Use this free Youth Bible lesson in your High School or Middle School youth group when teaching about the the topic of Freedom in Christ. God’s Word has a lot to say about how Jesus came to set us free from sin and to enjoy lives of freedom in service to the Lord and others. Use this powerful theme in your teenage Sunday School or any Youth Group Ministry devotional or Bible teaching.
Bible Study Topic: Freedom
Scripture Reference: Galatians 5:1
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery (NIV).
Galatians 5:1 NIV
Lesson Introduction: What is Freedom?
The dictionary meaning of freedom is the right or power to speak, act, or think without restraint or hindrance. This wraps up everything Jesus has done for us. Before now, you and I were in sin and headed on a path that leads to eternal separation from God. This was the eternal penalty of our sins, but thankfully we have been set free in Christ.
When a sinner sincerely repents, God forgives and blots out all of his sins and doesn’t remember them anymore. In other words, God doesn’t just forgive us for our past. He also liberates us from the guilt and shame of our past and the yoke of sin. He takes away everything that opposed our freedom.
If time allows, choice a youth ministry game idea to break the ice and help the teenagers feel comfortable in the church group setting.
Bible Lesson: What Does Christ Want Us to Accomplish with Our Freedom?
- To Live the Abundant Life – Christ has set us at liberty to live abundantly. This liberty that we have through Christ gives us access to experience His love, joy, and peace and have a relationship with God, who also wants a close fellowship with us. However, this is only possible when Jesus sets us free. With this freedom, we can enter into God’s presence with complete confidence because we know He wants us there. All the hindrances have been removed. This indeed is freedom!
- To Serve – Ephesians 2:10 (NIV) – “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” God has a plan for each of us. However, it will be difficult to accomplish this plan if you are still enslaved by sin.
- To Enjoy God’s Gifts and Blessings – The freedom we have received in Christ sets the Holy Spirit in motion in our lives; He begins the work of transforming us. He takes out the old heart and puts a new one. He gives us new desires and begins a lifelong work of sanctification, and we become new. Additionally, God confers on us the right to share in Christ’s inheritance. This includes things God has given us to enjoy even while here on earth. In Christ, we have received the freedom to enjoy God’s good gifts to the fullest.
Lesson Conclusion & Youth Group Discussion Questions
Dear beloved, you are in Christ, so enjoy your freedom in Him! Live the abundant life, but “Do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love (Galatians 5:13 (NIV).
- What does it mean to have freedom in Christ?
- Is the freedom you craved the same as the one you encountered in Christ?
Further Reading – James 4:8; John 8:36; Galatians 5:5
Close the Lesson with Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus, thank you for delivering us from the curse of the law and for setting us at liberty. Help us live out our faith while enjoying the freedom you have freely given us.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.