January 14, 2024
Included | Romans 1:18-2:1
Dark Minds, Dark Lives
Paul wrote to the small church in Rome even though he’d never met them. They were one church he hadn’t planted. In some ways the letter is him making friends. Good friends make us feel included; they let us know that we belong. It wasn’t something that Paul did that included the believers in Rome; it was what Jesus had done and was doing in them through his Spirit that allowed them to belong. The letter begins with Paul telling them just how ‘included’ they were!
Songs for this week: Spotify
Sermon Questions:
- Tell the story of when you saw something in creation and were overwhelmed with its beauty and majesty.
- v. 21 says that even though people know God, they neither “glorify him” nor “give thanks to him.” Explain what kind of glory and gratitude humans rightly owe to God. What has that looked like in your life recently?
- Sex is often a favourite target for Satan; why do you think that’s the case?
- “God gave them over” appears 3x in the passage. What exactly does that include? Was there a time when God gave you over to some sin? How did that play out?
- There’s a possibility of reading a passage like this and only feeling rotten about yourself. How might you see yourself and the Lord Jesus differently than that? Could this passage be an example of Proverbs 27:6?
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Recent Sermons
Acts 3:1-21 - Now what? The story of Acts is what happens after the death and resurrection of Jesus. God takes ordinary people, fills them with His Spirit, and sends them out into the world. It's a crazy idea! Peter and John transform an everyday visit to the Temple into a medical miracle and preach a compelling message to boot. Hundreds of people come to trust Jesus. Just another day of walking in the Spirit.
John 20:24-29 - All through his ministry, Jesus took time to speak with individuals. Even after the resurrection, he never changed course. John records an interaction with Thomas that speaks to doubt and the struggle it is for each of us to believe.
John 12:9-19 -When Jesus rode into Jerusalem to the shouts and cheers of the crowd, there was no mistaking what was happening: the King was back in his rightful place. There were several responses to this long-awaited event: some celebrated, some grumbled, and then… everyone went home. It may have looked anticlimactic, but Jesus wasn’t going anywhere. He had come to do what only the true King of Israel could do.
John 14:1-14 -John’s biography of Jesus slows as he chronicles the week leading up to Jesus’ death. Jesus has a long, careful conversation with the disciples, and today, we listen to the beginning of that conversation. He begins with a strong command: “Do not let your hearts be troubled.” He then reinforces it with three unshakable assurances: He is going ahead of them, He has cleared the way to the Father, and He will send supernatural power so they can continue His work.
John 8:48-59 -Jesus’ friend John was very careful to record the things that Jesus said about Himself. As an observant Jew, John knew that there is only one God. From time to time, God sent prophets, ordained priests, and crowned kings so that the people of God had someone to lead them to Him. Everyone knew that these leaders only ever pointed to God; they never claimed any status beyond being messengers. But when Jesus came, He was different. He claimed to be “the Light of the World,” “the Truth that sets you free,” and “the Resurrection and the Life”—all of them ridiculous claims for anyone but God to make. That was exactly His point.
Luke 15:11-32 - Jesus tells a story about a father with two lost sons. The rule-breaking younger son was lost in self-indulgence, and the rule-keeping older son was lost in self-righteousness. The father loved both generously and even recklessly. Both needed to be found. Were they?
