"Keep the main thing the main thing"
(Series Outlines)
Come journey with us as we explore The Road to Freedom: The Hitchhiker's Guide to Galatians, and discover a life of real freedom. 
      What would a 2000 year-old letter have to do with us here in 2005? ...

Probably the oldest document of the New Testament, the Apostle Paul's letter to the churches of southern Turkey was written circa 50 A.D. At that time, the area was known as the Roman province of Galatia, so the letter is commonly referred to as Galatians.
     What would a 2000 year-old letter have to do with us here in 2005? After all, aren't we the most free society on earth? Are we really free? We have more modern input for living and we do not have the issues that they had then....or do we?

... trapped by a swarm of religious rulesPaul wrote to a bunch of young churches that were experiencing the combined effects of religious pluralism, false teachers, and growing confusion about what God's actions through Jesus Christ really meant. People felt trapped by a swarm of religious rules, arguments about who was going to heaven, and lots of requirements that seemed to make little sense.

Televangelists of the dayThere was a lot of "mixing and matching" of rules and expectations, as traveling teachers (the televangelists of the day perhaps?) offered their take on God, religion, customs, and eternal life. People were getting to the point where they had no idea what to trust and who to trust, and at the center of the controversy was Jesus - what exactly happened?

Paul's authoritative letter was designed to "keep the main thing the main thing" and remind these churches just exactly what happened in Jerusalem and why. How their freedom was linked to this core truth, and a reminder of the basic premise that they had started with. Who would disagree that churches today need to periodically review the basics of the Christian faith - even great churches have made things too complicated!

So come and check out the 10-week series from September 11 to November 13, as we chart a journey on the Road of Freedom by studying the profound truths of this ancient letter - truths that will help us experience the life of true freedom God promises his people.