Romans 12;3-5 3.  For by the grace given to me I bid everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to you think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith which God has assigned him.4.  For as in one body,...

Remans 12;2 2.  Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. The world ‘presses,’ ‘pressures,’ ‘crushes’ us to outwardly be like itself.The living Word of God internally...

Romans 12;1 1.  I appeal to you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living, sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. What are, “the mercies of God”?This is best understood to be read, “I appeal to you brethren, ‘in view of...

Romans 11;25-36 Today’s reading is by necessity rather lengthy.  That is because it encapsulates and sums up the mystery of the ‘New Israel.’  Those born of water and Spirit, not of the flesh.  This New Israel is made up of both Jews and Gentile Believers.  Somehow, in God’s mysterious plan, the Lord...

Romans 11;22-24 22.  Note then the kindness and severity of God: severity towards those who have fallen, but God‘s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. This verse reminds us of how Luther in the Small Catechism, begins the explanation of the meaning of each...

Romans 11;17-21 17.  But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree,18.  do not boast over the branches.  If you boast, remember it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports...

Romans 11;15&16 15.  For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?16.  If the dough offered as first fruits is holy, so is the whole lump; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. God’s divine selection of Abram...

Romans 11;11-14 11.  So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? By no means! But through their trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel, jealous.12.  Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how...

Romans 11;7-10 7.  What then? Israel failed to obtain what it sought. The Elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened,8.  as it is written, “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that should not see and ears that should not hear, down to this very day.”9.  And David says, “Let...

Romans 11;1-6 1.  I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! I myself am an Israelite, a descendent of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.2.  God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with...