Welcome to day seven of the summer reading plan! Today we are talking about the first part of Romans 4, verses one through twelve. Before we get into it, let’s talk about one of the “P’s of Bible Study” that I don’t mention as often: process.

"Just because you question something doesn’t mean you oppose it. God is not scared of your questions."

Speaking of questions…. I mentioned earlier in our study of Romans that one reason this letter from Paul is unique is that he has never met the people to whom he is writing. Unlike 1 and 2 Corinthians, this letter is not a response. However, in Chapter 4, Paul shows that he already knows the questions his recipients might ask. Paul spent chapter three addressing issues of ethnicity between the Jews and the Gentiles. He talked a lot about the law, and how the law was not meant to save anyone, but to reveal sin. That’s great news, but here’s the thing: the law was given to Moses, and there was a whole lot of Jewish history that came before Moses. It’s like Paul knows the Jews would say, “Alright Paul, this is all great, but how does it fit in with the rest of our history?”

Let's see how Paul answered that question in this episode!

You ARE a Bible reader.
You CAN understand God's Word.
You WILL be changed by what you learn.

And, in turn, the Word of God will change your family, your community, and your world.

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Today, in Romans 3:21-31, it's all about the law, the law, the law. What does that mean for us? You'll have to listen to find out!

You ARE a Bible reader.
You CAN understand God's Word.
You WILL be changed by what you learn.

And, in turn, the Word of God will change your family, your community, and your world.

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Welcome to the Summer Reading Plan-- Day 5! We're talking about Romans 3:1-20 and one of the other reasons why Paul wrote to the Romans: to discuss ethnicity issues within the church.

You ARE a Bible reader.
You CAN understand God's Word.
You WILL be changed by what you learn.

And, in turn, the Word of God will change your family, your community, and your world.

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We know you can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk? This is the question that Paul was asking the Romans in the second part of Romans Chapter 2. If there hasn't been a passage to practice using perspective on yet... there is now! Today's passage is all about the Jews and how circumcision bound them to the law. It would be easy to skip over this part.... except that it is still super applicable to us today!

"Righteousness has never been about what we can see on the outside. It has always been about what happens in the heart."

You ARE a Bible reader.
You CAN understand God's Word.
You WILL be changed by what you learn.

And, in turn, the Word of God will change your family, your community, and your world.

SOCIAL:
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What a weekend we had with the Hope Kids! We are praising God for FOUR kids who were filled with the Holy Ghost, and two kids who were baptized in Jesus' name! I'm breaking down everything Kids' Revival by talking about what happened BEFORE, DURING, and my reflections AFTER. Why did we decide to do a revival instead of VBS? How do we prepare for something like this? How can we be more intentional when we pray for kids? What is church even supposed to look like? How do we get our kids more involved in services? 

Where do we go from here? Listen to the episode to find out!

You ARE a Bible reader.
You CAN understand God's Word.
You WILL be changed by what you learn.

And, in turn, the Word of God will change your family, your community, and your world.

SOCIAL:
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Today's episode is all about God's judgment... but no worries! We find in scripture that our God is just AND kind. Follow along to see what else scripture tells us about his judgment:

God's judgment is...

• according to the truth (2:2)
• according to each man's works (2:16)
• according to the secrets of men (2:16)

You ARE a Bible reader.
You CAN understand God's Word.
You WILL be changed by what you learn.

And, in turn, the Word of God will change your family, your community, and your world.

SOCIAL:
Follow me on social media!
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Remember how exciting yesterday was? Yeah... hold on to that feeling. The message of the gospel means nothing to the person who doesn't recognize their own sin. Today's passage of scripture is going to help us recognize our need! 

I'm using notes from one of my favorite commentators, Warren Wiersbe, in today's episode. He calls this section of scripture "The Devolution of Man." It's broken down as follows:

1: 18-20 Intelligence
1:21-23 Ignorance
1:24-27 Indulgence
1:28-32 Impenitence

"Anything that takes what God has made and uses it for a purpose other than what God has made it for-- that's idolatry."

You ARE a Bible reader.
You CAN understand God's Word.
You WILL be changed by what you learn.

And, in turn, the Word of God will change your family, your community, and your world.

SOCIAL:
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Welcome to DAY ONE of our Summer Reading Plan! Today, we're reading Romans 1:1-17. 

Did you know the apostle Paul had a letter form? He was a great writer, and all of his letters follow the same template:

1. Opening
   1. Addresser
   2. Adressee
   3. Benediction
2. Thanksgiving
3. Body
4. Paranaesis (Practical Application)
5. Closing

Today, we're talking about the opening, and it is LOADED. Paul doesn't play around! Everything he says is meaningful, from the first verse to the last. 

You ARE a Bible reader.
You CAN understand God's Word.
You WILL be changed by what you learn.

And, in turn, the Word of God will change your family, your community, and your world.

SOCIAL:
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Tomorrow begins our "Summer Reading Plan" or "SRP" on the book of Romans, but you definitely want to START HERE FIRST! In this episode, I'm explaining how the plan will work, and I'm giving some background information on the book of Romans.

I believe in using Jen Wilkin's "Five Ps" of Bible study: prayer, process, perspective, purpose, and patience. This episode will take care of some of the perspective. I will be answering the who, what, when, where, and why of the book of Romans. On July 1st, we will start with the first part of Romans 1. 

It's going to be so much fun, so go ahead and make plans to follow along!

You ARE a Bible reader.
You CAN understand God's Word.
You WILL be changed by what you learn.

And, in turn, the Word of God will change your family, your community, and your world.

SOCIAL:
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I'm recapping Sunday morning, the "Times of Refreshing" Minister's Conference, and y'all know I'm STILL talking about Camp. I'm covering everything in this episode, starting with how we need to align our expectations of what God can and will do with His word. Do you know what a stronghold is? Probably not, because it's a word we use in church, but not in regular conversation... so I'm talking about that too.

Scripture references:
The story of John the Baptist in prison- Matthew 11
What else we know about JtB- John 1:19-34
How to break down strongholds- 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NLT)

You ARE a Bible reader.
You CAN understand God's Word.
You WILL be changed by what you learn.

And, in turn, the Word of God will change your family, your community, and your world.

SOCIAL:
Follow me on social media!
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089907720186
Instagram: @heavenandhale_podcast
Buzzsprout: https://heavenandhale.buzzsprout.com/?fbclid=IwAR0hzr9anklC161s66PzrAnqbkd7VErNHLrD8MQUMqTN2Mc30Qix5HhEZWQ