SERMON OUTLINE Sunday Oct 22nd, 2017
PASTOR DAVID COOKE: More Than Just A Nice Idea
Romans 5: 1-11
• The Full Impact of Faith
• When Jesus Is At The Center, We Find…
1. The Blanket of
2. The View From The Perspective of
(2 Cor 4:17-18)

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have
also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand,
and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.” (Romans 5:1–2 ESV)
• The Path To Hope
(Romans 5:3-5 ESV)
1. Keep The
2. Embracing The Now, Seeing The
• We can only live today.
• The most powerful thing that shapes our lives is not the past
or the present…it is our hope or lack of it for the future.
• God’s Love Made Clear
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering
produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character
produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s
love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has
been given to us.” (Romans 5:3–5, ESV)
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the
ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though
perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God
shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died
for us.” (Romans 5:6–8, ESV)
• Everything Is All Right
1. Right with God
2. Securely with God
• Saying Yes
Answers: Peace, Hope, Long View, Future,
“Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much
more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while
we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now received reconciliation.(Romans 5:9–11,
ESV)
This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have
loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay
down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I
command you. (John 15:12–14, ESV)
LIFE GROUP STUDY GUIDE
We connect in Life Groups to:
• Connect with God and each other
• Connect the Bible to life
• Connect with the community through serving together
Welcome/Mingle/Eat
Ice Breaker: Think of moments in your life in which you experienced
peace. What were some commonalities in these experiences?
Prayer Tithe: Give your time to God. Before your sermon discussion, pray
together.
This Week: “Faith: More Than A Nice Idea” Romans 5:1-11
1. Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was
there anything that you heard for the first time, caught your
attention, challenged, or confused you?
Paul makes it clear that this moment is not all there is, rather there
is a greater work in progress. Faith is the key that unlocks grace
and our response is hope in Christ.
2. What does Romans 5:6-9 tell us about living a Jesus-trusting
life, even amidst hard circumstances?
Many of us didn’t grow up hearing biblical stories about suffering
or sermons on the topic. Because of this it can be difficult to follow
Jesus and still experience hardship, challenges or loss. It’s important to remember, when we suffer and are challenged, we still get
to choose how we respond to our circumstances.
3. How did the people in the following verses respond to Jesus in
the midst of their challenges in a way that could also help us
respond to Jesus in our trials today? John 4:4-42; Mark 5:25-34
4. How might the women have responded to Jesus had they let
their circumstances define them?
5. What ways have you let your circumstances define you?
It can be humbling when we realize Jesus takes us flaws and all,
and gives us a new identity. This truth impacts everyone differently but could be hard to embrace if you feel undeserving.
6. What does Paul mean by being “reconciled” to God in Romans
5:9-11 (See also Colossians 1:20-22)?
7. How could the following verses help someone who is struggling to embrace their new identity in Christ? Galatians 2:20; 2
Corinthians 1:21-22; 1 John 5:1-5
TAKING IT HOME
8. Looking back over this week’s sermon and study guide, what’s
the most important thing for you to remember and put into action?