Romans 1

As we began our study of Romans this past Sunday, the thing that Corey and Connie brought up that caught their attention was, what does it mean to be a 'slave for Christ' (Romans1:1) in our culture in the year of our Lord 2011?

It can be deeply troubling to realize that these words might very well apply to us as they did for Paul...because in Paul's life it meant that God often changed his schedule and prevented him from going the places he wanted to go; it also meant shipwreck, imprisonment and persecution.

So, what does it mean for us today?

This coming Sunday will mark the shift in the discussion toward handling of sin. The online dictionaries define sin in the following manner...An immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law.

Paul says that we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but Christ prays that we might be perfect, even as He is perfect. What does this mean? Are we 'once saved, always saved?' Or are we working out our salvation with 'fear and trembling'?

Look at II Timothy 4 and Paul's instructions to what must have been a teenage / young adult Timothy...do those instructions still hold true today? This is deep material and we may spend a few (Sun) days on it!

Tomorrow's Lesson

As we turn our minds to the book of Romans, let us prepare by looking at some related passages from the New Testament:

* Philippians 1

* I Corinthians 2

* II Corinthians 3

Do you hear any themes that are playing out in all these passages? Does Paul seem to be repeating himself at any point? What might that indicate about how important he thinks these ideas are?

Finally turn and read Romans 12:1-2...do you hear anything different in this passage than the ones we looked at above? What do you think the core of Paul's message about the kingdom may be? What does that mean for us today? How does my life have to be different because I beieve God's word to be true?

Life in the Kingdom

I would highly recommend this series of books by author James Bryan Smith...

* The Good and Beautiful God: Falling in Love With the God Jesus Knows

* The Good and Beautiful Life: Putting on the Character of Christ

* The Good and Beautiful Community: Following the Spirit, Extending Grace, Demonstrating Love

His material has been the source of our recent series on the kingdom of God...and we are studying The Good and Beautiful God in our book club discussions on Tuesday evenings...

Smith's final take on the kingdom, translated by yours truly goes something like this...The Kingdom of God is a life lived out in the context of a community of others that exists for the good of others in the world rather than their own interests. It is a radical lifestyle that is foreign in SO many ways to the culture of 'going to Church' found in many American Churches.

We will now turn to study the book of Romans on Sundays, as well as its role in defining the Kingdom of God. It was Romans that transformed the thinking of Martin Luther, who started the reformation which led to the eventual creation and proliferation of nearly every denomination within Evangelical Christianity. Click HERE to link to Luther's preface to the Book of Romans, which is a crucial document in the thinking and spiritual formation of the church in the last several centuries.

Text for Sunday, September 4th

The text for tomorrow morning comes from Acts 4:23-5:16 and involves lying, greed, death, signs, wonders, communal living and prayer. Should be a good morning!

The image is from some work we did at the Mansfield Church of Christ, along with our interior decorator, Cheri Williams!