29. Romans 16
Tim Cedarland, Thrive’s director emeritus, wraps up Thrive’s series on Romans by reviewing the book in its entirety and preaching on chapter 16. In this final chapter Paul shows how personal and pastoral he is, remembering to greet a host of people from a church he had never even visited—besides offering a number of other closing remarks.
28. Romans 15:14-33
Chris Rogers, assistant pastor of Discovery Baptist Church, unfolds Paul's explanation of his mission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles in Romans 15:14-33. From our modern-day vantage point, it is easy to overlook how controversial it was for the early church to welcome Gentiles into the people of God. In this passage Paul boldly and winsomely reaffirms that God has accepted the Gentiles through the gospel. In fact, Paul's very mission is to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles, so that those who once were outsiders might become insiders.
27. Romans 14:1-15:13
David Shohradov, one of Thrive’s own, presents Paul’s teaching in Romans 14:1-15:13 about not causing another believer to stumble. Believers have different weaknesses, areas where they may be more vulnerable to temptation. Our response ought to be to lay down our rights in order to be a stepping stone rather than a stumbling block to those around us.
26. Romans 13
Alan Jones, pastor of Firebrand Church, takes up what Romans 13 says about how Christians should engage in politics and relate to human authorities. Because God Himself has modeled what submission to authority looks like, Christians, too, should respect the offices of human authority that God has established, even though it can require great care and nuance to do this in a God-honoring way when human authority has gone corrupt.
Scripture passages cited in this message include Romans 13; Isaiah 9:6; Romans 12:19; Matthew 22:17-22; Micah 6:8; Psalm 82:1; Revelation 12:10; and Ephesians 6:12.
25. Romans 12
Tyson Lash, pastor of Harbor Life Church, takes up Romans 12, the part of Paul's letter that asks, "In light of what God has done, how should we live?" Paul's answer is that a transformed life arises from a deep, heart-level grasp of God's grace and goodness. Only then can we rightly walk through life doing what Jesus did, loving as He loved, and glorifying God with all of our lives.
24. Romans 11:33-36
Mac Davis, one of Thrive's own, wraps up Paul's explanation of the gospel in Romans 1-11 by unfolding his great doxology in Romans 11:33-36. This great hymn of praise exalts God's worthiness of worship and shows that worship is our only reasonable response to all that God has done in Christ.
23. God, the Gospel, and Israel (Romans 11)
Periodically in Thrive's Romans series, we're pausing to take up a "hot potato in Romans"—a topic that is culturally "hot" and hard to handle. In this talk, Michael Bouterse, Thrive Harbor's local director, addresses what Romans 11 says about Israel—a nation and people group never too far from political and theological controversy.
The story of Israel as told in the Old Testament revolves around God's promise, expressed and developed through multiple covenants, to one day bring salvation through a Messiah descended from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In Romans 11, Paul reveals that even though God has temporarily cast Israel aside due to their rejection of Jesus as Messiah, their being cast aside is neither total nor permanent. One day God will again take up His dealings with the Jewish people. He will regather them to their ancestral homeland, visit salvation upon a Jewish remnant, and, as a result, bring renewal to the entire world. These events belong to Israel's future, not because human beings are righteous, but because God is faithful; and for that reason, the future of Israel is one of the greatest exhibits in Scripture of God's lavish, unmerited grace.
Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Genesis 3:14-15; 5:29; 12:2-3, 7; Deuteronomy 28:15, 20-21; 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 11:19; 36:26; Isaiah 2:2-4; Matthew 1:1; Romans 11:1-32; Isaiah 11:11-12; Ezekiel 36:8-12; Zechariah 10:6-10; 14:4; 12:10; 13:1; and Genesis 45:1-7.
21. Predestination (Romans 9)
Periodically in Thrive's Romans series, we're pausing to take up a "hot potato in Romans"—a topic that is culturally "hot" and hard to handle. In this talk, Michael Bouterse, Thrive Harbor's local director, takes on the topic of predestination based on Romans 9. Far more than just a doctrine to be grasped cognitively, predestination is both personal and practical, providing believers with a joy, assurance, and freedom, in that their salvation rests not on anything they are or have but on God's sovereign choice.
Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Romans 8:38-39; 3:10-11; 10:8-21; John 10:28-29; 3:16; Hebrews 13:5, 8; Isaiah 53:6; Ephesians 2:4-5; Genesis 50:20; Proverbs 16:1, 9; and Exodus 1:22.
20. Romans 9-11: An Overview
David Baumgaertel, one of Thrive’s alums, launches Thrive into the next part of Romans by giving an overview of Romans 9-11, a critical section of Scripture that helps unlock a big picture of the entire Bible. In these chapters Paul demonstrates that God is perfectly righteous in how He has dealt with Jews and Gentiles, and that in different ways each group is the object of God’s mercy. Along with vindicating God’s righteousness, Paul also explains that there is a future for ethnic Israel, when one day the nation will recognize Jesus as Messiah.
Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Romans 9-11; Genesis 12:3; and Malachi 1:2-3.
19. Romans 8:28-39
Michael Bouterse, Thrive Harbor's local director, closes out the last section of the climactic eighth chapter of Romans. In Romans 8:28-39 Paul reveals God's purpose for humanity: not conformity to a set of moral principles but to a person, Jesus Christ; His aim is for the very life of God to be woven into the warp and woof of our personalities. To this purpose God adds a promise of assurance that He will bring this reality to pass: that because of God's sovereignty and His sacrifice on the cross, nothing can separate us from His love.
Scripture passages cited (or alluded to) in this message include Romans 8:28-39; 8:18-22; 1 John 3:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Timothy 3:5; Jeremiah 2:13; 1 John 4:8, 16; Luke 22:31-32; 1 Peter 1:3-7; and John 17:20-26.
18. Romans 8:18-27
Dustin Polley, director of Thrive Kitsap (our sister ministry in Kitsap County), continues Thrive's ascent up the "Mount Everest" of Scripture, the glorious eighth chapter of Romans. In Romans 8:18-27 Paul announces that Christians await a glorious future, when at Christ's return God's people will be glorified, resulting not just in their renewal but in the renewal of all creation. Meanwhile, Christians, aided by the Holy Spirit, live in the tension of still experiencing suffering in this life, even as we long for the life to come.
17. Romans 8:12-17
David Shohradov, one of Thrive's own, continues Thrive's exploration of the "Mount Everest" of the Bible, Romans 8. In Romans 8:12-17 Paul takes up themes at the heart of the Christian life—the relationship between the flesh and the Spirit, our adoption as God's children, and the redemptive value of suffering.
16. Romans 8:1-11
Jake Chambers, pastor and church planter of Local Church, kicks off the first of several weeks focused on the "Mount Everest" of Scripture—the magnificent eighth chapter of Romans. Romans 8 is one of the firmest statements in Scripture that in Christ we are free of condemnation, even though condemnation is exactly what we deserve! Yet because of what Jesus has done, God has liberated us from living under sin and set us free to live holy and abundant lives by the power of the Holy Spirit.
15. Jesus, Sex, and Secrets: Part 2
Periodically in Thrive's Romans series, we're pausing to take up a "hot potato in Romans"—a topic that is culturally "hot" and hard to handle. In this talk, Josh Mann, pastor at Fox Island Alliance Church, shares part of his powerful testimony to conclude a two-week miniseries on “Jesus, Sex, and Secrets” confronting pornography and sexual addiction, followed by a Q&A panel with local pastors and their spouses.
14. Jesus, Sex, and Secrets: Part 1
Periodically in Thrive's Romans series, we're pausing to take up a "hot potato in Romans"—a topic that is culturally "hot" and hard to handle. In this talk, Michael Bouterse, Thrive Harbor's local director, opens a two-week miniseries on “Jesus, Sex, and Secrets” that confronts pornography and sexual addiction, springing out of Romans 6 and 7. This first talk deals with the devastation of porn, the wrong way to heal, and the right way to heal.
Scripture passages cited in this message include Romans 7:15, 19, 21, 24; Ephesians 5:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:3; 2 Corinthians 12:7; Luke 15:17-24, 30; 2 Corinthians 5:17, 21; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11; and Genesis 41:51.
13. Romans 7:14-25
How does God change us? How do believers grow amid the ongoing, ever-present battle with sin? Whereas Romans 6 gives Paul’s explanation of the right way to fight sin and seek change, Romans 7 gives the wrong way. It shows us that despite human beings’ inherent tendency to improve ourselves through our own effort, sin can’t be defeated through simply trying harder. Sanctification is God’s work, accomplished through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture passages cited in this message include Romans 7:14-25; 1 John 1:8; Romans 6:17; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 1:8-9; Colossians 2:20-23; Romans 6:2, 11-13; and Galatians 2:20.
12. Romans 7:1-13
If Christians are saved by faith, what keeps us walking in obedience to God’s commands? In this message on Romans 7:1-13, Tim Cedarland, Thrive’s regional director, expounds Paul’s teaching about faith and the law. Through what Jesus has done, Christians are no longer under the law, which never could stop us from sinning anyway. Just as a mirror can tell you that your face is dirty but can’t actually clean your face, so the law reveals that we’re sinners but can’t ever make us righteous.
11. Romans 6
David Shohradov, one of Thrive's own, preaches on Romans 6, one of the Bible's great chapters about how the gospel changes us. Why should Christians no longer sin? Is it because of fear of punishment or to impress God? According to Romans 6, the answer is that dead men don't sin! When Jesus died, our sinful self died, meaning that we no longer have to do what sin tempts us to do. The result is freedom from the sin that seeks to bind us.
10. Romans 5:1-11
D'Vante Rolle of One Hope Church continues Thrive's series on Romans by looking at Romans 5:1-11. Justification by faith is the taproot of joy, hope, peace, and all the blessings of the Christian life. It also gives believers the power to persevere through life's darkest trials.
9. Romans 4
How do faith and works go together? In this message on Romans 4, Tim Cedarland, Thrive’s regional director, zooms in on two Old Testament figures who discovered justification by faith long before Paul did. Abraham is famous for his many moments of obedience, but behind that obedience was his trust in God. Faith was the root, and good works were the fruit! Then there’s David, a man rich in sin and lawbreaking. But through his faith in God’s promises, David was able to speak of a forgiveness apart from works.