Romans 12:1-21
Life Group Questions:
1. If you were not able to hear this week’s sermon, consider going to the church website and listening to it. What are some main ideas that you gathered from the sermon? What, if any, questions did the sermon cause for you or do you desire to have additional clarification?
2. Define the idea of worship. What does it mean to worship something or someone? What does it mean to worship God? List at least three areas of life in which Paul exhorts us to involve with worship of God. Are you doing this?
3. To what does the word therefore point to in Romans 12:1? List some of the mercies of God mentioned by Paul in the previous section. Why is it important that Paul’s exhortation is based on the mercy of God and not God’s commandments, wrath and judgment? What should be our response to mercy?
4. What does it mean to offer your life as a living sacrifice? How does this type of sacrifice differ from the sacrifices commanded and offered in the Old Testament? How does offering your life as a living sacrifice differ from simply offering a sacrifice?
5. What does it mean to be conformed to the world? In what way does the world try to conform us to it’s ideology and practice? Do you struggle with resisting the ways of the world? How can we become victorious over the world?
6. How do God’s thoughts differ from our’s (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9)? Do you sense that you are a person that has the mind of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 2:16)? Why or why not? Paul cautions us against human pride in Romans 12:3. List some ways in which human pride is harmful. Why is human pride so offensive to God?
7. Do you believe that our God enjoys variety and diversity? Why or why not? What was God’s purpose for modeling the church after the human body? How do parts of our human body help us see the way in which God intends for the church to operate? Do you think Macedonia Church does well at representing the idea of a body? Why or why not? Express how we can improve in this area.
8. Look through the spiritual gifts mentioned by Paul in this section and 1 Corinthians 12. What gift(s) do you believe God has given you? How can you use your gifts for the betterment of the church and God’s Kingdom? Will you?
9. What is the typical human response to those who persecute or criticize us? Describe Paul’s instruction as for how we should respond to those who persecute us, and evil in general. Do you ever struggle with this principle? Do you believe that doing good can overcome evil? Why or why not?