Podcasts about roman christians

Are we all just players in a cosmic puppet show? When Paul began teaching the Roman Christians about God's election of Israel, he opened up a very large can of worms. We have a hard time understanding how these two things can be true at the same time: God chooses, and we choose. Our choices are real, and consequential; God's choices are eternal and unchallengeable. Can Paul show us from the scriptures that this is so? Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand. You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free. RS06162025_0.mp3Scripture References: Romans 9

Paul's powerful opening to Romans establishes fundamental truths about Christian identity and the transformative power of the gospel. Rather than highlighting his credentials, Paul identifies primarily as a servant of Christ Jesus, challenging believers to examine what truly defines them. He emphasizes Jesus' unique identity as both fully human and divine, proven through His resurrection from the dead.The impact of the Roman Christians' faith was so significant it was being discussed throughout the Roman Empire, showcasing how authentic faith can transform entire communities. Paul stresses the importance of mutual encouragement within the Christian community, comparing isolated faith to a coal separated from fire. His bold declaration of being unashamed of the gospel stems from its power for salvation, its universal availability to all believers, and its revelation of God's righteousness through faith. This introduction sets the foundation for understanding how the gospel should shape every aspect of daily life and community engagement.

This podcast ends the book of Romans greeting all of the saints who assisted in his ministry. The greetings were specific to the Roman Christians along with others. We will meet them all one day in heaven. Then Paul warns heavily about false teachings and defines the true gospel showing how He followed what Jesus taught. Listen to hear details. Support the show

Paul now covers with the Roman Christians why he hasn't been able to get to them yet but emphasizes how they should treat that weaker brother with the spirit of Christ. Not being nit-picky and criticizing others. His goal is to teach and encourage everyone to share the gospel message of Christ. At the end of the chapter Paul gives a missionary checklist that is used even today in missions. Check it out.Support the show

Scripture often talks about the great hope a Christian has when they put their faith in Jesus Christ. Paul, in Romans 8:18-30, reminds us of this great hope to encourage us during times of suffering and weakness. At the IF:Gathering 2020 conference, Ruth Chou-Simons gave a message on Romans 8: 24-28 to talk about our hope as well. But did she urge us to hope in the same thing Paul encouraged the Roman Christians to hope in? Did Ruth Chou-Simons handle this text correctly? Let's find out.May this episode expose the false teaching entering the church and bring glory to God. To access the podcast, blog, and other resources go to the Thoroughly Equipped website @ ⁠ttew.org⁠ Follow me on Facebook & Instagram:https://www.facebook.com/TEWMelbaToast ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thoroughlyequipped316/ ⁠ Christian Podcast Community: ⁠ Christianpodcastcommunity.org⁠ Striving For Eternity Ministries: https://strivingforeternity.org/To watch Thoroughly Equipped with no ads subscribe to the podcast/channel at https://lets.church/channel/ThoroughlyEquipped

Scripture often talks about the great hope a Christian has when they put their faith in Jesus Christ. Paul, in Romans 8:18-30, reminds us of this great hope to encourage us during times of suffering and weakness. At the IF:Gathering 2020 conference, Ruth Chou-Simons gave a message on Romans 8: 24-28 to talk about our hope as well. But did she urge us to hope in the same thing Paul encouraged the Roman Christians to hope in? Did Ruth Chou-Simons handle this text correctly? Let's find out.May this episode expose the false teaching entering the church and bring glory to God. To access the podcast, blog, and other resources go to the Thoroughly Equipped website @ ⁠ttew.org⁠ Follow me on Facebook & Instagram:https://www.facebook.com/TEWMelbaToast ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thoroughlyequipped316/ ⁠ Christian Podcast Community: ⁠ Christianpodcastcommunity.org⁠ Striving For Eternity Ministries: https://strivingforeternity.org/To watch Thoroughly Equipped with no ads subscribe to the podcast/channel at https://lets.church/channel/ThoroughlyEquipped

Scripture often talks about the great hope a Christian has when they put their faith in Jesus Christ. Paul, in Romans 8:18-30, reminds us of this great hope to encourage us during times of suffering and weakness. At the IF:Gathering 2020 conference, Ruth Chou-Simons gave a message on Romans 8: 24-28 to talk about our hope as well. But did she urge us to hope in the same thing Paul encouraged the Roman Christians to hope in? Did Ruth Chou-Simons handle this text correctly? Let's find out.May this episode expose the false teaching entering the church and bring glory to God. To access the podcast, blog, and other resources go to the Thoroughly Equipped website @ ⁠ttew.org⁠ Follow me on Facebook & Instagram:https://www.facebook.com/TEWMelbaToast ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/thoroughlyequipped316/ ⁠ Christian Podcast Community: ⁠ Christianpodcastcommunity.org⁠ Striving For Eternity Ministries: https://strivingforeternity.org/To watch Thoroughly Equipped with no ads subscribe to the podcast/channel at https://lets.church/channel/ThoroughlyEquipped

He grew up in Milan and became an army officer, where he distinguished himself so well that the Emperor Diocletian made him captain of the Praetorian Guard not suspecting that Sebastian was a Christian. In Rome, while fulfilling the duties of a courtier, he used his position to comfort and encourage his imprisoned fellow-Christians. By his labors and example he brought many to faith in Christ, including Chromatius, the Prefect in charge of persecuting the Roman Christians.   Sebastian had upheld two brothers, Mark and Marcellinus, who were awaiting execution for their faith. When the day of execution came, their father Tranquillinus, who had been a pagan but through Sebastian's example had converted, presented himself to Chromatius and announced that he too was a Christian. His testimony was so powerful that the hard heart of the Prefect was melted, and he himself resolved to become a Christian.   Caius, Bishop of Rome, gathered the new brethren (both men and women — not all of Sebastian's converts have been mentioned here) to embrace them and baptize them, but also to warn them of their coming Martyrdom. He instructed some to flee the city and others, headed by Sebastian, to remain in Rome, devoting their days to fasting, prayer and thanksgiving as they awaited their death. As the "company of Martyrs" did this, many came to them and were healed of ailments, and many joined them in confessing Christ.   When the time of martyrdom came, each member of the company was subjected to imaginatively cruel tortures before his execution. Sebastian himself was made to witness the deaths of all his companions, then to endure his own trial. He serenely confessed his unshaken faith before Diocletian himself before being taken to the place of execution. There he was tied to a post and made the target of a band of archers until his body bristled with arrows like the quills of a porcupine. He was left for dead, but when Irene, widow of St Castulus, came to bury him, she found him alive and tended his wounds. Amazingly, he recovered, and presented himself once again to the Emperor. Astonished and outraged, the tyrant ordered that Sebastian be beaten to death with clubs and thrown into the city's sewer. That evening, a pious Christian woman was told in a vision to retrieve his body and bury it in the catacombs. After St Constantine brought peace to the Church, Pope Damasus built a church over the site in the Saint's honor. For hundreds of years, many miracles were worked there through St Sebastian's intercessions.

Sermon series: Romans 12-16: God's Good Life Paul now circles back to where he began, sharing with the Roman Christians about his gospel ministry. He shows them that it involves commending the good we see in others, and speaking candidly because we care, and because we want to see the nations come to Christ. Preacher: Tan Huai Tze Date: 8 December 2024

This podcast talks about how Paul urged the Roman Christians to yield to a new life of Christ within them.  He elaborates on the law and the Spiritual man, the Natural man and the Carnal man. Listen to hear what every Christian needs to know. Support the show

Sermon series: Romans 12-16: God's Good Life As the apostle Paul begins to conclude his exhortation to the Roman Christians, he points them to the example of Jesus Christ as a model for loving one another. By following Christ's sacrificial model of love, we are building up our fellow believers and moving towards unity in the faith. We are to welcome one another, as Christ has welcomed us for God's glory. Such embrace is not dependent on what the other believer does, but it's grounded in the Gospel of God's sheer grace. Preacher: Joel Sim Date: 24 November 2024

Romans 1:7

After teaching Roman Christians to accept each other and to live thoughtfully, Paul moves on to unity. As a church we want to embrace what it looks like to “make every effort” to keep the peace and ensure everyone is united around what matters most. (Romans 14 :19-23) Speaker: Carl Kuhl

Transcript: Hello! This is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective! In Romans 13, the early church leader the Apostle Paul, issued a radical statement to the Christians in Rome. He said: Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Sadly, this has been misused over the years by some in authority to demand that those under them blindly and unreservedly obey. But this is not at all what Paul says. Paul doesn't command the Roman authorities to force their power upon the people. This is not addressed to the Roman authorities at all! In other words, God doesn't say to Caesar: “I've given you unlimited authority, so do as you please.” No! Quite the opposite! He is saying, all human authority is a delegated authority. It doesn't lie in the person or the office, but ultimately in God, the author of all things (note the connection of “author” to “authority”). This was a radical idea in the history of the world. No human being has any legitimate authority except to the extent it is given as a stewardship from the throne of heaven. Now, certainly, this means that Roman Christians (and we) therefore should be respectful of those in authority. Rulers are ministers/servants of God, as Paul will go on to say (Romans 13:4); and we should expect to be accountable to them. But just as important, it tells us that no earthly authority is ultimate. All authority is itself accountable to the Divine Authority of heaven. God designed human government to be limited, for it is a delegated authority of a higher power. And that's something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective. “Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. Therefore whoever resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves. For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good and you will have praise from the same; for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath on the one who practices evil. Therefore it is necessary to be in subjection, not only because of wrath, but also for conscience' sake. For because of this you also pay taxes, for rulers are servants of God, devoting themselves to this very thing. Render to all what is due them: tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor."~ Romans 13:1-7 (NASB95)

Send us a textPaul in both his letter to the Roman Christians and the believers in Ephesus gives us a picture of our natural state as humans from birth. It is not a picture of innocence or even of a neutral state but one of spiritual death, captivity and rebellion. In fact it is a state of condemnation from birth awaiting execution!Romans 5: 12 sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—v.15 many died through one man's trespassv.16 the judgment following one trespass brought condemnationJohn 3:17-18 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.Ephesians 2:1-3 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.Bible Insights with Wayne ConradContact: 8441 Hunnicut Rd Dallas, Texas 75228email: Att. Bible Insights Wayne Conradgsccdallas@gmail.com (Good Shepherd Church) Donation https://gsccdallas.orghttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJTZX6qasIrPmC1wQpben9ghttps://www.facebook.com/waconrad or gscchttps://www.sermonaudio.com/gsccSpirit, Truth and Grace MinistriesPhone # 214-324-9915 leave message with number for call backPsalms 119:105 Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.

Paul in both his letter to the Roman Christians and the believers in Ephesus gives us a picture of our natural state as humans from birth. It is not a picture of innocence or even of a neutral state but one of spiritual death, captivity and rebellion. In fact it is a state of condemnation from birth awaiting execution!Romans 5: 12 sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—v.15 many died through one man's trespassv.16 the judgment following one trespass brought condemnationJohn 3:17-18 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.Ephesians 2:1-3 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Paul urges the Roman Christians to strive for "conspicuous unity" patterned on the Trinity by growing in love and spiritual maturity around truths revealed in scripture. The post Class in Romans: Church Unity Despite Disputable Matters – Part 1 appeared first on Two Journeys.

Paul urges the Roman Christians to strive for "conspicuous unity" patterned on the Trinity by growing in love and spiritual maturity around truths revealed in scripture. The post Class in Romans: Church Unity Despite Disputable Matters – Part 1 appeared first on Two Journeys.

Paul urges the Roman Christians to strive for "conspicuous unity" patterned on the Trinity by growing in love and spiritual maturity around truths revealed in scripture. The post Class in Romans: Church Unity Despite Disputable Matters – Part 1 appeared first on Two Journeys.

Have you ever thought that certain people were so evil and corrupt they could never possibly get saved? Well, during the Apostle Paul's time, the city of Rome was a corrupt Pagan city. Yet many Romans were being made new in Jesus Christ every day. Tune in to the Bible Study Hour this week and find out how. To support this ministry financially, visit: https://www.oneplace.com/donate/81/29

This week we start a three week series focused on women leaders in the early church, and what their lives and ministries can teach the church today about following Jesus. Phoebe was entrusted by Paul with carrying, arguably, Paul's most theologically substantive letter. Not only was she expected to deliver Paul's letter to the Romans, but she was also expected to teach and discuss it with the church in Rome to ensure they understood it. In a sense, she was a physical representation of Paul's teaching and ministry for the Roman Christians. She was a servant-leader, a protector, and a provider who used her life and resource to advance the Gospel and build the Kingdom.

Friends of the Rosary, Today, we commemorate the Optional Memorial of the Dedication of the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of Rome's four most illustrious churches and Christendom's first Marian shrine for pilgrims. There are four great Roman basilicas, the mother churches, in Christendom: St. John Lateran, St. Peter, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major. This feast commemorates the miracle of the snowfall that occurred on the night of August 5, 358. The Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to two faithful Roman Christians, the patrician John, his wife, and Pope Liberius. She asked that a church be built in her honor on the site where snow would fall on August 5. The basilica, also known as Our Lady of Snows, was completed about a century later by Pope Sixtus III after the Council of Ephesus in 431, during which Mary was declared to be the Mother of God, the Theotokos Marian doctrine. Every year, during Mass, the traditional shower of flower petals descends from the basilica ceiling to commemorate the August snowfall in 358. Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You! Come, Holy Spirit, come! To Jesus through Mary! + Mikel Amigot | RosaryNetwork.com, New York

Paul commended Phoebe as a deacon and benefactor who served the church, traveled as his emissary, and represented him to the Roman Christians, suggesting she held an esteemed leadership role in the early church alongside many other prominent women ministers.

The Book of Romans Series: Colleen and Nikki share their thoughts on Paul's letter to the Roman Christians and how this letter is needed by Adventists and also Christians since in it the theology of the Gospel is most clearly written. (Music: Falling Awake © 2010 Nathanael Tinker. Used by permission.)Support the Show.Website, donation link: http://proclamationmagazine.com/Facebook—Former Adventist: https://www.facebook.com/FormerAdventist/Facebook—Life Assurance Ministries: https://www.facebook.com/ProclamationMagazine/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@FormerAdventist

Welcome to Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran. Sharon's passion for scripture will motivate and challenge you to immerse yourself in God's Word and apply His message to your everyday life. Visit SeekingTruth.net to learn more about bringing Seeking Truth to your parish or becoming an online learner. In today's episode, Sharon kicks off part one of an overview of the Gospel of Mark. Known as the shortest and most action-packed gospel, Mark's narrative is swift and filled with miracles. Unlike Matthew, who wrote for a Jewish audience, Mark targets Roman Christians, emphasizing the deeds of Jesus to showcase His divinity. Sharon delves into the unique details Mark provides, such as the Roman centurion's proclamation at Jesus' crucifixion. She also explores Mark's background, his connection with Peter, and his role in the early church. Discover why Mark's gospel, often called the "Hollywood Gospel," is an urgent, immediate call to faith filled with profound actions and miracles. Join us next time as we continue to uncover the rich layers of the Gospel of Mark on Seeking Truth with Sharon Doran.

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Trinity Romans 8:18-23 by William Klock The world is not as it should be.  We know it in our bones.  Around us we see glimpses of what the world should be like: when we see the beauty of flower or the sunset or the majesty of a waterfall, when we see a newborn baby or the love shared between husband and wife or parent and child, when someone goes out of their way to do some good deed for no other reason than that it needs to be done.  But the world is also filled with pain and suffering and tears.  We hurt each other terribly.  We lie, cheat, steal, and kill.  We act selfishly.  And then we all eventually die and it can seem so pointless.  Everyone sees it.  The gospel is God's answer: God humbling himself in Jesus, taking on the flesh of his broken people and suffering the death that they deserved for their rebellion against him.  Allowing sin and death to do their worst and rising triumphant over them.  Suffering birthed God's new world in the midst of the old.  That's God's solution.  But as our culture has gradually forgotten the gospel, we've come to address this problem by becoming increasingly obsessed with the therapeutic.  In the midst of a broken world, everything has become about feeling good.  Buy this and you'll feel better.  Do this—and this usually involves spending money on something—and you'll feel better.  We created a whole “therapy” industry to make ourselves feel better in general and better about ourselves.  It shouldn't be any wonder that the great modern heresy is the so-called Prosperity Gospel, which promises that the Christian life is all about health and wealth—feeling good.  But even otherwise orthodox churches have often embraced the therapeutic, whether it's in our preaching or our worship.  Everything is increasingly focused on “me” and on me feeling good.  It's the very opposite of God's solution to a world and a people broken by sin and death. And yet, when we go back to the New Testament, particularly if we listen to Jesus, there's a lot—a lot—of talk about suffering.  Jesus even promises that his people will suffering.  “If they hate me, they will hate you—because a servant isn't greater than his master.”  “Blessed are you when people slander and persecute you and say wicked things about you on account of me.  Celebrate and rejoice, because there's a reward for you in God's kingdom.  That's how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”  Jesus promised his people suffering, whether it was in the gospels or in his vision to John that we have in Revelation.  You can't go out into the world to declare that Jesus is Lord without making people angry.  You can't go out into the world to tell people and to show people that God's new creation is breaking into and transforming the old, without upsetting the way things are.  The people invested in the old age will get angry.  But it's not just persecution.  Even as Jesus calls us to lift the veil on God's new creation, to show in the present what God has in store for the future, we suffer.  Because the world still is not as it should be.  Jesus' people suffer from poverty from hunger from sickness.  We suffer the effects of sin in the world just like everyone else.  We're all—you and I—getting older year by year and feeling it.  And one day we'll die.  Because instead of stepping into history in judgement and wiping every last vestige of sin from his creation so that it could all be set to rights, Jesus first stepped into the middle of history to offer us redemption, so that we won't have to face his wrath on that day when he finally comes—so that we, poor sinners, can instead have a share in his new creation.  Brothers and Sisters, we desperately need this gospel perspective.  And this is what Paul's getting at in our Epistle form Romans 8.  He writes in verse 18: This is how I work it out. The sufferings we go through in the present time are not worth putting in the scale alongside the glory that is going to be unveiled for us.   “This is how I work it out…”  That doesn't mean this is Paul's opinion.  “This is how I work it out” means that Paul, knowing the Scriptures, knowing the story of Israel and Israel's God, knowing Jesus, working under the Spirit's inspiration, this is the only conclusion he can reach.  He's been building this argument for eight chapters in Romans and here he reaches the inevitable conclusion: those who will be glorified will first face suffering, but that this suffering can't begin to compare with the glory to be revealed. Think about what a powerful statement that was when Paul wrote this.  When he writes that word “suffering” most of us probably read into that whatever our own trials and tribulations are.  That's fine.  But what did Paul have in mind?  Later in the chapter, in verses 35-36 he writes that nothing will separate us from the love of the Messiah—nothing—and then he goes on to detail the sorts of suffering that he and other Christians were facing—things people might think mean that God doesn't love them, things they might think show a lack of faith, things that might separate them from Jesus.  Here's his list: hardship or distress, persecution or famine, nakedness or peril or sword.  And he quotes from Psalm 44: “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted sheep to be slaughtered.”  These things are far worse than the sorts of suffering any of us are likely to face.  And as horrible as this suffering was, none of it could compare with the glory to be revealed—no amount of suffering could make the glory not worth it. But what is the glory Paul's writing about?  I like the translation that this glory is “going to be unveiled for us”, but we have to be careful.  That can make it sound like we're going to be spectators, when the sense of what Paul's saying in Greek is that this glory will be revealed towards us or into us.  It's a sense of this glory being bestowed on us as a gift.  You and I will participate in glory.  And this makes perfect sense when we consider that just before this Paul said that if we are in the Messiah, then we will share in his inheritance—we will participate in his inheritance. And what's the inheritance?  Well, who is Jesus?  He is Lord.  His glory is revealed or it's unveiled in his glorious and sovereign rule of Creation and Paul is saying here that the glory we wait for with eager longing, the glory that is the basis for our hope as Christians is not glory in the sense many people often think.  We often think of “glory” as a place or a state of being.  When a Christian dies we often hear people say that he or she has gone on or been promoted to “glory”.  Brothers and Sisters, “glory” isn't going to heaven when you die.  As Jesus' glory is his sovereign rule over Creation, so the glory to be revealed in us is our participation, our sharing in the sovereign and saving rule of Jesus—being restored to original vocation and taking part in God's creation set to rights.  And this is why he says what he does in verse 19: Yes: creation itself is on tiptoe with expectation, eagerly awaiting the moment when God's children will be revealed.   If our hope, if our glory—as it is so often wrongly portrayed—was for the destruction of this world and an eternity of disembodied existence in heaven with God, then the Creation would have no reason to eagerly long for that glory to be revealed.  What Paul describes here is the opposite: God's Creation is waiting with eager expectation for the great day when its true rulers are revealed, the sons and daughters of God, and when it will be delivered from corruption.  Look at verses 20-22:   Creation, you see, was subjected to pointless futility, not of its own volition, but because of the one who placed it in this subjection, in the hope that creation itself would be freed from its slavery to decay, to enjoy the freedom that comes when God's children are glorified.  Let me explain.  We know that the entire creation is groaning together, and going through labor pains together, up until the present time. This is where we need to stand back and look at the big picture.  Everything Paul's saying here is dependent on that.  It's the big picture the Bible gives of us of God's Creation, from beginning to end.  We read in Genesis that God created and that everything was good.  We even read there that when he created human beings he looked at his handiwork and declared us not just “good”, but “very good”.  But we look around us now and have to wonder what happened.  War is always raging somewhere, there's violence everywhere, there's greed and corruption everywhere.  Justice is in short supply and so are the basic things that people need to survive—maybe not in our part of the world, but for billions of others.  And yet even if we don't pay attention to the big evils that play out on the international scene—or even on the local scene, for that matter—we only have to look at the struggles that we have ourselves and that we share with our family and friends to keep away from sin and to do good.  Hate is easy; love is hard.  Paul knew it.  The Roman Christians knew it.  We know it. Paul tells the story of Creation in the book of Romans, but he tells it as Israel's story.  We don't have time to run through the whole book this morning obviously, but Paul's point is that the whole Creation is enslaved in the same sort of way that Israel was in Egypt.  And right there we get a glimmer of hope.  Remember, when Israel went down to Egypt—remember the story of Jospeh being sold into slavery by his brothers and winding up in prison in Egypt?—it was all according to the Lord's plan.  The Lord arranged for Joseph to become a slave in Egypt so that through him he could rescue his people.  Egypt started out good for Israel.  When things turned around under a new king who enslaved Israel, it wasn't because the Lord had ceased to be good and it wasn't because the Lord was no longer in control.  Instead, we learn later that the Lord allowed the Israelites to become slaves in Egypt so that he could then manifest his glorious sovereignty to everyone—to Israel in rescuing her and to the Egyptians by showing his power over her false gods and over her mighty horses and chariots.  In the Exodus, the Lord marked Israel forever as the people he had freed from slavery, people to whom he had given a new life.  That became their national identity, celebrated every year in the Passover. In all of that Paul is working up to his point here.  As the Lord allowed Israel to fall into bondage to Egypt, so he has allowed his good Creation to be subjected to death and decay.  We may look around and wonder if things are hopeless.  Every time one war ends and we see peace break out another war begins somewhere else.  We work hard to lift this group out of poverty, but then that group over there falls into it.  We cure one disease only to have two new ones crop up.  Isaiah wrote about a day when the lion would lie down with the lamb and we look around us and wonder if that's ever going to happen. And Paul assures us: Yes, it's for real.  This is God's promise.  No matter how bad things are, this is still his good Creation and he has promised to put everything to rights.  Even as he cast Adam and Eve from the garden he was promising them that he would one day overcome sin and restore everything to the way it should be.  Genesis shows things going from bad to worse.  It shows us humanity losing even the very knowledge of God and sinking into paganism and idolatry.  But then it tells us how God came to Abraham and established a covenant with him.  The Lord promised that through Abraham and his family he would restore not only humanity, but all of Creation and here Paul reminds us what that means, what it looks like and why the Creation itself would long for it to happen. Again, we need the big picture—we need to remember where things started.  In Genesis we read that the Lord created human beings to be his image bearers.  Theologians have argued for two thousand years over what exactly that means, but in the last century, as we've been able to read the Old Testament in light of other Jewish and Ancient Near Eastern literature we've realised that the language of Genesis is temple language.  Israel's pagan neighbours built great stone temples and then placed images of their gods in them.  Those images represented their gods' rule or sovereignty over the land and people.  And Genesis uses the same language and imagery, except that in Genesis it's the Lord himself who builds his own temple—the cosmos—and instead of placing an image of himself carved in stone or gold in it, he creates human beings, to live in his presence in the temple, but also to rule his creation justly and wisely—to have dominion and to subdue Creation in the Lord's name.  That's what it meant for humanity to bear God's image: to be his stewards, the priests of his temple.  But then we chose to rebel.  As Paul writes in Romans 1, we chose to worship the Creation instead of the Creator.  We subjected the Lord's good creation to corruption. Now, in light of that, it should make sense that Creation is longing for the day when our inheritance is revealed.  That's the day when Creation will be set free from the corruption we brought on it.  That's the day when we, Creation's stewards will be restored and renewed and put back in charge, reigning with Jesus.  Again, think back to Israel.  He chose and called her, he rescued her, he made her his people, he made her a model for the nations to bring healing and restoration.  But she rebelled and she rejected her mission.  And yet the Lord didn't give up and he didn't change his plan to redeem his Creation through Israel.  He simply sent a faithful Israelite—he sent Jesus.  And Jesus not only redeemed Israel by dying in her place, he established a new Israel in his own person, a new people to be a light to the nations—this time equipped by the Holy Spirit. This is what Paul is getting at in verse 23.  It's not just the Creation that groans in eager longing: Not only so: we too, we who have the first fruits of the Spirit's life within us, are groaning within ourselves, as we eagerly await our adoption, the redemption of our body. The Lord hasn't given up on his Creation any more than he gave up on Israel.  Creation is eagerly waiting for its rightful stewards to be set right.  On that great day the Lord will make all things new and restore his redeemed people to their rightful place as good, wise, and just rulers of Creation—as the faithful priests of his temple.  This is what it means for our glory to be revealed.  The big picture, the story of redemption, reminds us that this was how it was supposed to be from the beginning.  And so we groan and we wait eagerly too.  We live in the mess we've made here in the world.  We live with sin and with sickness and with death, and yet we live in hope, knowing that what God has begun in Jesus he will one day complete. And we can hope because our God has given us the firstfruits of his new creation.  He's given a down payment on what he has promised.  The present age and its rulers have been decisively defeated by Jesus at the cross and the empty tomb and God's new age has been inaugurated.  Jesus is Lord.  He truly is God's King.  He's given us his Spirit—Paul describes the Spirit here as the firstfruits—and that's because we live in the overlap between these two ages, these two kingdoms.  The Jews brought the firstfruits of the harvest—usually sheaves of grain harvested at the very beginning of the season—as offerings to God.  They offered them in good years and even in bad years in faith that God would provide the rest of the harvest.  And so the Spirit is the sign of hope for us.  The life he gives to us here and now is a reminder that encourages our faith and hope in the resurrection and the new creation to come.  We groan and we sigh, we wait longingly in eager expectation, but our hope is certain because God is faithful and keeps his promises.  The prophet Habakkuk wrote that one day the glory of the Lord will fill the earth as the waters cover the sea.  Brothers and Sisters, when that seems impossible, we only need remember the cross of Jesus, his empty tomb, and his gift of the Holy Spirit.  God has already done the hard part.  He is the God who is faithful.  He will not abandon either his promises or his investment.  We can be sure that he'll finish what he's started. But in the meantime our faith is not a complacent faith.  We haven't been redeemed by Jesus and given the gift of the Spirit so that we can retreat into a sort of personal holiness or private piety while we wait for Jesus to return.  Not at all.  Jesus has inaugurated this new age in his resurrection and somehow someday the making new that began in his resurrection will encompass all of Creation and you and I are called, in the power of the Spirit, to embody that renewing work here and now.  How is Habakkuk's prophecy going to be fulfilled?  How does the knowledge of the glory of the Lord spread to cover the earth?  Brothers and Sisters, that's our mission.  We're called to proclaim to the world the Good News that Jesus is Lord and that his kingdom is here and now.  Our mission is to call the world to repentance and faith.  But don't forget: We are also called to live out repentance and faith in our lives in such a way that we lift the veil on the kingdom and that we give a glimpse to the world of what heaven on earth looks like.  So far as we are able to do so today, we are called to exercise the good dominion that was given to Adam—we are called to be stewards of God's temple, of his Creation.  Jesus has led the way for us here, the second Adam.  In his earthly ministry he made his Father's new creation known in practical ways to the people around him and so should we.  In a word full of sin we should be visible in seeking after holiness.  In a world full of war and injustice, we should be visible and at the forefront working for peace and justice.  In a world full of hurting and sickness, we should be seeking to make the healing ministry of Jesus known.  In a world full of anger and hate, we should be working for forgiveness and reconciliation. If you're like me you might get discouraged thinking about the mission Jesus has given us.  When I think of these things I think of things that we as Christians can do to bring Jesus and his glory to the world in “big” ways.  I think of Christians working on the big international scene or I think of missionaries going to far off countries.  And then I get discouraged.  That's far away.  It's bigger than me.  But Friends, never forget that for every St. Paul or St. Peter, there were thousands of ordinary saints manifesting Jesus in their ordinary lives, proclaiming the good news, and building the kingdom right where they were.  We fulfil Jesus' calling to us as we raise covenant children to walk with him in faith and to live the values of his kingdom.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we work for peace and reconciliation with our neighbours, in our workplaces, and in our schools.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we forgive as we have been forgiven.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we love the hard-to-love people around us, knowing that we ourselves are hard-to-love too, but that Jesus loved us enough to die for us.  We fulfil Jesus' calling when we sacrifice ourselves, our rights, our prerogatives, our time, and our treasure in order to make Jesus and his love known.  In everything we do, we should be seeking to give the world signs and foretastes of God's new creation. Let us pray: Heavenly Father, as we asked earlier in the collect we ask again for grace that to pass through the trials of this life without losing the things of eternal importance.  Remind us that the suffering we experience cannot begin to compare with the glory to be revealed to us.  Remind us always of the suffering that Jesus endured for our sake that in love and gratitude we might suffer too for the sake of making him known.  And as we think of Jesus' death and resurrection and as we live the life given by your Spirit, fill us with hope and faith, knowing that the glory inaugurated in us today will one day be fully accomplished in our own resurrection and the restoration of all your Creation.  Amen.

6/18/24. Minutes in the Word scriptures for today: Romans 15:22. Resources: enduringword.com; biblehub.com; logos.com; Matthew Henry Commentary; and Life Application Study Bible. Listen daily on WKDM Praise 96.1 Online Radio! https://kingdompraiseradio.com/November 2021 Podchaser list of "60 Best Podcasts to Discover!" LISTEN, LIKE, FOLLOW, SHARE! #MinutesWord; @MinutesWord; #dailydevotional #christianpodcaster #prayforpeace

Chad Cronin - Romans 14:14 In this sermon on Romans 15:14, Paul commends the Roman Christians for their goodness, knowledge, and ability to instruct one another.

Why would Paul tell Roman Christians that they should emulate the faith of a man who lived hundreds of years before Jesus even came? We'll go back to Genesis to help us answer that question this Sunday. Plus, learn the three Ps that Abraham trusted in that we also should trust today. 

Title: The Call to Unity and Hope: Exploring Romans 15 Romans 15 continues Paul's profound discourse to the Roman church, extending themes of harmony, acceptance, and the fulfillment of God's promises through Christ. This chapter serves as a practical application of the theological principles laid out in previous chapters, emphasizing the responsibility of believers to build each other up in faith and to embrace the inclusivity of the Gospel. Bear One Another's Burdens (Romans 15:1-7) Paul begins by urging the strong in faith to bear with the failings of the weak, not to please themselves but to build up their neighbors for their good, leading to edification. This call to selflessness is grounded in the example of Christ, who did not seek His own pleasure but bore the reproaches meant for others. Paul's appeal is for the Roman Christians to live in harmony and to accept one another, just as Christ accepted them. This acceptance is not merely tolerance but an active and welcoming embrace that reflects the unity of believers in Christ. Christ, the Servant to Jews and Gentiles (Romans 15:8-13) Paul elaborates on Christ's role as a servant to both Jews and Gentiles, emphasizing that Jesus' ministry fulfilled God's promises to the patriarchs and extended God's mercy to the Gentiles. This fulfillment of prophecy demonstrates the inclusivity of God's salvation plan, meant to bring hope to all people. Paul concludes this section with a benediction, praying that God will fill the believers with all joy and peace in believing, so they may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Paul's Ministry and Future Plans (Romans 15:14-33) The latter part of the chapter shifts focus to Paul's ministry and his plans to visit Rome. He expresses his confidence in the Roman believers and his desire to impart some spiritual gift to strengthen them, though he has been prevented from visiting them so far. Paul shares his intention to preach the Gospel where Christ has not been named, avoiding building on another's foundation. He mentions his upcoming journey to Jerusalem to deliver aid to the saints there and his hope to visit Rome on his way to Spain. Paul concludes by requesting their prayers for his journey and for his service in Jerusalem to be acceptable to the saints. **Contemporary Application: Embodying Unity and Hope Romans 15 speaks powerfully to contemporary believers about the importance of fostering unity within the church, bearing one another's burdens, and welcoming all into the fellowship of faith. It challenges Christians to consider how they might live out the example of Christ in selfless service and encouragement of others. Furthermore, Paul's missionary zeal serves as an inspiration for believers to share the Gospel beyond their comfort zones, trusting in the Holy Spirit to empower and guide them. **Conclusion: Living Out the Gospel of Peace** Romans 15 beautifully captures the essence of Christian living—marked by unity, selflessness, and a relentless commitment to the Gospel. Paul's exhortations remind us that the church is called to be a community of hope and encouragement, reflecting the inclusive and transformative power of the Gospel. As we bear with one another in love and strive to live in harmony, we embody the very principles of the Gospel we profess, becoming beacons of hope and peace in a divided world.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/sendme-radio--732966/support.

In this final episode of the Romans series, Matt tackles a number of topics and addresses several important questions, such as: How does Romans 16 fit within the letter as a whole? Are there reasons for thinking it was not part of the original letter and, if so, how do these reasons hold up to critical scrutiny? Paul mentions a number of other people in this section, too, (Phoebe, for example) and their ministry work. What can we learn from this "greeting section"? Moreover, how does the reference to Satan being crushed under the feet of the Roman Christians shed light upon Paul's ecclesiology and christology? Listen to find out! + + + Check out Matt's newest book, The End of the World As You Know It:⁠⁠ ⁠https://a.co/d/7fuglXx⁠⁠⁠ Don't forget to subscribe to The Bible (Unmuted)! Support the podcast via Patreon: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.patreon.com/TheBibleUnmuted⁠

Pride is a dangerous and destructive sin. It can skew our view of the world and our place in it. Left unchecked, it can cause an inflated ego, a lack of empathy, the belittling of others, an extreme sensitivity to critique, and ultimately broken relationships. In Romans 12, Paul continues his down-to-earth instruction on how to live out our calling. He first reminds the Roman Christians of God's grace to him (v. 3). His apostolic position and authority were from God, not earned or deserved (Eph. 3:7–8). As he calls them to a “renewed mind” (from Rom.12:1–2), he points to how believers ought to live in community. A grace-filled community happens when we each remain humble. “I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment” (v. 3). With God's help and by His grace, we can objectively and realistically understand who He has created us to be. We are freed from pride and self- loathing, self-centeredness and self- consciousness. “In accordance with the faith,” we see ourselves through God's eyes (v. 3). When we take this hard look at ourselves, we are freed to serve others with the gifts God has given. In verses 4–8, Paul uses the image of the body to describe the unity and diversity that work together for the good of all. Each of us has a unique function and a particular gifting, yet we form one “body”—and “each member belongs to all the others” (v. 5). Together, we have a collective trust, connection, and commitment to one another. Loving God with our mind means maintaining a biblical, humble, and sober view of ourselves. Loving our neighbor also means sharing what God has given us for the good of the body.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last August our family spent a week in Minnesota. For three days, we stayed on the north shore of Lake Superior at the Naniboujou Lodge. This is my favorite place on earth. No cell phone service. No wi-fi. No television. Only delicious family meals in the grand, colorful dining room. Evening board games in the cozy atrium. And early morning prayer times on the rocky beach. It was exactly the renewing I needed. It felt like a rebooting for my soul and brain. In Romans 12, Paul tells us how we can renew and refresh our mind. He begins with that wonderful transition word “therefore.” Here, Paul signals a clear cause and effect. He shifts from his doctrinal teaching to getting very practical about the results of our theology. Paul “urges” (earnestly pleads with) the Roman Christians to live their lives based on what God—in His great mercy—had done for them. Paul begins by talking about our bodies. He calls us to offer ourselves as “a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (v. 1). The first-century Christians would have been intimately familiar with the solemn act of sacrifice, so it would have been a powerful analogy. However, this sacrifice is “living”: vital and dynamic and ongoing. It is also a holy, dedicated, and pure act of worship. Paul also addresses the renewing of our mind. He urged believers to continually subject their thoughts and intellect to the renewing work of the Spirit (v. 2). Every thought is to be taken captive by God. We love Him when we think rightly and purely. As we steward our thoughts, the Spirit will provide the gift of discernment. God wants to lead His children in paths of righteousness (Ps. 23:3). And when we renew our mind, we can more readily determine His “good, pleasing, and perfect will” (v. 2).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Philippians 3:11-14 1 Corinthians 4:6-7 Numbers 16:1-3 Romans 12:3 John 15:8 Pride

Today's episode features debut author Jamie Ogle. Her novel, Of Love and Treason, released Tuesday! It's a compelling novelization of the story of Saint Valentine of Rome. Jamie and I discussed her research process, the years she spent writing this story, and what she learned from learning about the persecution faced by Roman Christians during the third century. Here's a description of Of Love and Treason: Valentine defies the emperor and becomes a hero . . . and the most wanted man in the empire. Compelled by his faith, he has nothing to lose, until a chance encounter with the daughter of a Roman jailor changes everything.  Rome, AD 270. In the wake of the emperor's marriage ban, rumors swirl that there is one man brave enough to perform wedding ceremonies in secret. A public notarius and leader of an underground church, Valentine believes the emperor's edict unjust and risks his own life for the sake of his convictions. But as his fame grows, so do fears for his safety. Iris, the daughter of a Roman jailor, believes regaining her sight will ease the mounting troubles at home. Her last hope rests in searching out Valentine and his church, but the danger of associating with people labeled a threat to the empire is great. Still, as Iris's new friends lead her to faith in God, Iris is drawn to Valentine and they both begin to hope for a future together beyond the treacherous empire. But when a past debt and a staggering betrayal collide, Valentine, Iris, and everyone they love must fight for their lives . . . and wrestle with trusting a God who can restore sight yet does not always keep His followers from peril. Purchase Of Love and Treason on Amazon (affiliate). Check out Jamie's website, and follow her on Facebook and Instagram. Subscribe to my mailing list to receive book recommendations and samples of my writing! Join the Historical Fiction: Unpacked Podcast Group on Facebook! Be sure to visit my Instagram, Facebook, and website. Follow the show on Instagram! Purchase Alison's historical novel, One Traveler (affiliate). Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you click an affiliate link and make a purchase, you help support my work without paying any more for the product. Thank you for your support!

He grew up in Milan and became an army officer, where he distinguished himself so well that the Emperor Diocletian made him captain of the Praetorian Guard not suspecting that Sebastian was a Christian. In Rome, while fulfilling the duties of a courtier, he used his position to comfort and encourage his imprisoned fellow-Christians. By his labors and example he brought many to faith in Christ, including Chromatius, the Prefect in charge of persecuting the Roman Christians.   Sebastian had upheld two brothers, Mark and Marcellinus, who were awaiting execution for their faith. When the day of execution came, their father Tranquillinus, who had been a pagan but through Sebastian's example had converted, presented himself to Chromatius and announced that he too was a Christian. His testimony was so powerful that the hard heart of the Prefect was melted, and he himself resolved to become a Christian.   Caius, Bishop of Rome, gathered the new brethren (both men and women — not all of Sebastian's converts have been mentioned here) to embrace them and baptize them, but also to warn them of their coming Martyrdom. He instructed some to flee the city and others, headed by Sebastian, to remain in Rome, devoting their days to fasting, prayer and thanksgiving as they awaited their death. As the "company of Martyrs" did this, many came to them and were healed of ailments, and many joined them in confessing Christ.   When the time of martyrdom came, each member of the company was subjected to imaginatively cruel tortures before his execution. Sebastian himself was made to witness the deaths of all his companions, then to endure his own trial. He serenely confessed his unshaken faith before Diocletian himself before being taken to the place of execution. There he was tied to a post and made the target of a band of archers until his body bristled with arrows like the quills of a porcupine. He was left for dead, but when Irene, widow of St Castulus, came to bury him, she found him alive and tended his wounds. Amazingly, he recovered, and presented himself once again to the Emperor. Astonished and outraged, the tyrant ordered that Sebastian be beaten to death with clubs and thrown into the city's sewer. That evening, a pious Christian woman was told in a vision to retrieve his body and bury it in the catacombs. After St Constantine brought peace to the Church, Pope Damasus built a church over the site in the Saint's honor. For hundreds of years, many miracles were worked there through St Sebastian's intercessions.

He grew up in Milan and became an army officer, where he distinguished himself so well that the Emperor Diocletian made him captain of the Praetorian Guard not suspecting that Sebastian was a Christian. In Rome, while fulfilling the duties of a courtier, he used his position to comfort and encourage his imprisoned fellow-Christians. By his labors and example he brought many to faith in Christ, including Chromatius, the Prefect in charge of persecuting the Roman Christians.   Sebastian had upheld two brothers, Mark and Marcellinus, who were awaiting execution for their faith. When the day of execution came, their father Tranquillinus, who had been a pagan but through Sebastian's example had converted, presented himself to Chromatius and announced that he too was a Christian. His testimony was so powerful that the hard heart of the Prefect was melted, and he himself resolved to become a Christian.   Caius, Bishop of Rome, gathered the new brethren (both men and women — not all of Sebastian's converts have been mentioned here) to embrace them and baptize them, but also to warn them of their coming Martyrdom. He instructed some to flee the city and others, headed by Sebastian, to remain in Rome, devoting their days to fasting, prayer and thanksgiving as they awaited their death. As the "company of Martyrs" did this, many came to them and were healed of ailments, and many joined them in confessing Christ.   When the time of martyrdom came, each member of the company was subjected to imaginatively cruel tortures before his execution. Sebastian himself was made to witness the deaths of all his companions, then to endure his own trial. He serenely confessed his unshaken faith before Diocletian himself before being taken to the place of execution. There he was tied to a post and made the target of a band of archers until his body bristled with arrows like the quills of a porcupine. He was left for dead, but when Irene, widow of St Castulus, came to bury him, she found him alive and tended his wounds. Amazingly, he recovered, and presented himself once again to the Emperor. Astonished and outraged, the tyrant ordered that Sebastian be beaten to death with clubs and thrown into the city's sewer. That evening, a pious Christian woman was told in a vision to retrieve his body and bury it in the catacombs. After St Constantine brought peace to the Church, Pope Damasus built a church over the site in the Saint's honor. For hundreds of years, many miracles were worked there through St Sebastian's intercessions.

The Second Sunday in Advent: Read, Mark, Learn, and Inwardly Digest Romans 15:4-13 and St. Luke 21:25-33 by William Klock The theme of Advent—a bit like the Boy Scouts—is “Be prepared!”  As we acclaim in the Lord's Supper: Christ has died.  Christ is risen.  Christ will come again.  Our lives should be entirely reoriented around these three central truths.  Our lessons last Sunday called us to be prepared because Jesus, in his death and resurrection, has changed and is continuing to change everything.  And today, on this Second Sunday in Advent, our lessons point us to the scriptures, to the Bible, to God's word.  Who is God?  Who is Jesus?  Who is the Spirit?  The answers are in the scriptures, where God speaks and act and makes himself known to us.  Why should we repent and believe this good news called “gospel”?  Because the story told in the scriptures reveals the faithfulness of God.  How can we be prepared for his new creation?  We immerse ourselves in his word.  There he shows us what that new creation looks like, where he calls us to repentance, where he calls us to holiness and a new kind of life.  This is why in the Collect today we pray that we might be “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” the scriptures: so that we can be prepared.  Knowing God, trusting Jesus, and living the life of the Spirit don't happen apart from our immersing ourselves in the Bible.  So St. Paul's exhorts us in our Epistle.  Look at Romans 15:4: Whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that through endurance and through the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope.”   Hope.  I don't know that we think about this often enough.  We talk a lot about the need for faith, but Brothers and Sisters, where does faith come from?  Faith is rooted in hope.  In the midst of the darkness, Jesus has come as the light and he points us to the day when the light has driven away the darkness forever.  In the midst of sin and suffering and death, Jesus promises a day when sin and death will be no more and when he wipes away every tear.  Jesus gives us hope and as we entrust ourselves to him for that hope, that's faith. And that's why Paul points us to the scriptures as the root and source of our hope.  The scriptures give us hope by telling us a story.  The story of the God who created the cosmos and of his people.  The Bible is full of many different kinds of literature.  There's history and hymns and parables and prophecy.  There's story and there's doctrine.  But it all comes together around the story of God and his people.  In that story he introduces himself to us.  That story teaches who he is.  And it gives us reason to trust him, to love him, and to praise him.  The major theme of Advent is the coming of Jesus and our need to be prepared.  As we read the lessons here we're told of God's promises to his people and his fulfilment of them and in that we learn of the faithfulness of God.  He is trustworthy and so we can trust the promises he has given to us.  And on this Second Sunday of Advent these two themes—the call to be prepare and the call to the Scriptures—they intersect. Let's continue with our Epistle.  Again, we're looking at Romans 15.  Paul wrote these words to a church that was struggling with conflict—largely a conflict between Jewish and Gentile believers.  Because of this conflict, they were unprepared to fulfil the mission Jesus has given his Church—to proclaim and to live the gospel for the sake of the world and to the glory of God.  So Paul's exhortation was for them to be one, to be unified in Jesus the Messiah.  But as with so many things, it's often easier to say that sort of thing than to do it.  The gospel brings us together, but so many things in this world compete with it to drive us apart.  Again, Advent calls us to be prepared.  We each face our own struggles in being faithful to Jesus and to each other.  We often try and we often fail.  What do we do?  Well, St. Paul brings us back to the foundational truths of our faith.  This is what we need to build on.  He brings us back to the story of God and his people and, particularly, to Jesus and his place in that story. In verses 1-3 Paul gets at the solution to the divisions within the Roman church: We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.   Build your neighbour up.  Again, easy to say.  Not always easy to do.  We need to have the right motivation.  Jesus needs to be at the centre.  That's the only way we will ever truly love each other.  Jesus' incarnation and Jesus' cross must be behind us and before us.  This is Paul's point in verse 3, where he quotes Psalm 69:9. For the Messiah did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”   All by itself, this verse from the Psalms is a good reminder to bear with others and to put them first.  Jesus did that and we would do well to follow his example.  But Paul's really getting at something much deeper.  For someone like Paul to quote a verse from a psalm, especially to a Jewish or early Christian audience that was steeped in the psalms in a way that modern Christians—sadly—rarely are, that was to bring the whole psalm to mind.  This isn't the first time in Romans that Paul has cited from Psalm 69.  He uses it as a lens through which to understand the times the church was facing in those days.  Psalm 69 was a lament.  David had sinned and was suffering the fallout of that sin, but to make matters worse, his enemies were piling on, taking advantage of his suffering.  They were kicking him while he was down.  The Psalm begins: Save me, O God!          For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire,          where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters,          and the flood sweeps over me.  (Psalm 69:1-2) David cries out to the Lord, he calls for judgement on his enemies, and it ends with praise, knowing that the Lord will vindicate his servant, even though he hasn't done so yet.  How could David pray that?  Because he knew that the Lord is faithful to his promises, that gave him hope, and because of that he had faith—and he lived out that faith.  But, Psalm 69 isn't just David's song.  It became Israel's song.  This was Israel's story just as much as it was David's.  She sinned, she suffered, and then her enemies took advantage of that suffering to make things even worse, and so the nation cried out to the Lord for deliverance and in hopeful praise, knowing his promises and his faithfulness to always do what he said.  And now, knowing Jesus, who represents Israel much as David did, but in a far deeper way, Paul overlays Psalm 69 on the ministry of Jesus as Messiah. Today's Collect, again, urges us to “read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest” the Scriptures so that we might in our own journeys hold fast to the hope given us in Jesus.  St. Paul shows us how to do that.  In a day when far too many Christians think the Old Testament is irrelevant, Paul reminds how important it is to remember that those scriptures were written for our learning.  Paul knew those Scriptures inside-out and outside-in.  He knew they were the story of his people.  And when he met the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, Jesus didn't make those scriptures irrelevant.  Just the opposite, Jesus revealed himself to Paul as the beginning and the end and the centre of those scriptures—and of Israel's story.  That wasn't an easy thing to absorb, but Paul knew he had to.  He retreated for a few years into solitude to think it through and to work it all out. The story Paul knew was about his people, brought by the Lord into covenant with himself, who were to bring his redemption to a fallen humanity and a fallen world.  The story had been worked out through a great deal of grief and suffering—a lot of it brought on themselves by their sin—but it would eventually come to its glorious fulfilment in the Messiah, who would represent them, and who would vindicate them somehow through his own suffering.  And now, in Jesus, it had all happened.  This was the big shock for Paul.  He and so many others had been waiting for an end to the story, but the moment he met the risen Jesus, he was forced to acknowledge that Jesus really is the Messiah—and as the Messiah, Jesus is the end, or better, the fulfilment of it all.  From Jesus he then read backwards and came to understand the story of the people of God through Jesus.  That's not an easy thing to do.  Again, Paul had to go off into solitude for a good long while to sort it out for himself.  Thankfully, he's done the heavy lifting for us. Paul shows us how this kind of Jesus-centred approach to the story is done in the verses that follow.  Here's what he writes: May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with the Messiah, Jesus, so that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus the Messiah.  Therefore welcome one another as the Messiah has welcomed you, for the glory of God.  (Romans 15:5-7) Paul highlights the humility of Jesus.  First, he humbled himself to be born one of us and then he humbled himself further, not only taking on himself the jeers and rejection of his people, but ultimately submitting himself to the humility of death on a cross.  In our Gospels the last two weeks we saw Jesus hailed as King.  By rights, Jesus could have taken his throne by violence, but to take his throne that way would not have fulfilled his messianic mission.  Instead, Jesus humbled himself in obedience to his Father's plan of redemption.  That's the model.  It was the model already established in Israel's story.  The Messiah of the servant people had to be a servant, himself.  And that's now the model of the Church's life, too.  The Church cannot fulfil her mission by demanding our rights.  That's not to say that there isn't a place for “rights” in the world.  That's not to say that the Church shouldn't take a stand to protect the rights of others when necessary.  What it means is that to walk with Jesus, to be stewards of his royal summons and the fruit of the Spirit, means putting others before ourselves.  The Roman Christians needed to follow Jesus' example in this in order to settle their differences—not just for their own sake, but for the sake of the calling the Lord had given them.  This is the really important part for Paul.  Getting along is great, but getting along for the sake of getting along, unity for the sake of unity isn't the point.  Being united and loving one another, showing Jesus-like humility prepares us for something bigger.  This is about the Church's stewardship of the gospel. And here's the thing that's really neat here.  We see Paul applying the same principles—working back from Israel's story—again as he writes about the mission of the church.  Here's what he writes in verse 8: For I tell you: The Messiah became a servant to the circumcised people in order to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs, and to bring the nations to glorify God for his mercy.   He's saying that there's a connection between the promise God made all those centuries ago to Abraham and this group of struggling Christians in Rome.  First—and he brings us back to the humility of Jesus—the Messiah humbled himself and became a servant to the circumcised people.  That's the Jews, the people of the old covenant, Abraham's family.  Jesus became a servant to them.  Paul's talking about how Jesus died for their sins.  I know we like to quote John 3:16 and talk about how Jesus died for the whole world.  Jesus did die for the sins of everyone, but we need to be careful when we say that, so that we don't short-circuit the story.  Jesus died for the sins of his own people.  Even the way in which he died, crucified by the Romans, was the very death that the unrepentant Jews would face a generation later.  Jesus died for his own people in order to establish a new covenant and a new covenant people—a new Israel.  It's vitally important to remember this, because Jesus did this in order to show that God is faithful to his promises.  First, in Jesus, God was faithful to his promises to renew his people—to redeem them from sin and to fill them with his own Spirit and to gather them to himself from the nations where they had been scattered.  Think of that remarkable scene at Pentecost, Jews from all over the world brought together and unified by the good news and the pouring out of God's Spirit.  But then, as a result of this amazing work done through Jesus and the Spirit, the Gentiles can't help but notice.  Israel had been unfaithful to God and because of that the Gentiles mocked her and they mocked the Lord.  “Where is your God?” they would jeer.  And yet now, even despite Israel's faithlessness, God fulfilled his promises in this group of people proclaiming Jesus as Messiah, and the Gentiles couldn't help but take notice.  God had done something amazing with his own seemingly hopeless people and it prompted the Gentiles—a few at first, but eventually they far outnumbered the Jews themselves—it prompted the gentiles to glorify the God of Israel and to want to know more.  As Zechariah had prophesied: In those days ten men from the nations of every tongue shall take hold of the robe of a Jew, saying, ‘Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.'”  (Zechariah 8:23) And Paul makes this point in our Epistle, quoting more psalms that tie the mission of the Church to the Lord's promises to Abraham and to Israel's mission.  In verse 9 Paul quotes Psalm 18:49. This is the Psalmist celebrating the victory that God had given him—one that even the Gentiles would take note of. “That is why I will praise you among the nations,          and sing to your name.”   And next Paul quotes Moses in Deuteronomy as he calls the nations to rejoice along with Israel over the victory of God: “Rejoice, O nations, with his people.”   And, similarly, Psalm 117:1 “Praise the Lord, all you nations,          and let all the peoples extol him.”   And he ends with Isaiah 11:10: “The root of Jesse will come,          even he who arises to rule the nations; in him will the nations hope.”   “In him will the nations hope.”  We're back to hope again—the root of faith.  The root of Jesse—remember we talked about the new shoot growing out of the dead stump Sunday before last—the Messiah will not only set Israel to rights and rule over the nations, but he will do it in such a way that he will become their hope as well.  Paul is showing that all along, ever since Abraham, God's purpose was to work through Israel, not just for the sake of Israel, but for the sake of the whole world.  Jesus became a servant of the circumcised, so that the watching gentile nations (the uncircumcised) see what he was doing and would glorify God and be drawn to him in faith.  Jesus has done his part.  Now the Church is called to do hers—to proclaim to Jews and Gentiles alike what the God of Israel has done through Jesus. Paul saw an urgency in this calling and we get a sense of why in our Gospel.  Today's Gospel is taken from Luke 21, from what's often called Jesus' “Olivet Discourse”—a talk Jesus had with his disciples near the end of his ministry.  In it he told them about the coming judgement on Jerusalem and on unrepentant Israel.  Here's what Jesus says: “There will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars, and on the earth the nations will be in distress and confusion because of the roaring of the sea and the waves.  People will faint with fear and from imagining all that's going to happen to the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.  (St. Luke 21:25-26) In the verses just before this, Jesus gives us the setting.  Armies have surrounded Jerusalem and the city will be trampled underfoot.  In our verses here he draws on the language of the Old Testament prophets to describe the turmoil of those days.  Isaiah, for example, wrote of the judgement that was to come on Babylon, saying that the “the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light” (13:10).  Ezekiel uses the same kind of language to describe the judgement that was coming on Egypt (32:7) and Joel to describe the calamity that was coming to Jerusalem in its destruction by Babylon (2:10).  If we take these images literally, we end up missing the fulfilment of these prophecies.  It's apocalyptic—over the top—language meant to give a sense of disaster and everything falling apart.  The Lord holds creation together in his hands, he sustains it all, but in his judgement it's as though he's withdrawn his hands, creation comes apart and chaos takes over.  It makes sense.  Those who reject the Lord get a taste of what it's like to live without him. Continuing to draw on the language of the prophets, Jesus goes on: Then they will see “the son of man coming on a cloud” with power and great glory.  Now when these things start to happen, straighten up and lift your heads, because the time has come for you to be redeemed.”  (Luke 21:27-28) Jesus takes this language straight from Daniel 7:13.  The son of man—the one who represents Israel, the Messiah whom the people rejected and crucified, the Messiah for whom the little community of Jewish Christians has been persecuted—the Messiah will come on the clouds with power and glory.  This is not an image of Jesus' final return at the end of time.  It can't be, as we'll see just a few verses on, because it's already happened.  Instead, the passage Jesus draws on in Daniel describes the son of man, not coming on the clouds down to the earth, but ascending on the clouds up to the Ancient of Days, to receive “dominion and glory and a kingdom” (7:14).  What Jesus is describing is his own vindication as Messiah and the vindication of those who have believed in him, despite being persecuted by their fellow Jews.  He goes on in verses 29-33: He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree, and all the trees.  When they are well into leaf, you see for yourselves and know that the summer is already near.  So also, when you see these things taking place, you will know that the kingdom of God is near.  Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all this has taken place.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.   Jesus' friends will follow in his footsteps as they face rejection and persecution.  He has given them the task of proclaiming the good news about him in Jerusalem and Judea and to the whole world.  Like the old prophets, their task is to issue the royal summons, calling scattered Israel to the King.  Many will hear the summons and believe, but they will face persecution and death at the hands of their brethren who reject the Messiah.  But both Jesus and his people will be vindicated when unbelieving Israel faces judgement.  And Jesus gives them hope and a sense of urgency.  This time of awful persecution will not last forever.  Within their generation it will come to an end.  But that also means that the clock is running on their mission to carry the gospel to their fellow Jews.  This is why St. Paul urged his readers in last Sunday's Epistle to wake up and to put on the armour of light.  The night is far gone and the day is at hand. Jesus' final words in the Gospel bring us back full circle to the petition of our Collect.  Jesus assures his disciples that his words will not pass away.  Specifically, he's assuring them that what he's said will happen within their lifetime will indeed happen.  And, of course, from our perspective we can look back to the events leading up to Jerusalem's destruction in a.d. 70 and see that God is, indeed, faithful and that his word is true. But, of course, the destruction of Jerusalem and the vindication of Jesus' people in that time isn't the end of the story.  It took the other disciples time to see that there was more to the fulfilment of Israel's story, but Paul had worked this part out as we see in our Epistle.  The Lord did not save the faithful remnant of Israel for their sake alone.  Israel's calling was always to be a light to the Gentiles.  Israel's calling was always to carry the Lord's salvation to the nations.  And so in the events of a.d. 70, we see again the faithfulness of God in the vindication of Jesus the Messiah and of his people, and we see another horizon, one in which the gospel goes out from Jerusalem and Judaea to Samaria and eventually to the whole world, not only summoning the scattered sheep of Israel, but drawing in the nations as they see the faithfulness of God and come to him in faith to give him glory.  And here we have no timeline and no expiration date.  We have only the promise that one day the knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.  There will be ups and downs as history shows, but the kingdom of Jesus will go marching on until, empowered by the Spirit, the Church fulfils her gospel mission.  It may be a thousand years or a hundred thousand years, but we can trust that as God has been faithful in the past, he will be faithful to the very end.  His Word does not return void.  He has not poured out his Spirit on his Church in vain.  Our hope is sure and certain because his word tells us so.  And in that, Brothers and Sisters, we ought to find exhortation to be faithful ourselves; to live in humble unity, one for another; to live and to proclaim the gospel boldly and courageously until our Lord returns to bring all of God's promises to the final fulfilment. Let's pray: Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: help us so to hear them, to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them that, through patience, and the comfort of your holy word, we may embrace and for ever hold fast the hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.

As the apostle Paul continues to unpack the new realities of life for the early Roman Christians, he challenges them to live transformed lives—lives worthy of the grace and mercy they received in Jesus. Join us to study Paul's teaching in Romans 12-13 and discover how we might live in light of the gospel, renew our minds, and be living sacrifices for God. Let's walk with Paul through the process of discerning what transformed living means for our civic life. And finally, let us reflect on Paul's declaration that love is at the heart of a transformed life. As Christ followers today we can demonstrate the same love and compassion as Jesus Christ because of the help of the Holy Spirit. So how are we putting on Christ and being conformed to his likeness, and not conformed to the pattern of this world?

When I was in Rome last month, I watched the 'synod on synodality' fizzle out while the Marko Rupnik sex scandal took another sinister turn (and various Catholic journalists shamefully tried to suppress the story). But don't worry: this episode of Holy Smoke is devoted to more uplifting matters. I visited the ancient little church of Saints Cosmas and Damian on the edge of the Forum, which incorporates the remains of a pagan temple and a secular Roman basilica or meeting place. The contrast between the darkness of one and the light of the other had powerful theological significance for those Roman Christians who were encouraged to build their first official churches by Constantine. And I was lucky to have it explained to me by one of the world's leading architectural historians, Dr Elizabeth Lev. We spoke, sometimes sotto voce, inside the little church, with tour guides and visitors swirling around us. So, apologies for the inevitable background noise, but I hope you'll agree that it doesn't get in the way of Liz's gripping narrative. 

When I was in Rome last month, I watched the 'synod on synodality' fizzle out while the Marko Rupnik sex scandal took another sinister turn (and various Catholic journalists shamefully tried to suppress the story). But don't worry: this episode of Holy Smoke is devoted to more uplifting matters. I visited the ancient little church of Saints Cosmas and Damian on the edge of the Forum, which incorporates the remains of a pagan temple and a secular Roman basilica or meeting place. The contrast between the darkness of one and the light of the other had powerful theological significance for those Roman Christians who were encouraged to build their first official churches by Constantine. And I was lucky to have it explained to me by one of the world's leading architectural historians, Dr Elizabeth Lev. We spoke, sometimes sotto voce, inside the little church, with tour guides and visitors swirling around us. So, apologies for the inevitable background noise, but I hope you'll agree that it doesn't get in the way of Liz's gripping narrative. 

11/5/23. Five Minutes in the Word scriptures for today: Romans 1:7-10. Paul includes the Roman Christians in God's plan. Resources: enduringword.com; biblehub.com; logos.com; Matthew Henry Commentary; and Life Application Study Bible. November 2021 Podchaser list of "60 Best Podcasts to Discover!" Listen, like, follow, share! #MinutesWord; @MinutesWord; #dailydevotional #christianpodcaster Now on Amazon podcasts and Pandora! #prayforpeace

11/3/23. Five Minutes in the Word scriptures for today: Romans 1:1. Paul introduces himself to the Roman Christians. Resources: enduringword.com; biblehub.com; logos.com; Matthew Henry Commentary; and Life Application Study Bible. November 2021 Podchaser list of "60 Best Podcasts to Discover!" Listen, like, follow, share! #MinutesWord; @MinutesWord; #dailydevotional #christianpodcaster Now on Amazon podcasts and Pandora! #prayforpeace

The apostle Paul reminds anxious Roman Christians of the blessings they now possess since they have the Spirit of adoption.

     God the Father is seen as the initiator, planner, and orchestrator of the salvation of mankind, and this because He is loving, merciful, and kind, and “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim 2:4), and is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). Salvation is necessary because of the problem of sin in the human race. All mankind is utterly helpless to bring about a remedy by human effort (Rom 3:10, 23; 5:6-10; Gal 2:16, 21; 3:21-22). Everyone is said to be “darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart” (Eph 4:18), and “dead” in their “trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1; cf., Col 2:13). This refers to spiritual death, which means separation from God. We are trapped in sin and stand guilty before a holy and righteous God and are completely unable to save ourselves. Wiersbe observes: The unbeliever is not sick; he is dead! He does not need resuscitation; he needs resurrection. All lost sinners are dead, and the only difference between one sinner and another is the state of decay. The lost derelict on skid row may be more decayed outwardly than the unsaved society leader, but both are dead in sin—and one corpse cannot be more dead than another! This means that our world is one vast graveyard, filled with people who are dead while they live (1 Tim 5:6).[1] If God had not made a way for us to be saved, we would be forever lost. Lightner states: God is the only one who could solve the problem which man's sin presented to Him. After man's fall God the Father began in time the plan of salvation which He devised before time began. This divine plan centered in his divine Son: “He gave His only begotten Son” because He “so loved the world” (John 3:16). “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us” (1 John 3:16). “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only-begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him” (1 John 4:9).[2]      But God intervened. He broke into time and space and displayed His mercy, love, and grace upon mankind. The apostle Paul wrote: But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Eph 2:4-9)      The Father's actions are based on His love for all mankind. He loves because of who He is and not because of the beauty or worth of the object. Scripture reveals that “God is Love” (1 John 4:8), which means love is part of His nature. God loves because it is His nature to love. The Father's eternal plan for salvation      God the Father's soteriological work is traced back to what He planned before time began. He was motivated to provide for our salvation before we existed. According to Lightner, “We are often led to believe that our salvation began when we made our decision to trust Christ as Savior. The fact is, God was at work on our behalf long before that time.”[3] Paul wrote that God the Father “chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him” (Eph 1:4). That the Father elected us to salvation is straightforward in this passage, and the doctrine of election will be addressed later in this work. For now, this passage is noted because it speaks of the Father's salvation-work “before the foundation of the world.” According to Lightner: God the Father's work in salvation centers primarily in what he did before time began. With infinite love and compassion he acted on our behalf even before we were born. Paul told the Ephesian Christians that they had been chosen in Christ by the Father before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4). To the Roman Christians the same apostle wrote about the Father's foreknowledge, predestination, and call of them before time (Rom 8:29–30). Peter, writing to saints scattered throughout Asia Minor, described them as “elect” of God the Father (1 Pet 1:2). While evangelicals differ on how these and other such passages are to be understood, they all agree that God the Father initiated the plan of salvation in eternity past.[4]      God's election starts with His sovereign choice, but also includes the individual choices of those who trust in Christ as Savior. Both are true. Though there is tension at this point—and this because of limited information and limited human capacity to comprehend—both God's sovereignty and human volition must be acknowledged at the same time. Lightner states, “God the Father is sovereign. He must be to be God. Human responsibility is just as biblical as divine sovereignty. Jesus stressed both. Jesus said no one can come to him unless drawn by the Father but he also said none who come to him would be cast out (John 6:37).”[5]And Paul Enns states, “While there is human responsibility in salvation, there is first a divine side to salvation in which God sovereignly acts to secure the sinner's salvation.”[6]The Christian must be content to live with this tension and not try to force a solution one way or another.      The salvation of mankind, with all its details, was fully comprehended and planned by God the Father from eternity past. It's not as though God was surprised by the fall of Lucifer and mankind. He is eternal, and His plan is eternal. Lightner states, “We must never view salvation as an afterthought or as the only possible way out of a hopeless dilemma on the part of God. The plan of salvation is as eternal as God is. God was not shocked when Satan and then man fell. He is eternal, and his plan is from eternity past to eternity future.”[7] God the Father commissioned God the Son      God the Father commissioned God the Son to provide our salvation. God the Son agreed to the Father's mission, came into the world, added humanity to Himself, and executed the Father's plan perfectly. Though Jesus said and did many things during His time on earth, of which many books have been written, His primary mission was to save sinners. Jesus said, “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), and “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Jesus lived a sinless life and then sacrificed Himself on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of humanity. Through His death, burial, and resurrection, salvation is offered to all who believe in Him as Savior. Bruce Ware notes, “In eternity, the Father commissioned the Son who then willingly laid aside the glory He had with the Father to come and purchase our pardon and renewal.”[8] God the Father sent the Son to die      It was the Father's will for the Son to go to the cross to die for lost sinners, and the Son willingly went to His death and bore the Father's wrath in our place. This was explained in Isaiah, where the prophet wrote about the Suffering Servant, saying, “But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering” (Isa 53:10a). It is simultaneously true that the Father sent and the Son went. In the Gospel of John, we're told, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17). Jesus said, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent” (John 6:29), and “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). The apostle John wrote, “God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10), and “the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14). Walvoord states: Jesus Christ's main purpose in coming to the world…was to provide salvation for those who put their trust in Him. Jesus expressed this in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.” In His public ministry Jesus spoke of many truths, and His teachings were so comprehensive that a systematic theology could be written based on what He said and taught. However, this was a background to His dying on the cross for our sins. In this supreme act of dying, He fulfilled His main purpose in becoming incarnate, of being “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).[9]     [1] Ibid., 18. [2] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology: A Historical, Biblical, and Contemporary Survey and Review (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 1995), 189–190. [3] Ibid., 192. [4] Ibid., 191. [5] Ibid., 191. [6] Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 328. [7] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology, 192. [8] Bruce A. Ware, “Tampering with the Trinity: Does the Son Submit to His Father?,” in Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood, ed. Wayne Grudem, Foundations for the Family Series (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2002), 248. [9] John F. Walvoord, What We Believe, 73.

Friends of the Rosary: We celebrate today the memorial day of Our Lady of Snow (la Virgen Blanca, in Spanish), a feast related to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, one of the illustrious churches in Rome. This feast commemorates the miracle of the snowfall that occurred during the night of August 4-5 in the year 358 on the site where the basilica now stands. According to tradition, the Virgin Mary appeared in a dream to two faithful Roman Christians, the patrician John and his wife, as well as to Pope Liberius (352-366), asking that a church be built in her honor on the site where snow would fall on the night of August 4-5. The basilica was completed about a century later by Pope Sixtus III (432-440), after the Council of Ephesus in 431 during which Mary was declared to be the Mother of God. Congratulations to all the women named Blanca o Maria Blanca (white, in Spanish). Also today we join in our prayer Pope Francis and all the participants in WYD in Fatima. They all faithfully prayed the Joyful Mysteries. Ave Maria!Jesus, I Trust In You!Our Lady of Snow, Pray for Us! To Jesus through Mary! + Mikel A. | RosaryNetwork.com, New York • ⁠August 5, 2023, Today's Rosary on YouTube | Daily broadcast at 7:30 pm ET

In July 64AD, the Great Fire of Rome tore across the city, and ultimately burnt two thirds of Rome to ashes before it could be bought under control. A devastating event that can still be seen in the archaeology today, it ultimately led to the first persecution against the early Roman Christians. With legends of the narcissistic Nero playing the fiddle as his city burnt around him, and conspiracy theories as to who actually started this catastrophic blaze - what actually happened in July 64AD?In this episode Tristan welcomes Professor Ginna Closs to the podcast to help shine a light on this murky day in Roman history. Looking at the ancient fire brigade that eventually helped to quell the blaze, the legacy that Nero left, and ultimately how the city was rebuilt - it's fair to say the Great Fire of Rome was a defining moment in history. So what really happened, and what can we learn from the new evidence coming to light?For more Ancients content, subscribe to our Ancients newsletter here. If you'd like to learn even more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad free podcasts and audiobooks at History Hit - subscribe today! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

He grew up in Milan and became an army officer, where he distinguished himself so well that the Emperor Diocletian made him captain of the Praetorian Guard not suspecting that Sebastian was a Christian. In Rome, while fulfilling the duties of a courtier, he used his position to comfort and encourage his imprisoned fellow-Christians. By his labors and example he brought many to faith in Christ, including Chromatius, the Prefect in charge of persecuting the Roman Christians.   Sebastian had upheld two brothers, Mark and Marcellinus, who were awaiting execution for their faith. When the day of execution came, their father Tranquillinus, who had been a pagan but through Sebastian's example had converted, presented himself to Chromatius and announced that he too was a Christian. His testimony was so powerful that the hard heart of the Prefect was melted, and he himself resolved to become a Christian.   Caius, Bishop of Rome, gathered the new brethren (both men and women — not all of Sebastian's converts have been mentioned here) to embrace them and baptize them, but also to warn them of their coming Martyrdom. He instructed some to flee the city and others, headed by Sebastian, to remain in Rome, devoting their days to fasting, prayer and thanksgiving as they awaited their death. As the "company of Martyrs" did this, many came to them and were healed of ailments, and many joined them in confessing Christ.   When the time of martyrdom came, each member of the company was subjected to imaginatively cruel tortures before his execution. Sebastian himself was made to witness the deaths of all his companions, then to endure his own trial. He serenely confessed his unshaken faith before Diocletian himself before being taken to the place of execution. There he was tied to a post and made the target of a band of archers until his body bristled with arrows like the quills of a porcupine. He was left for dead, but when Irene, widow of St Castulus, came to bury him, she found him alive and tended his wounds. Amazingly, he recovered, and presented himself once again to the Emperor. Astonished and outraged, the tyrant ordered that Sebastian be beaten to death with clubs and thrown into the city's sewer. That evening, a pious Christian woman was told in a vision to retrieve his body and bury it in the catacombs. After St Constantine brought peace to the Church, Pope Damasus built a church over the site in the Saint's honor. For hundreds of years, many miracles were worked there through St Sebastian's intercessions.

The Bible is clear—the evidence of our faith in Christ is seen in our love for others. 1 John 4:19-20 says, "If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." In this episode of Real Christianity, pastor Dale Partridge preaches through Romans 1:8-15 where the Apostle continues his salutation to the Roman Christians. In this passage, it becomes evident that Paul both loves and longs to be with other Christians. Is this desire true of you? Do you love and long to be with God's people? In this sermon, Paul's example becomes a helpful measuring rod against our own affections for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Let's look to Paul's words and see how we might find wisdom in strengthening our relationships with the brethren.