Christian, on the other hand, was a name given to believers by nonbelievers. They listened to what believers were saying, then watched their lives, and concluded they were like Christ. To me that indicates that Jesus was doing something in them and through them. The emphasis is on Him, not me. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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While we in America continue to struggle with what legally and morally constitutes the family unit, Paulʼs first century readers understood it very well. The Roman familia, with itʼs pater familias (head of the family), was deeply ingrained in their minds. Weʼre going to see Paul appeal to the Roman family to make an incredible claim to Christians in Godʼs family. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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The apostle Paul would win any scar-contest among believers over who suffered the most for the sake of the Gospel! (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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Why are we and the Holy Spirit and creation groaning? The reason given is that we are in our fallen, mortal bodies but anticipating our future, immortal bodies. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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We can all declare Romans 8:28 for ourselves. Itʼs a promise whose only condition is that you need to be saved in order to claim it. One commentator called this verse “a soft pillow for a tired heart.” (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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One Bible commentator said that the library at his theological seminary contained 10,000 books on the single subject of the Doctrine of Predestination. After centuries of debate, there is no lack of disagreement, even division, regarding predestination and the other major subject of these verses, Godʼs foreknowledge. Thatʼs not to say we can disregard these words, these subjects, these doctrines. It is to say that I will not solve this today or ever in my lifetime. Neither will you. What we can do is adopt a perspective on predestination and foreknowledge that is biblical without becoming so dogmatic that we arrive at awful conclusions about God. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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We have the love letter of Jesus to us in the form of the Bible. Reading and re-reading it ought to assure us that He loves us with an everlasting and unconditional love. Still there are things that try to intercept our appreciation of His love for us. Some of them are listed for us as we end Romans eight. (Pastor Gene Pensiero)
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