and grace.

He now moves to what we might call a ‘Galatian-Day Parable’ in an effort to explain this important matter further.

Although many of us don’t understand all the ‘legal-ese’ of the execution of a will, we do understand that when one of our parents passes away, as a family, we deal with the wishes expressed in their last will and testament.

Prior to his Bar-Mitzvah, the Jewish boy held the same status as a slave.  He has no rights and could make no decisions of his own.  Following his twelfth birthday, he became ‘A Son of the Law’.

William Barclay writes of the father pronounces a benediction on the son and the son replies with his prayer of ‘dedication’ of sorts.  The father’s benediction said, “Bless be thou, O God, who has taken from me the responsibility for this boy.”  (I hope the father wasn’t saying, “Whew! Finally!”).  The son would pray, “O my God and God of my fathers!  On this solemn and sacred day, which marks my passage from boyhood to manhood, I humbly raise my eyes unto thee, and declare with sincerity and truth, that henceforth I will keep thy commandments and undertake and bear responsibility of mine actions toward thee.”

Thus the son would become a ‘Son of the Law’.  It was a whole new ‘world’ for him to understand, and therefore function, under a lifestyle of grace.

It is by grace we have been saved (Ephesians 2:8-9) and it is by grace we live day to day.

Scriptures to Consider

  1. Colossians 2:8, 20

  2. 1 Peter 5:10

  3.  Hebrews 10:29

  4.  John 1:14

Other Resources in RightNow Media

  1. "THE BOOK OF GALATIANS" BIBLE STUDY FEATURING KYLE IDLEMAN
  2. Galatians by Ray Pritchard

This Week

Monday, July 20
8:00 am Pastoral Devotions (online)
9:30 am Men's Prayer

Tuesday, July 21

Wednesday, July 22
8:00 am Pastoral Devotions (online)
10:00 am Keenagers (55+) Bible Study (on Pastor Art’s personal Facebook Page…will be posted to SGAC)
10:00 am Kids Summer Check In

Thursday, July 23
6:30 pm DLST

Friday, July 24
8:00 am Pastoral Devotions (online)
6:30 pm DLST

Saturday, July 25
9:00 am DLST

Sunday, July 26
10:00 am Online Worship Service 
8:30 pm Filipino Catch up (online)

JOURNEY UPDATES

PASTORAL DEVOTIONS TO THE CONGREGATION: Join us online Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings for a devotional message from one of our Pastors. We will air these messages on our YouTube Channel at 8:00 am. (Don’t worry, if you miss it, you can watch it later.)

VBS: SGAC’s first ever Live Stream VBS is coming Aug 10 to 13 for children age 4 to 12. Cost from July 16 to Aug. 6 (or while supplies last) is $30 for the first child and $10 for each individual child. Online registration is open now and includes your VBS in a bag package. Register now! For more information and updates visit Spruce Grove Alliance Church Children’s Ministry Facebook page or call the office.

KEENAGERS (55+): We are now meeting online. Join us on Wednesdays at 10:00 am on Pastor Art’s personal Facebook page or at 1:00 pm on our Keenagers Facebook Group as we stay connected through the Word of God.

We are excited to be preparing to REALUNCH our in-person worship services August 2. Please pray for this team and process and keep your eye out for weekly updates. Sign up for the newsletter if you haven’t already at https://www.sgac.net/newsletter

KIDS SUMMER CHECK IN: Join us Wednesday mornings in July at 10:00 am for fun interactive games and story time. We will stream live on the SGAC Kids Facebook page.

DEEPER LIFE SCHOOL OF THEOLOGY is offering a summer course on learning Lexical Greek taught by Dr. Ron Cottle.  Please register with Pastor Coreen by email if you are interested in coming July 23 – 25.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT UPDATE: Construction continues to prepare SGAC for our future build, using the budget that was approved by the Board early in the New Year.   For the most part the construction activity is not visible to the congregation, both because the work is behind the scenes, and because traffic to the church remains limited.  All of the work done to date has been completed well under the $750,000 budget approved by the Board in Feb 2019. This is in large part due to the work of our volunteer construction team: thanks to their dedication, some of this work is being done with only the costs of supplies.  As a result, at their June meeting the Elder’s Board approved the construction team’s continued work to prepare for the future build, within the $750,000 preliminary project budget.  Read this week’s email and visit the church website as it is updated in the coming weeks to learn more.  You can also email the Future Development Team to ask questions or to discuss the ongoing work at: phase1@sgac.net.

The CHURCH OFFICE  hours are Mon – Fri from 9 am -4 pm. We are closed for lunch daily from noon- 1pm.

WE ARE ON INSTAGRAM! Follow us at sga.church

 Please note the Following Options for Giving

ONLINE GIVING
Whether it is a one-time gift or you would like to schedule a recurring donation, you can  give online to Spruce Grove Alliance Church.  This option allows you to give using a Visa debit card or the traditional Visa or MasterCard credit cards.

PRE-AUTHORIZED GIVING
Pick up a pre-authorized debit agreement form from our church office or download one here. You can fill it out and then with a voided cheque - you can either scan it and email it to the office, or drop it off during regular office hours.

INTERAC/DEBIT
During office hours, you can drop by and use the INTERAC/DEBIT machine at the Welcome Centre, then fill out your donation envelope as normal including your name, address, giving number and insert your debit receipt so we can disburse funds as directed in the Box on the counter.

E-TRANSFER
Use E-Transfer to give at SGAC, using giving@sgac.net Please include your offering envelope number and contact information.   The money is deposited directly into the church account and does not require a security question.  Please also include your envelope # if you have one and your phone number in the note section. 

IN PERSON
You can stop by the church office and drop off your donation in a sealed envelope.  Mark it Finance / Confidential. Please call ahead as Office Hours are by appointment only.

By MAIL / CHEQUE
Mail your donation to:
Spruce Grove Alliance Church
Attn: Finance
250 Century Road
Spruce Grove, AB  T7X 1W6

Thank you for your generosity in giving to SGAC.

Questions: Please contact the church office at 780 962 4700 or by email .  You may also visit our website at www.sgac/Give

PRAYER

Please pray for:

  • Our Christian Worker: Jon & Angie Coutts live in Calgary where Jon is the Assistant Professor of Christian Theology at Ambrose University. Angie’s parents attend SGAC.
  • Our Pastoral Team Staff Member: Pastor Coreen Frey – Pastor of Children’s Ministries. Coreen is married to Dave and they have 3 married children.
  • Our Support Staff Team Member: Dave Janssen. Dave is married to Dawn and they have6 children.
  • Our Elders Team Member: Fred Zelensky.  Fred is married to Darlene and they have 3 married children.

 

Family Matters