Grace Community Church Midweek Teaching

For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Heb 4:12) All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timot...

The believers in Rome were a varied group! Among those Paul sends special greetings to we have men and women, Jew and Gentile, imprisoned and free. Spurgeon comments; ““They were like the most of us, commonplace individuals; but they loved the Lord, and therefore as Paul recollected their names he sent them a message of love which has become embalmed in the Holy Scriptures.” Included in this closi...

Paul has been faithful to His calling as minister of the Gospel to the Gentiles, but he seeks no glory for himself. He knows anything he has accomplished has not been by his own strength or power, but fully by the power of the Holy Spirit, in the strength of God, & because of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Paul reminds the Roman believers of God’s grace in using him for the sake of th...

As we live into the process of becoming like Christ it is easy to become weary and discouraged. We need help both from the Holy Spirit working in us and the Holy Spirit working through us to build each other up. All of us have moments of weakness and confusion and as we learned last week, there are many disputable issues that can divide us.  Instead, we are called to receive each other, build each...

 Cain said to God; “Am I my brother’s keeper?”* As those who live in an individualistic culture this question is familiar to us. Though our natural bent is to make decisions from this perspective, followers of Jesus are called to another way. Paul invites us to live in such a way that we aren’t breaking fellowship with each other over convictions about secondary issues. In our passage this week Pa...

 As we continue in Paul’s practical application section of Romans love is a major theme. Love for God of course, but also what it means to live lives of love toward others. We are challenged to give to all what is owed, whether it’s taxes, honor, or respect and in all things, we are to love. Paul further explains what Is meant by Jesus words; “Love your neighbors as yourself” and how the law is me...

Jesus said the 2 greatest commandments are to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself. In the first part of Romans 12, we learned a bit more of what it means to Love God in this way. In the second part of Roman’s 12, Paul helps those who have dedicated themselves to God understand what it means to love others. Love must be sincere,...

We don’t serve a God to whom we must offer sacrifices in order to gain His mercy. He freely gives us His mercy – which in turn fuels our response of worship and sacrifice.    In David Guzik’s commentary on Romans 12, he points out all the mercies of God Paul has explained to us thus far: ·  Justification from the guilt and penalty of sin. ·  Adoption in Jesus and identification with Christ. ·  Pla...

After words of instruction with deep and sometimes mysterious truths, Paul concludes his theological explanation of the gospel with praise and awe of God’s grandure! The next major section of this letter will include practical application, but before moving on into that, take some time to read and reflect on all that you have learned in these first 11 chapters!   Prepare for this week’s teaching b...

In our next section of Romans, Paul talks about olive trees and the grafting, pruning, and re-grafting of both wild and cultivated branches.  Since our goal of studying is for transformative understanding, it is good for us to delve into these concepts and see how they illustrate truths about God, salvation, Jews, Gentiles, faith and unbelief.  It is also important to keep the main thing the main...

A remnant is usually a small part from a whole, or a small quantity remaining of something. This next section Paul addresses the question of whether God has rejected His people with 2 arguments; First, since Paul, a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin, has been reconciled, then no, God has not rejected His people. Second, just as a remnant existed in Elijah’s day of those who had not bowed down to Baal...

Every single person has sinned and is in need of a way to be reconciled to God, which was accomplished through Jesus’ death and resurrection. The way for all is the same – belief. Paul says it this way; “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mou...

Paul’s anguish over his brothers and sisters in Israel is palpable. They were given adoption as sons, divine glory, the covenants, the law, the temple worship and promises. The promise of Jesus was fulfilled through them. The consequences for their continual hardened hearts and disobedience is real and just, but so heartbreaking. Can’t we relate? Watching ones we love reject Jesus and go their own...

In light of all that Paul has laid out for us in Romans 8:1-30, what is our response? Can we really be sure that there is no condemnation for us in Christ? Is our standing as God’s children secure? These final verses in the chapter usher in a resounding; “Yes!” God is for us. He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. Jesus is interceding for...

There is so little we know and so much we can’t see especially in our struggles and suffering. Glory, hope, God at work, being conformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ – these are all promises given to us by our God who has always proved faithful. It is true that the glory that will be revealed in us has no comparison to what is right in front of us. It is also true that this is a hope that we...

 Thus far in Romans Paul has explained our universal and personal sin struggle. None of us is immune, none of us can, on our own, be made right with God. We are all guilty.  Who will rescue us from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God that through Christ Jesus our Lord we are rescued! Therefore, there is now no condemnation for us! What a relief! We are free from condemnation, we a...

Our struggle with sin is real and knowing the right information is not sufficient for the battle. We need Jesus – His power, His grace and His guidance for real help and freedom.   Join us tonight as we learn about the Law and Sin from Romans 7:7-25.   Midweek Teaching | Wednesdays @ 7pm

Join us as we pick up our study of Romans in chapter 7. Paul taught us in chapter 6 that our relationship with the law as a means of righteousness before God ended with Christ. In Chapter 7 we will grow in our understanding of what it means to have freedom from the law and what to do with our continual struggle with sin. Prepare for this week’s message by reviewing Romans 6:15-23 and previewing Ro...

We all serve something, the question is; will it be God or something else? Whatever we yield our lives over to will produce fruit from that yielding. Thanks be to God that he sets us free from fruitless pursuits that lead to death! With God as our Captain, the fruit we get is our growth in Christlikeness and in the end, eternal life with Him! We can be set free but still choose to live as a prison...

In Christ, we have been set free from slavery to sin – we need not walk in it any longer. This is real living – letting the life of Christ and His righteousness rule over our whole self – our mind, body, soul, and spirit. Paul instructs us not to let sin control the way we live, making us an instrument of evil, death, and destruction. Rather, we have been called into a new way of living – under th...

We don’t have to look far to see the results of sin in this world. To imagine a world without death as a part of it is beyond our imaginings. But this is what Christ accomplishes on the cross! He conquered death – the ultimate consequence of sin’s presence in this world, and He gives us Life-the ultimate reward of His righteousness gained on our behalf!  

This is a passage to read again and again and again! Because of Jesus Paul gives a sampling of the riches we can claim: peace with God, access into the remarkable state of Grace in which we firmly, safely, and securely stand, purpose in suffering, a God whose promises never disappoint, a Love so true poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. The most remarkable thing is that it was sinners t...

The way to become right with God has been the same from the beginning both for Old Testament believers and for New Testament believers. God does not change – His Grace was sufficient for those who lived before the law was given, for those who lived after the law was given, and for all of us who live now, after Jesus came and fulfilled the requirements of the law on our behalf! Paul reminds the Rom...

Any boasting we are tempted with is entirely thrown out on the principle of faith. If one is declared free of the guilt of sin and made acceptable to God by faith alone – then anyone who has faith in Jesus is given this gift, irregardless of who you are, where you live, or what you have done. All means all – both in all having sinned and fallen continuously short of the glory of God, and all being...