GRADUATION SUNDAY

--"Welcome home"/Greatest Commandment verses

--PANTRY

-tomorrow!! (usually every other Mon.)

--Men's Bible Study: THIS Saturday (1st Sat. of month -adjusted this month)

--"Free People" Series Logo

--Series verse:

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever done something just to try to make yourself look cool in front of other people?

We all want to look good! And there’s a name for that. It’s called managing your image.

When we are constantly working around the need for approval, we’re not free.

...sometimes, trying to keep our "IMAGE" up - we don't ask for help...when we should & need to:

--ILLUS.: Me asking for help on our deck: Richie & Tim (hard to ask for help sometimes)

TRUTH

We started talking about the letter to the Galatians last week.

Paul had plenty of enemies! He was on the run for his life through most of the story of the New Testament—from the government and also from Jewish leaders who saw him as a traitor to Judaism because he had decided to follow Jesus.

Paul had to make a decision. Did he care more about managing what people thought of him or did he want people to know the real message of Jesus?

Let’s look again to what Paul said in the letter.

Paul was more concerned with what he thought was right by God than what people would say or think about him.

Going after the approval of God does not mean losing the respect of others.

There’s a difference between caring about something and being controlled by it.

Free people live for Him, not them.

APPLICATION

How do you know if you’re being controlled by the approval of others?

If you’re willing to do things when people are around that you wouldn’t do if you were alone . . . you may be controlled by the approval of others.

If what other people say to you or think about you changes how YOU feel about YOURSELF . . . you may be controlled by the approval of others.

If you feel like you’re living different lives depending on the group you are hanging out with you may be controlled by the approval of others.

Free people don’t live with every action being controlled by how others see them.

Here’s what Paul was NOT saying: “I’m seeking the approval of God so it doesn’t matter how I treat everybody else.”

Take-Away

Imagine how different your life would be if you didn’t feel the pressure to manage your image all the time or get the approval of others.

Jesus wants us to be free, and free people live for Him, not "them"

--Take-Away: Free people LIVE for Jesus, not for the APPROVAL of others