Our priorities shape our decisions. In any group setting, it is important to establish priorities that establish cohesion and unified direction. This message looks at Paul's message in Romans 14 in which he seeks distinguish the essential from the non-essential and to point his readers toward pursuing the former. The essentials he points out are then used as the points of the message in terms of what believers today must seek if they are to effectively build oneness.

We are called to love each other. But what does that mean? What does it look like? This message looks at Paul's description of love, how to develop a life that expresses that love, and how to recognize it as a part of your life.

God is in control! This is the central truth behind this message built upon Paul's command to be subject to the Government God has placed over you. The message looks at Paul's purpose and plan in his command and what that looks like in an American system that is very different from the Roman system Paul lived under. The essential argument is that whatever authority we find ourselves under (governmental and otherwise), we must start with the supposition that God is in control and respond to the secondary authority mindful of His primary authority.

How do we build community? Paul instructs us in these verses to begin with Sincere/Genuine Love. But what is love? There is a lot of confusion about the topic today. This passage defines love through the use of multiple imperatives each believer needs to implement in his or her life. This sermon calls believers to practice love and to seek harmony.

Finding your place in community can be a daunting task. Often the church doesn't make it easy. This sermon looks at Paul's instructions in Romans concerning community both from the perspective of how we as individuals can be open to it and how churches can make the process easier to accomplish.

As Paul transitions from the theological to the practical section of Romans, he connects the two with a "therefore." His point is that the work that God did through Christ on the cross has a direct impact on who we are as believers. This sermon looks at the great things accomplished on the cross and what we are subsequently called to because of that great Work!

As Paul concludes his emphasis on the concept of the Remnant, he challenges Gentile believers to not become arrogant and to remember their responsibility to the whole. This message applies the principles outlined by Paul to our present situation in calling believers to take their responsibility to the the lost seriously.

Having introduced the idea of the Remnant, Paul now moves to to describe how one becomes a part of the Remnant and what that membership looks like in the lives we live. This message highlights the components of Faith, Humility, Grace, Compassion, and submission that are components of what it means to be saved.

In between his focus on assurance and his practical instruction on how Jews and Gentiles might find peace in the church at Rome, Paul stops to deal with Israel's status as it relates to the New Covenant. His point that the Church is the Remnant of Israel and therefore bears a responsibility to the lost among Israel, instructs believers on what our standing should be to all the lost of the world. In this first of three sermons on the subject of Remnant, Paul identifies the heart, source, and purpose of the Remnant and in so doing, calls all believers to a different mindset.

As Paul concludes his discussion on the assurance believers are granted by the Holy Spirit, he challenges believers to take advantage of the advantages we have been granted. Ultimately, it is joy that he calls us to as we recognize the status we have been granted in Christ. A status that we are incapable of losing!