Carolina Family Church (audio)

When Paul talked about dealing with persecutors, the Roman Christians may have thought first about the governing authorities. How are they supposed to think about the government in a transformed way? Paul’s response is surprising but carries a valuable lesson for us even today.

Last week, we committed ourselves to allow God to transform us into the image of Jesus, but what does that actually look like? Paul continues Romans with a laundry list of examples to help us recognize it while it’s happening.

What should our response be to God’s endless wisdom and grace laid out so masterfully by Paul in the first 11 chapters of Romans? What is the proper reaction, and how will God use that to move the plan forward? In the third and final “section” of Romans, Paul puts feet to this knowledge and explains how the good news changes us.

Paul finishes this section by sharing his hope that Israel will ultimately be redeemed, but it comes with a warning to Gentile believers. As we read his conclusion, our confidence in God’s faithfulness will be solidified and lead to praise!

Will God keep His promises to Israel, or is their opportunity past? Have they been replaced by the Church? In this passage, Paul shows us the glimmer of hope for them in God’s plan.

Paul’s desire for Israel is that they will be saved, but that doesn’t necessarily mean what most people think it does. In this message, we will discuss not only what it means for them to be delivered but what it takes for us as well.

What’s the deal with Israel? If justification is by faith in Jesus, and not the Law, is God done with them? Over the next few chapters, Paul shifts his focus to what all this means for his countrymen and addresses whether or not God has failed to follow through on His word.

Why does God not deliver us from suffering? If we are not promised an easy or comfortable life, what do we hold on to? In this message, we will look at the hope of our faith as we eagerly anticipate the restoration of all creation.

What does it mean to live? How does walking with the Spirit lead us into the experience of living that we were created for? This week, we will start talking about the transformation that takes place in us when the Spirit takes hold of our hearts.

It’s a new year, we’ve learned what the Good News is, and now it’s time to walk in it! But how? As we start Chapter 8 of Romans, we will learn how we can escape our old way of living and experience the life that God has planned for us.

It’s a new year, so how can we use this year to make a real difference? How can this one be different? In this message, we will talk about the best way to make a meaningful difference in the world that will last.

Shepherds? Really? Why would God announce the birth of the Messiah to shepherds of all people? Why not priests or governors? In this message, we will answer some of those questions and find out how we can be confident in God’s plan.

Despite our “Silent Night” view of the nativity, it was anything but peaceful and certainly didn’t go to plan. But out of that chaotic story came the greatest gift ever given to humanity… ironically, peace.

Great, we are free to pursue holiness, but what are the rules? There are always rules, right? How do we judge ourselves and others? In this message, we will investigate what Paul says about a rules-based approach to faith and what it does to us.

If we are to reckon ourselves dead to sin, there must be a better way to think about who we are. Paul gives us some really good news at the end of chapter 6 and, in this message, we will discuss what it means for us every day.

We have been justified before God by Jesus, but what do we do about our ongoing sin? How do we think about ourselves and our relationship with God as we move forward? What does He want from us?In this study, we will look more deeply at our perspective on sin and God’s will for our lives.

Whether or not the Good News transforms us is up to us. We have a choice to make. We can live in the bad news reality or we can live in the good news reality. In this message, we will talk about the difference.

Knowing and accepting the Good News is huge, but what difference does it make after that? In Romans 5, Paul begins turning the corner from talking about what the Gospel is, to explaining how it transforms us every day.

Hard work is rewarded with wages because a person has earned it. But when it comes to heaven and righteousness that cannot be earned. You cannot work to achieve them. They are gifts from God that can only be received by faith. Today we see how Abraham not only became the Father of Judaism and Christianity but also how he was accounted righteousness through belief in God.

It’s finally time for some good news for the Romans and us too! Even though there is no way for us to measure up to God’s righteousness, He has made another way. In this message, we will examine what this way is and why it was necessary.