City Life Starter

I. The Word: Romans 15:30-33 

“ 30 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in earnest prayer to God on my behalf, 31 that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea, and that my ministry to Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints, 32 so that by God’s will I may come to you with joy and be refreshed in your company. 33 The God of peace be with all of you. Amen.”  

Reflection Questions:

1. What value do we find in Christian community?

2. Have you ever received something you asked for, but not in the way you imagined?

3. Does living for Christ’s mission cost you anything? If not, how come?

• Though Paul may be viewed as this Lone Star Ranger for Christ, he deeply cherished the joy and refreshment of Christian community. Furthermore, he recognized the value of corporate prayer to God. He didn’t simply implore them toward private prayer, he asked them to join his prayer efforts for his evangelism. Our engagement in church has a two-fold purpose of providing rest from the world’s toil and strengthening spiritual preparedness for Christ’s mission.

 

• Spoiler Alert: After this petition for prayer, Paul gets imprisoned in Judea by the “unbelievers” for 2 years, then must travel to Rome with his captors (see: Acts 24-28). Though he does end up in Rome, he arrives in chains and shackles; not the ideal outcome they were praying for! Prayer, even the power of corporate prayer, never guarantees a petitioned outcome. However, prayer re-anchors our attitudes into the Holy Spirit, so that our ultimate petition will surrender to His will.

 

• As we nearly end Romans, the word Surrender comes to mind. To accept the mysterious Gospel presented in this Letter, you must surrender your own efforts toward salvation. Then, you surrender the comfort of self-sufficiency by partnering with other believers (which is exquisitely difficult, See: The Entire Bible). You then surrender your life plans and goals to Christ’s mission. An army only surrenders when the possibility for immediate peace outweighs the risk of continued effort. The army will forever lose their original goal, but the peace of surrender will make up for that. In this fallen world the army is taking a serious risk, because the opposition may use their newfound power for harm. Yet, our God is Love, and worthy of fearless trust. And our “God of peace” is waiting for you to surrender your life to him.

 

“And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple. But don’t begin until you count the cost. For who would begin construction of a building without first calculating the cost to see if there is enough money to finish it?” Luke 14:27-28 (NLT)