Sermons

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? What are some important differences between chronos time and kairos (KIY-rawce) time in the Bible?
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? What does it mean, practically speaking, that Jesus has ushered in a “time” of prophetic expectation and fulfillment?
3. Our 2nd question (1st question last week “What Time Is It? – It’s the Time of Fulfillment) is about “responding” appropriately to the correct time. In Romans 13 Paul describes it in an unusual way. What does he say?
4. Reflect on the significance of clothing. In addition to white lab coats, military uniforms, tie-dyed tees, and yellow vests, what are some highly symbolic forms of dress today?
5. Pastor Derek is going to offer numerous examples from the Bible. They will be introduced only briefly & with scripture references. Jot down any details you find interesting.
   1. Adam & Eve’s garments of skin (Gen 3:21)
   2. Jewish tabernacle (Exodus 26:14)
   3. Elijah’s mantle (2 Kings 2:13-14)
   4. Aaron’s priestly vestments (Num 20:26)
   5. Jonathan’s princely robe and gear (1 Sam 18:4)
   6. Derek mentions more examples. List them & summarize the things that can be “signified” by the clothing one puts on.
   7. The Gideon reference in Judges 6:34 is unusual. How does it add to our understanding of clothes and symbols?
6. Imagine that all the garments mentioned above are ours to choose from on hangers in our closets. But Derek says that a wardrobe full of symbols isn’t as good as the real thing. What does he mean by that? What’s the point of all this?

1. Let’s begin with a thought experiment. How would you spend the final year of your life? The final hour?
2. Our subject this morning focuses on language and time. Our two key words are KRAW-nawee and KIY-rawce (Greek pronunciations for time). They both refer to time, but how are they different?
3. In Romans 13:11 Paul says, “Besides this, since you know the time, it is already the hour for you to wake up from sleep.” Is it significant that he is referring to KIY-rawce time? Why or why not? What is Paul getting at?

1. The main point of our brief passage is clear enough. But Pastor Derek suggests that the WHY and the HOW are trickier. What does he mean by that?
2. What does Paul mean in v 8 when he writes, “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another”?
3. What does the fall of the Jewish theocracy have to do with Paul’s admonition to love?
4. In what sense does love “fulfill” the law?
5. Are Christians “lawless” in the sense that they don’t live according to rules? What does Paul mean when he writes that Christians are not under law but under grace?
6. Pastor Derek says repeatedly that law and love take you to the same place. What does he mean by that? Where do they take you?
7. We might be tempted to think that the Beatles came up with the idea of love’s “centrality”, but they didn’t. List some Bible verses that anchor love in the center of the Christian faith.
8. What do people mean when they say that you can’t love alone? What does it suggest about the tripersonal nature of God?
9. Some things change, some things don’t. What’s the point, and what does it have to do with love?
10. Think of ways you can be more loving in word, deed, and habit throughout the coming week.

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? We begin by reflecting on human governments. Who instituted them? Are they legitimate? Do Christians have to obey them? How shall we think about such things?
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? What do we mean by “fine print”?
3. We continue our study of men and women in the Bible who disobeyed the authorities (apparently with God’s approval and the lessons we can learn from them.
4. Exception #4: Rahab and the spies (Joshua 2). Notice the amazing parallels between the exodus and the Rahab story (listed in no particular order – and there are others!):
   1. The Hebrews cross the Red Sea in Egypt; at Jericho they cross the Jordan
   2. There’s a circumcision ceremony in both
   3. There’s a red sign of protection in both (Passover blood & a scarlet cord)
   4. Moses is hidden in a leafy basket; the spies ae hidden under leafy plants on the roof
   5. The midwives’ families are blessed; Rahab’s family is spared
   6. The midwives fear God; Rahab confesses the God of Israel
   7. The angel of death passes over Egypt; Joshua meets the angelic captain of the Lord’s hosts with sword drawn
   8. Egypt is ruined; Jericho is ruined
   9. The midwives lie to the king of Egypt; Rahab lies to the king of Jericho
5. What’s the point? What can we learn about God and redemptive history from these similarities?
6. Exception #5: Peter and John before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4-5)
7. When we put our exceptions together, what themes and lessons emerge?
8. If the state orders us to worship an image or renounce Christ, the biblical response is obvious. Don’t do it! But we live in a world of nuance and gray. What are some principles that can help us make our way through times when the biblical response is less clear?
9. The exceptions are numerous – and significant – but we dare not let them overshadow the rule. What is the rule of Romans 13?
10. How does Paul show that he is a good citizen of heaven? Of Rome? What are some lessons we can take away from his example?

1. We begin by thinking about “fine print” in the Bible. What is it?
2. Pastor Derek says that the Passover calendar, inheritance rights, the Tenth Commandment, and the NT work ethic (2 Thess 3:10) all have exceptions (“fine print”) attached to them. What does he mean?
3. DO YOU REMEMBER? We have described the NT era as a transition from “theocracy” to “common grace”. What challenges might this present to Christians living then or living now?
4. What does Paul have to say in Romans 13 about the relationship between Christians and the state?
5. For the next couple of weeks, we will be looking at some exceptions (“fine print”) to the general rule of submission to the state. You may want to reflect on the relevant passages on your own. This week we will focus on three cases of “civil disobedience” in the Bible.
6. Examples of “Fine Print” in the Bible: Disobedience to orders (positive commands)
   1. The Hebrew Midwives in Egypt (Exod 1:15-21): The midwives defy Pharoah’s order to kill Hebrew baby boys & are blessed for fearing God
   2. Daniel’s Prayer of Defiant Devotion (Dan 6): Daniel refuses to venerate Darius or even interrupt his daily prayer regimen
   3. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego won’t bow down of Nebuchadnezzar’s gold image (Dan 3). Mordecai won’t bow to Haman.
   4. Disobeying the Commander in Chief (1 Sam 14:24ff.): Saul’s soldiers prevent the execution of Jonathan and , later, the priests of Nob (1 Sam 22:17)
   5. Moses’ parents hide him, contrary to Pharaoh’s decree (Exod 1:22-2:2)
7. Summarize the Bible’s handling of “fine print” when it comes to submitting to state authority.
8. We’re ready to propose some (tentative) lessons that can be learned from all this. When Paul’s says we must be subject to the governing authorities, what does he mean? What doesn’t he mean?
9. What it the 1st takeaway?
10. What is the 2nd takeaway?
11. What is the 3rd takeaway?

1. Pastor Derek begins by “connecting” two important scriptures – one in the Old Testament and one in the New. What are they, and what are some of the themes that hold them together?
2. Did you bring your colored pencils? 🙂 Circle the words “avenger” (Rom 13:) and, earlier, “revenge” and “vengeance” (Rom 12:19) in red. What do yuo see? What’s the point?
3. Why don’t we need to avenge ourselves when it comes to insults and injuries? (cf. 1 Peter 2:23).
4. What do the “household codes” of Ephesians 5:21-6:9, Colossians 3:18-4:1, and 1 Peter 2:13-3:7 have to do with Romans 13:1-8? What do they say about humanity?
5. What does Pastor Derek mean, “That’s the world we live in”? What does it have to do with Jesus?

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? What is a theocracy? What does the word mean? What does a biblical theocracy look like?
2. What do we mean when we say the Old Testament Israel is the only true theocracy? What about Afghanistan under the Taliban?
3. What are some of the earthly blessings that are associated with living in a theocracy? What do the blessings (and other physical distinctions) reveal to the watching world?
4. What are the two historical events, generally speaking, that “bookend” Israel’s theocracy?
5. We do not live in a theocracy today. Using concepts from the Bible, how can we describe non-theocratic governments, including our own?
6. The Bible has much to say about common grace governments, as in Romans 13. How are they different from theocracies?
7. In preparation for our transition to Romans 13 next week, there are three points to be emphasized about common grace governments. What’s the first one?
8. How do we know that God has entrusted humans with the “sword” of justice?
9. What is a second point we should consider about common grace governments?
10. How can human governments restrain sin? What does 1 Timothy 2:1-2 have to say about it?
11. What is a third point to emphasize in the Bible’s teaching about common grace governments?

1. We begin by pulling back the “safety seal” on the book Revelation. What do we see?
2. John’s apocalyptic vision in Rev 12, the judgment pronounced in Gen 3:15, and the instructions Paul gives in Rom 12: They all point in the same direction. Where’s that?
3. What does persecution have to do with the new age and “living new” in the midst of it?
4. We begin with two hard facts. What’s the 1st fact?
5. What’s the 2nd hard fact about persecution?
6. Pastor Derek suggests three things that can strengthen our resolve to respond obediently to persecution. What’s the 1st thing?
7. What role could Jesus’ commitment to this people play when they’re being bullied or hurt – or worse?
8. What is the “connection” between Jesus’ response to persecution and our response? Explain.
9. How can thinking about the future help us bear up under persecution?

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? What does it mean to say that Christians are living in a new age? When did the new age start? What is it like?
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? What does Romans 12:3-8 have to do with the new age? What about vs 9-21?
3. Our 1st theme from last week was about living new as a matter of personal renewal. This morning we turn to our 2nd theme. What is it?
4. What are some passages in vs 9-21 that focus on interpersonal relationships in the church and their importance in the new age?
5. How does “humility” fit within this theme? Is it possible to be humble all by yourself on a desert island? What’s the point?
6. What does a healthy, biblical church have to offer unbelievers in the 21st century? What’s the point?
7. What is our 3rd theme?
8. What evidence can you point to in vs 9-21 that shows Paul’s interest in helping believers live new before a watching world?
9. What does Paul mean in Romans 12:17 when he urges believers to respect what is right (NASB) – or give thought to do what is honorable (ESV) or be careful to do what is right (NIV) – in the sight of all men? Who are “all” the men? What’s the point?
10. How do we account for the numerous “persecution” passages in Romans 12? How should Christians respond to worldly hostility?
11. Based on Romans 12, summarize what you think it means to live new in an old world?

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? Why do we think that Romans 12 is about the “turning” of the ages? What does that even mean?
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? How does the idea of “ages” help us understand Romans 9-11? How does it help us understand Romans 12?
3. What is the connection between this morning’s passage (vs. 9-21) and last week’s (vs. 3-8)?
4. Scan vs 9-21. How would you characterize these verses? How is the theme of “good and evil” evident throughout the passage?
5. Several verses in our passage (but not all of them) can be grouped under the heading “Good and Evil in the Heart.” What are the verses? What do they say about living in the new age?

1. It can be helpful to think about redemptive history as a series of successive “ages”, each with its own distinct character. (Don’t confuse this with J.N. Darby’s discredited “dispensations.”) Reflect on the cool graph below:
   • Stage 1 Abram / Patriarchs – Genesis 12
   • Stage 2 Israel / Theocracy – Exodus 12
   • Stage 3 Christ / Church – Easter
2. What kind of changes may come upon a person transitioning from Stage 1 to Stage 2? From Stage 2 to Stage 3?
3. Paul is writing to the Romans – a church in the middle of such a transition. What does he have to say to Christians coming out of the theocracy?
4. What did the early monastic movement get wrong?
5. Describe the challenges of “individualism” in 2026. What biblical principle is at stake?
6. When we say that Paul emphasizes “grace” in our passage, what do we mean? How are his apostleship and the gifts in the church related?
7. What does Paul mean when he writes, “as God has allotted to each a measure of faith”? What verb does the phrase modify? Why does it matter?
8. Spirit-filled “bodies” call several biblical scenes to mind. What are some? What do they have to do with Romans 12?
9. The seven “gifts” in vs 6-8 are likely just a general description of the church. Comment: ___________________________________________
10. The church age is a remarkable “stage” in redemptive history. What is it supposed to look like? What’s “new” about it? To what end?

1. The Puritans have much to teach. Pastor Derek emphasizes a New England motto – “All grace passes through the understanding.” It’s easy to miss what the Puritans meant by that. What were they getting at? What didn’t they mean?
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? Romans 12:2 reads, “Do not be conformed to this world.” Can you offer a better translation? What does it mean for our understanding of Romans 12 and the gospel?
3. This morning’s lesson will focus on three Bible characters who stood, in a manner of speaking, at a special crisis of decision. Who is Person #1? What does he have to teach about the old/new age?
4. What was the real “lure” of Adam’s temptation? If not a mouthwatering Honeycrisp, then what?
5. Who is Person #2? What does he have to teach about the old/new age?
6. The “crisis” facing Israel in 1 Samuel 8 is fascinating and remarkably relevant. How is it applicable in our lives today?
7. Church life is uniquely vulnerable to “peer pressure”. Why is that? What are some of the pressures facing local churches today? What’s at stake?
8. Who is Person #3? What does he have to teach about the old/new age?
9. What does Peter’s interaction with Jesus reveal about the messianic kingdom? Why did Peter find it especially jarring? How does this resonate with our lives today?
10. DON’T YOU FORGET! Romans 12:3-21 should be read as the application of vs 1-2. What does it look like when a believer resists conformity to the old age and is transformed instead according to the new? It looks a lot like vs 3-21!

1. There are lots of ways to offer oneself to God. What is the context Paul has in mind in Romans 12:1, when he writes, “Present your bodies …”? Is he thinking about worship in church or some other special ceremony?
2. Pastor Derek emphasizes the fact that “world” in v. 2 could just as easily read “age”. (Note that the Holman Christian Standard Bible translates “world” (i-own) as “age.) Why does this matter?
3. Many believe that in Romans 12:1-2, Paul is thinking about the Levitical system of animal sacrifices in the Old Testament. What clues can you point to that suggest the apostle has Jewish temple worship on the brain?
4. How do vs 3-21 logically follow Romans 12:1-2? In other words, how are they related?
5. In this morning’s passage, Paul is making a contrast between Christianity and Judaism. What other contrast is he making? What’s the point?
6. In what sense can we call paganism – ancient and modern – a religion that belongs to the old “age”?
7. Pagan worship is idolatrous and Jewish worship is obsolete. What does Romans 12 have to say about what is acceptable to God in this new age?
8. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT: Think about the difference between a sin offering and a thanksgiving offering, as a way to make sense of Jesus’ sacrifice and our own.
9. THINK about the difference between justification and sanctification, as a way to make sense of Jesus’ sacrifice and our own.

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? Last week we focused on the “therefore” in Romans 12:1. How does presenting one’s body to God logically follow Paul’s teaching in Romans 1-11? What’s the difference there for?
2. Pastor Derek offers two more reasons why Paul refers to bodies in Romans 12:1. What is reason #2?
3. What does presenting our bodies to God have to do with the church? What’s the connection?
4. What is reason #3 that accounts for Paul’s body language in Romans 12:1?
5. What does any of this have to do with Jews and Gentiles being reconciled finally in Christ? (See Galatians 3:28-29; Ephesians 2:14-16 & 3:6; Colossians 3:10-11).

1. Pastor Derek emphasizes the “transition” between Romans 11:36 and Romans 12:1. Describe it in your own words, and reflect briefly on what it means.
2. Complete the following puzzler:
   • Rom 1-11 -> Rom 12:1 (‘therefore’) -> ???
   • What’s the ‘therefore’ there for? What’s next?
3. What do God’s “mercies” have to do with presenting oneself to God?
4. Rom 12:1 isn’t the first time in Romans that Paul has reflected on God’s mercy. Where else has he done so? What’s the point?
5. That Paul gives attention to the physical body – note that it’s the ‘soma’ not ‘sarx or flesh’ – is interesting and a little unexpected. Some think that the apostle is critiquing pagans like Plato, who held the physical body in contempt. If so, what is Paul trying to say?
6. What does the Bible suggest about heaven and Christian existence there?
7. In what sense does Rom 12:1-2 “round out” Paul’s teaching about sanctification? In other words, what did he have to say about the body earlier in Rom 1-11? So why should we present out bodies to God in worship?
8. Pastor Derek refers to the “cycle of doxology”. What is he talking about? – cf. Eccl 12:7 & Rom 11:36
9. In what sense (two senses, actually) will heaven be like out church assemblies when we gather for worship?
10. Why does Pastor Derek warn against holding back and waiting too long when it comes to presenting our bodies to God?

1. What does the English word “doxology” mean? What the “dox” part mean? What about the “log” part? Do you have a favorite doxology?
2. Well, of course, doxologies give glory. But what else can they do?
3. Pastor Derek suggest that our passage can be divided into three parts – (i) review, vs 28-31; (ii) summary, vs 32; and (iii) doxology, vs 33-36. What are some themes that Paul reviews in the 1st section?
4. Describe the “disobedience/mercy” cycle and how it works in the case of Gentiles and Jews.
5. Paul’s summary statement in v 32 hints at God’s reasons for setting in motion the disobedience/mercy cycle. What are some reasons?
6. In what sense is God’s mercy a focal point of redemptive history? What are some events or stories in the Bible that support this view?
7. Pastor Derek says that biblical salvation is less about our rescue from sin and more about God and his mercy. What does he mean? What’s the point?
8. When we talk about “directionality” – that is, things moving away from God or things coming from him – what do we mean? Is the hymnwriter right? Is God really the fount of every blessing?
9. How is the idea of absolute sovereignty a foundation-stone in our understanding of God?
10. What are some themes (doctrines) in Romans that depend on God as their ultimate source?
11. In what sense is the doxology in v 36 a fitting conclusion to Chapter 11 – and more generally, to all of Romans? Why do you think so?

1. Some things in the Bible are harder than others to get hold of (Deut 29:29). Peter thought so (2 Peter 3:14-16). Jesus’ followers thought so (John 6:60, 66). How does Paul respond when God’s truth is beyond finding out?
2. Romans 11 is about the “now time”. How does Paul describe this present age?
3. Isaiah 59:20 functions as a kind of summary of Romans. What are some themes they share?
4. State the main point of Romans 11 in your own words. What’s it really all about?

1. This morning’s message tells the story of Israel – but ties it together with the history of creation and redemption.
2. Describe creation. What’s the goal of creation? (Hint: Westminster Shorter Catechism question #1 “What is the chief end of man?”)
3. Describe the fall. What are some of the most glaring consequences of Adam’s sin?
4. Why did God call Abram in the first place? (Don’t miss the fact that he and Sarai function a lot like a new Adam and Eve. Their biological clocks even start ticking backward!)
5. Describe Israel’s remarkable transformation at Mount Sinai. What changed? – and why? What’s the point of all this “cultural” development?
6. The story of Israel raises some hard questions that need asking – and answering.
   • (i) _____________________________________
     • Describe what happened in A.D. 70 and what it means theologically.
   • (ii) _____________________________________
     • How might this affect our understanding of the modern-day democratic state of Israel? What is its connection to the Israel we know from the Bible?
   • (iii) _____________________________________
     • If we grant that the Mosaic covenant can be terminated, what about the Abrahamic covenant? In other words, what are the implications of the fall of Jerusalem for the “seed” of Abraham?
7. When we put all this together, there are three points of summary application to consider. How we think about Israel’s story affects other stories – including our own! Jot down any relevant thoughts you may have as they relate to the following subjects:
   • (i) Modern-Day Israel: ______________________________
   • (ii) The Church: ____________________________________
   • (iii) Jesus Christ: ___________________________________
8. “God loves the nations,” says Pastor Derek. Naturally. But in what sense is Israel’s story really the story about God’s love for the nations? In what sense is it Jesus’ story?
   • “For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail. Though its roots grow old in the earth, and its stump dies in the dry soil, at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a young plant.” – Job 14:7-9

1. Pastor Derek mentioned last time that three verses (Rom 11:12 & 15; and Rom 11:25 & 26) in Romans 11 are especially important in shaping the way we read the whole chapter – and more broadly, the way we think about the “story” of the Bible.
   • Romans 11:12, 15: “Now if their transgression be riches for the world and their failure be riches for Gentiles, how much more will their fullness be! … “For if their rejection be the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?”
2. What does Paul mean when he says that “transgression” results in “riches”? How does this principle get worked out in real life, especially in the book of Acts?
3. The apostle’s use of “fullness” (pleroma) is vague. How does Rev 6:11 help us get a better sense of what he probably means? How about Col 1:24? What do you think Paul has in mind by the “fullness” of the Jews?
   • Romans 11:25: “A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”
4. What does Paul mean by a “partial hardening”? Us the example of Pharaoh in your answer.
5. Paul’s use of the word “until” is also important. In v. 25 does Paul seem to expect something big after the fullness of the Gentiles comes in? In other words, is there an ‘and then…’?
6. What do Acts 7:18 and Rev 2:25 (and their use of the word “until”) have to do with our study?
7. What does Paul mean by the “fullness” of the Gentiles? Note that “fullness” (pleroma) occurs in both vs 12 and 25.
   • Romans 11:26: “And thus all Israel will be saved.”
8. How is Paul using the adverb “thus”? To put it differently, in what way will all Israel be saved?
9. In several places within Romans, Paul stretches our definition of the people of God into new shapes. See es. Rom 2:28-29 (“He is a Jew who is one inwardly”); Rom 9:6 (“They are not all Israel who are of Israel”), & Rom 9:25-26 (“I will call those who were not my people, my people”). What bearing might these passages have on our understanding of “Israel” in Rom 11:26? What does Paul seem to be saying?
10. In what limited sense is Christianity the best of Jewish and non-Jewish traditions?
11. When Pastor Derek says that Rev 7:9-10 has been the vision all along, what does he mean?

1. When we say that Paul gives us the vocabulary we need to talk about the future of Israel, what do we mean? What do words such as “election” and “remnant” have to do with our topic?
2. Choose the short answer to the question: Has God rejected his people?
   • YES, he has rejected them.
   • NO, he hasn’t.
3. What does Paul offer as evidence that God has not rejected his people? What’s his point?
4. How is Saul of Tarsus “Exhibit A” of God’s electing grace in choosing & preserving a people? How does Paul’s autobiography emphasize this?
5. The apostle quotes the complaint of an Old Testament prophet to show that God is committed to preserving a people for himself. Explain.
6. Pastor Derek refers to Jesus’ parable of the landowner in Matthew 21 as important background. (Remember Palm Sunday?) When Jesus interprets the parable as meaning that the kingdom of God will be “taken away” and given to a nation that will produce its fruits, what does he mean?
7. We will examine three key passages in Romans 11 to help navigate the question of Israel’s future. Consider the following:
   • 1. ROMANS 11:12, 15
   • “Now if their transgression be riches for the world and their failure be riches for Gentiles, how much more will their fullness be! … For if their rejection be the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?”
8. Notice the lesser-to-the-greater argument. “How much more –?” The key word is “pleroma” (sermon title) or “fullness”. Keep it in mind.
   • 2. ROMANS 11:25
   • “A partial hardening has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.”
9. There’s our word again. Paul calls it a mystery, but this time “fullness” refers to the Gentiles.
   • 3. ROMANS 11:26
   • “And thus all Israel will be saved.”
10. Could Paul have packed more difficulties in fewer words if he tried? In any case, this verse is central to the whole chapter’s meaning. Get it wrong & the whole thing tumbles down like a Jenga tower. No pressure!
11. The number of fellow-believers rises and falls, but we can all relate to Elijah’s lament. What to Chapters 9-11 in Romans offer us by way of encouragement? What is God’ word to the “remnant”? – to believers like us and churches like ours?

1. The garden tomb is rich with significance and symbolism. Pastor Derek mentions a few aspects of the scene that have shaped Christian life and thought. Can you think of others?
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? We considered Romans 10:6-8 last time. What is Paul getting at in verse 6?
   • “But the righteousness based on faith speaks thus: ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down), (7) or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead),’ (8) But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” – that is, the word of faith which we are preaching.”
3. On this Easter morning, our attention turns to verses 7-8. Why doesn’t faith say, “Who will bring Christ up from the dead?”
4. Why is Jesus’ physical resurrection so important for Christians? What does it mean?
5. In Deuteronomy 18 a number of prohibitions are listed. What are they? What seems to be the common thread running through them?
6. Why were the ancients preoccupied with the realm of the dead? In what ways are we, too, sometimes preoccupied with the other side?
7. Can you think of other Old Testament figures who, like Moses, went down to the depths but were pulled back up? What’s the point?
8. Pastor Derek says that Jesus has done more than cheat death; he’s defeated it. What does he mean?
9. Our culture does sometimes explore the really big questions. So, what’s the problem?
10. Why is Jesus’ resurrection such good news?

1. We’ll get to Jesus on the donkey, but first let’s set the stage for Palm Sunday by taking a closer look at Romans 10:6-8 – “But the righteousness based on faith speaks thus: ‘Do not say in your heart, “Who will ascend into heaven?” (that is, to bring Christ down), or “Who will descend into the abyss?” (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).’ But what does it say? The word is near you, in your mouth and in you heart” – that is, the word of faith which we are preaching.”
   • On the surface of it, what is the passage (taken from Deut 30:12ff., and embellished by Paul) all about? This is not a trick question.
2. Romans 10:6-8 is based on an ancient form of expression. Notice especially the ascending/descending, heaven/abyss language. How would you para-phrase it?
3. Pastor Derek gives several examples of upper/lower “limits” in the Bible (Amos 9:2-3; Psalm 139:7; Proverbs 30:4; Job 28:14, 20-21). Psalm 36:6 “Thy lovingkindness is like the mountains of God; Thy judgments are like a great deep.” How would you interpret these lines?
4. What is the point of all this high/low, up/down, heaven/deep language in the Bible? What does it mean? What does it have to do with how we think about God and faith?
5. What did Christ “bring down” to earth (so to speak) in his incarnation?
6. The Bible gives negative examples of rebels trying to reach beyond human limits and seize things that aren’t theirs by right. What are some?
7. The opposite is also true: There are “heroes” who stretch to gain for others what they cannot reach on their own. What are some examples? How do they foreshadow Christ?
8. Faith doesn’t ask, “Who will ascend to heaven for us?” Why not?
9. What does all this have to do with Jesus on Palm Sunday? What is he offering?
10. In what sense is the Savior’s ministry “heroic”?

1. Jesus’s parable of the landowner (Matthew 21:33-46) is a forceful message about Jewish privilege. Be thinking about the parable’s cast of characters, its main point, and what it’s got to do with Romans 9-11.
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? We saw last time that the contrast between Law-for-righteousness and Faith-for-righteousness helps explain the Jews’ spiritual predicament as well as the Gentiles’ open door to the kingdom. Explain.
3. As Paul writes about Jewish unbelief, he explores how it square with the principle: word > hearing > faith. Does it square? Did Israel hear?
4. Why are ministries such as evangelism and Christian radio more “vital” in terms of kingdom growth than, say, famine relief and medical clinics?
5. In verse 18, Paul indicates that Israel has heard the word of Christ. But what does that have to do with Psalm 19:4, a passage ostensibly about nature?
6. NOTE: Don’t miss the wordplays in verses 16-17:
   • “They did not heed (listen attentively, harken) the glad tidings. Who has believed our report? (the thing heard). Faith comes from hearing and hearing (the thing heard or the hearing) by the word. They have never heard (hear, as in v 14), have they?”
   • This is helpful. The linking of root words reminds us once again of the importance of the proclaimed word. Also, Paul’s use of the subtleties of his own language hints ironically that Israel may have heard with her ears, but she wasn’t listening with her heart? Didn’t Jesus warn about this all along? (Matthew 11:15 – He who has ears, let him hear.)
7. Paul’s use of Deut 32:21 (They have made me jealous with what is no god;
    they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. is interesting. What does Israel’s jealousy have to do with anything? Of whom could Israel possibly be jealous? Why?
8. Interpret Jesus’ parable of the landowner (Matthew 21), based on our study of Romans 10.
9. What concluding “observation” does Romans 10:16-21 offer?
10. What concluding “prayer” does it invite?

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? What is the contrast between Law-for righteousness and Faith – or Christ-for-righteousness? How does this distinction fit into our understanding of justification?
2. With the revealing of faith-for-righteousness in the gospel, something else happens in redemptive history that is significant. What’s that?
3. In vs 11-13 Paul strings together two OT quotations “Whoever believes in him will not he disappointed” (Isaiah 28:16); and, “Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Joel 2:32). How are they related? What truth do they “sandwich”?
4. How do vs 14-15 follow logically what Paul has been saying in vs 11-13?
5. Gentiles can learn a lot about the God of the Bible just by looking around (Acts 14:17, Romans 1:20) – but not enough to be saved. What’s missing?
6. Verse 15 (“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news”) recalls Israel’s joy when the end of the exile was announced. How does this fit logically in Romans 10? What does it have to do with us?
7. Pastor Derek offers five summary points that help make sense of Romans 10:1-15. But what does all this “doctrine” have to do with local churches like ours?
   • 1.
   • 2.
   • 3.
   • 4.
   • 5.
8. We observe that verses 11-15 being and end with the Old Testament quotations. How are they related? What’s the point?

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? There are several ways to distinguish between Law-for-righteousness and Christ-for-righteousness (sometimes called faith-for-righteousness). What are some?
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? Israel’s rejection of the gospel can be described in terms of Judaism’s attachment to earthly symbols. Explain.
3. In Romans 10:6-8 Paul quotes from the Old Testament. What is Moses saying in Deut 30:11-14, when he writes about going up to heaven and crossing the sea? What’s the point?
4. According to Moses, why don’t God’s people have to perform heroic feats to “hear” from him?
5. In Romans 10:6-7 Paul has added two little phrases about Christ to his quotation from Deuteronomy. What is he trying to say?
6. What is the “justifying righteousness” that comes from Christ? How would you describe it?
7. Fact: It is impossible for sinners to keep the Law. But when Derek says that faith-for-righteousness is not only possible – it’s “easy”, what does he mean?
8. In what sense is legalism a “redundancy”?
9. Come to think of it, why do we pursue spiritual disciplines and serving others and building up the church and evangelism and so on? If it’s not for God’s approval, why bother?
10. According to Paul and Moses, just how “close” is the righteousness wrought by Christ for the justification of those who believe?

1. We begin by reflecting on the fact that there are some things we can’t do for ourselves. In what sense does this reality set the stage for the gospel?
2. Notice in Romans 10, verses 3-4 and verses 5-6ff. are about the same contrast. What is the contrast in view?
3. In practical terms, what’s the difference between Law-for-righteousness and Christ-for-righteousness (also called faith-for-righteousness)?
4. What does it mean to pursue the Law to gain standing before God? What “conditions” come with such a pursuit, like fine print on a contract?
5. Why is “original sin” such bad news? What makes the gospel such good news?

1. Paul’s familiar interaction with the Athenians is full of important lessons about theology and ministry. What are some?
2. Pastor Derek says that Romans 10:4 (For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.) is the “bullseye” of our passage. What subject is Paul tackling head on?
3. Describe Paul’s “feelings” as they have to do with his Jewish countrymen.
4. Why is Paul so concerned? What are his fellow Israelites missing? What is the “keyword” in Paul’s transition from v.2 to v.3? Why does it matter?
5. The Jews’ “not knowing” includes three critical points about God’s righteousness (for justification). What are they?
   • (a) Righteousness on the move (direction)
   • (b) Righteousness laid hold of (appropriation)
   • (c) Righteousness wrought (basis)
6. In verse 4 Paul writes “For Christ is the ‘end’ of the Law for righteousness to those who believe.” We have three good options for understanding “end”. What are they?
7. We may evaluate these things differently, but which of the three (end, goal, fulfillment) do you prefer and why?
8. Pastor Derek prefers Option #1. What the implications of saying that Christ has brought an “end” to pursuing the Law for righteousness?
9. This passage can prove to be helpful as we proclaim (with Paul) the apostolic faith to a world without knowledge. Helpful how?

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? Paul develops two principles in Romans 9 to explain why so few Jews received the gospel. What are they?
2. Stone imagery appears throughout vs 32-33, setting the stage for today’s study. Pastor Derek will introduce five categories of stones in the Bible that foreshadow Christ. Jot down any scriptures or themes or details that round out the pictures.
3. What is the 1st category? Can you think of other examples of “judgment” stones? Hailstones? Abimelech the false judge? David’s five smooth stones? The lid on Jesus’ tomb? Stephen?
4. What is the 2nd category? Can you think of other examples of “life-giving” stones? Samson’s “hollow place”? Satan’s bitter challenge to Jesus?
5. What is the 3rd category? This one is easy because there are lots of stone “memorials” in the Bible. Can you think of other examples? Altars? Jacob’s pillow? Laban’s heap? Absalom?
6. What is the 4th category? Stones that “support” are all over the Bible. Can you think of other examples? The “rock” psalms? (e.g. Ps 61). Moses’ seat between Aaron and Hur (Exodus 17)?
7. What is the 5th category? Can you think of other examples of stones that are associated with “suffering”? (This category may also include the rejected stone and the stricken rock mentioned above.) What about Moses and the cleft of the rock? What about Samson and the cleft of the rock? – He’s got one, too!
8. The Foundation Stone in the Al-Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount is rich with religious symbolism. To Jews and Muslims, it is the center (“bellybutton”) of just about everything. Pastor Derek suggests that this symbol, though extrabiblical, can also point to the Savior. How so?
9. In Romans 9:32-33 Jesus is linked to different kinds of stone imagery. What are they? Taken together, what is Paul saying about Jesus in this passage?
10. How would you summarize Romans 9? Be sure to include the two keywords – election and remnant. And be sure to include the important contrasts – Jew and Gentile, faith and unbelief, stumbling stone and cornerstone.

1. In Romans 9:25-29 Paul refers to four Old Testament passages that support his main points. Summarize each scripture. Hosea 2:23, Hosea 1:10, Isaiah 10:22-23, Isaiah 1:9
2. The four passages above support Paul’s two main points. What is Paul driving at?
3. Verse 30 marks an abrupt change in Paul’s subject and language. How would you describe this “bumpy” transition? – that is, where has his discussion come from and where is it headed?
4. When Pastor Derek says that God’s mysteries and the lives of ordinary people “run along the same riverbed,” what does he mean? In other words, how are divine election (the choices God makes) and human responsibility (the choices we make) related?
5. In verses 30-32 Paul writes about the righteousness of God. What does he mean by that? How is it different from, say, the Law of Moses? Is it different? What’s the point?
6. What was Judaism’s fundamental – and fatal – error? How did this contrast with what Israel should have learned from Father Abraham?
7. For next time, be thinking about what it means to stumble over the stumbling stone, and what that has to do with Zion – the city of the Great King.

1. Pastor Derek says that we come in Romans 9:23-24 to Paul’s “all important” point in our passage. What’s that?
2. In vs. 25-29 Paul lays out four Old Testament scriptures to support his big idea. Reflect on them below, taking special care to understand how each supports what the apostle is saying:
3. In verse 25, how does Hosea 2:23 confirm Paul’s point about the Gentiles?
4. In verse 26, how does Hosea 1:10 confirm it?
5. In verses 27-28, Paul quotes Isaiah 10:23 and introduces the idea of “remnant”. What’s a remnant?
6. In our passage, Paul offers two ways to explain the strange turn that redemptive history has taken. What’s strange about it? How does Paul explain it?

1. Mordecai’s words are prophetic. The book of Esther is filled with examples of God’s invisible hand guiding the story as it unfolds. Do you think that God sometimes raises up people for special purposes? Do you have a favorite example?
2. With Romans 9:17 in mind, to what end did God harden Pharaoh’s heart?
3. Paul has raised (and dismissed) objections leveled against God’s word in verse 6 and God’s justice in verse 14. He turns in verse 19 to God’s expectations for the guilty. What does Paul say about it?
4. Explain Paul’s use of the metaphor of potters, clay, and vessels of wrath and mercy. What’s the point of this figure of speech?
5. How does Paul make sense of God’s “hardening” Pharaoh’s heart? Why did God do it? What does God’s “patience” (=postponed judgment) have to do with any of this?
6. Don’t miss how Christ’s death also takes the form of adversarial combat, whether in Genesis 3:15 or on the cross. What’s the point?
7. Why is Paul writing about Pharaoh at all? What does Pharaoh’s hard heart have to do with the overarching question behind Romans 9-11?
8. What is the Christian religion really all about?
9. Notice the prominence of grace and election and glory in Ephesians 1:3-6:
   • Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to himself, according the the kind intention of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace, which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? Is there injustice with God when he chooses one over another? What about when he pours out grace to one and withholds it from another?
2. Why does Paul emphasize the fact that membership in Abraham’s (spiritual) family isn’t about having the right mother or being born first or working for it? What does it depend on?
3. Summarize the story Paul has in mind that describes the “hardening” of Pharaoh’s heart?
4. Question #1 – What is going on?
5. Give examples of other times when God is said to make hearts hard or ears unhearing.
6. Question #2 – To what end does God harden hearts? In other words, why does he do it?
7. Question #3 – Is it fair?
8. What does Ephesians 1:11 (In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will) have to say about God’s sovereignty? What are its limits? What is permitted to happen beyond God’s sovereign control?
9. Our Congregational confession of faith, the Savoy Declaration (1658), reads – The rest of mankind [that is, those not elected] God was pleased, according to the unsearchable counsel of his own will, whereby he extendeth or withholdeth mercy, as he pleaseth, for the glory of his sovereign power over his creatures, to pass by and to ordain them to dishonor and wrath for their sin, to the praise of his glorious justice. [Savoy Declaration section 3, paragraph 7]
10. Election is a deep mystery. We can’t say we understand how it all works, but what can we say?
11. What does Roman 9 have to do with Gentiles?
12. Over against God’s sovereignty, do our choices and decisions even matter? Why or why not?

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? We entered a new unit in Romans just before Advent – Chapters 9-11. What is this section basically about?
2. Why do you think that so many Jews rejected the Jewish Messiah?
3. Is “sovereign election” (the freedom to pour out saving grace) unjust? Why does Paul think not?
4. When Pastor Derek says that God’s free choice of Isaac and Jacob really isn’t about justice, what does he mean?
5. Be thinking about all this with respect to Pharaoh. We’ll get into it next time.

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? Our Advent stories – symbol becoming reality in the temple with Zacharias; Christ’s joining himself to Mary’s humanity; the magi visiting Jerusalem from afar; and heaven’s opening up to reveal a new holy place – are all part of a bigger theme. How would you describe it?
2. What is Point #1? What does it mean that “heaven” is God’s dwelling place? Why is the universe often described as a tent?
3. What is Point #2? In what way are heaven and earth “related” – Psalm 78:68-69 is a must read – “but he chose the tribe of Judah,
       Mount Zion, which he loves.
   He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
       like the earth, which he has founded forever.“
4. Earth isn’t heaven, of course. But there was a place on earth where heavenly reality was especially apparent. Where was that spot?
5. What makes us think that the Garden of Eden was always meant to “expand” until the whole world, in a manner of speaking, was like a garden paradise?
6. How has sin affected God’s plan? (Point #3). How have the means changed? How have the ends remained the same? What was the goal all along?
7. Adam failed, but Israel failed, too. How does this put Christ’s messianic ministry in perspective?
8. But what does all this mean for us? There are 3 metaphors the Bible uses to describe Christian identity and mission. What’s the 1st?
9. What does “light” have to do with missions?
10. Why can God’s people be regarded as “temples”?
11. What about “gardens”? How does Col 1:6, 9-12 underscore this point?
12. What do these 3 metaphors, taken together, have to say about Christian identity and mission? In what sense is the biblical story of light, temple and garden our story?

1. Imagine a series of expanding circles, each symbolizing a greater and greater area of influence. Try to picture the gospel as three such circles. As part of this morning’s study, we will identify them.
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? What was the Advent story of Gabriel and Zacharias about? In what way was “symbol” becoming reality?
3. DO YOU REMEMBER? What was the Advent story of Gabriel and Mary about? In what sense can we call Jesus the true temple?
4. Reflect on Solomon’s prestige in the ancient world. Why were neighboring rulers, including the Queen of Sheba, so attracted to him? What’s the point?
5. Reflect on the wise men of Matthew 2. What are “magi” anyway? Where did they come from? What did they mean by offering tributary gifts of gold, spices, and perfumes?
6. How could the magi tell, just by looking up at a “star”, that a Jewish baby of significance had been born 500 miles away?
7. Derek offers three major takeaways from the story about the wise men. What’s the 1st takeaway?
8. The 2nd takeaway has to do with the prophet Isaiah. What’s so special about Isaiah? What does he have to say about the Messiah? What does he have to say about the kingdom of God?
9. What is the 3rd takeaway? Something greater than Solomon is here? What’s the point?
10. IRONY ALERT! How will the Jewish king be enthroned? How did the magi unwittingly “prepare” the infant Lord for his saving work?
11. Think about Jesus’ royal reign as the solution to Adam’s exile from the garden as well as the scattering of the nations at the Tower of Babel. What does this say about Jesus Christ and his messianic kingdom?

1. Let’s pray: “Our heavenly Father, we rejoice in the saving love you show us in Christ. His coming down Jacob’s ladder opens the way back up for sinners. Now we can enter your presence in spirit (by the Holy Spirit) and in truth (because of the truth in Christ). Better than any island for misfit toys, heaven is a place where broken people like us will be put back together forever! In Jesus’ name we pray – Amen.”
2. I know, I know. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer was never meant to teach deep spiritual truth. But in what sense does the story whet our appetite for the whole gospel?
3. DO YOU REMEMBER? What is this year’s Advent theme – “Christmas & the Cosmos” – all about? What does it suggest about Jesus Christ and the purpose of the gospel?
4. The background to this morning’s lesson is taken from John 4 and the story about the Samaritan woman at the well. What is “jaw dropping” about Jesus’ remarks?
5. In what sense is Jesus offering himself to the Samaritan woman as the true temple? (and maybe even the true husband, but we’ll save that for later).
6. Our Advent scene is Nazareth and the extraordinary interaction between Gabriel and Mary. What is the biblical background to the Holy Spirit’s “overshadowing” young Mary? What does it mean? What does it say about her baby Jesus?
7. In what sense was Christ a “thoroughly” Jewish king? In what sense was he utterly unique?
8. Pastor Derek suggests that God’s holiness on earth, confined mostly to the temple, was never meant to stay there. Rather, it would eventually push outward in greater and greater circles. How is this idea portrayed in the scriptures? What does it have to do with evangelism and missions in the New Testament?
9. What does it mean, that Christ has come not just to whisk misfit toys like us away somewhere – you feel like one, too, don’t you? – but to fix what’s broken in us?

1. What was the universe like before sin entered the world? How were heaven and the Garden of Eden “connected”? We can only guess, but Pastor Derek offers a possibility. What is it?
2. What is the ultimate goal of the universe?
3. Pastor Derek suggests that the stories about the Tower of Babel and Jacob’s ladder share a similar theme. What is it?
4. How did ziggurat-temples reflect the ancients’ view of a “disconnected” universe?
5. The Jewish temple shares some of the views of the ziggurat builders. What are they? How do the tabernacle in the wilderness and Solomon’s temple grant sinners access back into the Garden of Eden – even though it’s only symbolic access?
6. We emphasize the fact that Gabriel’s voice is the first peep we hear from heaven in 400 years. Why does this matter? What does it have to do with the prophet Malachi? John the Baptist?
7. How does the boundary between heaven and earth begin to “blur” in Luke 1? What are some other examples of such blurring in the Bible?
8. In what way does the New Testament portray Jesus Christ as the new – and the true – temple? What does that even mean?
9. Jesus puts our hearts back together. But what is his role in the “renovation” of the universe? What does the New Testament have to say about that?
10. As we move further into Advent, be thinking about how the Nativity stories describe heaven’s “opening up” to sinners.

1. The mysterious statement in Romans 9:6(b) is central to much of Romans 9-11 – “For they are not all Israel who are of Israel.” As we’ll see, it’s the key to which question?
2. Why should anyone think that the word of God had failed? – or ‘fallen‘ (1 Samuel 3:19)
3. What is the “big tent / little tent” problem? How does it help us think about the distinction between physical and spiritual realities of all kinds?
4. In what sense is there a “little tent” within the “big tent” of Judaism, and what does it mean?
5. The squares [on the printed church bulletin] represent the two “tents” of Judaism. Which square represents ethnic Israel and which represents the elect remnant? Which represents Ishmael and Isaac, respectively? Which represents Jacon and Esau, respectively?
6. This lesson lays the groundwork for much of Romans 9-11. Even so, there are three points we can take away. What is the 1st?
7. What is the 2nd takeaway, and what does it have to do with the human heart?
8. What is the 3rd takeaway?

1. We have concluded Romans 8. The next three chapters (Rom 9, 10th & 11) form a single unit. What is it basically about?
2. With the above in mind, what is Paul’s motive for writing the first five verses of Chap 9? What is he trying to do?
3. How does Paul show his readers (Roman Jews in particular) that he bears Israel no ill-will? There are three things in vs 1-5 we could point to. What are they?
4. Reflect on the “privileges” of Israel, compared to other nations. What has God done in Israel’s history that he has never done before? Not ever.
5. A. THE ‘PRIVILEGES’ OF ISRAEL: Think about the seven or so privileges listed in vs 1-5. Jot down words and phrases and Bible verses that emphasize how special each privilege was – and how unique among the nations.
6. B. THE ‘PRIVILEGES’ OF ISRAEL POINT TO CHRIST: According to the New Testament, Jesus Christ “answers” the seven privileges in vs 1-5. How does he do this?
7. C. THE ‘PRIVILEGES’ OF ISRAEL (Fulfilled in Christ) ARE ALSO THE PRIVILEGES OF THE CHURCH: Don’t miss this – the same Jewish, Christ-centered privileges in Paul’s mind in Romans 8 – now include believing Gentiles! Think about Paul’s teaching in Romans and elsewhere as he applies these themes to believers, including us.
8. What does this suggest about the “connection” between Old Testament Israel and the church?
9. Based on this morning’ lesson, how should Christians read their Old Testaments? – and why?

1. What is the great irony that gets played out in the book of Acts and in the last 2,000 years of history? How does Paul respond to it?
2. Whatever all the reasons for Israel’s rejection of the Messiah, a lack of “privilege” isn’t among them. What does Pastor Derek mean by that?
3. Paul’s list of Jewish advantages in our passage are remarkable. Describe them. What point is the apostle trying to make?
4. According to John the Baptist, the Jewish Messiah has a global significance (John 1:29). But how was he in the first place, the special “privilege” of the Jews? How does Christ fulfill Paul’s list in Romans 9:4-5?

1. We begin by thinking about the sermon title. What do we mean by the “perseverance of the saints”? What are some ways the idea makes an appearance in the NT? See Westminster XVII {1-3 (p. 858 in our red hymnals) – cf. Savoy.
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? In Romans 8:18-25 we find three braided themes. What are they?
3. Why do we suspect that “waiting eagerly” with “perseverance” lies at the heart of the central C-section of chapter?
4. What does saving faith look like? How do we know?
5. Summarize Col 1:22f. & Heb 3:14. What does the witness of Rev 2:7 (etc.) say about the nature of saving faith and the role of perseverance?
6. Pastor Derek says that there’s one main challenge in vs 18-25 but two reasons that support it. What is the one challenge? What are the two reasons?
7. Persevering in the ‘Not Yet’: Why is it so difficult to live in the “not yet”? how can it tempt us to respond?
8. The modern world has made life easier than it used to be. Still, how shall we respond to these new “dangers”?
9. Persevering for the Prize: How does the truth of the gospel, laid out in Romans 8, encourage believers to persevere? How does its chiastic, x-shaped structure emphasize this?
10. When Pastor Derek says that Romans 8 isn’t just another lecture in theology, what does he mean? What is it?
11. When suffering comes – or leisure – what should Christians always keep in mind?

1. Pastor Derek appreciates R.C. Sproul’s long ministry. Our church has benefited greatly from Ligonier and its material output. In what way did Sproul’s “Dust to Glory” prepare us to take on Romans 8:18-25?
2. This morning, we find ourselves at the heart of Paul’s argument in Romans 6-8. We discover three themes braided around each other. What are they?
3. Describe the concept of “already/not yet”. What is overlapping itself? How can the kingdom of God already be here and on the way – at the same time! What does that even mean?
4. Why should we think that redemptive history is organized this way in actual fact? How does the concept of “already/not yet” help make sense of our everyday lives?
5. What clues in Romans 8 point to the fact that “glory” is an important theme in Paul’s mind?
6. How does the Bible describe “glory”? How do humans ordinarily perceive it with their senses? What’s the point?
7. Glory is a word that is often used in the Bible to describe God and, by extension, the things of God. When Moses descended the mountain in Exodus 34:29-35, why was his face shining with glory? (2 Cor 3:12-18). Who else will be described as “glorified” in the age to come? See John 17:22; 2 Cor 3:18; Phil 3:20-21.
8. Pastor Derek suggests that “glory” ought also to include the idea of fullness, as in the fulfillment of a promise or the revealing of something hinted at. What are some Bible stories that prepare us to think about heavenly glory in this way?
9. Next time we’ll finish up Romans 8. If I were summarize the main point of the chapter, from the perspective of vs 18-25, it might go something like this: Christians are urged in the “not yet” to persevere faithfully to the glorious end, for such will be their share in the kingdom (“glory”).

1. The vocabulary of salvation is taken from various walks of life. Identify the “settings-in-life” of the following terms and how each contributes to our understanding of God – “justification”, “sanctification”, and “adoption”.
2. What does family membership have to do with “status”? How does adoption make a person different from, say, an overnight guest – even though both receive hospitality and acts of kindness?
3. When Pastor Derek says that the Savoy Declaration (cf. Westminster XII, p 855 in our Trinity hymnal) uses “family language, what does he mean?
4. Favorite Bible stories often illustrate God’s fatherly care. Can you think of examples?
5. Spiritual adoption also raises questions about family traits. What’s the basis of our “resemblance” to God, if not genetics?
6. Jesus Christ occupies a central place in an discussion about the “image” of God – and our adoption as sons. Why is that?
7. Paul highlights Jesus’ Gethsemane prayer, “Abba! Father!” Why is it significant? What does it have to do with our family resemblance as sons?
8. Describe the Christian’s “family privilege” as it relates to adoption.
9. Paul calls Christians “heirs” throughout Romans 8. So what are we heirs of?
10. Try to summarize this lesson in just one sentence. Use words such as “adoption”, “heirs”, “suffering”, and “glory” in your answer.

1. Our topic this morning takes us into the emotional world of adoption. Have you ever observed, or experienced firsthand, how questions about identity and belonging can be raised by an adoption experience? What did you learn from it?
2. Based on our scripture focus this morning in Romans 8:12-17 and 8:26-30, notice how the two sections are similar. Derek mentions three details that they share. What are they?
3. Adoption language is not confined in Romans 8. Ephesians 1:4-5 and Galatians 4:4-7 also use it. How do they all help us understand the gospel better?
4. What do we make of Paul’s “male-centered” (androcentric) language? If we’re adopted as “sons,” does that mean the “daughters” get left out?
5. Despite passages such as Galatians 3:28, why might Paul insist on male-centered language?
6. Derek says that some male pronouns can be “broadened” to make them more inclusive. But he cautions against changing them all. Why?
7. Over the next couple weeks, we will be studying what Rom 8:12-17 & 26-30 have to teach about “family identity”. You may want to jot down the points we’ll cover.
8. Reading Mark’s “miracle-within-a-miracle” in Mark 5:21-43 can be eye-opening. The similarities between the two stories focuses the emphasis on a single theme. What’s the point?
9. How is “daughtership” (not a real word) in these two stories related to Paul’s teaching about adoption? What does it have to do with Paul’s “male-centered” language?
10. Try to summarize this passage in Mark, In what way does it read like the story of the prodigal son? What are some of the gospel themes at work in it?

1. We begin by thinking about what theologians call the ordo salutis (“order of salvation”). What is it? And why is it on our minds today?
2. For reference, you may want to jot down the three “steps” that we’ll be exploring today.
3. Notice in your Romans 8 insert that both A (vs 1-11) and A’ (vs 31-39) are organized similarly. As you scan the two sections, what do you see that suggest they’re running on parallel tracks?
4. What is the 1st “step” in our miniature ordo salutis? Describe the believer’s “union” with Christ. What is it? How does it work? What are the benefits of being joined to the Savior?
5. What is the 2nd step in our study? What two things does Jesus do (“work”) as our substitute to accomplish our salvation?
6. With Christ’s work in mind, what is the logical relationship between Romans 7 & 8? Try to use words such as “condemnation,” “justification,” and “substitution” in your answer.
7. What can Derek possibly mean when he says that it takes more than a clean slate to get into heaven? What does Christ’s “righteousness” have to do with our being justified by God?
8. What is the 3rd step in our miniature ordo? How is the believer’s future hope described in Romans 8?
9. The bond of love that joins us to Christ cannot be broken. Not ever. Paul assures us of this. How should such confidence express itself in our Christian lives?

1. It’s true; the gospel story can be told from numerous perspectives. What are some? Have you ever though about the gospel as a love story?
2. When we talk about the “structure” of Romans 8, what do we mean? When we talk about its “corresponding sections,” what do we mean?
3. In what way does our passage this morning – Romans 8:31-29 – offer assurance to the justified believer? Assurance of what?
4. Why do you think that Paul wants us to know that Jesus “intercedes” for us?
5. How many illustrations of “separation” in the Bible can you think of? (Jonah and the whale?) What do they have to do with spiritual union? What about the call in vs 18-25 to wait, hope, and press on?

1. John the Baptist’s disciples were flummoxed by the thought, but the ministry of the Holy Spirit is important – and well-known by the apostles. What, for example, does the New Testament teach about the Spirit’s role in creation and redemption?
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? What did the Old Testament prophets have to say about the Spirit?
3. DO YOU REMEMBER? What did the OT prophets say about the Messiah? Specifically, what did he have to do with the Spirit? (Incidentally, what does “Messiah” even mean? Why does it matter?)
4. In this morning’s study, we will look at three aspects of the Holy Spirit’s ministry, as highlighted by Paul in our passage. What is the 1st aspect?
5. What’s the contrast between “flesh” and “spirit” in our passage? (Note well – This “code” is not always in mind. Sometimes it really is just about the molecules. Be careful in your study.)
6. What do we make of all the “indwelling” language in Romans 8:9, 11? What are some OT pictures that may help us understand what Paul has in mind here? What’s the point?
7. What is the 2nd aspect of the Holy Spirit we want to consider?
8. What do we mean when we say that the Holy Spirit “mediates” the presence of Christ and his benefits? Can you give examples?
9. What is the 3rd aspect of the Spirit? Why does Pastor Derek think that this may be the easiest of the three to understand? How is it related to “action” words?
10. How is the 3rd aspect related to sanctification?
11. What are the implications of this remarkable truth: that in this age of the Spirit, the Spirit of the age dwells in our hearts by faith, making us new?

1. Meditate on Jesus’ parable of the hidden treasure in Matthew 13:44. What’s the point? Be thinking about how the man in the parable must have “looked” to his puzzled neighbors.
2. Pastor Derek suggests that the logic of Romans 8 is similar to that of Jesus’ parable: Assurance can be a great motivator. What does this “logic” have to do with Romans 8?
3. DO YOU REMEMBER? Where is the “center” of Romans 8?
4. Romans 8 has a chiastic (x-shaped) structure. The two A-sections are similar and the two B-sections are similar. How do we account for this? Do you feel the chapter “drawing” you into the middle? (That’s how chiasms ordinarily work.)
5. In what ways are the A-sections similar? How would you summarize their combined message?
6. Think about human love and divine love. How are they alike? How are they different?
7. God’s love oftentimes comes to us in a legal framework. What does that even mean? Can you give examples of God’s love getting “formalized” in this way? Why does it matter?
8. The so-called “covenant of pieces” in Genesis 15 is super-significant. It legally “formalizes” God’s commitment to Abram and his seed. But what else does it illustrate in a powerful way?
9. God’s saving love is often enshrined in the Bible in legal language and portrayed in solemn ritual. Why? How does it benefit those of us who struggle with the guilt of sin?
10. Pastor Derek says that with a flick of the wrist, our chiasm in Romans 8 becomes a pyramid! How do the A-sections and the B-sections “support C – the main point of the chapter and arguably the whole book?

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? According to Jesus and Paul (and the prophets), the arrival of the age to come was likened to what kind of experience?
2. In our study of Romans 8, we are exploring three features of the age to come. The 1st is that its arrival would be like childbirth. What is the 2nd feature of the age to come?
3. Pastor Derek notes five scriptures that link the coming of the the new age with the pouring out of the Spirit. List them with a word or two of explanation: _____________________________________________________________
4. What can we conclude from these five prophecies?
5. What is the 3rd feature of the new age?
6. Pastor Derek offers three more passages from Isaiah to think about as we consider the Messiah and his ministry. What do find interesting about each?
7. What does the word “Messiah” mean? Is this significant for our study?
8. If Jesus is the Man of the Spirit (and he is), and if he has inaugurated a new age by pouring out the Spirit (and he has), when did this event take place?
9. What does it mean in practical, theological, and redemptive terms that we are currently living in the age of the Spirit? How does the New Testament “show us” that the new age has already begun?
10. Despite the blessings we now enjoy, what are the implications of having one foot still in the old age?
11. Why does creation “groan”? Why do we groan with it? What does it have to do with Genesis 3?
12. What is the hope we eagerly wait for?

1. The opening words of Genesis 1 are profound. Pastor Derek suggests that they function as a “blueprint” for all kinds of things, including God’s plan of redemption. What does he mean by that?
2. Don’t forget our question from last time: What will it be like when human history enters the new age? The Bible hints with language and imagery from Genesis 1. What’s the answer?
3. There are three aspects of the “new creation” that we want to consider this morning. What are they?
4. Childbirth language is used in Psalm 90 to describe the creation. Does this mean that Yahweh is crudely sexual, like the fertility gods of the ancient world? What does it mean?
5. The Bible regularly describes God’s plan of redemption in the context of childbearing. What are some examples?
6. Reflect on Mary’s conception of the Christ child in Luke 1. In what ways does it recall Genesis? What’s the point?
7. The Jews generally expected that this present, earthly age would give way to a heavenly age in the future. But when it finally arrived (in the gospel) what was unexpected?
8. Huh? How can time overlap onto itself? What does that even mean? Give examples of Bible characters who straddle the “ages” with one foot in each?
9. In what way does the Bible’s new creatin/child-birth language in Romans 8 function as a “window on the world”? How can it help us to walk by faith?
10. Reflect on Rachel’s death in childbirth (Gen 35:18). Consider how the change from Ben-oni (“son of my sorrow”) to Ben-jamin (“son of [my] right hand”) illustrates the bringing forth of life out of death and glory out of suffering.

1. As we get back into Romans, Derek suggests that Chapter 8 is the “center of the book, which often means that it contains the main point. If so, what themes and lessons lie at the heart of Romans?
2. Describe the standard Jewish view of the world history. What are the two “ages”? What is each like?
3. What are some of the numerous “events” that Judaism believed would bring this present age to a close and usher in the new age?
4. Romans 8:18 is about the two ages of human history. What are they? How does Paul describe them?
5. It is remarkable that the message of Romans is a simple word of pastoral encouragement. How would you summarize the soft, chewy center of this crunchy theological book?

1. We will soon return to our study in Romans, but first there are three “loose ends” we want to tie up. They will occupy our attention this morning.
2. What is “perfectionism”, and what does it have to do with our study of Romans 7 and sanctification?
3. Romans 7:7-25 is a difficult passage. Why is it often used as a proof-text against perfectionism?
4. What does the Bible have to say about perfectionism? Which Bible verses teach against it?
5. What is the “evil twin” of perfectionism, and why is it so dangerous to the Christian life?
6. Pastor Derek thinks that Romans 7:7-25 is NOT about the struggle of sanctification. Why does he think that?
7. According to the New Testament, neither temptation (1 Cor 10:13) nor the devil (James 4:7) can win an “automatic” victory over the Christian. Why not?
8. What does the Bible have to say about living for Christ in the real world? What is it like? Is it easy? What can believers expect on the “road” to sanctification?
9. What are the so-called “means of grace”, and what do they have to do with sanctification?
10. What is the chief means of transforming grace in the Christian life? Support your answer from the Bible.
11. Complete the following syllogism:
    • Johnny wants to grow as a Christian;
    • God has ordained that scripture shall be the principal means of sanctifying grace;
    • Therefore, what counsel would you give to Johnny, as he considers the future?

1. The world of horticulture is fascinating for lots of reasons, but it also offers a glimpse into biblical truth. As we get started, think about the many ways the Bible refers to plants and trees and grass as metaphors for something else. One of my favorite is Isaiah 40:6. What’s yours?
2. How does Psalm 1 illustrate the Bible’s use of “vegetable” imagery? According to this psalm, in what sense are all people like trees? How are “good” trees distinguished from “bad” ones?
3. Tree imagery can also be used to describe the story of redemptive history. With this in mind, how is Adam like at a tree? How are we like branches? What does this mean for us since he has fallen into sin?
4. Both John the Baptist and Jesus condemn Israel for being a bad tree, but they do it in different ways. How does each do it? Moreover, what did Jesus mean when he said, “I am the true vine”? What is the comparison he was trying to make?
5. How does Paul describe the Abrahamic faith (the true religion of the Bible) in Romans 11? How can people – Jew and Gentile – be grafted onto Father Abraham and his “cultivated olive tree”?
6. In what sense is a justified sinner like an old branch grafted onto a new tree?
7. How is sanctification different?
8. How does our illustration about grafting and fruit bearing help explain the difficulties of the Christian life? How does it help us think about the daily reminders of the “old” us? How does it help us understand our slowness in character development?
9. What does it mean to be really truly new but not completely new – at least not yet?
10. If we can look to the ants and learn wisdom (Prov 6:6), then maybe the trees can also teach us a thing or two. Indeed, they can. Roots, good soil, living water, fruit – these are the basis of the thriving Christian life.
11. Be thinking about ways that abiding and fruit bearing – don’t forget pruning! – are all part of the healthy Christian life. If they’re not part of yours, then meditate on John 15:1-11 and give me a call. I’ll buy you a cup of coffee. 🙂

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? Who is the “I” (or ego) in Romans 7? Is “he” a believer or not? Is it Paul or not? Why do you think so?
2. But if Romans 7 isn’t about sanctification, why are we turning our attention to this important topic?
3. What is sanctification? Define it as best you can.
4. In what sense does the “arc” of sanctification coincide with our end-time resurrection? In other words, when will our sanctification be complete?
5. Based on the table in your bulletin (contact either Pastor Derek or through the church website if you would like the table outlining Justification and Sanctification – great study tool!), describe sanctification in terms of its AGENCY. In other words, who accomplishes the work of sanctification?
6. Describe the process of sanctification in terms of TIME. How long does it take?
7. What are the EFFECTS of sanctification? What is the end result supposed to look like?
8. When we think about sanctification in its biblical context, what do we find? Why does this special work of the Holy Spirit point to Christ? What does this suggest about the overall goal of redemption?

1. When Paul asks his rhetorical question, “Is the Law sin?” it’s tempting to answer, “Yes!” Why might Paul’s own teaching make us critical of the Law?
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? It is customary to describe the Law as a pie of several pieces. What are they?
3. Based on a quick review of Romans 1-6, Paul lists numerous things that the Law does or works in the life of sinners. We will focus on five.
   • 1. __________________________________________________
4. What does the Law have to do with justification? In what sense does the (moral) Law “reflect” God’s own character? What does it have to do with Jesus?
   • 2. __________________________________________________
5. How can the Law “speak” to non-Jewish cultures or to people who lived thousands of years before Abraham? What’s the point?
   • 3. __________________________________________________
   • 4. __________________________________________________
6. Why does Paul associate the Law with wrath? Whose wrath? What’s the point?
   • 5. __________________________________________________
7. What? How can the Law “arouse” sin (Rom 5:20) – or make it “increase” (Rom 7:8) or make it “utterly sinful” (Rom 7:13)? How does it work?
8. The above list (#1-5) is partial and selective, but it is most significant for what’s not on it. What’s missing? In other words, what can’t the Law do?
9. Pastor Derek suggests that the theology of Romans 1-6 is brought to bear on the human experience in Rom 7:7-24 – unbelieving Israel’s human experience, in particular – under the Law. Also, if you’re wondering how an unbeliever can “love” the Law and seek to serve God, consider the Pharisees (John 5:45-47; 8:38-41; 16:2; Acts 22:3; Rom 10:1-2). What’s the point of all this?
10. In the gospels, Jesus is often portrayed as the hero who does what no one else can do – he sets the “wretched” free. Can you think of other gospel stories that make the same point?
11. The book of Romans presents Jesus Christ as doing for sinners what the Law cannot do. What are some aspects of Christ’s saving ministry that the apostle has in mind? What can’t the Law do?
12. We are “delivered” from the law of sin & death in Christ, but that doesn’t mean the Christian life is easy or free from the ruinous, corrupting effects of sin. There are numerous passages that speak to this tension. More to come!

1. We looked at four reasons why Romans 7:7-24 is best understood to be about unbelieving Israel under the Law – not believing Christians who struggle with sin:
   • (1) ______________________________________________________________
   • (2) ______________________________________________________________
   • (3) ______________________________________________________________
   • (4) ______________________________________________________________
2. If the above is correct, then v 7 (“Is the Law sin?”) serves as a rhetorical “prompt” for the rest of the section. If the Law isn’t sin, what is it? What are three “angles” from which we can look at the Law?
3. What do we mean, that the Law is “covenantal“? How is it analogous to the U.S. Constitution?
4. What are some Old Testament rituals that show the centrality of the Law to the theocratic kingdom?
5. In what sense is the Law “functional“? What are the three main areas of life governed by the Law?
6. What is Sector #1?
   • (a) What are some example of ordinary life as a citizen that are subject to the Law?
   • (b) What does this say about God? About his people? About theocratic Israel?
7. What is Sector #2?
   • (a) Comment on the separation of church and state, as it relates to Old Testament Israel.
   • (b) What are some areas of life that fall under the heading “ceremonial law”?
8. What is Sector #3?
   • (a) Why do people tend to locate the Ten Commandments here in Sector #3?
   • (b) Next time we’ll be back in Romans 7 and see what the Law says to us personally.
     

1. Most of our time this morning will be spent considering what Romans 7 isn’t about. My goal is to keep us from turning to this wonderful passage for all the wrong reasons. But next time we’ll take on one of the greatest puzzles in the Bible: If we’re so new in Christ, why do we feel – and act – so old?
2. Let’s start by framing the question: What do most people say Rom 7:7-24 is about? What does Derek (and a few others) suggest it’s really about?
3. Reason #1 is: ____________________________
4. What does the STRUCTURE of Romans 7-8 have to do with how we interpret Rom 7:7-24? How do verses 1-4 & 5-6 fit the overall pattern of ‘once‘/’but now‘?
5. Reason #2 is: ___________________________
6. Why is Paul’s VOCABULARY so significant in this section? How does Paul ordinarily speak about Christians with respect to “flesh”, “Law”, and “sin”?
7. Reason #3 is: _____________________________
8. The RHETORICAL QUESTION is v 7 seems to be a response to verses 1-4 & 5-6 but also an introduction to verses 7-24. What is the question?
9. What are some clues that Paul has the Law on his mind in Romans 7?
10. Reason #4 is: ______________________________
11. The prominence of the Greek pronoun (“I”) makes it “obvious” to some that Paul is writing about his own Christian experience. R.C. Sproul thinks so. But is it so obvious? Why or why not?
12. Who is Paul’s “alter ego” in Romans 7? That is to say, who’ the “I” in our passage?
13. Next time, we’ll think about the role of the Law in Israel. (It’s what our passage is about, after all.) Then we’ll turn our attention to what Romans 7 isn’t about – sanctification and the question we all struggle with: If we’re so new (and Paul says we are), why do we feel and act so old?
    

1. John Newton’s Amazing Grace! is a global anthem of Christianity. It describes salvation as a sharp break with the past – and sets the stage for today’s lesson. What was your conversion experience like?
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? We looked last time at the marriage illustration in Rom 7:1-4. What’s the point?
3. When Pastor Derek says that “this principle” is part of the framework of the Bible, what does he mean?
4. There are a couple of observations that ought to be made regarding this morning’s passage (vs 5-6). What’s the 1st observation?
5. What’s the 2nd observation? Reflect on the Bible’s movement toward “newness”. What is newness?
6. Notice hos Rom 7:1-4; Rom 7:5-6; and Rom 7:7-8:39 are all structured similarly, each section describing first negatively and then positively the “break” that comes in the gospel. We may organize it visually as follows:
   • Rom 7:1-4 “Principle Illustrated” Negatively, Positively – “The married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living” / “But if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning her husband.”
   • Rom 7:5-6 “Principle Stated” Negatively, Positively – “For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death” / “But now we have ben released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”
   • Rom 7:7-8:39 “Principle Developed” Negatively, Positively – “I am of flesh, sold into bondage of sin” / “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
7. Rom 7:7-25 is usually taken to be a description of the psychological distress that torments a believer caught up in patterns of sin. Why is this view so popular?
8. Pastor Derek emphasizes the importance of this section, despite all of its difficulties, for three reasons. What is the 1st reason? Why are we so convinced that Paul is writing about our Christian lives?
9. What is the 2nd reason? Why does a study of Romans 7 prompt a related study in the area of progressive sanctification?
10. What’s the 3rd reason? If this section isn’t about our divided hearts, what is it about?
11. List the several differences between justification and sanctification. (There are at least four).
12. In what ways are we still learning to be new?
    

1. John Newton’s Amazing Grace! is a global anthem of Christianity. It describes salvation as a sharp break with the past – and sets the stage for today’s lesson. What was your conversion experience like?
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? We looked last time at the marriage illustration in Rom 7:1-4. What’s the point?
3. When Pastor Derek says that “this principle” is part of the framework of the Bible, what does he mean?
4. There are a couple of observations that ought to be made regarding this morning’s passage (vs 5-6). What’s the 1st observation?
5. What’s the 2nd observation? Reflect on the Bible’s movement toward “newness”. What is newness?
6. Notice hos Rom 7:1-4; Rom 7:5-6; and Rom 7:7-8:39 are all structured similarly, each section describing first negatively and then positively the “break” that comes in the gospel. We may organize it visually as follows:
   • Rom 7:1-4 “Principle Illustrated” Negatively, Positively – “The married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living” / “But if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning her husband.”
   • Rom 7:5-6 “Principle Stated” Negatively, Positively – “For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear fruit for death” / “But now we have ben released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter.”
   • Rom 7:7-8:39 “Principle Developed” Negatively, Positively – “I am of flesh, sold into bondage of sin” / “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
7. Rom 7:7-25 is usually taken to be a description of the psychological distress that torments a believer caught up in patterns of sin. Why is this view so popular?
8. Pastor Derek emphasizes the importance of this section, despite all of its difficulties, for three reasons. What is the 1st reason? Why are we so convinced that Paul is writing about our Christian lives?
9. What is the 2nd reason? Why does a study of Romans 7 prompt a related study in the area of progressive sanctification?
10. What’s the 3rd reason? If this section isn’t about our divided hearts, what is it about?
11. List the several differences between justification and sanctification. (There are at least four).
12. In what ways are we still learning to be new?
    

Sermon Outline:

1. We begin this morning by thinking about the “contradictions” of the Christian life. Pastor Derek mentions a few. Which ones top your list?
2. PART 1. ROMANS 1:1-4 & THE RESURRECTION
3. Romans 1:1-4 is a powerful description of Christ’s resurrection. It is clear that Paul is setting up a contrast of some kind. Note vs 3-4 in particular: born of a seed of David according to the flesh –> declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection What are two contrasts that Paul is not making? What is the contrast he has in mind?
4. Describe the risen Christ’s messianic ministry. How is it different from his ministry before Easter?
5. In what ways are the contradictions we face in the Christian life similar to the contradictions of Christ’s “earthly ministry?
6. PART 2: UNION WITH (THE RISEN) CHRIST
7. Paul describes the special advantages that come from being united to a living – that is, risen – Messiah. What are some? (Extra credit if you refer to Rom 5:10 & 6:13 in your answer)
8. How has Easter changed the believer’s relationship to sin? How has it changed the believer’s relationship to death?
9. PART 3: WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR US?
10. How is Father Abraham a helpful – and relevant – illustration of the contradictions that believers face in the 21st century? What’s his secret?
11. What can we learn about a careful look at Abraham’s life and Paul’s letters as they have to do with the Christian life? What part does Easter have to play in it all?

Sermon Outline:

1. This year our Holy Week themes are taken from the book of Romans. Let’s start with a summary statement: What does Palm Sunday and the “King of Righteousness” have to do with Romans?
2. We start with the significance of Jerusalem in Judaism. Which Bible stories and “legends” underscore its importance? What’s the point?
3. Reflect on Jesus’ ministry at the time of his so-called “triumphal entry” into Jerusalem. What do readers of the gospels know about him by this time?
4. Palm Sunday was significant in Jesus’ life and ministry. Of the statements listed below, check all that are true:
   • Jesus was hoping that Israel would crown him king.
   • He was so weary from serving others, he couldn’t even walk by himself.
   • Jesus knew that the previous three years of ministry weren’t that important; it was all about the cross.
   • He was the perfect expression of the righteousness of God in human form.
5. What does Jesus’ earthly ministry have to do with Paul’s teaching in Romans? – specifically, that God has revealed a righteousness in the gospel (Rom 1:17), that neither Jews nor Greeks can attain such a righteousness in themselves (3:10), that it has been revealed apart from “law” (3:21), and that it has been granted as a gift when one believes (4:5)?
6. Pastor Derek emphasizes that fact that Jesus is referred to as the “Righteous One” throughout the Bible. Can you give examples? Why is this important?
7. Pastor Derek mentions several messianic texts from the Old Testament – Isa 11:1-5; 53:11; 61:1-3; & Zech 9:9. Why are these passages of special importance?
8. In what sense can we say that Jesus Christ is a new Melchizedek? What are some similarities between the two figures? What’s the point?
9. Does the Bible really teach that “sanctification” is our being renewed in the image of Jesus? Where?
10. With all this in mind, why is Palm Sunday such good news for Christians?

Sermon Outline:

1. The Christian life is easily imagined as a journey to a destination. The biblical lifestyle is also easy to understand – obedience, righteousness, the “form” of Paul’s teaching. So what needs clarifying?
2. What does it mean that the righteous shall live by faith? In what way was Father Abraham an example of justifying faith?
3. It sounds silly, but why must we obey, even under grace – if not to earn the prize for goodness or risk the penalty for badness?
4. How does Passover help us appreciate the life-giving benefits of the Savior? Why must Jesus be “eaten” and “drunk” at all?
5. When Pastor Derek says that “righteousness” is more than sinlessness, what does he mean? How can sinners ever be righteous before God’s throne?

Sermon Outline:

1. The Robert Frost poem “The Road Not Taken” is disarmingly simple. But it brings together several themes that we will be considering this morning – not least of which is the importance of choosing well, especially in spiritual matters. The poem is worth committing to memory. Enjoy!
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? How have Christians been set free from sin and law and death? (You get extra credit for using the phrase “union with Christ” in your answer.)
3. How can we make sense of Paul’s use of multiple pairs of contrasts in our passage? What are some?
4. Interestingly (and unexpectedly), Paul says that both “roads” lead to servitude. What does he mean by that? In what sense are Christians free? In what sense are they slaves?
5. Romans 6 is very ‘fleshy’ – with its description of “mortal bodies” and their “members”. What is a “whole body” offering to God anyway?
6. What does Paul mean in v 17 by “form of teaching”? Is there more than one?
7. Pastor Derek suggests three takeaways from this morning’s passage. What’s the 1st takeaway?
8. In what ways can our mouths and hands and brains and eyes and so on be considered weapons (or tools or instruments) for God’s service?
9. What is the 2nd takeaway? What are some ways that we are called to order our bodies and lives and thinking according to the “form” of Paul’s teaching?
10. What’s the 3rd takeaway? How can we be assured of Christ’s continued presence and provision as we make our way along the “road” to glory?

Sermon Outline:

1. We begin this morning with a bit of navel gazing. As you think about your many roles and responsibilities, which of them gets closest to your heart? Why? In other words, who are you really?
2. Skim Romans 6 and note all the slave language. Jot down as many examples of this vocabulary as you can.
3. What’s the point of the language and imagery of slaves and masters? Reflect on the fact that you were created to be a servant of God.
4. DO YOU REMEMBER? Explain from last time how Paul can say that believers have died to sin. How did Jesus “subject” himself to sin and then “separate” from it?
5. Based on the vocabulary and imagery of Romans 6, how do you suppose that Paul wants us to think about sin and sanctification?
6. Paul’s description of our members (“body parts”) as instruments (or weapons or tools or utensils) is fascinating. How could it influence the way we think about ourselves and our service to God?
7. Pastor Derek makes a big deal of the fact that v 14 – “Sin shall not be master over you” – is an indicative not an imperative. (In other words, it’s not a command; it’s a statement of fact.) Whatever grammarians call it, what does it have to do with Paul’s overarching message in Romans 6?
8. What does it mean to say that sin isn’t in the driver’s seat anymore
9. What does it mean that believers aren’t under the law?
10. What does it mean that believers are under grace?

Sermon Outline:

1. Romans 6 is filled with several powerful themes. But where does Paul’s teaching seem to be headed? What clues in the text confirm your answer? (If you can’t find any, you may need a different answer.)
2. In Jesus’ dying to sin, he ‘SUBJECTED’ himself to it. Does that mean that he became a sinner? If no, what does it mean?
3. How did Christ “silence” the Law? (Importantly, this answer has two aspects to it.)
4. Sin is an unclean thing. It repels God and arouses his judicial wrath. How did Jesus’ ministry as the sin-bearer “typify” this? In other words, why was it necessary that he die a shameful, scandalous death?
5. Why did Jesus have to die at all?
6. In Jesus’ dying to sin, he also ‘SEPARATED’ himself from it. What does that mean? Specifically, what does it mean that sin and the Law and death no longer have any “claim” on him?
7. How is the believer’s union with Christ central to ‘living to God”? What clues can you point to in Romans 6 that confirm your answer?
8. What is the experience more than any other that exemplifies what it means to live to God?
9. Living to God presupposes that you have already died to sin. Have you? Are you joined to Christ by faith? Do you think and act and organize your life in such a way that shows you have a new master?
10. According to Colossians 3, how can we live a “reoriented” life today? Also, describe the life that is “raised” with Christ. What does it look life? (More to the point, does it look like yours?)
11. In what sense is living to God really all about the resurrection?

Sermon Outline:

1. This morning’s lesson from Romans 6 is about the importance of living in a way that is consistent with one’s faith. Think of examples of hypocrisy in the Bible ( or old-fashioned inconsistency) and Jesus’ reaction to them.
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? How are Romans 5 and Romans 6 related? That is to say, what’s the connection between justification and baptism?
3. The rhetorical question in v1 – “Are we to continue in sin that grace may increase?” – reveals a misunderstanding of both grace and sin. Explain.
4. Paul describes the believer’s relationship to sin in unexpected terms. What is it? In what sense have we “died” to sin?
5. How does Jesus’ ministry as our “representative” take us to the heart of the gospel? What does it have to say about our lifelong struggle with sin?
6. When English translators come across the expression “our old [man]” in Paul (as they do in Rom 6:6, Eph 4:22; & Col 3:9), they typically render it “our old self.” But should they? If Paul has another “old man” in mind, who might it be? See Romans 5 for clues. What does the apostle mean?
7. How did death “master” the Master? More to the point, how did he die to sin? What does this kind of language mean when used with the Savior in mind? How does Easter fit in this subject?
8. So who is the “new man”?
9. Pastor Derek says that Christians are mixed up in a kind of identity crisis. What does he mean by that?
10. How, then, does all this turn into a challenge to godliness? That is to say, since we have died to sin, how shall we live?
11. What does baptism have to do with any of this?

Sermon Outline:

1. Stories about Martin Luther are always edifying – well, almost always. This morning’s story zeroes in on what he purportedly said to the devil in Wartberg Castle. What did he say? Why does it matter?
2. Paul’s use of baptism language in Romans 6 seems abrupt and unexpected. Wasn’t he just writing about Adam and justification? But on closer inspection, the two chapters really are closely linked. How so?
3. What are some of the several ways that the believer’s union with Christ is described in the New Testament?
4. In what way does baptism signify spiritual union? How is 1 Corinthians 10:1-2 a helpful illustration?
5. Pastorally speaking, why is Paul writing to the Romans about their baptism experiences?

Sermon Outline:

1. We begin our lesson by recognizing that God wants to be “known” for lots of things, but especially for his grace. Be thinking about what this says about his heart. What kind of God is he anyway?
2. Rom 5:18-21 is Paul’s summary (“so then”) of this super-dense section. How would you summarize it?
3. Paul says in v 18, “There resulted justification of life to all men.” What does he mean by “all men“? Is the apostle a universalist?
4. Notice the picture-perfect parallelism in v18: (a) Through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men; (b) Through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. Why might Paul be interested to show the analogy between the ministries of Adam and Jesus?
5. In v 20 Paul says that the Law was added so that the transgression might increase. Huh? Isn’t the Law all about decreasing transgression? What is Paul talking about?
6. The fact that the Law increases sin is bad news. What’s the good news?
7. Pastor Derek notes that the way we talk about grace and justification can sometimes undermine the grandeur of God’s saving love! What does he mean by that? What is grace anyway?
8. When we say that God is the “God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10), what are we saying about his heart? How does his self-revelation to Moses make the same point?
9. What is sola gratia (however you pronounce it) and what does it have to do with this complicated section in Romans?
10. What is the “reign of grace” in v 21?

Sermon Outline:

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? We spent a fair amount of time last week thinking about covenants. What does it mean when we say that God has organized the human experience “covenantally”? How do covenants in the Bible work? (Try to use “one/many” and “blessing/curse” language in your answer.)
2. DO YOU REMEMBER? What is “original sin” and what does it have to do with covenants?
3. Adam’s failure stirred a sense of expectation among God’s people for something better. How do the prophets express this expectation? How do the gospel writers express it, especially John?
4. Adam may be a “type” of Christ, but the two men are not alike in every respect. What does v 15 have to say about the difference between them?
5. What is the “free gift” that Paul mentions in v 15?
6. When Derek says that Christ’s gift abounds in “scope”, what does he mean?
7. The 2nd difference between Adam and Christ, described in v 16, can be characterized in an abundance of “scale”. What does that mean?
8. The 3rd difference between Adam and Christ is found in v17. What is it?
9. How to the early chapters of Genesis portray death’s dark reign? According to Paul, how does Christ’s work turn death’s domain upside down?
10. The words are big and sound dreadfully academic – condemnation, justification, righteousness, the one and the many. How do they “translate” into good news for people like us?
11. When we say that Jesus Christ is the Man, what do we mean?

Sermon Outline:

1. Pastor Derek says that this section in Romans contains some of the most expansive themes in the book. What does he mean by that?
2. How does this morning’s passage fit thematically with Rom 5:1-11? How does it fit with what comes later in Rom 6? In what sense is Paul “still thinking” about justification?
3. Rom 5:12-21 can be divided into three sections. We’ll be zeroing in on the 1st this morning: 1. _______________________________________________
4. Reflect on the significance of covenants in the Bible. How do they typically function? Why are they so prominent? What can we conclude?
5. Paul writes in v 12, “Through one man sin entered into the world.” What is he talking about? What’s the point of this little history lesson?
6. What is original sin? Are babies born innocent or guilty? Why do you think so?
7. Paul gives special attention to the period between Adam and Moses. Why does he do so? What’s he trying to show?
8. In v 13 how does the principle of “no law/no imputation” support the apostle’s main point, but in an unexpected way? What is his main point?
9. In v 14 Paul uses a word from which we get “type” and “typology” in English. What is a type in the Bible? Can you give some examples?
10. Specifically, what is a type of Christ? Pastor Derek mentions several. In addition, how is Joshua like Jesus? How is Isaac’s ram-substitute like Jesus? How is the Jewish tabernacle like Jesus?
11. What does it mean to say that God has organized all of human history around two figures? And which two might they be?

Sermon Outline:

1. This morning we begin a series of lessons about mediators. What is a mediator? What does one do? What kinds of situations require mediation?
2. In what sense is Jesus Christ a mediator? How does his ministry of mediation differ from, say, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s?
3. According to Rom 5:11, what’s the 5th reason that we can be all the more assured of God’s love – notice yet another ‘a fortiori’ sentence structure – and strengthened in hope of the glory of God?
4. When we think of Jesus’ ministry as mediator, we think mostly about his death. But the scriptures teach that the risen Christ continues to mediate between God and man. In what way?

Sermon Outline:

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? In Romans 5:6-11, Paul offers five reasons why we can be assured of God’s love. Such assurance in turn strengthens our hope in salvation glory. From last time, what were the first two reasons? Can you describe them? And the third?
2. There are several things worth noting in Rom 5:9. What’s the significance of Paul’s expression, “Much more then—“? “Since … much more” (ESV) and “Since … how much more?” (NIV)
3. Paul is making an “a fortiori” contrast in v9. What is being contrasted? That is to say, what makes our salvation-hope all the more secure?
4. Wrath? What wrath? What do our Bibles in general and Romans in particular have to say about the “day” of wrath? What is it? When is it?
5. But didn’t Adam and Eve already get judged for their sin? What about the curse of death and frustrating work and family heartache?
6. Consider the “connection” between the cross & the end-time judgment. Justice is the foundation of God’s throne, so he won’t judge the same sin twice. With that in mind, what does the future hold for those who claim Jesus’ substitutionary work on their behalf? And for those who don’t?
7. How is each of the following Bible stories a good news/bad news lesson? Noah’s flood? Passover? The doom of Sodom and Gomorrah?
8. Rom 5:10 offers a 4th reason why we can be assured of God’s love and strengthened in our salvation-hope. What is it?
9. With another “a fortiori” argument, Paul hints at the added benefits of a risen Savior over against a dead one. What are some?

Sermon Outline:

1. DO YOU REMEMBER? In Romans 5:2, we learn that Paul exults in hope of glory, but in v 3 he also exults in tribulations. What’s the connection? Does it have anything to do with his mentioning “hope” again at the end of v4? What do you think?
2. Paul says that the Christian’s gospel-hope does not disappoint. What does he mean? How can we be assured of hope?
3. Pastor Derek pauses to reflect on some ways that “popular love” can differ from biblical love. What is he getting at when he says that love is a verb?
4. In our passage, Paul highlights five aspects of Christ’s ministry. These five aspects are meant to boost our confidence in God’s love and, in turn, our hope of glory. What’s the 1st aspect?
5. In v 6 Paul reminds believers why they can have confidence in God’s love. What does he say?
6. The Bible describes God’s unconditional love in a variety of ways. What are some?
7. Charles Hodge called it an “antecedent love”. What did he mean? Why is the concept essential to a biblical understanding of God’s love?
8. In vs 7-8 we find a 2nd reason that believers can have confidence in God’s love. What is it?
9. Reflect on the scenario Paul lays out in v 7. How is God’s love unlike the love illustrated in Paul’s example? What’s the point?
10. If we have recurring doubts about God’s love – its scope, its duration, it steadfastness – what should we do? What should we meditate on?

Sermon Outline:

1. Our lesson this morning is organized around two basic questions, both taken from Romans 5:3. What are they & why is it important to get them right?
2. The word “tribulation” can refer to adversity of a general kind or it can refer specifically to persecution. We need to know how Paul uses the word in Rom 5:3. What is Pastor Derek’s early opinion?
3. There are three strands of evidence that need to be considered in order to make a good decision: #1 _________________________________________
4. Reflect on Paul’s use of the word “tribulation” in Rom 2:9; [5:3 2x] & 8:35. What conclusions can we draw? #2 ___________________________________
5. Reflect on the overarching themes that we find in the book of Romans. In other words, does Paul appear to be thinking about troubles in general or persecution in particular as he writes the letter? #3 ____________________
6. Summarize the evidence from #1-3 above.
7. What part does justification play in the tension between tribulation & hope? What kind of fearful questions does the “great fact” of the believer’s justification put a decisive end to?
8. We may say that we believe the Bible & Heidelberg and all the rest, but our response to adversity can make a different “confession”. What’s that?
9. What are some of the spiritual lessons that can be learned from adversity?
10. What does it mean that Christians experience the “convulsions” of an age that’s passing away? What does it have to do with the creation’s groaning? What about Jesus’ groaning at Lazarus’ tomb?
11. Why can we exult in tribulation?

Sermon Outline:

1. Question #1 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism is about the ultimate meaning of life. Where only can such meaning be found?
2. What does justification have to do with God’s glory?
3. Paul emphasizes three aspects of hope in Rom 5:1-5. The 1st has to do with God’s glory (last week). Paul lays out the 2nd aspect with week in vs 3-4.
4. There are several observations we might make regarding Point #2. What are the three Pastor Derek mentions?
5. Paul exults in tribulations. Why? What is the link between suffering and God’s glory?