Love Must Be Sincere

In one paragraph

Pastor Nathan walked the congregation through Romans 12:9-21 on the morning of September 11, 2016, showing that Paul's commands grow out of a picture of what sincere love actually looks like in practice. The passage is easy to understand and, as he kept returning to, nearly impossible to pull off in your own strength. Paul's letters follow a consistent pattern: he lays out what is true before he...

Read together

1. Romans 12:9-10 main passage for the sermon, love must be sincere through the commands that follow
2. Romans 12:9-21 full section worked through verse by verse as a picture of what sincere love looks like
3. Romans 2:4 quoted to show that the kindness of God leads to repentance, even when we were enemies of God
4. Romans 5:8 written on the front of Ironside's sandwich board in the closing story
5. John 3:16 written on the back of Ironside's sandwich board in the closing story
6. 1 Corinthians 13 compared to Romans 12:9-13 as a picture of what love looks like rather than a list of direct commands
7. 1 Corinthians 15 pastor began to read from it as a closing benediction but the passage used was not completed in the transcript

Talk about it

1. The pastor walked through the pattern Paul uses in Romans, where he lays out what is true before he tells us what to do, because he believes doing follows being. How does what you believe about God's mercy actually change the way you act, rather than just giving you a list of rules to follow?
2. The pastor said that a wise and proper estimation of yourself is what gives you a secure basis for a generous and loving appraisal of others. What does an honest, Spirit-led view of yourself actually look like in practice, and how does it affect the way you treat the people around you?
3. The passage says to rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. The pastor mentioned the book Don't Sing Songs to a Heavy Heart and talked about how presence often matters more than words. Can you think of a time when someone got this right with you, or a time when you got it wrong with someone else?
4. The pastor shared the story of his professor in Pakistan who refused to prosecute the men who broke into his home and beat him, and how that choice opened up a far more fruitful ministry in the community. What does it actually cost to leave room for God's wrath rather than taking revenge yourself, and where do you feel that cost most sharply?
5. The pastor closed with the story of Ironside going down to the banking district in Chicago wearing scripture on a sandwich board to be humbled, only to get back to his prayer closet and think he was probably the only man in Chicago who would have done it. What does that story say about how subtle pride is, and where do you see that kind of pride sneaking into your own life?