After the long greeting to start the letter, Paul moved quickly into expressing his heart and longing for the Christians in Rome, and his desire to see them face-to-face. Verses 16-17, in particular, give us the main reason for the writing of Romans, and the overarching theme of the entire book. It’s also something we desperately need to hear and be reminded of. Paul tells us that he is “unashamed of the gospel”. I think the only reason he would use language like that is because at some point(s) he was tempted toward the opposite. The gospel of Jesus Christ has always been, and will always be, profoundly countercultural. It was risky to be a Christian in the first century. It’s costly now to follow Christ, and it doesn’t line up with broader cultural narratives that we are surrounded by every day. Our passage for Sunday gives us the reminder that we all need of why we can be unashamed of the gospel and what that will look like in the lives of those who are in Christ Jesus.
Not Ashamed
Romans 1:8-17
January 20, 2020 • Pastor Bill Riedel
Hope Against Hope
March 15, 2020 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This Sunday we stay in our series in Romans and close the chapter with Romans 4:16-25. It is an incredibly timely text for us. This passage takes us into a further exploration of Abraham and Sarah’s life and shows us how to respond when we are living in the gap between the hopes we have and the reality we experience. How do we respond when the promises of God feel distant? What does it mean to have faith when things are uncertain and scary? How can we have hope when we get knocked down over and over again?
Faith Counted as Righteousness
March 8, 2020 • Pastor Bill Riedel
As we begin a new chapter in the letter to the Romans, the argument turns to the Hebrew Bible to support the idea that it is God's grace alone through faith alone that we are declared righteous in God's sight. Over the next two Sundays, we will explore the story of Abraham and see how it points ahead to what was accomplished through Christ.
Redemption in Christ Jesus
March 1, 2020 • Pastor Bill Riedel
Some have said that the first paragraph of this section is the most important paragraph ever written, and Luther called it the center of the whole Bible. After spending 2 1/2 chapters setting the stage with the intense need we have for a Savior, the text takes an abrupt turn to show us that there is great hope!