Jesus Brings Joy – Part Four

City Harbor Church – Hampden, Baltimore, MD

Cultivate joy by living in light of the resurrected Jesus.
“Saved by his life,” – Romans 5:10

Our Savior King Jesus Christ crucified, buried, and raised from the dead for our salvation. Jesus is alive.

What does this mean to us?

Freedom – Romans 4:24-25, 5:1-2, 9-11, 20-21 CSB

“It was recorded 24 for our benefit, too, assuring us that God will also count us as righteous if we believe in him, the one who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. 25 He was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God.” – Romans 4:24-25 NLT

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.” – Romans 5:1-2 NLT

“9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” – Romans 5:9-11 NLT

“20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” – Romans 5:20-21 NLT

Saved – to experience divine salvation, rescue from punishment, removing moral guilt, giving new spiritual life

Story of Good News – Timothy Keller conversational pathway

Chapter 1: Where did we come from? From God: the One and the relational

Chapter 2: Why did things go so wrong? Because of sin: bondage and condemnation

Chapter 3: What will put things right? Christ: incarnation, substitution, restoration

Chapter 4: How can I be put right? Through faith: grace and trust

Chapter 3 and 4 Q + A are a focus of Romans. We read Romans 1-8 as helpful in understanding salvation.

What do we learn?

1. God has shown us love by sending Jesus as Savior.

2. Jesus is alive.

3. Jesus won the victory over sin and death.

4. God offers salvation, including gracious freedom from sin.

5. A life-giving and life-changing relationship with God produces joy.

6. We can all cultivate joy by receiving God’s gracious freedom from sin and choosing to live in it.

What should we do?

1. Ask God for help in understanding Romans 5.

2. Read Romans 5.

3. Write questions and answers.

4. Consider what “Jesus brings joy.” means to you.

Consider how you can cultivate joy.