Sermon Introduction

The service went very good. Here is the scripture and the introduction of the message. I will not post the whole sermon; this will just be to give you a feel of the direction that the sermon went .......

Scripture: Romans 12:9-21

This morning, I want us to take a look at the passage that we just read. The scripture that was read is from the book of Romans. Many individuals would claim that this is one of their most favorite books in the Bible.

The book of Romans is a book that is very deep in theological meaning and covers numerous aspects of the Christian faith. When you take a look at the first eleven chapters, we see many issues that are covered.

However, in chapter 12, a transition takes place. Remember the scripture that we read was from chapter 12 and we took a look at versus 9-21. In these versus we see that Paul shows us that a life sacrificed to God will lead to a life that is transformed – changed – into a life that is acceptable to God. Chapter 12 demands a changed life.

Let us briefly take a look at what Luther had to say about Romans chapter 12: St. Paul teaches the true liturgy and makes all Christians priests, so that they may offer, not money or cattle, as priests do in the Law, but their own bodies, by putting their desires to death. Next he describes the outward conduct of Christians whose lives are governed by the Spirit; he tells how they teach, preach, rule, serve, give, suffer, love, live and act toward friend, foe, and everyone. These are the works that a Christian does, for as I have said, faith is not idle.

Now, Luther mentioned that there were outward conducts that would be displayed in our lives which then would also be transparent into the lives of our churches. But, a dilemma has taken place over the years. Some of these dilemmas include the fact that we have become a very individualistic society. We in turn have lost the concept of what true Christian community and thus, the church has lost what it was designed for.

So, today, I am going to take a small look at the church and community of believers and then look at the community (town) that we live in and see how this passage can help reshape us into what God has designed us to be. We will then have a challenge for you to take that next step.

The church is not an organization, nor is it a system, nor is it a structure, nor is it in an institution. It does not begin with a methodology, or a creed, or a formula. It does not even begin with leadership. INSTEAD the church is a group of followers of Jesus Christ who God has brought together so they can walk through life with one another.