Falling Feels Like Flying for a Little While

In one paragraph

This message was a walk through Romans 8, focused on what it means to live by the Spirit rather than the flesh. Pastor Mark used the text to show that the same power that raised Jesus from the dead is available to believers right now. The service also included a visit from missionary Melissa Landis, who spoke about her work with Crossroads Ministry in Durban, South Africa. Romans 8 opens with one...

Read together

1. Jeremiah (partial, exact chapter/verse not given) Opening verse: 'blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and their confidence'
2. Romans 8:1 Starting point of the sermon text: 'there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus'
3. Romans 8:2 The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death
4. Romans 8:3 God sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh as an offering for sin, condemning sin in the flesh
5. Romans 8:4 So that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk according to the Spirit
6. Romans 8:5-6 Those according to the flesh set minds on flesh; those according to the Spirit set minds on the Spirit; mindset on flesh is death, on Spirit is life and peace
7. Romans 8:7-8 The mindset on the flesh is hostile toward God, cannot subject itself to God's law, cannot please God
8. Romans 8:9 Christians are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if the Spirit of God dwells in them; if anyone lacks the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him
9. Romans 8:10-11 If Christ is in you the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is alive; the Spirit who raised Jesus will also give life to mortal bodies
10. Romans 8:12-14 Believers are under no obligation to the flesh; if led by the Spirit they are sons of God
11. Romans 8:15 Believers have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear but a spirit of adoption by which they cry out 'Abba, Father'
12. Romans 8:16-17 The Spirit testifies that we are children and heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ, if we suffer with Him to be glorified with Him
13. Romans 8:18 The sufferings of the present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to be revealed
14. Romans 13 (referenced, not quoted in full) Mentioned as where Paul says owe nothing except to love one another; love fulfills the law
15. Colossians 3:1-3 Imperative to set your mind on things above where Christ is seated, not on earthly things
16. Matthew 16 (partial, verses approximate) Peter's confession that Jesus is the Christ, followed by Jesus rebuking Peter saying he was setting his mind on man's interests not God's
17. 2 Corinthians (partial, exact verse not given) Light affliction which is but for a moment working a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory
18. Hebrews 13:20-21 Closing benediction: the God of peace who brought Jesus from the dead equip you with everything good to do His will

Talk about it

1. The sermon described the law of sin and death as universal, but said the law of the spirit of life sets believers free the way flight overcomes gravity. Where do you feel that tension most in your own life right now?
2. The song about falling feeling like flying was used to illustrate how sin can feel like freedom for a little while. Can you think of a time when something that felt like freedom was actually pulling you down, and what helped you see it clearly?
3. The sermon said the righteous requirement of the law is summed up in loving God and loving people, and that the only way to fulfill it is through union with Christ. What does that actually look like on a practical, ordinary day for you?
4. Paul's instruction in Colossians to set your mind on things above is an imperative, an active choice, while the sermon has also been emphasizing yielding to the Spirit over recent weeks. How do you hold those two things together without one canceling out the other?
5. The sermon closed with the idea that our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that will be revealed. Is there something you are going through right now where that comparison is hard to believe, and what would it take for it to feel more real to you?