February 5, 2024
Included | Romans 5:1-11
Poured His Love
One of the modern struggles for those who trust Jesus is what to do with suffering. How can a loving God allow suffering? That question did not trouble Paul in the least.He knew that suffering, at least for now, is a universal human experience. The real question for Paul was: How does the cross of Christ redeem suffering? He dives into that and, not surprisingly, it gives him one more reason to talk about the fantastic love of God expressed in the death of Jesus.
Songs for this week: Spotify
- What has your experience of suffering been? How did you navigate your soul through that?
- Paul details that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. Has that been your experience?
- The passage talks about boasting 3 times (in v.3 “glory” should be translated “boast”). What does Paul mean by boasting? Could ‘boasting’ change your life for good?
- “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Explain why this is the most amazing, dizzying claim a human has ever made: Almighty God dies for ungrateful humans. Has this truth settled into your soul?
- God’s enemies have become God’s friends (v10). Does your life represent that? Who in your life is an enemy of God’s? Take time to pray for that person
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Recent Sermons
Mark 1:35 - Jesus modelled a life of restraint and rhythm, showing us how to live with peace and purpose even amid urgency through the practices he shared.
Luke 6:39-49 - Jesus reminds us that we all have teachers shaping us. Some lead us astray, but when we follow him, we learn to live as we were truly meant to.
Romans 12:1-2 - Jesus’ invitation is to follow him: to be with him, become like him, and do what he did. We surrender control to Jesus, resist the pattern of the world that shapes us, and rely on the power of the Holy Spirit for transformation.
Mark 1:16-18 -We begin our series on Practicing the Way—exploring how Jesus’ rhythms of prayer, fasting, solitude, and Sabbath invite ordinary people to grow in grace and intimacy with God
Acts 17:16-34 -Paul shares the hope of Jesus in everyday language, guiding seekers toward truth and showing where their search for God had gone astray.
Acts 13:1-5 -The first Christians had small groups! They knew, because Jesus modelled it, that we’re much better in groups than we are as individuals. The group that gathered in Antioch was diverse, zoned in on Jesus and figuring out how to be outward-facing. Your own group will want all that and more!
