And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow – not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. Romans 8:38 Do you struggle with legalism or license in your Christian walk? Read Romans 7:1-13. License is anything goes, while legalism is following all the rules. Do you tend to lean into one of these areas in your life? Do you know others who do? License and legalism don’t fall into our religion, but can also fall into other areas of our life. For example,…
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Freedom
And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God‘s love. Neither death nor life, nor angels nor demons, Neither our fears for today or our worries about tomorrow- not even the powers of hell can separate us from God‘s love. Romans 8:38 How many of you celebrate our countries freedom? Americans celebrate by camping, bbq, community activities, water event, and fireworks. We end the day with a huge firework display. We celebrate the birthday of our freedom. We celebrate our countries freedom because we have freedom to worship, work, and live. Read Romans 6:1-23. Let’s do a little review of what we read. You have died…
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Reflection Day
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Today is Reflection Day! I love reflection day. It’s a time for me to go back and reflect on what God has spoken to me about. It gives me time to pray and seek God about what he wants to speak to change in my life. It gives me time to make a game plan of putting action to what God is telling me and asking of me. Reflection Day gives me a slower pace to grasp what God is telling me. It gives me more time to…
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Hope In The Second Adam
But God demonstrates his love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Do you ever blame Adam because we have to work hard because of the curse? Whenever I do something that reminds me of why we have to do what we do, I blame both Adam and Eve. Read Romans 5:12-21. Adam sinned. Sinned entered the world. Sin brought death. Death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. People sinned before there was even the law was given. Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who is yet to come. Paul went back to the very beginning to help the people…
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The Gift
But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Have you ever doubted God’s love for you? Do you know of anyone that doubts God’s love for them? How about these questions, “How could God let His Son die for his enemies?”; “Well, if God loves me so much, why does he allow bad things to happen?” What other questions have you asked or heard of? What do you know about justification? The truths we know about justification is that Christ died for us. We are forgiven. We have hope and peace. We are justified by faith. We…
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Our Hope In Christ’s Life
. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners. Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Read Romans 5:6-11 Let’s read Romans 5:8 in a few translations. The NIV, states it this way, “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. The HCSB says, “For while we were still helpless, at the appointed moment, Christ died for the ungodly. The KJV, “for when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Do you see all the keywords from these different translations? “Just the right time”, appointed moment, in due time. Jesus…
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When Hope Doesn’t Disappoint
Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. Colossians 3:1-2 Have you ever been disappointed by the course of events around you that you were looking forward too? I have. When I thought something would go one way and it ended up going another way. Or even in the comparison game, see how things go for one family, yet that is not happening for me on how I desire it to go. Read Roman 5:1-2. Paul’s letters…
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Against All Hope
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Hope! What kind of hope do you have? Do you have guarded hope? Or do you have optimistic hope? Either way, there are pitfalls to both postures. IF you are overly optimistic, you might not be prepared for the outcome. However, if you don’t let yourself be too hopeful, you can miss blessings. Read Romans 4:13-25. What are you hoping for? What is the good news of hope? Paul speaks about faith, however, it brings in the connection of promises and hope. This brings us to a deeper understanding…
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Hope In A Family
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8 Did you ever learn the children’s song, Father Abraham? Or do you know this song? It was one of my favorites songs to sing in the children’s churches. In fact, it is still one of my favorites. I teach it to all the kids in my children’s church when given the opportunity. It goes like this: Father Abraham had many sons, many sons had Father Abraham. I am one of them, and so are you So let’s all praise the Lord. The actions to this song were in verse…
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Reflection Day
. For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes – the Jew first and also the Gentile. This Good News tells us how God makes us right in his sight. This is accomplished from start to finish by faith. As the Scripture says, “It is through faith that a righteous person has life.” Romans 1:16-17 Today is Reflection Day! I love reflection day. It’s a time for me to go back and reflect on what God has spoken to me about. It gives me time to pray and seek God about what he wants to speak…