👉What role, if any, did a person or persons help?
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The MAJOR CONCERN in the "Romans" letter is that Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians could not get along.
In Chapter 12, Paul implores the multi-cultural "Jesus Following TEAM" in Rome to STAND at ATTENTION and BOW THEIR HEARTS to GOD for all that He has done for them through Jesus.
He's given them:
👉 a NEW STATUS ~ they are right with God
👉 a NEW FAMILY, the covenant people of Abraham
👉 a NEW FUTURE
The GATHERED & SCATTERED BODY of JESUS FOLLOWERS (the Church) IS GOD'S PREFERRED "VEHICLE " to embody the HOPE and FUTURE OF HUMANITY.
When people accept their identity as “Jesus-like humans” they are liberated to become the wholehearted humans who can truly love God and their neighbor.
God's renewal of human beings is the first step of His larger mission to rescue and renew all of creation making it a place where HIS LOVE GETS THE FINAL WORD.
This unity will come from a commitment to LOVE and FORGIVE each other.
When people accept their identity as “Jesus-like humans” they are liberated to become the wholehearted humans who can truly love God and their neighbor.
God's renewal of human beings is the first step of His larger mission to rescue and renew all of creation making it a place where HIS LOVE GETS THE FINAL WORD.
This unity will come from a commitment to LOVE and FORGIVE each other.
LOVE will look like everybody using their diverse gifts and talents to serve one another in these “Jesus-Like Human” Communities demonstrated through humility and forgiveness. When these multi-ethnic communities come together in Jesus conflict is inevitable ~ AND it can only be overcome through the hard work of forgiveness and reconciliation.
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READ:
Romans 12
12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 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.
SELF-AWARENESS / OTHER-CENTEREDNESS:
3 For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. 4 For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, 5 so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. 6 Since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, each of us is to exercise them accordingly:
if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith;
7 if service, in his serving;
or he who teaches, in his teaching;
8 or he who exhorts, in his exhortation;
he who gives, with liberality;
he who leads, with diligence;
he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
SACRIFICIAL LOVE:
9 Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; 11 not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; 12 rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, 13 contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.
SERVE YOUR OPPONENTS:
14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. 16 Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. 17 Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. 18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. 19 Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. 20 “BUT IF YOUR ENEMY IS HUNGRY, FEED HIM, AND IF HE IS THIRSTY, GIVE HIM A DRINK; FOR IN SO DOING YOU WILL HEAP BURNING COALS ON HIS HEAD.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
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DISCUSSION:
👉 What QUESTIONS, COMMENTS or INSIGHTS do you have as you read Paul's Prescription for community building?
👉 Where are you AFFIRMED by Paul's Prescription for being as asset to building the Jesus-like community?
👉 Where are you CHALLENGED?
👉 How does this inform your BUSINESS PRACTICES?
👉 What might need to be addressed to help shape your business, marriage, family into a community that reflects what Paul prescribes to foster the experience of heaven invading earth?
---------------------------------------Comments, Insights, Thoughts-------------------------------------------
All believers become living sacrifices by offering their TIME, TALENT, and ENERGY in work that benefits other people and/or God’s entire creation.
We can offer a living sacrifice to God every waking moment of our lives.
For Example:
1.) We do it when we forgive someone who transgresses against us in our workplace.2.) We are a living sacrifice when we take the risk to help heal a dispute between others.3.) We offer a living sacrifice when we forego unsustainable use of the earth’s resources in pursuit of our own comfort.4.) We offer a living sacrifice when we take on less-than-satisfying work because supporting our family matters more to us than finding the perfect job.5.) We become a living sacrifice when we leave a rewarding position so our spouse can accept a dream job in another city.6.) We become a living sacrifice when, as a boss, we take the blame for a mistake a subordinate makes in his or her work.
Can you think of ways you have been or need to be a "living sacrifice" in your "20 square feet" at work, home, marriage?
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Practicing GENUINE LOVE at WORK:
We show genuine love when we honor the people with whom we work, calling everyone by name regardless of their status, and respecting their families, cultures, languages, aspirations, and the work they do.
We show genuine love when we are patient with a subordinate who makes a mistake, a student who learns slowly, a co-worker whose disability makes us uncomfortable.
We show genuine love through hospitality to the new employee, the late-night arrival, the disoriented patient, the stranded passenger, the just-promoted boss.
Every day we face the possibility someone will do us some evil, small or great. But our response is not to do evil to others in self-defense, nor to be worn down into despair, but to “overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). We cannot do this by our own power, but only by living in the Spirit of Christ.
We show genuine love when we are patient with a subordinate who makes a mistake, a student who learns slowly, a co-worker whose disability makes us uncomfortable.
We show genuine love through hospitality to the new employee, the late-night arrival, the disoriented patient, the stranded passenger, the just-promoted boss.
Every day we face the possibility someone will do us some evil, small or great. But our response is not to do evil to others in self-defense, nor to be worn down into despair, but to “overcome evil with good” (Rom. 12:21). We cannot do this by our own power, but only by living in the Spirit of Christ.
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