Sermon: Gospel-Centered Renewal
Scripture Text: Romans 12:1-2
Quotes for Reflection
Oaks Parish Vision
Oaks Parish pursues gospel-centered renewal through parish ministry, walking alongside our city, region, and world. This renewal is embodied in the beauty of liturgical worship, mission rooted in people and place among the least and lost, and relational discipleship that forms us into the image of Christ.
Lesslie Newbigin, The Gospel in a Pluralist Society
The Christian story provides us with such a set of lenses, not something for us to look at, but for us to look through.
Tim Keller, Center Church
Community shapes our ethics and the spoken and unspoken rules that guide our behavior. Far more of the biblical ethical prescriptions are addressed to us as a community than as individuals. The Ten Commandments were given to Israel at Mount Sinai to form them into an alternate society that would be a light to the nations. The call of Romans 12:1 – 2 to “offer your bodies as living sacrifices” is usually interpreted as a call to individual consecration, but it is actually a demand that we commit ourselves to a corporate body and not live as autonomous individuals any longer. All of Romans 12, in fact, should be read as a description of this new society.
N.T. Wright, Paul for Everyone
At the centre of genuine Christianity is a mind awake, alert, not content to take a few guidelines off the peg but determined to understand why human life is meant to be lived in one way rather than another. In fact, it is the way of life of ‘the present age’ which often involves the real human immaturity, as people simply look at the surrounding culture, with all its shallow and silly patterns of behaviour, and copy it unthinkingly.
Application Questions
1. In your mind, why is it helpful for the local church to have a clear vision?
2. How can you see the difference between worldly sacrifice and gospel-empowered sacrifice?
3. As you look at the challenges of our city, what is one way that the gospel can lead you to a different mindset?