Let's be clear -- it is sometimes not possible to live at peace with someone else. The other person may be unwilling, violent, persistently manipulative, or otherwise acting in bad faith. Whatever else happens, we must not return evil for evil but always seek to join Jesus in overcoming evil with good!

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For Reflection:

If we respond to evil with evil, evil wins and everyone else loses. Instead, we must seek to overcome evil in Christ-honoring ways.

- Is there a time you took a step of faith and said "no" to the desire for retribution? How did that decision impact you, the other person, and your relationship with Christ?

- When you struggle with thoughts of revenge, what helps you to take a pause? Talking with other believers? Counseling? Praying? Perhaps the Lord's Prayer and the lines about forgiveness? Something else?

One of the first ways we can worship God as "living sacrifices" (Rom 12:1) is to serve one another with the gifts that God has given us. What are these gifts? Which is your gift to give? In addition to this passage, we have 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, and verse 28. But these lists are probably not exhaustive. How has Jesus empowered you to join him in serving one another?

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For Reflection:

Did you know that you are gifted? What is your gift?

- Do you know your spiritual gift? Consider today's passage, 1 Corinthians 12, or any experience you have of being used by God to bless others.

- Is there any gift that you are tempted to disregard or to elevate too highly? Take a moment to consider how God has used someone else with an "undervalued" gift to bless you or others close to you.

- How might God be inviting you to define, develop, or deploy the gift you've been given?

Paul encourages us to continue the worship that concluded the previous section. In fact, Paul pleads with his audience to live as if they were living sacrifices. Worship may come to us in many forms but this posture is the foundation of all true worship. True worship is to honor God with our whole lives, not just on Sunday, but the rest of the week as well.

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For Reflection:

The call to worship as living sacrifices requires more than information – it requires transformation!

- What are the patterns, customs, and priorities of this world that exert the most pull or pressure on you? Where do you spend your time, treasure, and talents, and why?

- What do you find most helpful to counteract those pressures and to instead have God change the way you think? Is there anything God might be inviting you to do to be more fully engaged with God's transforming work in you?

In the wake of mysteries revealed yet difficult to understand, Paul is moved to praise and worship of the God who understands what we do not, and perhaps cannot. This move to worship helps to remind us that our security comes not from fully understanding all the mysteries of life but in trusting the one who does. All glory to God, forever! Amen.

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For Reflection:

Paul does not hesitate to explain what we can understand and he also does not hesitate to worship the one who is beyond our understanding.

- We are invited to love God with our whole heart, mind, and strength. How has following and trusting God increased your understanding of yourself, others, and the world?

- Trusting God also means confessing that our security comes not from knowing all the answers, but in worshiping the God who has been proven trustworthy over and over. How has God proven trustworthy in your life?

Paul here finishes addressing the question, "What about Israel?" His answer is that "all Israel will be saved." But after defining Israel as being a spiritual rather than physical entity (Romans 9:6-8), what does Paul mean? People may differ in their understanding of Paul's answer, but what is for certain is that God honors promises and offers us inexhaustible grace!

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For Reflection:

None of us comes to God from a place of privilege and entitlement – we are all recipients of God's infinite grace!

- Have you ever felt jealous that someone else seemed to be getting a better deal from God than you? What was happening at that time?

- Paul saw ways that both Jews and Gentiles could feel the other had received better treatment from God. Paul's answer is that God has been utterly gracious to all. How might our universal need for grace form a better basis for our relationships with one another?

Why bother going to church?

Is church just a spiritual pick-me-up, a Sunday habit, or something far more? In this sermon, Pastor Richard Lee challenges us to rethink not only why we show up to church, but how we show up - and what might be missing when we don't. If you've ever felt like a spectator in your own faith, this one's for you.

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👉🏻 Check out other Highrock sermons: https://tinyurl.com/3rdw4x8n

👉🏻 Check out Highrock's 15-min daily devotionals: https://tinyurl.com/38d4aryd

Many of Paul's listeners might hear Paul to be saying that the Gentiles are replacing Israel. That would be a misunderstanding! Rather, Gentiles are like wild branches being grafted into a cultivated tree. No matter who we are, our inclusion is not a birthright or something God owes to us. Instead, our connection must always be one of gratitude and humility!

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

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For Reflection:

Paul has been addressing the question of Israel. We are now two-and-a-half chapters into his three chapter answer.

- After two-and-a-half chapters, how do you understand the spiritual relationship between Gentiles, Jews, and Israel as a people? How might you explain this idea to a children's Sunday school class? Just as importantly, what are some of the questions that remain? (And there might be many!)

- What encouragement do you take from this passage, that you are like a wild branch that was grafted into the gardener's cultivated tree?

Sometimes you don't know what you have until you lose it. That, says Paul, was the situation for Israel. Sometimes we, too, forget the privilege it is to know God in Christ! Israel's failure to value the gift of God serves as a warning to all who might be tempted to take God's grace for granted.

Looking for a previous devo? Want to share one with a friend? Start here:

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For Reflection:

Many in Israel had lost what they had taken for granted. Treating their spiritual privilege as a birthright caused them to lose sight of its incredible value.

- Have you ever taken a blessing for granted? Perhaps it was a possession, a position, or even a person? What happened, and what were the consequences of taking that blessing for granted?

- How do you avoid taking good things for granted? How do you refresh your appreciation and gratitude for God and the blessings of God?