The main idea is TBD because each of your main idea will be different.
As I share from Romans 12, some point(s) will be more relevant to you than others. It is your job to fill in what you believe is the main idea for you.
Sermon Text: Romans 12:1-21 (NIV)
Vs. 1 View of God’s Mercy
- Lose sight of God’s mercy and you’re already off on the wrong foot. Lose sight of God’s mercy and our spirits already begin to resist, our hearts begin to faint, and our minds begin to argue.
- God’s mercy makes us maximally receptive to His truth and it give us the proper attitude. We don’t do these things to gain God’s favor, we do them because we have it.
Vs. 1 Living sacrifice.
- We no longer belong to ourselves. We’ve been called to belong to Jesus Christ.
- A living sacrifice means I am giving myself, my whole self over to the One whose mercy towards me is everlasting. Whose knowledge of me is infinitely beyond my own. And for whom nothing is impossible.
- 1 Corinthians 1:9 says we have been called us into fellowship with Jesus Christ. Fellowship is shared life. It is a partnership. So, God’s directives to us are faith projects He wants to work on with us.
- Imagine how different our day might be if we woke up each morning, visualizing in prayer, laying our lives at the feet of the Lord. Surrendering to His care. Surrendering to His craftsmanship. Surrendering to His creativity. Surrendering to His calling.
Vs. 1 – “This is your spiritual act of worship.”
- Amplified version – your rational (logical, intelligent) act of worship.
- This is a different aspect of worship than singing songs of praise. This is CHOICE worship. A worship that is reflected in the choices we make.
- As a married man I make choices that our based on my relationship with LaVern that I wouldn’t make if I were a single man.
- This worship of God, here in Romans 12 is rooted in recognizing I belong to Jesus Christ.
Vs. 2 – “Do not be conformed to this world.”
- This doesn’t mean becoming a drop out of life. It’s about a mind renewal. Recognizing God has a different value system, and choosing to subscribe to it.
What does that value system look like? It’s what Paul is writing about in this chapter.
Vss 3-5 – “Don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment…”
- Realize two things: 1) that God gave us whatever we have. And 2) whatever we have doesn’t make us better than anyone else. Not in the church. Not in our family. Not on our jobs.
- Realize that other people are just as talented in their own areas. Realize that other people are just as significant.
- Jesus is the King of Kings, but He became a man so that He could sympathize with our weaknesses. He was One with the Most High but He didn’t leverage that to His own advantage, instead He took on the form of a servant.
Vss.6-8 – “Let him”
Thinking with sober judgment also means realizing we have something to give – and giving it.
- Let him serve. Let him teach. Let him encourage. Let him give generously. Let him lead. Let him show mercy.
- You don’t need a badge to serve. You don’t need a pulpit to teach somebody something. You don’t need permission to encourage. God gave you a gift to share.
- We don’t come to church just to receive. We come to give. Formally in a ministry and interpersonally. As I have said, “If you are in Him, you have something from Him.”
Vss. 9-21 – (9 – Amp) “Love is to be sincere and active [the real thing–without guile and hypocrisy].
- Not just smiles and verbal sentiments, but active. What does that look like?
- “Hate what is evil.” Starting with the evil that we see in us. Matthew 7:5 “first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
- “Love is not just a blessing to others; it is liberation for us.” It liberates us to experience life in its fullness, as God intended and as Jesus promised.
- Your homework assignment is to review the chapter and your notes before you go to bed tonight. And fill in the main idea you believe God has highlighted for you.
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