Study Guide
Romans Part 17
Easter is now behind us but the meaning of Easter does not end. How do we live in light of the Easter message? Listen in as Pastor Jared Johnson gets us back into our Romans series and shows us how we are to live out of God's mercy and grace!
In this message you will be challenged and encouraged to:
- Use our God-given gifts to serve others
- Be transformed by the ways God renews our mind
Newbreak’s Sermon Study Guide is an in-house resource that serves sermon-based Life Groups and/or individuals who want to reflect further on how the message contributes to their spiritual formation.
Icebreakers for Life Groups
- What is one challenge you’ve faced in the last month, and what is one thing you’re proud of accomplishing?
- Find a partner! What are three things you have in common?
Read Romans 12:1-2 (CSB)
Live sacrificially in response to God’s sacrificial love for me.
Paul’s sense of urgency for Romans 12 is based on our experience of God’s mercy. Paul urges us to live in view of God’s mercy in every facet of our lives. God’s mercy is a reminder that although we deserve separation from God, through Christ, God invites us into a beautiful relationship with Him. One author and theologian of the 4th and 5th centuries writes, “God leads us to eternal life, not by our merits, but according to His mercy” - Augustine.
How should we respond to such divine mercy of God? Paul writes that our response to His mercy must begin by offering ourselves as living sacrifices to God. So what does Paul mean when He says that we are to be living sacrifices? A living sacrifice says “no” to selfish desires and “yes” to God’s purposes. We live in a world that declares, “Do whatever makes you feel good and makes you happy.” God’s Word tells us that true goodness is found in obedience to God, and true joy is experienced in a surrendered life.
How do we surrender ourselves daily for the purposes of God? Paul says it all starts in the mind (vs.2b). Every action that we have ever committed all started with a thought in the mind. Paul essentially says that if we get our minds set on Christ, our entire lives will be focused on Him. When we are focused on Him at all times and in all things, we will then and only then be able to discern His will for our lives (vs.2c). Many of us desire to know the will of God. According to Romans 12, God’s will is experienced and known in a life that is fully committed to Him.
Discussion Questions
- How would you define God’s mercy and how have you experienced it in your own life?
- Paul urges us to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice unto God. What does sacrificial living look like in your everyday life? (I.e. in routines and relationships?)
- What steps do you take to renew your mind daily? (I.e. Scripture, prayer, community, solitude, etc.)
- How do you seek the will of God in your life? How does knowing God’s will impact your decision-making process?
Read Romans 12:3-8 (CSB)
Serve Others With My God-given gifts.
The transformative work of God radically changes our lives. God saves us and then begins the holy work of sanctifying (i.e., the lifelong process of looking more like Him). As mentioned above, Paul first encourages us to live sacrificially and set apart for God's will (vs.1-2). This new life is also defined by the way that we interact with others. Just as Jesus boiled down all of the commandments to loving God with all of your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:30-31), Paul invites us to allow the work of God to inform the way we serve others.
God’s will for our lives is to live interdependently with one another just as our body (vs.4-5), though diverse in parts and function, works independently as a cohesive whole! Paul continues to expound on this analogy of the Body of Christ by instructing us that each of us have unique spiritual gifts and that we should use those gifts to strengthen and support the Body (vs.6-8). This isn’t an exhaustive list of spiritual gifts (for additional lists, see 1 Cor. 12:4–11, 27–31; Eph.4:11-13, 1 Pet. 4:10–11), but it is a helpful summary to show how God has placed each of us in the Body of Christ to serve one another.
It’s vital that we discover how God has uniquely equipped and shaped each of us. Knowing is only half of the equation. We must then take the important steps of putting those gifts to use on a daily basis and join the other parts of the Body so that our local Body functions as God designed it.
Discussion Questions
- In verse 3, Paul tells us to not think of ourselves more highly than we ought. What do you think he meant by that? How do we keep a humble mindset about ourselves?
- What are your spiritual gifts? How did you first discover those gifts and how are you currently using them now?
- What might hold someone back from using their gifts? How can our group support each other in growing and serving in those gifts?
When in Romans
In the middle of the first century, in the heart of the Roman empire was a group of house churches that believed that Jesus of Nazareth, crucified and risen from the dead, was the true Lord of the world! The Romans had to be some of the bravest, most tested Christ-followers as they were heavily persecuted by the rulers of the day. Therefore, Paul writes a letter to them, expressing what he wishes he could say in person to them. The contents of this letter are so revolutionary that for 2,000 years churches all around the globe read it, reflect on it, and apply these truths to their lives. Join us as we venture through Romans and see how the gospel's message gives us a new identity and a new way to live!