Week 1 Message Notes:

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2 Week 1 Message Notes: What are the main teachings and takeaways from this week s message? (You can find message notes and audio online at sjlchurch.org/sermons.) Reading Assignment: Romans 1 (scroll down to next page) 1

3 Unashamed: Romans (Week of October 15) The gospel of Jesus Christ has the power to change both my life and the world. Key Verse: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. Romans 1:16 1. How does the Bible define the word gospel? - Mark 1:1, 1: Romans 16: Corinthians 15:1-8 - Galatians 1: Revelation 14:6 2. Romans of all Paul s letters gives the most thorough teaching of God s truth. Upon what does Paul center his letter in the introduction (Romans 1:1-17)? Why this? 3. Paul wrote a great letter; why did he still feel the necessity to physically visit Rome? 4. According to Romans 1:4, what validates the gospel? Why does this make or break the salvation story? 5. Read Romans 1:11-12 in light of 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 and discuss how they might give clarity to one another. 6. Think about the full power (Romans 1:16) of God. How does this change how you live, to know God works that power both in and through you? 2

4 Week 2 Message Notes (Week of October 22): What are the main teachings and takeaways from this week s message? (You can find message notes and audio online at sjlchurch.org/sermons.) Reading Assignment: Romans 2 (scroll down to next page) 3

5 Unashamed: Romans (Week of October 22) Without the gospel, I would be lost and condemned. Key Verse: They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. Romans 1:25 1. Creation is about order (see Genesis 1-2), while the work of Satan is disorder/anarchy (Romans 1:21-32). What is the end result of this disorder for a society? 2. God calls the contents of Romans 1:18-32 ungodliness and unrighteousness. What is revealed from God as a result of this sin (Romans 1:18)? What response does this elicit in you? 3. Romans 1:20 talks about a natural knowledge of God. What does creation reveal about our Creator? If all you had was natural knowledge (and no Bible), what would you still know about God? 4. What is the result when God gives them up to their own doing? In the Bible, what happens when everyone does what is right in their own eyes (Judges 17:6, 21:25)? 5. One of the first results of sin was shame (Genesis 3:8). What happens when we become shameless (Romans 1:27)? On the contrary, what s the difference in our lives when our shame is removed? 6. Read Romans 1:18 and Romans 3: What is perhaps the single most important, tiny, three letter word that is common to both of these readings and why is it so important? 4

6 Week 3 Message Notes (Week of October 29): What are the main teachings and takeaways from this week s message? (You can find message notes and audio online at sjlchurch.org/sermons.) Reading Assignment: Romans 3-4 (scroll down to next page) 5

7 Unashamed: Romans (Week of October 29) I am saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. Key Verse: All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. Romans 3: The Greek word for sin means to miss the mark. What is God s mark, and in what ways do we often miss that mark? 2. Paul warns against boasting in Romans 3:27 (read also 3:20). What do we all have in common that keeps us humble? In what ways is God good at humbling us? 3. In Romans 4, Paul uses the story of Abraham as an example that we are saved by faith, not by works. How did Abraham s life display his trust in God? See Genesis for a refresher. 4. Abraham is called the father of many nations in Romans 4:18. How is it true that Abraham is our father? See also Galatians 3: The legacy of the Reformation of the Christian Church is salvation by grace through faith. How does that free us from fear of God s wrath to be evangelical (proclaiming the good news) in how we live? 6. What can become the danger of the Reformation truth if improperly applied? 6

8 Week 4 Message Notes (Week of November 5): What are the main teachings and takeaways from this week s message? (You can find message notes and audio online at sjlchurch.org/sermons.) Reading Assignment: Romans 5-6 (scroll down to next page) 7

9 Unashamed: Romans (Week of November 5) I am free from sin to be a servant of Christ. Key Verse: So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Romans 6:11 1. Read the two places where Paul responds: by no means! (Romans 6:2, 15). To what questions is he replying so emphatically? 2. Having laid out the case for salvation by grace through faith, Paul is moving into what this means for how we live. When we read the description of baptism in Romans 6:3-11, how does this change how we live? 3. Romans 5:3-8 is a familiar passage that helps us understand suffering. One of the hardest questions to answer is why such a gracious God would let evil things happen. What light does this passage shed on the subject? 4. The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life (Romans 6:23). What do we owe, and what are we owed? On the contrary, what is paid and what do we receive? What difference does this freedom make? 5. One of the most precious statements ever heard in church sounds something like this: I never understood grace. I didn t know that thorough forgiveness and acceptance could be so powerful. I thought being a Christian was a long list of do and don t. Discuss how this truth is a powerful reminder of how we share our good news with others. 8

10 Week 5 Message Notes (Week of November 12): What are the main teachings and takeaways from this week s message? (You can find message notes and audio online at sjlchurch.org/sermons.) Reading Assignment: Romans 7-8 (scroll down to next page) 9

11 Unashamed: Romans (Week of November 12) I am in a constant battle between being a sinner and a saint. Key Verse: Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7: In Romans 7:1-6, Paul uses the metaphor of marriage to describe our relationship to the curse of the law, and our freedom from its curse. What makes this a good illustration, and with what about this do you struggle? 2. We do not stop sinning when we come to faith in Jesus Christ. Read the spiritual wrestling in Romans 7: How do we resolve the tension between being sinners and saints? 3. What do we learn about the battle between flesh and spirit in Romans 8:3-11? Paul and Luther made it so clear that we are to guard against ever taking any credit for our own salvation. Describe the power of God to give life to our corpses. 4. We call God Father, and He calls us His sons. This is not a gender stereotype but has to do with being heirs (Romans 8:14-17). What does Romans 8:18-30 teach us about the love of our Father? 5. When God bonds Himself to us, as we read in Romans 8:31-39, what is the full extent of that connection? How does this security change how we live and face suffering? 10

12 Week 6 Message Notes (Week of November 19): What are the main teachings and takeaways from this week s message? (You can find message notes and audio online at sjlchurch.org/sermons.) Reading Assignment: Romans 9-11 (scroll down to next page) 11

13 Unashamed: Romans (Week of November 19) I carry the message of Christ to the world. Key Verse: Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. Romans 10:17 1. What breaks Paul s heart in Romans 9:1-3? What breaks your heart? How does that drive you? 2. God wants all people to be saved, but not all are saved. How do we reconcile this truth with the power and justice of God? How do we reconcile it with Paul s teaching on being resurrected corpses in Chapter 8? Read Romans 9: What other Scriptures are helpful to you in this tension? 3. Is faith a public or private matter? What do we hear in Romans 10:9-13? 4. Romans 10:14-17 highlights the power of the proclaimed Word of God. Who or what do you hear these verses describing? How are you a part of it? 5. Knowing the power of God to save, the heart of God for people to be saved, and the way God works through His Word, what is He making clear about His will for your personal involvement in His work? Does this scare you or excite you? 12

14 Week 7 Message Notes (Week of November 26): What are the main teachings and takeaways from this week s message? (You can find message notes and audio online at sjlchurch.org/sermons.) Reading Assignment: Romans (Note: This is the application! What is God calling you to do?) (scroll down to next page) 13

15 Unashamed: Romans (Week of November 26) I am a living sacrifice, dedicated to God s holy purposes. Key Verse: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2 1. God calls us living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). What does this mean to you? 2. In Romans 12:4-8, we are described as one body with many parts. How has God gifted you as a part of the body of Christ, and what have you found that you can contribute to the whole? 3. Paul gives a list of actions in Romans 12:9-21. What in this list is the most difficult for you? 4. What sticks out to you from the citizenship lesson of Romans 13:1-7? 5. In Romans 14:1-12, Paul highlights the truth that we are all at different levels of maturity (and sanctification - to be set apart for God and empowered by His Spirit in us to live as His people) in our walk of faith. Knowing this, what is his advice for us? 14

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