Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5

It's nice to see the snow melt and see the grass underneath. Winter may be on the way out soon, though it always seems to snow one more time before Spring officially arrives. We'll see how that shakes out.

Anyway, enough about the weather and on to business. There have been a number of new folks come through our Life Answers door recently. Welcome to all of you and we hope to see you back soon. Please take advantage of our weekly get-togethers on Sunday mornings, as well as our monthly Ladies' and Mens' events. We want to be intentional about building community, and just being there to begin with can go a long way. For the new folks, this weekly Update is something to help keep you in the loop. If you miss a week, don't sweat it, just catch up with the recap, and then jump in the following week. Want to see where we've been, our old Updates are cataloged. When needs arise we'll distribute prayer requests here. And this also serves as the clearing house for group announcements.

For the whole group, if you have something you'd like to share publicly, this is the place to do it.

Guy's Night: This Friday, 7:00pm stay tuned for details, 7:00pm, Tony's House please RSVP by e-mailing Ryan Gates just reply to the e-mail that sent you this link

Last Sunday's ABF Recap: Romans 1:16 (cont'd)
rg

I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

Romans 1:16

When you're on a roll, you're on a roll. Or another way to say it: when you're in the zone, keep shooting. So when we started Romans 1:16 last week, and spent the entire time breaking down two (2!) words in the verse, you just have to keep a good thing going, and that's where we picked up this week.

Mary did a great job recapping last week's lesson, and if you missed either the live lesson on Sunday morning or the written recap, give it a look (or another look if you'd like a refresher), because it set the stage for this Sunday's lesson. You'll recall the seven parts to the answer of the question: "What is the Gospel?"And recall that the central point is that the Gospel is all about Jesus. He was fully human and fully God. He was both willing to save us, and he was able to save us. (We'd all be willing to help our neighbor avoid foreclosure... but are we able to?) Jesus died for our sins, he was buried in the tomb, and he rose from the dead. These are historical facts.

We expanded upon the three "tenses" of our salvation. If someone approached you with a tract and said, "Are you saved?!!" we could respond by saying,

"I've been saved, I am being saved, and I will be saved!"

So what is this power about which Paul speaks? There are lots of definitions for "power." In physics, power is defined as

"the rate at which work is performed or energy is converted."

1 a (1) : ability to act or produce an effect (2) : ability to get extra-base hits (3) : capacity for being acted upon or undergoing an effect b : legal or official authority, capacity, or right
2 a : possession of control, authority, or influence over others b : one having such power; specifically : a sovereign state c : a controlling group : establishment -often used in the phrase the powers that be d archaic : a force of armed men e chiefly dialect : a large number or quantity
3 a : physical might b : mental or moral efficacy c : political control or influence

We know this power is HUGE because it turned Peter from a liar fearing for his life to a Rock upon which the Church is built.

So why does Paul begin by saying, "I am not ashamed..."? Perhaps because Paul's readers knew his history of persecuting Christians, his conversion and his going back to the Jewish community to share the Gospel. Perhaps because he knew that his Salvation was a gift, that it wasn't his to earn but something that was given to him by God. Perhaps because he was speaking out against the big movers and shakers of the day, against the cultures of lust, war, slavery, etc. It would be easy for Paul to keep quiet, remain politically correct, not wanting to upset the perceived majority, but he begins the thought of this verse by boldly proclaiming, "I am not ashamed..." No doubt a proclamation of his own and an encouragment for us.

Where will the LORD take us this week? We've touched on "Gospel," "Salvation," "Power," and "not ashamed." Might we touch on "everyone who belives"? Or "First... then..."? Come to ABF this Sunday morning at 10 am and find out.

Ladies Night w/ Robin Wednesday, March 17, at 6:00pm @ the Galieti Home Topic: Taming Your Tongue RSVP here

on March 21: Around The BendThis is the "How to Have a Better Marriage" portion of Life Answers ABF. March's guests will be Doug and Lisa Hay. They have been married for 28 years and are the proud parents of three grown men! Many in the class will know know Doug and Lisa from the College ABF, which they led for a few years. They are very much looking forward to sharing with our group..

Have a great end to your week. Send an encouraging e-mail to a friend.

RG