Romans 12:1-9, Holding on to Good
Order
Pre Worship Music
Opening Song Billy/Linda/Segun
Thank You Lord
Enough
Call to Worship Response/Lord’s Prayer Rick
Reading Romans 12:1-9 Renee
Songs Billy/Linda/Segun
Revelation Song
More Precious Than Silver
Message Holding on to Good Rick
Music Enough Billy/Linda/Segun
Community/Peace Rick
Benediction/Closing Peace Rick
Post Worship Music
Slides Note: There is a blank title slide between each Section – except for message/sermon slides.
Music (slides) – Billy/Linda/Segun
Thank You Lord
Verse
For all that You’ve done
I will thank You
For all that You’re going to do
For all that You’ve promised
And all that You are
Is all that has carried me through
Jesus I thank You
Pre-Chorus
And I thank You thank You Lord
(And I thank You thank You Lord)
Thank You thank You Lord
(Thank You thank You)
Chorus
Thank You for loving and setting me free
Thank You for giving Your life just for me
How I thank You Jesus I thank You
Gratefully thank You thank You
Enough
Verse 1
You’re my supply my breath of life
Still more awesome than I know
You’re my reward worth living for
Still more awesome than I know
And
Chorus
All of You is more than enough for all of me
For ev’ry thirst and ev’ry need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough
Verse 2
You’re my sacrifice of greatest price
Still more awesome than I know
You’re my coming King You are ev’rything
Still more awesome than I know
Bridge
More than all I want more than all I need
You are more than enough for me
More than all I know more than all I can say
You are more than enough
Call to Worship (Slides) – Rick
Leader: It is holy and pleasing to God when we present our whole self as a living sacrifice alive for all to see.
Response: This is our worship.
Leader: It is holy and pleasing to God when we step out of the norms of this world and instead are transformed by the continual renewal of our minds.
Response: This is our worship.
Leader: It is holy and pleasing to God when we seek to find our place in God’s will, our place among God’s people, our place in God’s love.
Response: This is our worship.
Leader: It is holy and pleasing to God when we serve one another to build up rather than to tear down.
Response: This is our worship.
Leader: It is holy and pleasing to God when we love without pretense or condition and serve without judgment or condemnation.
Response: This is our worship.
Leader: It is holy and pleasing to God when we despise evil and instead hold to good.
Response: This is our worship.
(Romans 12:1-9)
Lord’s Prayer (Slides) ‘Join me in the prayer of Jesus’ – Rick
Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name.
Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread. Forgive us our trespasses, while we forgive those who trespass against us. And, lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen.
Reading Renee
Present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service.
Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature.
Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think.
Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function.
In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other.
We have different passions that are consistent with God’s grace that has been given to us.
If your passion is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. If your passion is service, devote yourself to serving. If your passion is teaching, devote yourself to teaching.
If your passion is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached.
The leader should lead with passion. The one showing mercy should be cheerful.
Love should be shown without pretending. Hate evil, and hold on to what is good.
(Romans 12:1-9)
Music (Slides) Billy/Linda/Segun
Revelation Song
Verse 1
Worthy is the Lamb Who was slain
Holy holy is He
Sing a new song to Him Who sits on
Heaven’s mercy seat
Chorus
Holy holy holy
Is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to come
With all creation I sing
Praise to the King of kings
You are my ev’rything
And I will adore You
Verse 2
Clothed in rainbows of living color
Flashes of lightning rolls of thunder
Blessing and honor strength and glory
And power be to You the only wise King
Verse 3
Filled with wonder awestruck wonder
At the mention of Your name
Jesus Your name is power breath and living water
Such a marv’lous mystery yeah
More Precious Than Silver
Chorus 1
Lord You are
More precious than silver
Lord You are
More costly than gold
Lord You are
More beautiful than diamonds
And nothing I desire
Compares with You
Verse
And who can weigh the value
Of knowing You
Oh who can judge the worth
Of Who You are
Lord who can count the blessing
Of loving You
Who can say just how great You are
How great You are
Chorus 2
Lord You are
More precious than silver
Lord You are
More costly than gold
Lord You are
More beautiful than diamonds
And nothing I desire
Compares with You
Nothing I desire
Compares with You
Nothing I desire compares to you
Message (Slides) ‘Holding on to Good’ Rick
Opening Illustration – Book about Jim, holding on to his impact, inviting others into the grief of Deanna’s loss
Paul, in the first 11 chapters of the letter to the church at Rome focuses on what they must hold onto, the good truth that is the hope for Jesus’ followers
[Slide] You, Me, We, Them, have all disobeyed and turned from God, we call this sin. [1-3]
[Slide] You, Me, We, Them, are not defined in the eyes of God by our disobedience/sin. [4]
[Slide] You, Me, We, Them, can do nothing to erase our disobedience/sin. [4]
[Slide] You, Me, We, Them, through God’s grace, are given forgiveness and reconciliation. [5]
[Slide] You, Me, We, Them, are called to live that grace through a life reflecting that grace. [6]
[Slide] You, Me, We, Them, are secure and inseparable from God. [8]
[Slide] You, Me, We, Them, hold forever promises for You, Me, We, Them. [9-11]
[Slide] Therefore, after 11 chapters, Paul inserts a therefore, …
[Slide] ‘So, with God’s help, here’s what I want you to do – take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as a fully alive sacrificial offering.
[Slide] Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him – this is your true worship of the almighty God, the kind of worship you are called to live out. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your politics, culture, and even your religion that you fit into it without even thinking.
[Slide] Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what God wants from you, and quickly respond to it.
[Slide] Unlike the culture around you, which is always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.
[Slide] I’m speaking to you out of deep gratitude for all that God has given me, and especially as I have responsibilities in relation to you. Living then, as every one of you does, in pure grace, it’s important that you not misinterpret yourselves as people who are bringing this goodness to God.
[Slide] No, God brings it all to you. The only accurate way to understand ourselves is by what God is and by what he does for us, not by what we are and what we do for him.” (Apostle Paul, Romans 12:1-3, MSG)
[End Screen Share]
Following chapter 11, Paul pivots his words to words of strong encouragement to persuade the followers of Jesus who are residing in Rome to intentionally live out their faith. Remember, the church at Rome had been a diverse group of Jewish and Gentile followers. The Roman Christian community in Rome had originally come together around twenty years prior to Paul’s letter. At that time, this group would have consisted primarily of Jewish Jesus’ followers. To their credit, the Jewish believers’ life and faith impacted many others, including many Gentiles. The result was that the church became a mixed group of Jews and Gentiles, possibly even before the apostle Paul himself had accepted God’s offer of Grace to the Gentiles – a declaration that the Gentiles, and no human, was unclean. The Roman church, in these early stages would have looked like the Jewish religion, the practices of Judaism would possibly have been elements of church life amidst the believers, there was probably an expectation that the Gentile believers incorporate these practices as well. Then, the Jews were exiled out of Rome and then spent five plus years away from Rome. During this time, the Gentiles, without their Jewish tutors, began to practice their faith apart from the Jewish ordinances and expectations. So, when the Jewish believers returned there was a natural time of tension and awkwardness as the expectations of Jewish followers were no longer the standard practices of the church, and the Gentiles faced the external and internal question, ‘Is our faith, and faith practice, real and genuine without these elements of religion which we no longer practice.’
This is why, after Paul has addressed the truth of Jesus and the good news, he pivoted to explaining how this truth plays out in our life practices. The term ‘sacrifice’ now had a new and much more intrinsic meaning and application. Worship took on a more personal and invasive practice. This is where Romans chapter twelve begins.
[Slide] “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. (Apostle Paul, Romans 12:1-2, NASB)
[Slide] Four encouragements that were radical to the Jewish believers and revelatory to the Gentile believers.
- Living Sacrifice
- Acceptable Spiritual Worship
- Transformed by the renewing of your mind
- Prove what the will of God is – good, acceptable, perfect
[Slide] Living Sacrifice
The image of the word ‘Sacrifice’ that would have popped in the minds of the Jewish Jesus’ followers would have probably been the visual of a killed animal, for the Gentiles would have probably had a similar image however, it would have been a sacrifice to a false God or even to demons or other deities. There would have probably have been a push from the Jewish believers toward the Gentile believers toward the practices of the Law such as animal sacrifices. The Gentil idea sacrifices would have been a norm around Rome while the Jewish believers would have been a distance from the temple in Jerusalem – interestingly, this is about three decades before the second temple would be destroyed and animal sacrifice ended by the Jews.
[Slide] ‘Paul never forgets that we are embodied creatures. Everything we think, say, or do, we do in a body. Presenting our bodies means staying aware each day that our body is the primary location in which we actually express our heart, soul, strength, and mind. If we want to know our inmost motives and values, we can look at what we do each day in our bodies. The goal is to have a body, a body of work, that is a living, breathing, daily “offering to God”.’ (Frank L. Crouch, Moravian Theological Seminary Bethlehem, Pennsylvania)
Paul’s encouragement is not to make a sacrifice, it is a call to be a sacrifice. And, it is not a call for a sacrifice of death but a sacrifice of life. ‘Be a Living Sacrifice’, a life that is unpretentious and seen, a life lived as a light and a reflection of Jesus. A life lived differently, a life caring for others, a life exhibiting mercy, grace, and compassion, a life proving love for all (within which, all of these elements will undoubtedly involve a modicum of sacrifice). A life sacrificed in its surrender of the things of this earth that are selfish and self purposed. While a traditional dead sacrifice cannot interact with the world – it cannot love, serve, rejoice, hope, be patient, etc., but, a living sacrifice can do all of these and more. A traditional dead sacrifice cannot interact with the world – cannot love, serve, rejoice, hope, be patient, etc., but a living sacrifice can do all of these and more. Alive in engagement and interaction with the world, a life where Jesus’ patterns of living are visible in relationship with God, and every relationship with others.
[Slide] Acceptable Spiritual Worship
For the Jewish believers, the concept of worship would have been directly linked to sacrifice. A sacrifice of an animal, a grain, a financial offering, a sacrifice of the time involved in a trip to the temple, a sacrifice of listening to the rabbis and prophets, a sacrifice of time off work, a religious practice of bowing, submitting, Worship would have been an institutional religious act. For the Gentiles, practices and actions of worship would have been varied depending on the God or Deity being worship, it could have been the worship of a human such as the emperor, and, probably, the elements of sacrifice would have been the same only done with a greater element of chaos and the unknown. While it would not have had quite the air of institutionalism it would have still been a man made process.
Paul moves the actions of worship from being an institutional act to being a way of being, a way of living in full relationship to God and others through the way of Jesus Christ. It is a life of service to God in the same way a devoted house servant, out of genuine desire to please their employer, would seek to not only clean the kitchen but would desire that that the cleanliness would be seen in an honoring manner when the employer first stepped into the space, not credit given to the servant, just the service to enhance life.
This is a constant life of worship through service. While our human concept of worship involves an institution, a building, a leader, music, message, listening, hearing, enduring, and then leaving – the corporate faith community gathering is meant to be a communal reminder, a re-orientation, and loving accountability which brings us back to the way of service and worship seen in the life of Jesus – it turns us back to the steps of being a follower of Jesus. True worship does not start or stop at the doors of our institutions of faith – our churches.
[Slide] Transformed by the Renewing of your Mind
It is in this element of Paul’s message, the element of transformation and renewal, that I have the greatest change of understanding. I have always considered transformation and renewal to be a passive action done to us by the Spirit. An action of the heart and mind that mystically happens when we arrive at a state of full surrender before God, when we avail ourself to the Spirit, and remove all of the elements of life that distract us from the Spirit, we are then free and willing to be renewed and to be transformed. I do still believe that this is an act of surrender but I now understand that our pursuit of truth is at least an equal part – a pursuit of a greater understanding of God, a willingness to lay down those things that have been central to our theology to allow God to show us truth.
[Slide] ‘Constructive theology’ is often a facet of theologies. It is a system which connotes an understanding of theology as a discourse that is both constructed and, at the same time, engaged in ongoing construction. This means that we are always in process. Oftentimes we have to revisit doctrines and beliefs that we have locked in on, theologies taught to us as fact, and reconsider if they are truth. Much like scientists who are always evaluating their own research and the research of others, and then doing it again later, we also bear the responsibility to truly ‘know’ what we believe and if what we believe is indeed truth. Renewal happens when we own our beliefs through investigation, when we reconsider, restudy, reverify, and reevaluate our understanding of God. When we allow the Spirit to guide us through this Renewal – then the action of Transformation takes place as we understand God better, or maybe even differently.
[Slide] Transformation and Renewal are consistent, intentional, and purposeful actions.
[Slide] MLK, speaking about our responsibility for truth and progress, stated, “Human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability; it comes through the tireless efforts of those who are willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work, time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social and spiritual stagnation.” (Martin Luther King Jr., Why We Can’t Wait p. 74.)
[Slide] Prove what the will of God is – good, acceptable, perfect
Living as a living sacrifice, living in a state of worship, living in mind and heart renewal resulting in consistent transformation – lands us at God’s will. No longer are we stuck in our own will, or the will of an institution or politician, but instead, God’s will. In pursuing God, we prove the good, acceptable will of God for our world.
[Slide] “The western church has long enjoyed a privileged place as a cultural institution and now many mourn the loss of that privilege. Many christians grieve the loss of the church’s power and authority in western culture.
[Slide] However, the church was never meant to be a cultural institution but a counter-cultural community of forgiveness and love. This presents us with an opportunity for rejoicing!
[Slide] The church is not dying but being reborn into what is was always meant to be –
[Slide] uncorrupted by the power, money, influence, as well as the overwhelming desire of self-preservation that has distracted the church since Christianity became acceptable, and the powerful recognized the manipulative usability of the church.” (Sarah Renfro, Pulpit Fiction Contributor)
Closing Question: He Gets Us. Jesus let his hair down. Jesus invited everyone to sit at his table. Jesus practiced self care.
Let’s Pray
Music (Slides) Billy/Linda/Segun
Enough
Chorus
All of You is more than enough for all of me
For ev’ry thirst and ev’ry need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough
Verse 1
You’re my supply my breath of life
Still more awesome than I know
You’re my reward worth living for
Still more awesome than I know
And
Verse 2
You’re my sacrifice of greatest price
Still more awesome than I know
You’re my coming King You are ev’rything
Still more awesome than I know
Bridge
More than all I want more than all I need
You are more than enough for me
More than all I know more than all I can say
You are more than enough
Community (Slides) Rick
- Next Sunday, July 16, ‘Created To Do Good’, Ephesians 2:1-10
- Summer Bible Study – James, Wednesday Nights @ 6:30pm for 4 weeks. August 9-30.
- Armageddon Summer Book Discussion Dinner, Sunday July 23 lunch, at home of Rick and Andrea Anthony, please text to let us know you will be in attendance for food count. Amazon link on home page of gfnorman.com. One left in entry way.
- Fall Message Series beginning September 11 ‘Overwhelmed (Rescue to Redemption/Flood to Sacrifice)
Benediction (Slides) Rick
As we leave this place we walk in a world that is not perfect but nonetheless a world that God has proclaimed is good. We continue because the breath of God still inflates our lungs and because God’s life sustaining gift continues to course through our veins.
Regardless of our gender, or any other label we wear, we are all called to serve as pastors in the midst of God’s creation just as Mary was called to pastor the men who would soon be the apostles with the good news of the resurrection.
May we continually choose to grow in our own understanding of that proven hope which carries us in peace, giving us the mercy, compassion, and grace, to live confidently in God who loves us and calls us to life which, in turn, allows love to pour out for all of creation.
Closing Peace Rick
Leader: May the Peace and Hope of the Lord go with you.
Response: And also with you.
Leader: Go in the Peace and Hope of the Lord.
Order, Words, & Voices 