The apostle Paul wrote “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.” Let talk about what that looks like.

Outline

1. We Have Received Great Mercy
   1. By Faith in Christ We Have Been
      • Reconciled to God
      • Delivered from death
      • Liberated from sin
      • Declared righteous by God
      • Become part of new creation
   2. All This Has Come About by Grace
2. How Should We Respond to God’s Mercy?
   1. By Coming to God to Receive These Gifts
   2. With Love and Praise and Thanksgiving
   3. By Works of Service
3. Present Yourself for God’s Service
   1. Present Yourself as a Living Sacrifice
   2. There are two kind of sacrifices: thanksgiving and atonement
      • Christ offered the only atoning sacrifice that is acceptable to God
      • Samuel was offered to God as a living sacrifice of thanksgiving.
   3. Paul urges us to offer ourselves to God as Similar Living Thank Offerings
   4. To do this our thinking and our methods need to change
4. Work for New Goals and Using New Methods
   1. Don’t be conformed to the world
   2. You have died to this world with Christ
   3. You are part of new creation that will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ.
   4. Become Like Jesus in Your Thinking
   5. Live by Faith
5. What We Are Called to Do Varies with Our Gifts and Calling
   1. We are one body with many differing members
   2. We grow together in Christ Jesus
   3. We keep the body healthy
   4. As a body we work together
6. God Is Pleased When We Serve Him in Faith
   1. Our Sacrifice Is Reasonable and Spiritual Because It Is Grounded in and Directed by the Word of God.
   2. Our Sacrifice Is Holy Because We Have Been Made Holy by Baptism and Faith in Christ.
   3. Our Sacrifice Is Pleasing to God on Account of Christ