Galatians 1:1-5 — First Impressions

READ THIS: Galatians 1:1-5

1 Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me,  To the churches in Galatia:  3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
 
WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

WELCOME TO GALATIANS! We are so excited to start this new book together!

This is the introduction to Paul's letter to the Christian churches in Galatia, and Paul makes it very clear who he is and who Jesus is in just a couple of sentences. Who does Paul say he is? He's an apostle, which is another word for someone who learned from Jesus, witnessed Jesus rise from the dead, and went out and told others about it. Paul says he was sent directly by Jesus, not by anyone else, to share the good news with others. We have proof that Paul is backing up what he says in Acts 9, take a look! But who does Paul say Jesus is? He says Jesus is our Lord, that He is the one who gave himself as a sacrifice so that we could live, and that He is deserving of all of the glory forever.

In just a minute of reading, people understood who Paul was and how much Jesus meant to him... what a first impression! We have a lot of chances to make first impressions, but if you are anything like me, when people get to know me at first, they can often miss out on learning about Jesus because of how I act and what I say. Let's learn from Paul today that every moment we have with someone, including our first impressions, can be a chance for people to know how much Jesus means to us!


THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Have you ever had a bad first impression with someone? Is there a friend in your life now that you didn't get along well with when you first met them?

2. What is the first thing people know about you when they meet you? (You can't say something physical like your glasses...we mean about who you are or what you love!)

 
TRY THIS:

Get a sticky note (or use the notes app on your phone) and type out who Jesus is to you in 5 bullet points or less!

Comments

  1. YooooonahFebruary 17, 2023 at 4:31 AM

    I met this kid at a summer camp type thing and we instantly did not click, we would actually do things because we knew it would annoy the other person. Then summer rolls to an end and TWIST hes a new kid at my school (but not in my class) I start seeing him around recess and we eventually form a truce that we wouldn’t mess with each other (we did). Fast forward another year and we’re best friends and have been up until 7th but weve lost touch a bit now, ya know new school and all.

    So I think first impressions are important but also doesn’t set what you think about someone in stone.

    When people first meet me I’d like to say they notice my attitude, when it comes to new people I haven’t met before I’ll be pretty formal, hand shake with girls (what can I say, I’m a gentleman) and mostly guys too but sometimes I’ll dap up the guys, introduction, etc. but who knows?

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