Connect Where in your relationship with God are you relying on rule-keeping rather than resting in the fact that you already belong to Christ? What would it look like this week to obey out of love rather than obligation?

Warm-Up

1. What is a significant event in your life that changed how you see the world and yourself?

Read Romans 8:1-11

2. What does Paul begin with “therefore”? What is the reason there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus? 
3. How do you feel about the verdict “there is now no condemnation”? 
4. What have we been set free from? Who sets us free? 
5. In what way are the “life in the flesh” and “life in the Spirit” different? How is it freeing that “life according to the Spirit” is a position we live out of and not a standard to live up to? 
6. Read Ezekiel 36:26-27. How does the Spirit enable us to please God? 
7. How have you seen the Spirit shaping your desires over time? 
8. If you have the Spirit of God, which realm are you part of? Who has the Spirit? 
9. What reasons may cause someone to doubt if they have the Spirit or not? What assurance would you give to them? Why is the reception of the Spirit not based on how we feel?
10. How did the Spirit work in Jesus (at Easter)? If we also face death, why can we be confident the Spirit will work in us in the same way?
11. How does the indwelling of the Spirit change your day to day? When are you most aware of the Spirit’s presence, and when are you least aware? 
12. What would help you more conscientiously walk in step with the Spirit? 
13. How does the indwelling of God’s Spirit assure us we are no longer condemned? 

Read Romans 8:12-17

14. Who does the Spirit define us as? What are the best aspects of being children? 
15. How does being children of God, transform how we relate to God? 
16. How does the Roman approach to adoption shape how we understand our own adoption by God?
17. How does your prayer life reflect your status as a child of God? How could you reflect this cherished position more? 

Apply Consider your frontlines. What freedom do you have in living out of the Spirit, rather than up to a standard of life in the Spirit? 

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On Your Front Line this Week

Buy a ticket & invite a friend or colleague along to the Public Lecture on “The Bible in the Age of AI”. 

For Families

• Download: some of the family resources to use at home: stbartskids.org

Listen, Watch, and Read

• Listen (sermon): “If Christ is in you” by Simon Dickson:
  allsouls.org/Groups/446577/More_Than_Conquerors.aspx?show_media=346412&show_file=391486 
• Listen (sermon): “Adopted by the Father” by Hugh Palmer:
  allsouls.org/Groups/314446/C228_A_BETTER_HOPE.aspx?show_media=213420&show_file=226680 
• Listen (sermon): “No Condemnation” by Vaughan Roberts:
  https://stebbes.org/sermons/no-condemnation/ 
• Listen (sermon): “Life in the Spirit” by Andrew Turnbull:
  https://stebbes.org/sermons/life-in-the-spirit/#sermons 
• Listen (sermon): “Children of God” by Vaughan Roberts:
  https://stebbes.org/sermons/children-of-god/
• Listen (sermon): “Realm of the Flesh, Realm of the Spirit” by Andrew Judd:
  https://open.spotify.com/episode/1v1sQO6APL0LiggjPVAX08?si=e30cf5f8932f4159 
• Read (book): “Into the Heart of Romans” by N.T. Wright. 📚

Series Resources

• Read: ““Strengthened by the Gospel” by Brian Rosner. 📚
• Read: “The Story of God Bible Commentary: Romans” by Michael Bird.
• Read: “Epistle of Paul to the Romans” by F. F. Bruce. 📚
• Read: “The Message of Romans” by John Stott. 📚 
• Read: “The Epistle to the Romans” by Leon Morris. 📚
• Watch: “Romans” by the Bible Project: https://bibleproject.com/guides/book-of-romans/ 

📚Available to borrow from the St Bart’s Library (Toowoomba): stbarts.com.au/library 

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