The Bethany Bullet Sermon Message - Week of August 16, 2020
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Link to Bible Discovery Resources for 8/16/20 – HERE
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V V V
Today’s Bethany Bullet sermon message is
from our ONLINE Sunday Worship with
Pastor Kyle Blake.
TEXT: Romans
11
Over the past few weeks, we have been
journeying through the book of Romans as a church. Paul begins his letter to
Romans with a powerful statement in verses 16-17 of chapter one, "I’m
not ashamed of the Good News. It is God’s power to save everyone who believes,
Jews first and Greeks as well. God’s approval is revealed in this Good News.
This approval begins and ends with faith as Scripture says, 'The person who has
God’s approval will live because of faith.’”
Paul then spends the rest of his
letter fleshing out these two verses by writing about why we need this Good News,
what the Good News is exactly, how do we live in light of this Good News, and
who the Good News is for. He does this by pointing all people to repentance (Rom
1-2), that they all need to acknowledge their sins (Rom
3:1-20), he points to faith in Christ (Rom
3:21-5:21), and then discusses obedience to God (Rom
6-8).
Then we come to chapters
9-11 where he speaks of the mystery of God’s eternal election, who is
included in all of this. This morning, we are looking at chapter
11, Paul has already discussed, in chapters
9-10, that this message of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ is for
all people and it comes through hearing the message of, though you are a
sinner, and separated from God because of your sin, God has recused you through
faith in Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Yet, though this message is for
all people, it would seem that Paul is trying to unify a church divided. There
is a huge cultural riff between the Jew and Gentile Christians. The Jews are
claiming superiority due to the fact that they are “God’s chosen people,” but
the Gentile Christians seem to think that the Jews don’t matter any longer
because God has made a way for all people through Christ. I am so glad that we
don’t still have cultural divisions in the church today. I mean, we can agree
that worship in a contemporary style is the only way to truly worship Jesus,
right? Okay, maybe we do still struggle with cultural divisions in the church
today.
The problem is in many of these
cultural disagreements we start the discussion in the wrong place. We center
the discussion on us: our preferences, what we believe about ourselves, the
culture that we have grown up with, or things we are familiar with. As a
result, we can easily slip in the thought of “I’m better than you,” or “Your
opinion or voice does not matter.” We should be having our discussion centering
on who God is and what He has done, and then we can talk about who we are in
light of this truth and how we live our life as a result.
So today, I want to invite you to dive into Chapter 11 of Romans with me using the four questions that are in your bulletin…
1. Who is God? What does the text say
about the character and nature of God?
2. What has He done? What does the text
say about the work of God?
3. Who are we in light of that truth?
What does the text say about our identity?
4. How do we live in the light of that
truth? How does this change the way we live?
These are the four questions that we
base most of the Sunday morning discussions that we have downtown at The
Gathering during our service. They are also the same four questions I want to
invite you to wrestle with at home as we go through this chapter together.
First, as you read through this
chapter realize that the Word of God is about God and what He is telling us
about Himself. Too often, when we read scripture, we ask, “What does this say
about us?” Rather, we should be asking, “What does this reveal about God?” So,
flip back to the text and read it with that question in mind. You may even want
to grab a Bible and turn to chapter
11.
Before we go through the questions
together, pause and read through the whole chapter.
Now, as you look at the text, what
does this text reveal about the character and nature of God?
I would invite you to pause and
discuss your answers with the people you are with right now. If you are alone,
maybe grab a piece of paper and write down your answers.
As I look through the whole chapter, I
can see that God values everyone, both Jew and Gentile, and wants all people to
be saved. I see that He is kind, loving us in spite of the things we do, as He
points out in verse six. I see that God can be severe and that He will punish
disbelief and sin, but I also see that God is merciful to all people. Finally,
I see that He deserves all glory because everything is from Him, by Him, and
for Him; and that His riches, wisdom, and knowledge is impossible for us to
fully grasp.
What do you see in the text when it
comes to the character and nature of God? What does the text say about the work
of God? Again, I would invite you to pause and discuss your answers with the
people you are with right now. If you are alone, maybe grab a piece of paper
and write down your answers.
As I look at the chapter, I see God
has redeemed all people, not only the Jew, and He has called Paul to proclaim
that fact, just as He calls us to the do same. I also see how God wants the
Israelites to know that He does still love them. Do you remember the story of
the Prodigal Son? Do you remember the older brother and his reaction to the
party his dad threw for the younger brother? He wasn’t happy about it. Yet, the
father kept reminding him that he was loved. This is what I see God doing here
in this chapter, reminding the Jews that they are still loved even though the
Gentiles, through faith, are now part of the Kingdom.
What do you see in that the text says
about the work of God? Now, in light of who God is and the work He does, what
does the text reveal about us? Again, I would invite you to pause and discuss
your answers with the people you are with right now. If you are alone, maybe
grab a piece of paper and write down your answers.
Welcome back. How did you answer that
question? For me, I know that I’m no better or worse than the person next to
me. Like the Jews, God has saved me because of His kindness and not because of
anything that I’ve done. I can’t brag about the fact that Christ saved me
because all the glory of that belongs to Christ. We have been adopted into the
family of God through faith in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; and,
as Paul points out throughout Romans, we
are saved through faith alone. We bring nothing to the table, but God gives
us, and all people, everything through Christ Alone.
Finally, what does the text say about
how we live in light of this truth? Again, I would invite you to pause and
discuss your answers with the people you are with right now. If you are alone,
maybe grab a piece of paper and write down your answers.
Welcome back, you know, the Jews didn’t think that the Gentiles were deserving of God’s mercy and grace because they were not Jews. However, as the text points out, the Jews weren’t really deserving of God’s mercy or grace either. It was only through the kindness of God. Reading this text, I can’t help but to ask myself…
- What would it be like to show my family member, friend, neighbor, or the random person I run into on the street the same kindness that I’ve been shown?
- What would it look like in my life to help people, that might have a background or cultural affiliation that I don’t agree with or like, to hear and experience the Good News of the Gospel that is for all people?
- What would change in my life, our community, or even our church if we approached discussions from what does God say about this rather than what do I think based on my experience?
Look, the Good News is that God loves
us and has shown us His kindness despite our thoughts, words, and deeds. When
we get like the Jews and think that we are better than others, God will humble
us, but He will also remind us of His forgiveness, grace, and mercy. When we
want to act like the Gentiles and think that the other person is old and
obsolete, or they don’t matter anymore, He will reveal to us the value of the
other and how His mercy is for all people. When we make it about us, thinking
we are center of the universe rather than God, He will remind us that we are
not in control and that everything is from Him, by Him, and for Him.
Thank you, Lord, that you have had
mercy on us and have given us kindness and grace that we do not deserve by
sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to live the life we could not, die the death we
deserve, and be raised from the dead. Help us to live our lives in response to
the Gospel for your glory and honor. Amen.
- Pastor Kyle Blake
Worship Resources for Sunday, August 23rd will be up on Bethany’s website by midday Saturday, August 22nd!
posted by Aimee Coleman @ 12:38 PM
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