By the Mercies of God

In one paragraph

This sermon from Ray McDaniel walked through Romans 12, picking up where Carl's message left off the previous week. The focus was on what it looks like, practically and specifically, for believers at First Baptist Jackson to present themselves as living sacrifices. Ray moved from the general shape of that calling to concrete areas where he sees the church doing well and where he thinks more is...

Read together

1. Romans 12:1 Urging believers to offer their bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God, as true and proper worship
2. Romans 12:2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind to test and approve God's will
3. Romans 12:3 By grace given, instructing every one not to think of himself more highly than he ought but with sober judgment according to the faith God distributed
4. Romans 12:4-5 Just as each of us has one body with many members that do not all have the same function, so in Christ we though many form one body
5. Romans 12:6-8 We have different gifts according to grace given: prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving generously, leading diligently, showing mercy cheerfully
6. Romans 12:9-10 Love must be sincere, hate what is evil, cling to what is good, be devoted to one another, honor one another above yourselves
7. Romans 1:18 Referenced as the start of the section showing no one is righteous, not one
8. Romans 3:20 Referenced as the end of the section showing no one is righteous, not one
9. Romans 6:19 Just as you presented your members as slaves to impurity, now present them as slaves to righteousness resulting in sanctification
10. Romans 9-11 Paul's parenthesis about the problem of Israel and whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord
11. 1 Corinthians 12 Unity and diversity of the body: baptized by one Spirit to form one body, whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free
12. 1 Corinthians 12:8-10 List of spiritual gifts including wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, discernment, tongues, interpretation, apostleship, helps, administration
13. Ephesians 4 List of gifts including apostle, evangelist, and pastor-teacher
14. James 3:1 Not many should become teachers because those who teach will be judged more strictly
15. 1 Peter 4:10-11 Each should use whatever gift received to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace, speaking as one who speaks the very words of God, serving with the strength God provides

Talk about it

1. Ray talked about the pattern of the world including individualism, self-sufficiency, and self-centeredness, and said the renewing of our minds should move us away from that. Where do you see those patterns pulling at you most in your own life?
2. Ray drew a distinction between grace and mercy, getting something good you do not deserve versus not getting something bad you do deserve. Can you think of a time when you needed to extend one of those to someone else, and what made it hard or easy to do?
3. Ray said that consuming is not a spiritual gift on anyone's list, and that a cell in the body that only consumes and offers no benefit is cancer. How does that land with you, and what does it look like practically to let something flow through you rather than just taking it in?
4. Ray went through the gifts listed in Romans 12, prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, and showing mercy, and said test and approve to find where God is calling you. Which of those gifts have you tested, and what did you learn from it?
5. Ray said love must be sincere, and quoted Amy Carmichael: you can always give without loving, but you can never love without giving. What is the difference between giving that has love behind it and giving that does not, and how would you know which one you are doing?