MESSAGES

Paul opens his letter to the church in Rome with thankfulness, joy, prayers, theology, and his own sense of obligation to share the Good News. The Good News is our salvation from sin, but so much more as the Book of Romans will continue to reveal. The Gospel is: Jesus’ work to restore the life we were made for by a price we couldn’t pay, and is available to everyone.

ICE BREAKER:

Have you ever had a friend or family member who was embarrassing to be out with?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

As a group, read Romans 1:1-17.

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. Look at verses 11-12. How have you experienced this “mutual encouragement”?

3. In what ways do we sometimes have too small of a view of the Gospel?

4. Why are Christians sometimes “ashamed of the Gospel”?

5. We might not want to admit, or even think we are “ashamed of the Gospel”, but when have you hesitated to share the Good News with others?

6. Who are you personally praying for to come to faith in Jesus? As a group, pray for those named, and for each other to be used by God in those people’s lives.

Paul steps from the “Good News” found in verses 1-17 of Romans 1 to the bad news in verses 18-32. His is point is that we have traded the worship and devotion to self. The fallout is severe as it shows up in our life choices wandering farther and farther from how we were created.

ICE BREAKER:

People aren’t one-dimensional. Few people exhibit only one personality attribute. Most folks aren’t totally angry all the time, nor are they mostly compassionate all the time. Who is a person in your life who was misjudged by people as being one thing (angry, sad, happy, driven, judgmental, etc.), but exhibited the opposite characteristic once you got to know them?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

As a group, read Romans 1:16-32

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. How do people justify believing that God exists, but not surrendering their life to Him?

3. Why is the all-American “pursuit of happiness” a terrible compass?

4. Read Romans 1:18-20. What are some ways that God’s invisible qualities are seen through creation & nature?

5. God’s judgment in this passage shows up three times as Him giving humanity over (verses 24, 26, 28) How would you describe that to a friend?

6. What does “surrendering my natural instincts when they conflict with God’s supernatural intentions” look like in real life? What are examples of seeing that actually work?

7. Read 1 John 4:10. The ESV translates that verse with the word “propitiation”. How should the wrath of God being eliminated from the life of a believer affect their life? How is that part of the Good News?

Paul shifts from calling out the gentiles for their flagrant sin to informing the self righteous jewish Christians that they are just as guilty! The hypocritical act of treating others sin as more depraved than our own has no place for a Christ follower, and Paul intends the Roman church to change that practice.

ICE BREAKER:

Everybody has experienced a “do as I say, not as I do” moment in life. What is one from your past?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. How would you define the term “hypocrite”.

3. Hypocrisy is something everybody wrestles with to some degree or another. Why do you think Christians specifically have gotten a reputation for being hypocritical?

4. Read Romans 2:1-4. Why do we tend to see our own sins as less evil than others?

5. “There but for the grace of God go I,” is an old phrase meant to help Christians show grace and not be judgmental. It promotes an attitude of humility, understanding that we are in need of God’s grace and blessing as much as anyone. It helps us face the truth that we are just as capable of brokenness and sin as anyone else.

   What is your common reaction? Are you more likely to judge someone or say “there but for the grace of God go I”?

6. Scripture calls us to use wise judgment, but not be judgmental. What does this actually look like in our day-to-day lives? How can you exercise wise judgment when dealing with others, without becoming judgmental?

7. Looking to Jesus should affect how we think of ourselves and others.

   How does looking to Jesus help us see yourself rightly?

   How does looking to Jesus help us to see others rightly?

As a group, close in prayer. Pray that God will develop in your group the type of Jesus followers who take sin seriously, as well as God’s kindness and grace. Pray that this affects both how you see yourselves and gow you see everybody else.

The Jewish followers of Jesus in the Roman church were confused. Is all of our Jewish heritage pointless? If the Gospel is for everyone (Jew and Gentile alike), is there any benefit to all those rituals we practiced growing up? Paul responds that there was a massive advantage to being God’s chosen people. They carried the very hope of the world for millennia leading up to Jesus’ arrival. They knew the first two movies before the third film! We can ask the same question: Is there any benefit to living a full life following Jesus? If I could say a prayer on my deathbed, what is the point of making the effort to follow Jesus up until that point? In Paul’s words - “Much in every way.”

ICE BREAKER:

What is the best movie trilogy?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. Read Romans 2:28-3:2

   What psychological advantage have you experienced because of your faith in Jesus?

3. You can find moral Christians and non-Christians. If you weren’t a Christian, how would your moral outlook be different?

4. How does following Jesus provide people with the ability to be more resilient in life?

5. With all of the advantages that come from following Jesus, why do you think we fail to take advantage of these advantages?

6. What is a way you can take more advantage of the advantage of your faith this week?

Have you ever thought about the fact that you can break a rule without even knowing it? And you’re still guilty! We wouldn’t like getting a ticket for speeding when we honestly didn’t know the speed limit. That’s why God gave humans His Law - to help us know that we fall short. So that we would turn to Jesus. Romans 3:22-24 is the greatest bad news / good news section in the whole Bible! ALL fall short, yet ALL are justified freely by His grace!

ICE BREAKER:

What rule did you break most growing up?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Read Romans 3:19-31

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. What do people usually mean when they say “nobody’s perfect”?

3. We start following Jesus by faith, and we continue following Jesus by faith. What does that look & feel like over time?

4. Paul says, “Where then is boasting?” Basically, if Jesus fulfilled the law and forgave us, He did all the heavy lifting. We have nothing to brag about.

   Read 2 Corinthians 10:17.

   If we don’t boast about our strengths in life, what DO we boast about?

5. “Boast in the Lord” is a weird expression. What are some ways you can “boast in the Lord” in everyday life (outside of church)?

6. Paul says a couple of chapters later that when he boasts, he boasts about his weaknesses. Why are Christians uniquely capable of bragging about what others would try to cover up?

Paul helps all believers realize just how blessed we are. Even though we don’t always feel so richly blessed. It’s cool to notice that Paul (who lives 2,000 years ago) endured extreme hardships - for following Jesus. And Paul quotes King David (who lived 3,000 years ago), who also endured extreme hardships. But they both agree that the most important thing, the biggest deal, the greatest blessing - is that our sins are not counted against us!

If God never does another thing for us, He’s already done too much. Sometimes we just need to pause and remember that in order to keep our perspective right.

ICE BREAKER:

For you, what is the best part of watching the Super Bowl?

A. The game

B. The commercials

C. The food

D. The half-time show

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Read Romans 3:19-31

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. Jealousy robs us of seeing how blessed we are. What causes you jealousy in everyday life?

3. Read Romans 4:16

   The guarantee of salvation is both an encouraging and risky thing to share. What are the potential downsides of a person’s confidence in their salvation?

4. Read Romans 4:18-21

   Most people can relate to being a biological offspring, but the idea of being adopted is not something they have experienced firsthand. Why does the Bible make adoption such a fitting description of our relationship with God?

5. Has there ever been a time in your life when you’ve had to “believe against all hope”?

6. Who is someone in your world that might benefit from the scriptural truth on the card handed out in church this weekend?

“I AM BLESSED - ‘Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.’ - Romans 4:8

‘This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.’ - Psalm 118:24

Close in prayer, thanking Jesus for His work in our lives to restore our relationship with God and the blessed life found in Him.

Every human encounters a myriad of challenges and struggles in life. Every Christian, however, can engage these common problems with a profound amount of resilience.

ICE BREAKER:

In your perfect world, how long would winter be?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Read Romans 5:1-5

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. We bring our faith to every problem and suffering. What parts of your faith and God’s truth do you find most helpful in navigating life’s painful situations?

3. Share a time that you went through something difficult, but you look back and see growth & benefit?

4. It is said that suffering can either make you bitter or better. Paul agrees that God doesn’t waste our suffering, but rather uses it to build perseverance, character, and hope. Who is someone you have seen increase in character and hope through suffering?

5. Reread Romans 5:5

   Paul says that God’s love and Spirit accompany us through every problem in life. Scripture also encourages us that we have our brothers and sisters to help shoulder the burdens we encounter.

   What is a current pain, problem, or stressful situation that we can pray for and walk alongside you with?

Everyone has a past. The longer we live, the more past we have.

One challenge Christians have is getting past their past, and not living in regret. Some of us live with regret over things we did or didn’t do before we trusted Jesus. Paul says, look to Jesus. That’s how God showed us and proved to us the love He has for us. God calls us forgiven, and friend. When we trust His love and His forgiveness, then we get past our past and lean into His friendship too.

ICE BREAKER:

Do you have a guilty conscience, or not so much?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. What is one of your biggest regrets?

3. Getting past our past starts with accepting it, rather than avoiding it.

   Read Romans 5:6-8

   How does Paul describe who we are without Jesus? How does it make you feel to accept that?

4. Through Jesus we can be forgiven by God (justification), AND, through Jesus we can be friends with God (reconciliation).

   How do you see the difference? What does friendship with God mean to you?

5. Read Hebrews 10:10-23

   Based upon these verses:

   • Identify the things God has done for us.

   • Identify the result in out lives.

Original sin. It seems so unfair. We can blame Adam & Eve, we can cry about it to God… but we all know that we’re guilty too.

Paul, In Romans 5, teaches us about original sin, but uses it to show us how powerful Jesus is, and how loving God is. Adam’s one sin doomed all of humanity. But Jesus’ one sacrifice is powerful enough to cover all our many sins!

ICE BREAKER:

Scripture says that we’re both born in sin and we eventually choose to sin. What is your earliest memory of doing something you knew was wrong?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Read Romans 5:12-21

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. It seems unfair that everyone since Adam has a sin nature. How do you deal with difficult truths like this, while still following Jesus in faith?

3. G.K. Chesterton and C.S. Lewis said that the doctrine of original sin is the basis of a democratic form of government - where power is spread out over the people - because it is the only reason we can give for not absolutely trusting a ruling elite. In other words, the best argument of democracy is not that men are good enough to govern themselves, but that men are so bad non can be trusted with absolute power.

   What do you think about that?

4. How does the reality that people are born polluted by sin help a Christian avoid being shocked by the bad behavior of others?

5. How does an accurate understanding of sin cause a Christian to be more intentional about reaching those they know who do not know Jesus?

6. What practices help you deal with your sin in a healthy way?

Paul understood how humans think 2,000 years ago, and still today. Okay, so if I’m not ”under the law”, can I break the law? If I’m covered by God’s grace anyway… can I just do whatever I want? Paul emphatically says, “By no means!”

Of course, we’d like to think that way, but God has our best interests in mind when He shows us how to live. Paul explains that sin will still try to reign in our life if we let it.

ICE BREAKER:

What do you have to fight yourself to not let yourself do (or not do) for your own good, even though you totally would? For example: eat a whole tub of ice cream, or drive 120mph.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Have a couple readers Read Romans 6:1-18

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. Right away in Romans 6, Paul uses baptism to show our new life in Jesus. Have you been baptized? Is there any reason you shouldn’t be?

3. Read Galatians 2:20-21

   What does it mean to be “crucified with Christ”?

4. Paul says that rather than being slaves to sin, we are to be slaves to righteousness and slaves of God. But these are by choice. He says in verse 16, “You are slaves of the one you obey”. How does realizing that truth helps you in your relationship with God and your fight against sin?

5. Sin is no longer your master. So why live like it is? What are some ways you’ve learned to fight sin in your life?

The Apostle Paul is realistic. And he is well acquainted with suffering. But he teaches us that followers of Jesus have the ability to go through life’s hardships with hope, peace, and joy. It’s a gift that is so easy to miss out on. Romans 8 has been a cherished part of God’s Word for centuries because of the game-changing truth in verses 18-30. As we begin, read those verses together. Then discuss what they mean to us today.

ICE BREAKER:

Do yu have a favorite Bible verse? It’s okay if you don’t. But if you do, share it with the group and share why it’s a favorite.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Have a couple readers Read Romans 6:1-18

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. What do you worry about? In what ways does this passage speak into your worries?

3. Read Romans 8:18.

   How can our worst suffering shape our hope for future glory?

4. Read Romans 8:26-27

   What does it mean to you that the Holy Spirit intercedes for you?

5. What is one area of you life right now that you need to cling to the promise that “in all things God works for the good of those who love Him”?

Paul finishes what chapter 8 started when he stated “There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” Paul identifies that there isn’t anything outside of us (pain, death, hardship, condemnation, etc.) or inside us (how we interpret those things) that can separate us from the greatest thing in life: God’s love.

ICE BREAKER:

What is one of the greatest things you have conquered in life? (i.e. athletically, vocationally, personally, an epic board game win…)

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Have a couple readers Read Romans 6:1-18

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. Why do you think so many Christians believe they CAN be separated from God’s love, even after being saved?

3. Read Romans 8:31

   Truthfully, what are things that seem to stand against you in life?

4. Read Romans 8:32-34

   When Jesus said “It is Finished” on the cross, He was stating that we are completely justified between us and God if we have been forgiven by Him. Why do you think Jesus needs to continue to advocate for us even after forgiving us?

5. Read Romans 8:35-39

   According to this passage, the three things that can threaten a believer’s understanding of God’s love is the condemnation by others, the self condemnation of ourselves, and the hardships of life. Which of these is the least difficult for you in your faith? Which is the most difficult?

Paul says that our faith in not intended to stay private, but instead it is totally portable. It is intended to be shared. This is what caused Christianity to stand out from all other world religions. People were so convinced that this God loved everyone and that everyone needed to know the truth about Jesus. This is still what launches everyday people like you and me into awkward moments of sharing our faith with others.

ICE BREAKER:

What is something that you have passionately told others about recently (i.e. a good sale, a favorite restaurant or recipe, a show, or movie, etc.)?

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Read Romans 10:4, 9-13

1. What did you take away from the message this weekend?

2. Have you ever had the privilege of leading someone to accept Jesus?

3. Have you ever had the privilege of sharing with someone what you believe about Jesus?

4. Why do you think Paul says we have to believe in our heart and declare with our mouth the truth about Jesus’ divinity and resurrection in order to be truly saved?

5. What is the most intimidating part of sharing your faith with a non-believing person?

6. Who can you pray for to come to know Jesus? Share their names and pray together for them. Pray for one another - that God would give you the opportunity to share, the courage to share, and the words to share.