167: Week 5

Questions

• Read Romans 12:9-12. Describe what Paul is saying here.

• Reread verse 11. What do you think it means to “never be lacking in zeal” when it comes to our faith

• The word “fervor” in Ancient Greek is the same word that was used for boiling water. Paul is saying that our faith should look like boiling water. What do you think that means

• If we want to have a faith that boils, we need to do these three things:

  • Be joyful in hope.

  • Be patient in affliction.

  • Be faithful in prayer.

• Be joyful in hope. Hope means to expect good. If we want to be excited about our faith, we need to have hope. We can have hope because of Jesus. What does it look like to expect God to do good things? What are some ways that we can practically do this?

• Be patient in affliction. Another way to put it: If you want your faith to boil, you have to endure when life starts to crush you. When was a time you had to endure something difficult? Thinking about hard things you will encounter in the future, what does it look like to be patient in those circumstances?

• Be faithful in prayer. You must be faithful in your conversations with God. How would you summarize your prayer life?

Spiritual Practice

Respond: Is your faith coming alive? Is it boiling? Is one of these things missing from your life? Are you lacking hope? Do you need to believe that God is doing a new thing? Are you struggling to endure during hard times? Do you spend time in prayer talking to God? Take time to consider where your faith is at. If your faith is not coming alive, take time to consider which of these is missing from your life. Make a plan for how you can integrate these things into your life this week.