TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28
Listen: Galatians 3
TODAY’S MESSAGE
The temple system visually demonstrated the separation between God and people. It also cemented the idea that the things we do wrong have a cost. That’s what the sacrifice was all about. To be forgiven, there was a price. It wasn’t free. You had to buy an animal, give it to the priest and the priest would sacrifice it for your sins. Sin, and the separation from God it brought was costly.
God himself stepped into this mess. Jesus comes to earth to break down the barrier between God and people. He lived a perfect life. He did what there was no way we could ever do. No one before him had lived a perfect life and no after him either. His relationship with God wasn’t broken by sin. But that wasn’t enough. He wanted to make a way for the relationship between God and all people to be fixed. But at a cost—death on the cross.
Jesus paid that cost so we could have a right relationship with God. Watch the video clip below as Pastor Jeff Manion explains that Jesus also paid that cost to break down the barriers between people. Herod’s temple separated people based on ethnicity and gender. Jesus’ new community brings people together. Galatians 3:28 says “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Jesus paid the price to restore our relationship with God and with each other.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
Find a quiet space and say a prayer of thanksgiving. Reflect on Jesus paying the price to restore our relationship with God and each other. Express your gratitude to God for taking this extraordinary step out of his love for you.
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
