Peace and hope. These are two words that are currently at the top of the conversation list. As I watch the news and read social media, there are stories of people who are looking for peace in this troubled world. In addition, over the past days, I have heard many more stories about hope. It's amazing how God has provided for us during this challenging time, the March 29 Explore the Bible Study that focuses on peace and hope. I pray that God will use this session to remind believers of the peace and hope they have in Jesus Christ and to help unbelievers realize that the only source of peace and hope is Jesus Christ.

As you guide your group to look at Romans 5:1-11, challenge them discover all Paul used to describe the amazing results of being declared righteous by faith (Romans 5:1) through Jesus Christ. Help them to understand that, if they know Jesus Christ, they can have peace and hope in the midst of anything they face. This should give them cause to rejoice and share with those who are struggling with finding peace and hope in this troubled world.

VIDEO PRESENTATION
The following video presentation provides an option for you to use if you aren't comfortable using an online meeting platform; you can share the link to this web page or the link to the following video: https://youtu.be/HWskh7PecGg


LIFEWAY HELPS
LifeWay has graciously provided digital access to their curriculum and additional resources to help you continue to disciple your group from a distance.

• Weekly Adapted Teaching Plan - This is another teaching plan along with suggestions on how to communicate with your group during the week. Click Here for this week's plan.
• Ministry Grid: All Curriculum - Includes the Leader Guide, Commentary, Group Plans, Social Media Posts, the Personal Study Guide, and the Daily Discipleship Guide. The study guides may be downloaded and shared with your group as an attachment.

I have been asked to create a video for a few churches and felt this would be the best way to deliver it. This following are video helps for Explore the Bible session: March 22. If folks aren't comfortable teaching online it could be used to share with your groups. 

Remember also that LifeWay is putting free help out on Ministry Grid as well. Click Here to view their resources.

Below are some ways I suggested they could continue to meet digitally and minister to one another while public gatherings are limited.

Phone Calls & Texts
Relationships are such a vital part of discipling and ministering to someone. We have to determine to keep relationships and ministry strong during this time of isolation. Simply emailing everyone each week will become less meaningful. I recommend that leaders check in with their groups via text or phone call at least once per week to make sure they are well. If someone in the group has a health issue or other need that the group cannot address they should contact one of the pastors or church staff.

If a leader has a large group this is a great time to look for those who could help with caring for a smaller group of 5-10 people. They could call their smaller group each week to check on them, they could pray with them, and they could share any information regarding the church or group.

Zoom Meetings -- https://zoom.us/signup
If you haven’t done so already, be sure to setup a personal Zoom account (free version). You can do so using your email OR Facebook account. BEFORE you start a meeting you plan to host, I encourage you to login and become familiar with the controls, settings, etc. Make sure the mic & camera feeds are working properly.

As a Host, you can control the audio & video settings of others on the call, so that you can mute individuals OR the entire group, if needed. When you setup a meeting, you can cut/paste a link to share with anyone you want to invite to join the meeting. Be careful not to share this on a public social media page, as you may have unwelcomed guest join.

Here is a 1 minute video about how to schedule a meeting: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362413-Scheduling-meetings

Facebook Live

1. Click Create Post at the top of your News Feed.
2. Click then click Live Video. (Note: You will need to give Facebook access to your camera through your web-browser. Follow instructions if your camera isn't automatically allowed.)
3. Write something about your live video and schedule.
4. Click Go Live in the bottom right.

As we consider how we are going to communicate with our groups over the coming days, I wanted to share with you some ideas that might help. These are Explore the Bible Study special helps for March 22. These ideas do not involve presenting the lesson using technology; that will come in a separate post. These ideas are regarding Bible study and how you can communicate daily between now and Sunday.

The following is also available as a downloadable document. I pray that God will guide you as you continue to keep relationships and Bible study a priority during these unusual times in which we are living.

Emails & Discussion Ideas
These are suggested ways to remain connected to your group by email, text, or other communication methods. The suggestions below are emails that could be sent over the next few days, but other means of communication could be used as well – text, Facebook group, etc. They are designed to help you remain in contact with your group and to encourage people to remain focused on relationships, prayer, and Bible study during these unusual times.

Email #1: Prayer
Over the next few days I will be sending you some suggestions about how you can continue to focus on relationships with one another and on God’s Word. In this first email, I suggest you build a daily prayer list of people based on what we are experiencing right now. If you know people personally in each of these categories, consider listing them and praying for them daily:

• Your group. Consider letting others in your group know that you are praying for them.
• The sick and their families.
• Healthcare workers. They are on the frontlines treating those who are sick. Pray for protection and strength.
• Those at risk. Pray that they will be protected from the disease and will rely on others for help.
• Leaders. Pray for the President of the United States, his medical team, local and state leaders, and especially, your church leaders and pastor. Pray that they would remain healthy and that God would guide them as they make decisions.
• Families. Pray that parents would be given wisdom regarding how to balance work and family. Pray that this would be a time for families to reconnect with each other and with Christ. Pray for children and students that the experience will forever change their view of the importance of family and faith.
• Spiritual Awakening. Pray that the church listens and responds to God during this crisis. Pray for the lost that they will realize that Jesus Christ is waiting for them to respond Him.

(Based upon a list from LifeWay. Download the list by clicking here )

Email #2: Scripture Reading
As we move toward Sunday, consider reading Romans 1-2 and looking back over your study guide questions or other resources. Read Romans 3:21-4:3 and use your study guide or other resources to gain insight.

Email #3: Video
Would everyone listen to the following video related to Romans 1-5 and consider the opportunities God is giving us to reflect the faith we have in Christ, to a lost and broken world?”


Email #4 or Online Discussion Group: Bible Study Guide
Before you begin the study today, consider the following:

• How has God spoken to you through your prayer time and circumstances this week?
• Have you had an opportunity to have any gospel conversations?
• What questions or thoughts did your reading of Romans or the video create?
• How do you think what we have already studied in Romans relates to what we are experiencing with the COVID-19 crisis?

Let’s review what we have already learned from the book of Romans. Paul has clearly explained the plight of man because of sin in chapters 1 – 2. God has revealed Himself through creation and through our own conscience because we are made in the image of God; therefore man is without excuse. No matter what man does, he can’t ignore God; nor can he eradicate his sinful nature. Paul brings his readers to one dramatic conclusion in Romans 3:9, that no one is better than anyone else. We are all sinners. What then? Are we any better off? Not at all! For we have already charged that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin, (Rom 3:9)

Paul paints the picture of the broken world and the brokenness of man. We are obviously currently experiencing this brokenness as we face this worldwide crisis. So, if the world is broken and we can’t fix the brokenness, then where do we turn? The obvious answer is Jesus Christ. This is what Paul states with two very powerful words in Romans 3:21 – BUT NOW . . .

. . . apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been revealed, attested by the Law and the Prophets. The righteousness of God is through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe, since there is no distinction.  For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. (Rom 3:21-24)

The good news of Jesus is that now, “Apart from the law, God has provided a different righteousness—one that comes as a gift through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (3:22).

"How can God give such a gift to sinners and still be righteous? Because at the cross, Jesus was offered as a sacrifice; He made atonement for our sins and therefore upheld the justice of God in justifying those who believe. This good news, once promised in the Old Testament, has now been revealed in Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection.

GENESIS 15:6 & ROMANS 4:3
Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.

Paul here is at pains to defend the point that justification must come from faith alone, so he uses the Old Testament example of Abraham. In Romans 4:3, Paul quotes Genesis 15:6: “Abram believed the Lord, and He credited it to him as righteousness.” In other words, salvation cannot be earned by works, but is granted by God to those who believe.”

Source: IMB Topics, Romans 3-5
Thoughts to Consider:

• Romans 3:27-31 emphasizes that we can’t boast in anything or feel superior to anyone. We can only be confident in our faith in Jesus Christ. How has our current circumstances made that a reality for you?
• Why is it important for people to understand the spiritual significance of what we are currently facing?
• What do you hope these circumstances would do for your faith in Christ? For those who don’t believe in Jesus Christ?
• How can your life demonstrate to others that you believe that your faith in Jesus Christ is certain, even though we are facing uncertain times?

Conclusion:
Through our current circumstances we realize that man in not the center of the universe. The most logical answer as to who is in control would be Almighty God. The question now is, “will man respond to and trust God or will he continue to keep himself at the center of things?”

Next week we will focus on Romans 5 and the peace and life we have in Jesus Christ. As you face the circumstances we are currently experiencing, consider how the peace that comes from knowing you have a relationship with Christ is or should be giving you strength during these uncertain times.

I am sure you have known someone who looked perfectly healthy but was diagnosed with a bad heart. The person might have seemed perfectly healthy, he or she might have even been an avid runner, or a hard worker, but then comes the news that there is a bad heart. LifeWay's Explore the Bible Study: Insufficient is going to focus on the spiritual heart problems that exist in all of us. We might look perfectly healthy on the outside and still have a heart that is dark and sick from the ravages of sin.

Romans 1 - 3 are some of the most difficult passages to read because they give us a glimpse into the depravity of humanity. We have to stop and take a long look at ourselves as Paul unpacks what sin has done to us. Fortunately, Paul doesn't leave us here. We do have hope that will be presented in later passages. But, for now, we will continue to look at the darkness that resides in all of us.

The main passage in this session is Romans 2:17-29. The focus is on the false assumptions of the Jews, regarding their status with God. They relied on the outward actions including circumcision to give them special status. Yet, Paul specifically identifies their hypocrisy and reveals that it is the circumcision of the heart that has to take place. And this is only possibly through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Video Reference: What Happens to People Who Never Hear the Gospel?
David Platt provides background regarding the focus of the book of Romans and answers the question: "What happens to people who never hear the gospel?"

Points to Remember
No one is without excuse (Romans 1:20 and Romans 2:1) because of the following, as described by David Platt in his book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, pp. 141 - 161.

1. All people have a knowledge of God.
2. All people reject God.
3. All people are guilty before God.

God has given us a set of “instructions,” but what happens when those instructions are ignored? The Explore The Bible Study: Guilty, describes the results of what takes place when humanity ignores God's instructions.

Paul has just proclaimed in Romans 1:16-17, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith." (Rom 1:16-17, CSB) This is an important passage regarding God's desire to see people follow Him and our need to share the gospel. Understanding the love of God expressed in this passage – God offers the gospel to everyone who believes – then it makes Romans 1:18-32 more understandable.

Everything needed to help guide a study of Romans 1:18-32 is available in the downloadable teaching plans. This session deals with some difficult and challenging passages. Be sure to carefully guide your group to examine the passages, emphasizing the great need for us to share the gospel with everyone. Here are some major discussions that will take place:

Romans 1:18-23

God's Wrath 

• Who does Paul blame for God’s wrath being revealed? How does this debunk those who feel God’s actions are somehow unjust or unfair?
• What were the overarching reasons Paul stated for God’s wrath being revealed? -- V. 18 – People suppress the truth. V. 21 – They knew God but didn’t glorify Him as God or show gratitude. V. 22 – They claimed to be wise. V. 23 – They worshipped idols.