Session 1
Romans 1:13-25
Memory Verse: Romans 1:16
On one of our first dates, my wife and I ate at a great Tex-Mex place before a concert.
She had bought a new blouse and new white pants for the occasion.
As he put our food on the table, our waiter accidentally flipped a bowl of guacamole sauce into her lap.
He apologized profusely and offered to pay for the dry cleaning.
We reminded him that accidents happen-though the stain never completely came out of those pants.
Guacamole stains are nothing compared to the stain caused by sin.
It not only has covered us, but its removal is impossible without the gospel.
Unlike my wife’s unfortunate encounter, we were not innocent in acquiring the stain of sin.
When Adam and Eve ate of the tree, they-and all humanity-fell.
Thankfully, Jesus became the spotless sacrifice for sin, the substitute for the punishment we deserved.
The message about Jesus’s death and resurrection constitutes
the gospel, and the gospel alone has the power to remove
the guilt of humanity’s sin.
All of us have experienced the power of good news.
Perhaps it was when you got the report that you passed an exam.
Or when you were told that you got the job.
Maybe you received the blood test results and learned that nothing’s wrong.
Good news has a powerful impact on us.
It turns an ordinary day into an extraordinary event
that we will always remember. (PSG, p. 10)
Explain that the apostle Paul once sent a letter to the Christians in
Rome that explained the greatest news imaginable-
what we know as the “gospel.”
Summarize this content from page 11 of the PSG:
“In Paul’s letter to the believers in Rome, he introduced
himself by way of the gospel.
When anyone used the word “gospel” in those days, they meant
that they had good news.
For Paul, the gospel meant the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. .He wanted to encourage believers there, and he also wanted them to
partner with him in proclaiming the gospel to others who had
not heard it.
He testified that telling others the good news of Jesus
did not embarrass him.
On the contrary, he shared the message with eagerness.
He had an obligation to proclaim it everywhere.”
Paul began building a powerful theological argument for salvation in Christ.
And He began by emphasizing the importance of the gospel.