Does your faith in Christ provoke (grab the attention of) non-Christians around you? Jesus does not want anyone to miss out on being connected to Him and the extraordinary life He promises. Because of that, God uses our faith in Christ to provoke others outside into becoming participants inside as we persevere together in faith. This week in Romans 11, Paul gives us comfort and challenges us as we seek to live out our faith.

Romans 11:1-27

11 I ask, then, has God rejected His people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. 2 God has not rejected His people whom He foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 3 “Lord, they have killed Your prophets, they have demolished Your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.” 4 But what is God's reply to him? “I have kept for Myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.” 5 So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. 6 But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace.

7 What then? Israel failed to obtain what it was seeking. The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened, 8 as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that would not see and ears that would not hear, down to this very day.” 9 And David says, “Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them; 10 let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs forever.”

11 So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. 12 Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusion mean! 13 Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry 14 in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. 15 For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? 16 If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

17 But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, 18 do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. 19 Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” 20 That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. 22 Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness to you, provided you continue in His kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. 23 And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. 24 For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. 25 Lest you be wise in your own sight, I do not want you to be unaware of this mystery, brothers: a partial hardening has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And in this way all Israel will be saved, as it is written, “The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will banish ungodliness from Jacob”; 27 “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

For Adult Homes & Groups

1. Read Romans 11:1-27 together.

2. What is provoking (grabbing your attention) about this chapter in Romans?

3. Is there anything inviting about what Paul says here? Why or why not?

4. Is there anything described here that motivates you as a group in your faith together?

5. Read John 15:1-17. What connections can be made with Romans 11 What do Jesus’ words provoke in you individually and as a group? Comfort? Challenge? Encourage? Motivatate? Go around the room and share.

6. Take time to think of one person you each know that is “pruned” from church and pray for them. As a group, think about and encourage each other how to “graft” them back to the extraordinary life of Christ through church. 

For Families with Kids

1. Schedule a family day to visit the Missouri Botanical Gardens, especially the children’s exploration center (missouribotanicalgarden.org/learn-discover/youth-families/just-for-kids). Learn three fun things about plant life and growth or ask a worker who knows a lot about plants. What is pruning? What is grafting? Is this done regularly at the gardens? Why or why not?

2. Enjoy the day at the gardens and bring a picnic lunch to have at nearby Tower Grove Park. Share the differences you see between the plants/flowers at the Botanical Gardens and Tower Grove Park. What are they and why?

3. In Romans 11, Paul talks about pruning and grafting. What connections can you make with how God prunes and grafts us?

4. Stay grafted as a family in Christ. Pray the Lord’s Prayer together every day. As a family, stick to reading this month’s book of the Bible that you chose together.