Sermon Tone Analysis

*Secular:*

* Sometimes people do crazy stuff…

* The Environmentalist that chains themselves to a tree

* The Teacher that walks out of the their classroom and on to a picket line

* The Husband that gets out of bed at 3 am to drive to 7-11 to satisfy his wife’s odd craving…

* The young woman on a bike who navigates government checkpoints to get bibles into the hands of his villagers

* The old man in a could grey cell… who won’t stop declaring the glories of Jesus Christ to any who will hear

* You… here this morning… instead of sleeping in… or walking around Alice Lake… or playing a sport….

* Something bigger than ourselves draws our biggest response…

* Our love of bugs and bark….

To protect a tree…

* A pregnant wife’s happiness... to head to 7-11

* And old man convinced the world needs the Gospel… despite what his government might say…

*Biblical:*

* Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

*Personal: *

* *Can you imagine… what it would be like to be trapped in a house by a ragging fire…*

* *The panic…*

* *Is this the end… what do I do…*

* *Crashing through a plate glass window to get out…*

* *Talk about motivation…*

* *Often our talks about faith with non-believers start out with a raging fire… and their need to escape.

Scared…*

* *Jumping out of a fire… fear unknowning….

Spurred him on to be a firefighter…*

* *Trains…*

* *Commits… *

* *Not to running away from the fire… but attending to the fire… evening running to save souls….*

* *What about our faith…*

* *Are we happy to have got out by the skin of our teeth?*

* *Or are we responding appropriately… what mercy has been extended to me… what do I do next…*

* *Romans 9-11 told us about the Jews*

* * Romans 1-8 told us about salvation…*

* *Romans 12-16….

what do I do next…*

*Bridge: *

* *We look at why… first*

* *How does God expect us to respond…*

*Body:*

* Romans 12:1 Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God,

* This is a good reason for what I am about to tell you…

* Like a good novel…

* Paul is disclosing the motivation…

* God has blessed you abundantly!!

* To the Ephesians he put it like this…

* Ephesians 1:3 Blessed /be /the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly /places /in Christ…

* The end of hard done by…

* Shall we enumerate

* Like a kid after his haul on Oct 31st!

*  By His mercy we are “the beloved of God”

* Romans 1:7 to all who are beloved of God…

* Romans 5:5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

* Romans 8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ?

Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

* Romans 8:39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

* We are the beloved of God…

* Don’t you love to be loved?

* Motivation… we re-jig our calendars… spend our hard earned money… we take ballroom dancing lessons… we do all kinds of things for love…

* We are God’s beloved…

* By His mercy we have received the grace of God

* Romans 1:7 to all who are beloved of God in Rome, called /as /saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

* Romans 3:24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;

* Romans 5:20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

* God extends to us unmerited favour…

* Gives to us so much… when we deserve nothing!

* If you have ever received unmerited favour… you are struck… warmly confused… very appreciative…

* Mercies received… Love and Grace!!

* And there is more…

* Power of salvation…

* NAU Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

* Kindness towards his own

* Romans 2:4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

* Propitiation for sin and Forgiveness of sin

* Romans 3:25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.

/This was /to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed;

* Freedom from sin

* Romans 6:18 and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

* Reconciliation

* Romans 5:10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

* Justification

* Romans 2:13 for /it is /not the hearers of the Law /who /are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified.

* Conformation

* Romans 8:29 For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined /to become /conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

* Glorification

* Romans 8:30 and these whom He predestined, He also called; and these whom He called, He also justified; and these whom He justified, He also glorified.

* Eternal life

* Romans 5:21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

* Resurrection

* Romans 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

* Divine adoption

* Romans 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, "Abba!

Father!" 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with /Him /so that we may also be glorified with /Him/.

* Indwelling

* Romans 8:9 However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you.

But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

* Faith

* Mentioned 30x in Romans Chapters 1-11

* Peace

* Romans 8:6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,