WWW Be Right (33)

In one paragraph

Deborah Buckingham walked First B women through Romans 12 and 13, tracing Paul's argument that right belief is meant to produce right living, and that a church full of untransformed, quarreling people is a contradiction of everything Paul is urging. Paul opens chapter 12 with "therefore," and Deborah emphasized that the word is load-bearing. Everything from chapter 1 through 11 is the foundation;...

Read together

1. Romans 12:1 offering your bodies as living sacrifices, true and proper worship
2. Romans 12:2 do not conform to the pattern of this world, be transformed by the renewing of your mind
3. Micah 6:8 do what is right, love mercy, walk humbly, three things God requires
4. Ephesians 4:23 be renewed in the spirit of your mind
5. 2 Corinthians 3 the veil over minds removed when anyone turns to the Lord Jesus
6. Galatians 5 works of sinful nature versus fruit of the Spirit listed
7. 2 Timothy 3:1-2 in the last days people will be lovers of self, narcissistic
8. Romans 12:3 do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, sober judgment
9. Romans 12:6-8 different gifts listed: prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leading, showing mercy
10. Ephesians 2:10 God made us to do good works planned in advance for us
11. Psalm 18 David saying God gave him the shield of victory, right hand supports me
12. Romans 12:14 bless those who persecute you, bless and do not curse
13. Romans 12:17 do not repay evil for evil, do what is right in the eyes of everyone
14. Romans 12:18 if possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone
15. Romans 12:20-21 feed your enemy if hungry, heap burning coals, overcome evil with good
16. Romans 13:1 be subject to governing authorities, no authority except that established by God
17. Romans 13:8 let no debt remain except the continuing debt to love one another
18. 1 Corinthians 13 love is kind, does not keep a record of wrong, not selfish

Talk about it

1. Pastor Deborah described a living sacrifice as something that keeps crawling off the altar when the heat is turned up. When have you found yourself wanting to crawl off the altar, and what made it hard to stay?
2. Pastor Deborah talked about the difference between letting feelings drive your life versus letting a transformed mind lead, with feelings eventually following. Where in your own life do you find that tension hardest to navigate?
3. She shared the story of the church that refused communion to her and her husband, and then met the woman on the plane who had left her church because of jealousy and meanness among members. What do you think it looks like practically to be a person who brings the fruit of the Spirit into a church community that is struggling with that kind of conflict?
4. Pastor Deborah used the images of the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea to talk about taking in without giving out. In what areas of your spiritual life do you sense you are more like the Dead Sea right now, and what might a real outlet look like for you?
5. She closed with the grandfather's story about two wolves and which one you feed. Honestly, which wolf are you feeding most consistently right now, and what is one specific thing you could do this week to feed the other one?