Introducing our journey through the Book of Romans – a Sunday series running through 2020
Sermon recordings are available for Sunday services where possible, you can listen to them online afterwards from our Listen again page.
I found this article in the Homebuilding & Renovating Magazine for September 2019. I thought as I read this that this would be a great introduction to our preaching series in the letter of Paul to the church in Rome.
The strength of a building lies in its foundation. The main purpose of the foundation is to hold the structure above it and keep it upright. On the contrary, a poorly constructed foundation can be dangerous to the occupants and the neighbourhood. With high-rise buildings touching the sky these days, it has
become all the more important to have powerful foundations. Therefore, it is highly essential to have a foundation that will make it safe and secure for the generations to come.
What is the purpose of having a foundation? A foundation plays three major roles in the construction of a structure.
1. The basic part is to support the load of the entire building.
2. A good and strong foundation keeps the building standing while the forces of nature wreak havoc. Well-built foundations keep the occupants of the building safe during calamities such as earthquake, floods, strong winds etc.
3. The foundation must be built such that, it keeps the ground moisture from seeping in and weakening the structure.
BUILDING FOUNDATIONS: A STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE – Taken from the September
2019 edition of Homebuilding & Renovation.
In this first part of preaching through Romans it is the foundations that we will be establishing in the preaching Sunday by Sunday. Powerful foundations are needed to support the whole structure of Paul’s explanation of the gospel. These foundations make the whole structure sound and livable to all who choose to live the gospel life as disciples.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written,‘The just shall live by faith.’”/span>
Romans 1:16-17
During this year, 2020, HLBC will be following the book of Romans as a focus for Sunday mornings. In these two verses Paul states his confidence in the gospel and the reasons for it. The bulk of his epistle is devoted to explaining why and how the gospel of Christ is God’s power to save those who believe.
Why study Romans? A good reason to study Paul’s letter to the Romans is that it has been enormously influential in the advance of Christian faith, theological reflection, and practice through the centuries. It has shaped and formed the thought of some of the Christian church’s greatest noteworthy figures including Augustine, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and many others. As we commence our journey through this formidable, historic letter, there is a gracious word of warning: those who have gone before have rarely emerged from their own journeys through Romans unchanged as they discovered the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. We too may discover what they discovered and be changed for the better in our walk with Jesus and in our understanding of His gracious gospel.
Romans is Paul’s greatest work, and it is placed first among his thirteen epistles in the New Testament. While the four Gospels present the words and works of Jesus Christ, Romans explores the significance of His sacrificial death, glorious resurrection and his enthronement at the Father’s side. Using a question-and-answer format, Paul records the most systematic presentation of the gospel in the Bible. The book of Romans is much more than a book of theology; it is also a book of practical encouragement. The gospel of Jesus Christ is more than facts to be believed; it is also a life to be lived—a life of righteousness befitting the person “justified freely by His [God’s] grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Ro 3:24).
Graeme Dodds, 2019