Last week we wrapped up our 3 part series of "Is God Speaking to Me?". I hope you all got just as much out of it as I did and were empowered to be radically obedient and say "yes" to God! 

I asked you all what you wanted to study and got responses that we should do a book study of Romans! So this week we are going to begin our dive into studying all about the Book of Romans.

This will be a six week study that we will talk about on our Facebook Live videos each Tuesday night but will post the notes here on the blog each Tuesday night as well. 

Here are the six sections we will be covering and the reading that goes along with each. You don't have to do the reading but we won't be reading through the whole book of Romans on Facebook, so if you want to follow along, I would recommend reading the chapters before we go live each Tuesday!

Part 1: Intro- no reading

Part 2: Sin- Chapters 1-3

Part 3: Salvation- Chapters 3-5

Part 4: Sanctification- Chapters 6-8

Part 5: Sovereignty- Chapters 9-11

Part 6: Service- Chapters 12-16

History of the Book of Romans:

Romans was written around 60 AD by the apostle Paul. It was written to the church in Rome that was at that time, somewhat established as we see in chapter 15, verse 23. This church was made of a large mixed group of people, from Jewish people to Gentiles that converted from paganism (both slave and free). 

Main theme: 

The main theme of the book of Romans is that God's righteousness is given to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ. This means for all people alike, slave or free, jew or gentile, all are extended salvation. This was important for this church of mixed people to hear! We see the them in one of the key verses in Romans, 1:16-17. 

Here is an awesome chart I found that helps break down the book of Romans and what each chapter will cover. Essentially this book is Paul speaking to a group of people about how they are called to obedience and are God's people.

***I did not create this outline, it is an awesome resource I found on webtruth.org***

This week is just our intro into the book of Romans, so all I want to cover is the first opening part of chapter 1 where we get Paul's greeting to the Church in Rome. This first section does a great job of showing us who Paul is, why and how he is qualified to address the Church as well as why the Church is being addressed (they were called to be saints). 

1. Who: Paul
   Why/How: Set apart for the gospel, called to be an apostle
   Where: 1:1
   
   
2. Who: Jesus Christ, Son of God, Descendant of David
   Why/How: by His resurrection sacrifice, through whom we receive grace
   Where: 1:4-5
   
   
3. Who: Christians in Rome (this Church)
   Why/How: Called to belong to Jesus Christ, beloved by God
   Where: 1:6-7