St. Paul's Leaskdale Audio Podcast St Paul's Leaskdale

Romans 12 is the description of what happens when God’s mercy overflows in a church’s life. Lifelong attitudes change, love becomes genuine, mocking enemies are not met with equal and opposite force but, quite the opposite, with peace and gentleness. Be praying even now for how God will speak uniquely to your small group.

All along, we’ve been saying that God’s heart is to see us INCLUDED. That’s why Jesus came, and that’s the subject of Paul’s letter to the Romans. At times, Christians forget God’s radical inclusion of them and go back to the old patterns of competing and comparing. Sadly, that was happening in the Roman Church. Paul has one powerful dose for that sickness.

The resurrection changed everything! The story includes an invitation, a blessing, and a commission for the first witnesses … and for us today.
 

I love it when people have the gift of communicating clearly. Paul, following Moses in the second half of Deuteronomy 30, does exactly that: communicates clearly. Here’s what it means to become and be a Christian: it means believing the Resurrection and not keeping that good news to yourself! Clear, but not easy! This is something you’ll do for the rest of your life!

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.

The world is broken and in pain, and so are we. All of us suffer, including (maybe especially) followers of Jesus. But Jesus gives us resources for walking through suffering: a perspective shaped by hope, prayer to process pain and grief, and the promise of his forever, unlimited love.