Romans 12:1-2, 9-21
August, 30, 2020
preached by Pastor Doug Cooper
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Guide for Home Worship

Time of Reflection Quotations

“The household of God must offer a clear and lovely alternative to the madness of this world.”

~ Ray Ortlund, contemporary pastor and author

“We don’t come to church, to be a church. We come to Christ, and then we are built up as a church. If we come to church just to be with one another, one another is all we’ll get. And it isn’t enough. Inevitably, our hearts will grow empty, and then angry. If we put community first, we will destroy community. But if we come to Christ first and submit ourselves to Him and draw life from Him, community gets traction.”

~ C.S. Lewis (1898-1963), British writer and Christian apologist

“What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything of the sort. Christians come together, not because they form a natural collocation, but because they have been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance… and he commands them to love one another.”

~ D.A. Carson (1946-present), N.T. scholar and author

“One of the most overlooked benefits of love is how God works through it to mature us. Part of why He puts us in each other’s lives is to create a tension in our lives, a redemptive pressure, that has potential to improve our character.”

~ Scott Sauls, contemporary pastor and writer

“For leaders of the ancient church, hospitality was a significant context for transcending boundaries and working through respect and recognition. Christian hospitality was to be remedial, counteracting the social stratification of the larger society by providing a modest and equal welcome to everyone.”

~ Christine D. Pohl, contemporary author and professor of social ethics

“Above all—and this I regard as most important of all—always respond to every impulse to pray… Where does it come from? It is the work of the Holy Spirit… Give yourself to it, yield to it; and you will find not only that you have not been wasting time with respect to the matter with which you are dealing, but that actually it has helped you greatly in that respect…”

~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899–1981), Welsh Protestant minister and medical doctor

Sermon Passage

Romans 12:1-2, 9-21 (NIV)

¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will…

⁹ Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. ¹⁰ Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. ¹¹ Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. ¹² Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. ¹³ Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

¹⁴ Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. ¹⁵ Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. ¹⁶ Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

¹⁷ Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. ¹⁸ If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. ¹⁹ Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. ²⁰ On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

²¹ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.