Sermons on Romans (Page 2)
In our sermon last week, we focused in on how God wants His children to be different—we said “peculiar”—not conformed to the standards of this world but offering our lives completely to Him as holy, pleasing, living sacrifice. In some ways, the peculiarity of living a life for Christ can—in some demented way—meet this desire in us to be extraordinary. In fact, it is not uncommon for people who consider themselves to be completely sold-out to God to become proud of their perceived holiness. We may all have a deep-seated desire to be extraordinary, but God is calling us to be ordinary. If we are the superhero of our stories, there is no room for God to be glorified in or through us. But, when we see ourselves for who we are—and see God for who He really is—we will begin to see our part in His kingdom work, and our role in this work is a small (but essential) part of a much bigger work that God is accomplishing through the local, New Testament church!
We’re starting a new sermon series today entitled: “Therefore, Living in Light of Truth.” This series will be walking through the text of Romans 12, but to understand this passage we must take the previous chapters into consideration. The Oxford English Dictionary defines this expression as “drawing knowledge or information from; taking (something) into consideration.” Romans 12 is exactly that—practical conclusions based on previous statements. Our sermon outline today only has two points, but we’ll be looking at many sub-points as we go because our goal in this series is to examine this text not verse-by-verse or section-by-section, but word-by-word.
As we look at this next to last section of 2 Corinthians, we considering Paul’s Ministry Impact. Paul has been defending the validity of his ministry among the Corinthians in these final chapters of his letter. In today’s passage, we will try to see the product of his labors, but with every point we will make, we will see that the process is not yet finished. The ministry is still a work in progress.
While waiting for her wedding day, an angel appeared to Mary to explain what was about to happen to her. When the angel spoke to her, he said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.” Mary was a recipient His grace. God pursued her with His grace! So today, we’re going to focus in on the interaction Mary had with the angel, Gabriel, and with her cousin, Elizabeth, from Luke 1. We will look specifically at Mary’s character and the struggles that she experienced—social, mental and emotional struggles—as she carried the Promised Messiah.
As Paul begins this next section of Scripture, calling us to be responsible for the ministry of reconciliation, he does so by reminding us to “fear the Lord.” We should not look at this responsibility flippantly—rather, we should be serious about it and about living a life of obedience to God’s commands. It is in this framework that he sets out to motivate his readers to do this ministry. Our goal today is to look at six factors that should be present in our lives when it comes to our motivation for this ministry of reconciliation.
In our message this morning, we’re going to explore the fourth chapter of Second Corinthians. In this chapter, Paul encourages believers to be the couriers of God’s promises to everyone who will receive this message of grace. In the first section, he shows himself and his companions as an example of how to do this work of ministry; and then, in the second section, he encourages us to keep on working for the Lord—even in the midst of difficult circumstances.
The goal for today’s message is to examine Paul’s interaction with Felix and his wife, Drusilla. How did Paul share the truth of the gospel? How did Felix and Drusilla respond to his message? And what can we draw from this interaction that is applicable to our lives today?
We will be talking about this concept of “abiding” off-and-on throughout this year. This morning, I want us this to consider the implications of Psalm 91 on “abiding” when you look at it through the lens of God’s promises and our steadfast obedience to His Word. Remember what we learned in part one of this short series: God does not promise to keep us from trouble and difficulties in this life—He promises to see us through it! So as we considered His promises to protect us in Psalm 91, do not lose sight of the fact that He is working all things—the good, the bad, and the ugly—together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
The overall theme of this psalm is the promise of God to protect those who have trusted in Him—in whom the Holy Spirit dwells. Next week, we will focus on what these promises are and how they relate to life in a world threatened by a global pandemic, but the questions that we want to consider today are: “How do we understand God’s promises in Psalm 91? How do we interpret these promises in light of the teaching in the rest of Scripture?”
One of the effects of not meeting inside our facilities is that underutilized buildings tend to fall into disrepair. This past week, I was walking through the auditorium and actually walked through a cobweb! As I thought about the significance of that, I realized that just like our underutilized facility, the spiritual life of a believer who is not spending time in the Word and in prayer daily has the propensity to become stagnant and corroded. In other words, your daily spiritual walk has an effect on your spiritual well-being. That’s a pretty obvious statement, but one that we don’t seem to remember on a day-to-day basis. As we continue our journey through the second half of the book of First John, I want us to remember that the second half of this book is all about God’s love. I firmly believe that anyone who is encountering God’s love on a regular basis will not emerge unchanged. So this morning, we will be considering the effects of an encounter with the love of God.