The book of Romans reveals a God of hope and glory. Written in Corinth on Paul’s third missionary journey, Romans expresses Paul’s desire for the church in Rome to abound in hope (Romans 15:13) and to worship God’s glory forevermore (16:27). More fully, Paul’s aim in this theologically rich letter is to help the church understand the grace, mercy, joy, power, and hope they have in the gospel through the life, death, resurrection, and promises of Jesus. And, yet, knowing his time in Asia has come to an end, Paul not only aims to build the church up in Christ but also asks them to partner with him to take the gospel to Spain (15:24). As we unpack Paul’s message each week, we’ll see the beauty of God’s design, the devastating impact of sin, the riches of the gospel of Jesus, the sovereign grace of God’s hand in election, the mercy of God in our justification, the power of the Spirit in our sanctification, and the missional responsibility we inherit to name Christ where He has yet to be named. My prayer during this 38-week journey is that we would abound in hope, overflow with praise, and own our duty to name Christ among all peoples, as we marvel at God’s glory that will be praised forevermore.
God is a missional God, drawing worshipers from every nation, tribe, people, and, language to Himself through Jesus and by the power of the Spirit. The book of Acts describes how God is accomplishing His mission through His people, starting with the Apostles. “Missio Dei” is a Latin phrase that means “the mission of God.” Each sermon explores a different aspect of “God’s mission” and, in light of that, asks what that means for us as a church as we seek to be a discipling church. Through this study, we see how God is accomplishing His mission with His gospel, by His power, through His church, for His people, and according to His good pleasure.
