Prepare your heart for the Sermon by looking through these suggestions that will assist you in making the most of our time together hearing God's Word.

You will find suggestions for thinking more critically through the passage, meditating more intently on the text, and prayerfully seeking wisdom to deepen your understanding of the passage to be preached this Sunday.

Carefully Think

• Read Romans 12:1-2.
• What is the context of the passage? To what is the “therefore” referring?
• Notice there is not agreement in the number (singular/plural nature) of bodies (plural) and “a sacrifice” (singular). Why did Paul do this? Is this a mistake?
• How is the audience able to do this task which Paul is urging them to do according to the text? How is this tied back to the previous context?
• What is a “spiritual service of worship?” Why might Paul describe this activity in this manner instead of saying something else?
• How do verses 1 and 2 relate to each other?
• Why does Paul say we are to be transformed in this way (renewal of mind)?
• What descriptors are given to describe the will of God?

Prayerfully Meditate

• What are some ways that you might try to accomplish this task (presenting your bodies as a living sacrifice…) outside of the mercy of God? List some ways you attempt to live in your own strength and not by the mercy of God.
• How does one present their body as a living sacrifice? How does one present their body as a holy sacrifice? Give examples of what this practically looks like in your life.
• What commands are used by Paul in these verses?
• How is one transformed? What is the method provided for how this transformation takes place?
• How does transformation in this way prove what God’s will is?
• What does it mean to renew your mind?
• What do the adjectives describing the will of God tell us about God? What do they tell us about what we should be transformed into?