Why do our resolutions to be better from tomorrow fall apart so quickly? This message returns to Romans 12, where Paul describes the kind of community many of us long for and points to two sentences that hold the key to such a life: offering your body to God and the renewal of your mind. It shows that there is no spirituality apart from what our eyes look at, what our hands do and what we feed our thoughts on. Listen and see which part of your life has still not been handed over to God.
Discussion questions
For your small group or for personal reflection after the sermon.
- Paul opens Romans 12 by urging believers to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. What might this image have meant to first readers familiar with sacrifices of animals and crops?
- According to Romans 12:1, why should our motivation for change come from God's mercy rather than a list of rules, what is proper, or what people will say?
- The speaker argued that there is no spirituality apart from the body. How do what your eyes look at, what your hands do, and what your mouth says express your relationship with God right now?
- In the story of the house with ten rooms, Jesus protected only the room that had been given to Him. Which part of your life or body is hardest for you to hand over to God, and why?
- The sermon described false ideas and images of God and of ourselves as strongholds of evil. What lie about God or about yourself shows up most often in your thoughts, and what truth from God's Word can replace it?
- This week, what do you want to stop feeding your mind with, such as reaching for your phone first thing in the morning or mindless scrolling, and what specifically from God's Word will you feed it with instead?
