For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” - Romans 1:16–17 (ESV)

The old saying asks, "How do you eat a whole elephant?" The answer: "one bite at a time." It's a weird saying. Why not a cake or watermelon. After all who eats elephants? The point is that understanding or taking in large, complex ideas can seem overwhelming, but taking a piece at a time can help you understand and integrate the whole.

That's what we have been doing with the book of Romans. We have been taking it apart chapter by chapter for well over a year and a half, but we are nearing the end. We have just three more chapters to go.

Maybe along the way you have lost the big picture, or maybe you weren't here at the start and don't know where we have been. This week is for all of us to review, catch up, and get up to speed before we launch in chapter 14. Here is a brief introduction from the ESV study bible that I want to encourage you to check out.