Happy New Year!! We are diving into the book of Romans together and will be studying this book together for most of this next year in our Sunday sermons. We are excited to teach through this book together and dig deep into its truths.

Romans 1:16-18

1. Icebreaker question – What is an excuse that you often use when you’ve forgotten about something?
2. Read Romans 1:16-20 together
1. Why do you think the Apostle Paul put these discussions about the gospel and then about God’s wrath next to each other in the text? Why is that significant?
3. When you hear the words “God’s wrath”, what comes to your mind? Share that with the group.
4. Read these two quotations and discuss them as a group
1. “Because of His perfect justice and love, the wrath of God is His consistent antagonism and opposition toward all evil.”
2. “God’s wrath in the Bible is never the capricious, self-indulgent, irritable, morally ignoble thing that human anger so often is. It is, instead, a right and necessary reaction to objective moral evil.” – J.I. Packer
5. Read Romans 1:21-27 together
1. What do these verses say are the reasons for a downward moral/ethical spiral in society?
1. Answer Key – 1. They did not recognize God as God. 2. They began to worship things that were not God. 3. They exchanged the truth for a lie.
6. Read Romans 1:28-32 together
1. The list in verses 29-31 is pretty extensive. It’s always stood out to me that something like “disobey their parents” is in a list next to murder and being a God-hater.
1. Why do you think disobedience of parents is included in this list?
2. What foundation is laid when children are taught the value and importance of obedience?
7. Pastor Tim pointed out principles that these verses reveal. Which of these principles stands out to you most?
1. All of humanity is without excuse — creation and conscience point to God.
2. Belief and behavior are always linked and always lead to each other
3. God’s wrath will culminate in the “Day of Wrath” to come.
4. To break the cycle of God’s revealed wrath, we need God’s revealed righteousness — the Gospel.
8. Based on the verses you’ve been reading today, what is one thing that God wants you to do this week?
9. Prayer time
1. Split into groups of 2-3 for prayer time.
2. Share prayer requests for 5-7 minutes and then pray together for 20 minutes.

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