March 17, 2024
Included | Romans 9
By God's Choice
The word “predestination” tends to get the hair on the back of people’s necks standing on end! Nobody likes the idea of God choosing who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’. Paul doesn’t really mean to tackle that question in this passage but he does intend to talk about what God’s plan is for humanity and how we are included in carrying that plan.
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- Paul is brokenhearted about Israel missing out on Jesus. What grabs your heart these days?
- Isaac was chosen not Ishmael. To explain this, Paul talks about ‘children of the promise’. How do promises work and why is that important for Christians?
- Explain verse 18.
- In what way is v. 25 good news?
- v. 33 Did you ever ‘stumble’ on Jesus? How did you find your footing?
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James 4:6-10 -James knows that the heart of the Christian message is grace. God gives us good that we couldn’t ever deserve. The truth is that we earn and deserve justice and punishment. Thankfully, Jesus took both of those for us and gave us the good he deserved. As powerful as grace is, there is one thing that can re
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James 2:14-26 -James continues to press deep into the muscles and tissues of our faith. Is your faith doing what it was designed to do? Just like you might go to the doctor for a physical check-up, James offers a self-administered faith check-up in this passage. Where do you see signs of life in your faith?
James 1:19-27 - James is direct: angry words, thoughtless words, and religious words don’t have a place in a life of faith. Our words don’t work … but God’s word does! Our job is simply to cooperate with his word.
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