New Message Series: Paul and the Roman World – Engagement of Gospel and Culture
Message
Lent 1: Form Colosseum to the Amphitheater – In But Not Of …
Jn 17, 1 Jn 2 and 5, Rom 12
As we continue to take a sweeping look at Paul and the Roman World, an Engagement of the Gospel and Culture, my awareness has been heightened as to the depth and breadth of the Gospel’s influence on every area of our lives. The Gospel of Jesus Christ informs every area of our life and being. As Acts makes clear to us, “In Him live and move and have our being.”
As Paul fulfills his calling by ‘bringing the Gospel to the Gentiles, the rulers and kings, and to Israel”, his teachings on the implications of the Gospel on every area of life are amazingly comprehensive. The Spirit of God works in every area of one’s life to bring about obedience and ‘worship’ of God for the glory of God. It’s a wonderful way to live life to the fullest.
It is a wonderful way to live life to the fullest.
So far, we’ve seen the power of the Gospel as a message, ministry, and mission of reconciliation, making ‘two one’ – one with God and one with each other. We have seen the power of the Gospel at work in breaking down the status – status quo of the myriad of ‘isms’ that divide us. And this week, we take a sweeping look at the Gospel’s influence on our everyday life in terms of entertainment, sport, leisure, and pleasure.
As we look into the context of the Roman world, we see the Gospel bringing about transformation in the lives of those whom God is calling out of darkness into his glorious light – people from very different walks of life. The implications for us in our Gospel transformation are many.
This week, we kicked off the Lent season 2022, a 40 day journey of fasting and feasting, on our path to Easter. As Deone and I talked about this Lent season particularly, we think a good theme for this year is ‘fast on isolation’ and ‘feast on community.’ We invite you to join us. Something practical: a fellowship meal after our worship service on March 20th. Plan on bringing some food to share as we ‘fast on isolation and feast on community.’
See you Sunday,
Pastor Mark