Text:\u00a0 Romans 12:1<\/p>\n
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God\u2019s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God\u2014this is your spiritual act of worship<\/em><\/p>\n <\/em><\/p>\n The NFL Football season is starting this week.\u00a0 It made me think of the run up to the Super bowl last year.\u00a0 I suppose you are tired of me talking about my NY Giants, but please allow me one more memory.\u00a0 In that run-up of play off games, the Giants had a saying:\u00a0 All in.<\/em> As individual players, as a team, they were totally committed- All in.<\/em><\/p>\n In Petaluma, we are celebrating a fine group of young boys who won the hearts of so many these past few weeks.\u00a0 There\u2019s a parade for them today. The Little Leaguers who won their way to Williamsport, PA to take on the best teams in our country.\u00a0 They too were all in<\/em>.\u00a0 But not just for a few weeks or months of games.\u00a0 To play at their level, they had to devote years to practice.\u00a0 They and their parents sacrificed all kinds of time they could have spent at home or with their friends.\u00a0 Those boys and their families were all in<\/em> for Little League baseball.<\/p>\n But today we\u2019re not here to promote sports.\u00a0 I want to talk about what it means to follow Jesus.\u00a0 When I listen to Jesus describe it, I\u2019d say pretty much the same. \u00a0You see, you can\u2019t follow Jesus with one foot following him and the other foot following the world Jesus said.\u00a0 We try sometimes don\u2019t we. How\u2019s that work?\u00a0 To follow Jesus means that we are all in.<\/em><\/p>\n Yet no matter how devoted we are to Him, it does not come close to our Lord\u2019s committed love for each of us.\u00a0 That\u2019s so clear when we stand before the manger bed of God\u2019s own Son,.\u00a0 when we stand before His cross.\u00a0 It\u2019s so clear. \u00a0\u00a0By His living for us, by his bleeding and dying for us we see the Lord Jesus was and is all in for us.\u00a0 All in <\/em> that you might be God\u2019s own.<\/p>\n That\u2019s where the apostle Paul is taking us this morning.\u00a0 Every religion requires that kind of worship and devotion to it\u2019s so-called god.\u00a0 But the Christian faith is unique in this important way.\u00a0 Yes the Lord calls for our devotion, but first God inspires it by his love in Christ. So we say:<\/p>\n \u201cAll In\u201d for the Lord! <\/em><\/strong>Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God\u2019s mercy<\/span>\u2026In view of God\u2019s mercy.\u00a0 You read that phrase all by itself and we hardly stop to think.\u00a0 But Paul did not mean for us to read it by itself.\u00a0 Eleven chapters come before it.\u00a0 Eleven chapters that hold up before us the awesome mercies of God in Jesus Christ.\u00a0 That\u2019s where Paul has us look first.\u00a0 God\u2019s mercy.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a mercy we desperately need.\u00a0 I read the first two chapters of Paul\u2019s epistle and see something in myself that I have in common with every one of you. I guess I would explain it this way.\u00a0 Too often,\u00a0 In my life, \u00a0where there should have been compassion there has been none.\u00a0 Where there should have been patience, there has been impatience.\u00a0 Where there should have been hard work there has been laziness.\u00a0 Where there should have been loving concern there has been selfishness.<\/p>\n I need God\u2019s mercy and so do you.\u00a0 For what do we deserve?\u00a0 Not a pat on the back but the back of God\u2019s hand.\u00a0 Not an invitation to the party but a door shut in my face.<\/p>\n But then I read on in Romans.\u00a0 There I begin to see a beautiful picture come into view.\u00a0 Chapter after chapter brings one brushstroke after another of God\u2019s mercy.\u00a0 I learn of an amazing and wonderful plan.\u00a0 What we lack, what we so desperately need, God provided in his Son Jesus Christ..\u00a0 23 <\/sup>for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 <\/sup>and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus<\/span>.\u00a0 Think about it.\u00a0 God looks at us just as if we\u2019ve never sinned because Jesus has suffered and died to set us free.<\/p>\n What does that mean?\u00a0 In chapter 5, we\u2019re told this.\u00a0 Through faith in Jesus and what he has done, we have peace with the most important person in the universe.\u00a0 That means we can say to our fearful, worried or broken heart. \u00a0All is well.<\/em> And we can know then when this short life comes to an end, we have a hope that will not disappoint us because of God\u2019s mercy.\u00a0 Mercy poured in Jesus Christ who has set us free.<\/p>\n And Jesus has set us free from more than our guilt and fear of death.\u00a0 He has set us free from sin\u2019s power to rule our hearts. We are no longer powerless victims of temptation. \u00a0We can push back against the lust, the greed, the anger and jealousy and live for God.<\/p>\n Yet Paul still saw in his life, the things we see in ourselves. In chapter 7, we remember his words as our own \u00a0For what I do is not the good I want to do<\/span>…(19a)\u00a0 We all live with that frustration. because we have this frustration.\u00a0 We have this sinful nature which drags us down. So it would be easy for our hearts to condemn us and Satan to accuse us.\u00a0 But once more God\u2019s mercy comes to the rescue.\u00a0 Thanks be to God-through Christ Jesus our Lord.<\/span><\/p>\n And that mercy does not fail us even when times are tough.\u00a0 When we hear the word cancer, when we lose our job and can\u2019t seem to find another, it might seem that God has turned away from us.\u00a0 It might seem that he has taken away his love.\u00a0 But what does he promise?\u00a0 Somehow, some way, he will make all things work for our good.\u00a0 Even the things that hurt.\u00a0 And when it comes to his love, he promises this. There is nothing in all creation that can pry us loose from his love that is ours in Christ.<\/p>\n So think of the first word of our text.\u00a0 Therefore.<\/span> That\u2019s a very big therefore<\/em> isn\u2019t it? \u00a0\u00a0With that word Paul wraps his arms around all this mercy of God and holds it before us.\u00a0 \u00a0All in –for the Lord.<\/strong> Yes, It\u2019s \u00a0about God\u2019s mercy — for you.\u00a0 Then he reminds us:\u00a0 \u2018All in\u2019<\/strong>\u2014It\u2019s the worship that fits.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mention worship and what comes to mind?\u00a0 A building, a hymnal, maybe a choir.\u00a0 a congregation who have come together to sing God\u2019s praise and hear his Word.\u00a0 That\u2019s worship, isn\u2019t it?\u00a0 But the apostle Paul makes it clear.\u00a0 God\u2019s mercy is worthy of far more than an hour on Sunday. His mercy calls us to offer far more than some dollars in the plate.\u00a0 He says offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, \u00a0this is your spiritual act of worship.<\/span><\/p>\n What is he calling on us to do?\u00a0 Usually when we hear the word sacrifice in the Bible, we\u2019re thinking of an animal like a lamb that dies in the process.\u00a0 But this sacrifice is not about dying.\u00a0 It\u2019s about living.\u00a0 It\u2019s about devoting our lives to our Lord who has loved us and laid down his life us.\u00a0 All in — for the Lord.<\/strong> It is the worship that fits.<\/strong><\/p>\n What does that worship look like?\u00a0 We know what it looks like in here?\u00a0 But what does it look like out there?\u00a0 It\u2019s going to be different for each of us. God\u2019s Word says:\u00a0 \u2026Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.<\/span> (1Cor 10:31) Whatever YOU do\u2026 So if you\u2019re in school, it means you study hard and make good friends that won\u2019t drag you down. On the job, it means you are a faithful employee who puts in a good day\u2019s work. For God blesses you and others through your work. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If you are a mother or father, it means you love your children, and bring them up in the Lord.\u00a0 Today we heard Paul us what it means if you are a husband.\u00a0 It means you love your wife as your own body.\u00a0 And If you are a wife, it means you support your husband as the head of the house.<\/p>\n And all of us are neighbors.\u00a0 We are neighbors to the people around us.\u00a0 We are neighbors who are to be salt and light in this dark world.\u00a0 That\u2019s the worship that fits.<\/strong> All in– for the Lord.<\/strong><\/p>\n Right now, this is the worship that fits for me. This is one way I can offer my body as a living sacrifice. \u00a0By donating a kidney to someone in desperate need.\u00a0 Paul wrote to the Galatians.\u00a0 therefore as we have opportunity let us do good to all people<\/span>\u2026\u00a0 The Lord has given me this opportunity that not everyone has.\u00a0 For not everyone is healthy enough to take a kidney out of his body and give it to someone else. This is my offering, my worship.<\/p>\n And to some it might seem like a big thing.\u00a0 But no, that\u2019s not how I see it.\u00a0 When I stand before my Savior\u2019s cross, that\u2019s the big thing!\u00a0 What he has done for me!\u00a0 No, what I am doing is very small.\u00a0 A small way of saying thank you, Jesus.\u00a0 For what we do for others, we do for him.<\/p>\n So \u2018all in\u2019 –the NY Giants said last year.\u00a0 All in those Little Leaguers were who went so far.\u00a0 That\u2019s what Paul calls for us to give. \u00a0All in,– our hearts, our minds, our very lives.\u00a0 It sounds like a lot.\u00a0 But it really isn\u2019t when we know the mercies of our God.\u00a0 Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Text:\u00a0 Romans 12:1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God\u2019s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God\u2014this is your spiritual act of worship The NFL Football season is starting this week.\u00a0 It made me think of the run up to the Super bowl last year.\u00a0 I suppose you are tired of me […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermon"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=357"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":359,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/357\/revisions\/359"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.livingwordpetaluma.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/strong>I.\u00a0 It\u2019s about His mercies
\nII.\u00a0 It\u2019s the worship that fits.<\/p>\n