The Beauty of the Gospel
God, who created everything.
Who is holy, and righteous and good and unimaginably awesome
He created me in His image to know Him and glorify Him.
But I sinned - and sinned greatly against Him
From the very beginning my heart was desperately wicked
I was not righteous
I did not seek God, but I sought myself
I did not do any good. I rebelled against Him. I rejected Him.
I sinned greatly...
But even in the midst of my complete and utter depravity,
HE. SAVED. ME.
God showed His love for me in sending Jesus Christ, His Son
who became a man,
lived a perfect life, and
suffered and died on the cross on my behalf.
He endured the punishment that I deserved.
He became sin so that I could become righteous
And He did it to bring me to God
He was condemned so that I would receive NO condemnation.
None of this was my own doing - God did it all.
He forgave me
He adopted me
And He freed me from slavery to sin
He gave me the Holy Spirit
who pours out God’s love in my heart
and gently, but firmly leads me toward holiness
God did all of this so that when I repented of my sins and believed in Him - when I trusted in, relied on, and clung to what He did on the cross, I became a fellow participant of the Victory that Jesus won on the cross.
When I turn to Him, when I cling to Him, His Amazing grace not only saves me, but also carries me through all the struggles of life and He leads me all the way home to Heaven.
As we look again at Romans 8 this Sunday morning, there’s no better introduction to the passage than to simply meditate on who Christ is and what He has done for us. Every Sunday, I really look forward to gathering with my church family to celebrate the Gospel (and the resurrection is an indispensable part of it - so we gather to celebrate the resurrection every week, not just once a year - how exciting that prospect should be to us weekly).
It is because of His finished work on the cross that we do not stand condemned. We truly deserve not only to be declared guilty, but also condemned to eternal punishment. We have not only been released from the penalty of our sin, but also declared NOT guilty and clothed with the righteousness of Christ. What a joy that is!
As you think toward our time gathered together this coming Sunday, here are the songs we’ll be singing along with some thoughts and suggestions to help you make the most of our time together.
As we begin our time together,
We’ll begin by singing May the People’s Praise You. This song is a fantastic way to begin our time together as we gather to “sing the wonders of the risen Christ.” As one of the verses says - “this is our holy privilege to declare Your praises and Your name.” How true that is. We have the PRIVILEGE of gathering together to sing praises to the One who died to redeem us from our sinfulness! WOW!
Next, we’ll sing Holy, Holy, Holy - remember how this song was, for so many years, the first song in the hymnal? There’s a reason for that. This classic hymn is a wonderful reminder of so many elements of worship. From a reminder of the Trinity, to a picture of the throne room in heaven, to declaring the awesome works and holiness of God - I can’t wait to sing this with everyone!
After our Prayer of Praise, the choir will lead us in one of their favorite songs: Yahweh! This song tells the story of Jesus from His birth all the way to His return. What a great reminder this song is!
After Meditating on God’s Word through both the Fighter Verse and our Scripture Reading, we’ll worship through giving, and then sing again.
We’ll sing Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing - I love the opening of this song:
Come Thou fount of ev’ry blessing
Tune my heart to sing Thy grace
Streams of mercy never ceasing
Call for songs of loudest praise
God speaks to us through His Word, we speak back to Him through our prayers and songs, so when we sing “tune my heart to sing thy Grace” we’re asking the Lord to help us to focus on Him and praise Him for His unending grace and mercy. Wow! That most certainly calls for songs of loudest praise - we should be singing LOUD when we gather for worship!
The song Speak O Lord is such a wonderful song/prayer and what a beautiful request we’re making of the Lord - we desire to hear what He would say to us through His Word. Since the preaching of God’s Word is the central act of Christian Worship, this really should be our prayer every time we gather. His Word truly is food to our souls. We must come and receive it regularly. We desire to be shaped and fashioned into His likeness. As we sing this song, let this be the prayer of your heart as you prepare to hear from Him through His Word.
**This weeks Message** picks up where we left off last week and looks specifically at Romans 8:3-4. This is where the “No Condemnation” declaration becomes intensely practical as we walk according to the Spirit. True salvation always results in sanctification.
As you prepare your heart this week, read Romans 7:14-8:11 several times.
As you prepare your heart this week, read Romans 7:14-8:11 several times.
Think through these questions:
• What has God done? Specifically, in your life, what has He done?
• What does “weakened by the flesh” mean? How would you explain this phrase to someone unfamiliar with the gospel?
• Read Hebrews 4:15 - how does that inform your understanding of the phrase “in the likeness of sinful flesh?”
• What do you think is meant by “the righteous requirement of the law?” What attributes of God might be the basis for the moral law? How are the 10 Commandments a reflection of God’s holiness?
• Is the second half of verse 4, who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit a command, correction, or a statement of fact?
• Since the term “walk” refers to lifestyle, habits of living, and how we think - think through your own “walk” and ask, “does it reflect walking according to the flesh, or to the Spirit?”
After the message, in our “Responding to God’s Word” time, we’ll sing the song Trust and Obey together. What a great expression of what it looks like to live a life of faithful obedience to the Lord! I love the final verse:
Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet
Or we'll walk by His side in the way
What He says we will do
Where He sends we will go
Never fear only trust and obey
As always, I covet your prayers as I prepare to preach God’s Word this Sunday. Rex and all the others who will be leading in the service do as well.
Also be in prayer for yourself and others in our body that we would all come on Sunday morning prepared to engage in intense, focused, exaltation of our great Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Rob
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