Session Purpose
In this session, we will study gospel-centered obedience as the grateful response of those who have received God’s mercy. We will memorize and consider how God renews our minds and transforms our daily lives.
Opening Prayer
Father, thank you for the mercies you have given us in Christ. Renew our minds by your Word and Spirit. Teach us to offer every part of our lives to you in trusting, grateful obedience. Amen.
Memory Passage
“Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a sacrifice—alive, holy, and pleasing to God—which is your reasonable service. Do not be conformed to this present world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.” – NET2
If you are unable to memorize both verses, begin with . Continue working on verse 2 as you are able.
Memorize the passage in phrases:
- Therefore I exhort you, brothers and sisters,
- by the mercies of God,
- to present your bodies as a sacrifice—
- alive, holy, and pleasing to God—
- which is your reasonable service.
- Do not be conformed to this present world,
- but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
- so that you may test and approve what is the will of God—
- what is good and well-pleasing and perfect.
Bible Study
Read slowly at least twice.
God’s Mercies
- begins with “Therefore.” Read , , and . What mercies has God given us through Christ?
- Why does Paul appeal to God’s mercies before calling believers to obedience?
A Living Sacrifice
- What does presenting our bodies to God tell us about the extent of Christian obedience?
- Old-covenant sacrifices were killed and placed upon the altar. What might Paul mean by describing Christians as sacrifices that are “alive, holy, and pleasing to God”?
Conformed or Transformed?
- What two opposing influences or processes does Paul describe in verse 2?
- In what ways does the present age seek to shape our beliefs, desires, priorities, relationships, and behavior?
- Read . How does renewal reshape the way believers live?
- What is the relationship among a renewed mind, a transformed life, and recognizing what pleases God?
Interpretive Summary, Prayer & Action
marks an important transition in Paul’s letter. In response to the saving mercies described in , believers are called to offer their entire embodied lives to God. Christian obedience is therefore not a means of earning salvation but the grateful response of those who have received mercy in Christ.
God transforms his people by renewing their minds through his Word and Spirit. As their thinking, desires, and judgments are reshaped, they increasingly recognize, desire, and practice what pleases him.
Restate the Main Truth
Complete this sentence in your own words: Because God has shown me mercy in Christ:
Respond in Prayer and Action
- What area of your life are you most tempted to withhold from God—your time, body, money, relationships, ambitions, habits, or future?
- Where are you presently being pressured to adopt the beliefs, values, or behavior of the surrounding culture? What truth from Scripture needs to renew your thinking?
- What specific act of trusting obedience will you offer to God this week in response to his mercy?
Turn your answers into prayer. Thank God for his mercy, confess where you have resisted him, and ask the Spirit to renew your mind and enable your obedience.
Preparing for Session 4
Before the next meeting:
Learn at a manageable pace, including the reference. Review a small selection of earlier passages, rotating them through the week. Begin with the first verse if needed.
During your Daily Quiet Times, identify one belief or desire that Scripture is renewing and practice one MAP response to God’s mercy.
Share with a fellow participant how God’s mercy motivates the response you have chosen.
Bring one insight or question and one experience of applying the passage. Share only what you choose.