Be Transformed-- Pastor Jason Gudim

I've never done this before:

I want you to stop. I want you to take 17 minutes out of your crazy busy day and listen to a sermon that I heard this past Sunday. Please. I know you're busy (Believe me, I know busy. That's why I'm writing at 11:20 at night to make sure I write before it's officially Friday!), but I beg of you, listen to this sermon. Yes, it's by my brother, but that's not a little sister plug. My brother, Pastor Jason Gudim, is preaching through Romans at his church Faith Free Lutheran Church in Minneapolis, MN. It is a clear display of the Gospel. These are my sermon notes as well, but please take a listen.

"I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." --Romans 12:1-2

Here is the link to the audio recording of the sermon.

Be Transformed-- click here!

HE MUST INCREASE, I MUST DECREASE.

1. The Gospel changes our identity.

• Not a life of service or how we present our life to God to show how good we are.
• "Living sacrifice"-- Someone who has already been slain 
• Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me."
• You present yourself to God by His own mercy
• We aren't holy or acceptable in ourselves
• Through Jesus, in His death and resurrection, we are made holy!
• The only thing we bring to the table is our sin and shame. God sees Christ's perfection.

2. The Gospel changes our activity

• Worship is what God does for us-- He allows us to be in awe of Him. 
• He allows us to dwell on the Gospel.
• Look at the worship service-- the only part about me is the confession of sin.
• It's all about Him!

3. The Gospel changes our ability

• Nothing that this world has to offer is worth imitating, but we're addicted to it. We fail.
• Be transformed-- passive verb-- it happens to us.
• Be something other than what you were 
• A butterfly doesn't work to be transformed!
• A new creation-- not a better version. 
• We don't need better discipline or more teaching, we need more of Jesus and less of ourselves.
• Living sacrifice-- already happened, still living. Whoa.