Romans 16:20 – Grace
Introduction: If you had to boil down God, the Bible and the gospel down into one word, what word would it be? I think Paul would say that ‘grace’ sums it all up. Grace was the central theme for Paul in all his letters. He bracketed his letters with grace.
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Romans 15:13: The First Benediction
Introduction: We come to the end of the teaching part of the book of Romans as Paul pronounces the first of three benedictions, Romans 15:13, ‘May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.’ These words may be familiar to you because you often hear a benediction at the end of a service. Why do we do that? If you go to older denominations that have liturgy you would also find benedictions, is this simply a return to ‘dead religion’?...
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