Series Title: “Transforming Our Minds; Strengthening Our Walk”
February 16, 2025 – Zeroing In on God’s Will – Romans 12:1-2
Romans 12:1-2 urges Christians to live as living sacrifices to God, and to not conform to the world’s ways.
What it says
Verse 1: Present your bodies as living sacrifices, which is your spiritual worship.
Verse 2: Be transformed by renewing your mind to approve God’s will.
- What it means
Respond to God’s mercy by giving up what you want and serving God. - Break free from the world’s “me-first” pattern.
- Use your spiritual gifts to serve others in the church.
- Focus on eternity and wait for God to provide.
- Give good to those who harm you instead of revenge.
- Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mold.
- Focus on God’s word and fellowship with Him.
- Why it matters
True worship extends beyond rituals to encompass everyday life. - We are always being formed into an image of some kind.
- We can be transformed from worldliness to true spirituality through the power of God’s Word.
Ephesians 4:1-16
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Unity in the Body of Christ
4 I, therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace: 4 there is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling, 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all and in all.[a]
7 But each of us was given grace according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore it is said,
“When he ascended on high, he made captivity itself a captive;[b]
he gave gifts to his people.”
9 (When it says, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended[c] into the lower parts of the earth?[d] 10 He who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens, so that he might fill all things.) 11 He himself granted that some are apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity,[e] to the measure of the full stature of Christ. 14 We must no longer be children, tossed to and fro and blown about by every wind of doctrine by people’s trickery, by their craftiness in deceitful scheming; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by every ligament with which it is equipped, as each part is working properly, promotes the body’s growth in building itself up in love.
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