"We would share your life your passion, share your
word of world made new."– Ruth Duck
from
"The One Who Showed Mercy"
by Christopher Koelle
quote: from the hymn
"Womb of Life and Source of Being."
Opening prayer: We have been led to the mountaintop of worship. We come, trusting in your steadfast love.
We gather, seeking the way of salvation and peace. You have made an everlasting covenant
with us. Let us proclaim your faithfulness to all generations. Help us to know you here, today.
Amen.
Romans 2:1-11; 14:7-13
Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing
judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same
things. You say, ‘We know that God’s judgement on those who do such things is in accordance
with truth.’ Do you imagine, whoever you are, that when you judge those who do such things
and yet do them yourself, you will escape the judgement of God? Or do you despise the riches of
his kindness and forbearance and patience? Do you not realize that God’s kindness is meant to
lead you to repentance? But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for
yourself on the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgement will be revealed. For God will
repay according to each one’s deeds: to those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and
honour and immortality, God will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who
obey not the truth but wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be anguish and
distress for everyone who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honour and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no
partiality. We do not live to ourselves, and we do not die to ourselves. If we live, we live to the
Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord; so then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the
Lord’s. For to this end Christ died and lived again, so that he might be Lord of both the dead and
the living. Why do you pass judgement on your brother or sister? Or you, why do you despise
your brother or sister? For we will all stand before the judgement seat of God. For it is
written,‘As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall give praise
to God.’ So then, each of us will be accountable to God. Let us therefore no longer pass
judgement on one another, but resolve instead never to put a stumbling-block or hindrance in the
way of another.
"Finish then thy new creation . . .
changed from glory
into glory . . .
lost in wonder, love, and praise."
– Charles Wesley
from the hymn “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling.”
Opening prayer: We are amazed by your mighty works. We are humbled by the wonders of your creation.
Holy God, come to us. We long for your healing waters of forgiveness and renewal. We have
found fulfillment when we are faithful to Christ’s call. Send your light, as we gather to glorify
your name. Amen.
Romans 8:18-39
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory about to be revealed to us. For
the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God; for the creation was subjected to futility, not
of its own will but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage
to decay and will obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been
groaning in labour pains until now; and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit,
groan inwardly while we wait for adoption, the redemption of our bodies. For in hope we were saved. Now hope that is
seen is not hope. For who hopes for what is seen? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes
with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit
intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. We know that all things work together for good for those who love
God, who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn within a large family. And those whom he predestined he also
called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified. What then are we to say
about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold the only begotton Son, but gave him up
for all of us, will not the Sovereign through Jesus also give us everything else? Who will bring any charge against God’s
elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right
hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us. Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will hardship, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written,‘For your sake we are being killed all day long;
we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.’ No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Jesus who
loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
"I’m so glad I’m a part of the family of God."
–Bill & Gloria Gaither
Opening prayer: God of all creation, help us to recognize your presence among us. May we greet one another as
your precious children and as messengers of your care. Help us offer such hospitality to one
another that even the most skeptical among us will be touched by love. Let your glory shine in
this place today as we call on your name. Amen.
Romans 5:1-11; 8:12-17
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through
whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of
God. And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and
endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s
love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a
righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his
love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. Much more surely then, now that we have been
justified by his blood, will we be saved through him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies, we
were reconciled to God through the death of her Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be
saved by his life. But more than that, we even boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have now received reconciliation.
So then, brothers and sisters, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— for if you live
according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For
all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back
into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, ‘Abba! Mommy!’ it is that very Spirit
bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.
"Every day to us is Easter, with its resurrection song."
-- William M. James
from the hymn
"Abide with Me"
Opening prayer: We are hesitant to hope for healing and fulfillment amid the living death so many experience in
our times. Yet, as we gather here, we are moved to rejoice for you are constantly bringing new
worlds into being. Fill us today with your life giving Spirit. Amen.
Romans 6:1-14; 22-23
What then are we to say? Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no
means! How can we who died to sin go on living in it? Do you not know that all of us who have
been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried
with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of
the Sovereign, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have been united with him in
a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our
old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be destroyed, and we might no longer be enslaved to sin. For whoever has died is freed from sin. But if we have died with
Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the
dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. The death he died, he died to
sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead
to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your
mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as
instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from
death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have
no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. But now that you have been
freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification.
The end is eternal
life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans has always raised lots of questions for Christians. And in recent years this has continued as the interpretation of the book has undergone fundamental changes.
Summer 2008 at Cathedral of Hope, we are exploring the Book of Romans in our worship, and we invite you to take a fresh look at the book of Romans with us. The sermons will be posted on this page for you to read, and we would love for you to join us in a Sunday worship service to hear the messages first hand!
I have written a devotional guide on the book of Romans, and I invite you to journey through Romans in your personal devotional and bible study time using this guide. Use this guide to develop your faith. Each week there are opportunities for study and discussion, something to consider, questions to reflect upon, prayers to meditate upon, and suggested acts to put your faith into practice. Through the week return to this guide.
Enjoy!
Pastor Scott Jones
Sermon Archive:
Romans Series Bibliography
These are the scholarly texts that I consulted and studied during my preparation for this sermon series on Romans.
