Scripture: Romans 12:14-21

Key Takeaways:

+ Bless

Matthew 5:10-12

+ Live in Harmony

Harmony Requires Humility

Pride is the Enemy of Harmony

+ Do Not Do Evil

Romans 6:17-18

Romans 3:10-12

+ Our vengeance is evil

+ Only God’s wrath can offer full vengeance

+ Vengeance is not for us, but for the glory of God

Scripture: Romans 12:9-13

Key Takeaways:

“Beloved Brethren, we are philosophers not in word but in deeds; we exhibit our wisdom not by our dress, but by truth; we know virtues by their practice rather than through boasting of them; we do not speak great things, but we live them.” Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, 256.

+ Genuine Love

Genuine

Discerning

Affectionate

Psalm 16:2-3 (ESV)

Honoring

+ Zealous Service

+ Patient Joy

+ Generous Hospitality

Scripture: Romans 12:3-8

Key Takeaways:

New Identity

New Assignment

1 Corinthians 12:4-7 (ESV)

1 Corinthians 12:11 (ESV)

New Power

Ephesians 3:7-8 (ESV)

Ephesians 2:19-22 (ESV)

Scripture: Romans 12:2

Key Takeaways:

Resist the Formation of the World

Galatians 1:3-5 (ESV)

Romans 8:5-8 (ESV)

“We can present our bodies to the Lord as genuinely holy and acceptable sacrifices only if we “do not conform to this world” but “are transformed by the renewing of the mind. - Douglas Moo

Renew your Mind by the Gospel

Titus 3:5-7 (ESV)

“MY DEAR WORMWOOD, I note with grave displeasure that your patient has become a Christian. Do not indulge the hope that you will escape the usual penalties; indeed, in your better moments, I trust you would hardly even wish to do so. In the meantime we must make the best of the situation. There is no need to despair; hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a brief sojourn in the Enemy's camp and are now with us. All the habits of the patient, both mental and bodily, are still in our favour.” - Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis

Ephesians 4:17-24 (ESV)

Restore your Dignity by the Spirit’s Help

Romans 8:13-14 (NIV)

2 Cor 3:17-18 (ESV)

Scripture: Romans 12:1

Key Takeaways: 

“The Christian and the Materialist hold different beliefs about the universe. They can’t both be right. The one who is wrong will act in a way which simply doesn’t fit the real universe. Consequently, with the best will in the world, he will be helping his fellow creatures to their destruction.” - C.S. Lewis

Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Romans 1:24-25 (ESV)

Romans 12:1 (NIV)

Offer Your Body to God

1 Peter 2:5 (ESV)

Philippians 4:18 (ESV)

Display the Worth & Beauty of Christ in Your Body.

“It has been said that in the New Testament doctrine is grace; and ethics is gratitude; and something is wrong with any form of Christianity in which, experimentally and practically, this saying is not being verified. Those who suppose that the doctrine of God's grace tends to encourage moral laxity are simply showing that, in the most literal sense, they do not know what they are talking about. For love awakens love in return; and love, once awakened, desires to give pleasure.” - J.I. Packer, Knowing God

Luke 7:47-50 (ESV)

This sermon explores Romans 11:25-32, emphasizing that theology should lead us to doxology (praise) and devotion (godliness). It underscores the wonder and worth of God, the wisdom and ways of God, and the wealth and works of God, acknowledging that while God can be truly known, He cannot be fully comprehended. 

Scripture: Romans 11:25-32

Key Takeaways: “As I often tell my students, theology is for doxology and devotion—that is, the praise of God and the practice of godliness...Theology is at its healthiest when it is consciously under the eye of the God of whom it speaks, and when it is singing to his glory.”

-       J. I. Packer, Concise Theology: A Guide to Historic Christian Beliefs.

+ Theology is for Doxology and devotion.

+ The Wonder and Worth of God.

1 Kings 10:23 (CSB)

 1 Kings 10:4–8 (CSB)

+ The Wisdom and Ways of God

-       God can be truly known but not fully known.

Deuteronomy 29:29 (CSB)

Psalm 56:8–9 (CSB)

+ The Wealth and Works of God.

Psalm 50:12 (CSB)

Colossians 1:16–17 (ESV)

Scripture: Romans 11:25-32

Key Takeaways:

God has a heart for the Jewish people and so should we.

Salvation is of God so be humble.

1 Corinthians 1:28–31

God lets us fall into and feel our sin so we might marvel at His mercy.

Scripture: Romans 11:11-24

Key Takeaways:

Main Idea: "God has always wanted a people to reveal his glory to and display his glory through.

Three Parts of God's Plan

Genesis 12:2–3

Ephesians 3:6  

Ephesians 3:9

“The restoration of Israel is an easier process than the call of the gentiles” - John Stott

Two Ways to Respond

Romans 10:3-4

One Hope for us All

Isaiah 49:6

Revelation 7:9

“One cannot help but wonder what the remarkable result would be if this mass of lay people could be spiritually released from their servitude in the American success system and reoriented to channel their major energies toward building the Kingdom of God” - Richard Lovelace, Dynamics of Spiritual Life

1.          Continue in God’s Kindness

2.         Fear the Lord

3.         Be Stubbornly Hopeful

Scripture: Romans 10:13-11:11

Key Takeaways:

Even when it looks like unbelief is winning the day, God is at work saving a people for himself.   

1 Peter 3:18

“At the turn of the 20th century, Africa was home to less than 10 million Christians, fewer than any other region except Oceania. By 2000, the Christian population in Africa had exploded to more than 383 million. In 2020, more Christians lived in Africa than any other region of the world. By 2050, with a Christian population of more than 1.28 billion, more Christians will call Africa home than the next two most populous regions—Asia and Latin America—combined.” - Aaron Earls, Lifeway Research.   

God has a purpose in every tragedy, even the tragedy of unbelief.  

Romans 1:16

Acts 13:46

Acts 18:6

Acts 28:24–28

Matthew 21:42–43

Acts 2:22–24

Romans 8:28

2 Corinthians 1:8–11

The Gospel has the power to give you an enviable life.  

1 Peter 3:15

Scripture: Romans 10:5–17

Key Takeaways:

A Person is saved solely by faith in the crucified and risen Lord Jesus, apart from works.

Apart from personal, conscious, saving faith in Jesus people will experience eternal judgment.

Romans 2:5

Ezekiel 18:23

Ezekiel 33:11

John 3:16–17

Universalism

Mark 9:42–48

Matthew 25:46

Revelation 20:14–15

“Hell is a dreadful reality. To speak of it lightly proves we do not grasp its horror. I know of no one who has overstated the terrors of hell. We can scarcely surpass the horrid images Jesus used. We are meant to shudder. Why? Because the infinite horrors of hell are intended by God to be a vivid demonstration of the infinite value of his glory which sinners have belittled…When people repeat the centuries old objection that an eternal punishment is disproportionate to a finite life of sinning, they disregard the essential thing…The essential thing is that degrees of blameworthiness come not from how long you offend dignity, but from how high the dignity is that you offend.” John Piper, Let the Nations be Glad.

Inclusivism

Luke 24:45–49

Acts 4:7–12

Acts 10:1–6

Acts 10:38–43

Acts 10:47

Acts 11:13–14

The task of every Christian is to get the Gospel to all peoples who have yet to hear it.

Revelation 7:9–12

The Spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions, and the nearer we get to Him the more intensely missionary we must become. - Henry Martyn

If there be any one point in which the Christian church ought to keep its fervor at a white heat, it is concerning missions. If there be anything about which we cannot tolerate lukewarmness, it is in the matter of sending the gospel to a dying world. - Charles Spurgeon