In View of His Mercy

BIG IDEA

In view of God’s mercy, believers are called to offer their whole lives to God as true worship, allowing Him to renew their minds and shape a life attentive to His will.

INTRODUCTION

PASSAGE & PRAYER

Passage:

Romans 12:1–2 ESV

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. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Prayer :

WELCOME & OPENING

Introduction

Introduce myself (when not in NYC)

Honor Trebor and Molly.

Mention he’s the real deal of a pastor.

Story of Him getting on NYC subway. if you can survive our subway, you can survive any where.

Good to be back last time I was here I got snowed in. what are the odds rights.

Mission Statement: (feel the moment out)

Raising big Christians who worship God in Spirit and in Truth

INTRODUCTORY REMARK:

Attention Grabber

New Years Resolution:

Three days into the new year, who excited for this year?

How many people made New Years Resolution this week?

anyone started a Bible-in-a-year plan?”

I rather do the Bible in 30 days instead. Something about the slow and steady consistency gets every time.

New Year, New me? New Year Resolution is all about a fresh start. Seeing the beginning of the year as a clean slate.

At the heart of it, it’s this declaration for direction. To reflect back, see where you want to change, and make a decision to move forward differently.

For us as Christians, the start of a new year isn’t just a moment to reset habits — it’s an invitation, by God’s grace, to pursue Him more wholeheartedly.

TITLE OF MESSAGE

If you’re taking notes this morning, I titled this message ‘In View of His Mercy’

THESIS

As we step into a new year, the call of Scripture In view of God’s mercies, to offer our whole lives to God—lives are shaped by Him and openness to His leading.

TRANSITIONAL STATEMENT

That’s exactly where the apostle Paul takes us in Romans chapter 12—showing us what a life shaped by God’s mercy looks like.

"Paul shows us how to live in response to God's mercy. These verses unfold in four movements—like a symphony. Each movement builds on the last. Let's walk through them together."

BODY

I. THE FOUNDATION: MERCY BEFORE THE OBEDIENCE

Romans 12:1 “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God

Paul begins with a word that connects everything that follows:

THEREFORE

Meaning everything written In chapter 1-11

You're justified by faith (Rom 3-5)

You're dead to sin, alive to God (Rom 6)

You're free from condemnation in Christ (Rom 8:1)

Nothing can separate you from God's love (Rom 8:35-39)

God is faithful to His promises (Rom 9-11)

His mercy extends to all (Rom 11:30-32)

Is the sweeping declaration of God’s mercy.

Key point:

Your response is not to earn God’s mercy, you are simply responding to the mercy. God’s telling us how to earn God’s favor, He is telling us how to respond to it.

Mercy is not the reward at the end of obedience. Mercy is the foundation from which obedience flows.

We do not offer ourselves to God in order to receive mercy. We offer ourselves because we already have mercy.

Application:

Do you need to be reminded on what God has done for you? Yes, because we are forgetful people.

Encourage you to re-familiaize yourself the the gospel message from 1-11: be reminded

Transitonal Statement

So mercy is the foundation. our response is “Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.”

II. THE CALL — WHOLE-LIFE WORSHIP

EXPLAIN THE PARADOX:

But Paul says, 'Present yourselves as a living sacrifice.'

A living sacrifice? sounds like an strange. shouldn’t a sacrifice be dead?

Image that came to my mind when I first read this was of an animal that doesn’t sit still. like ADHD animal

It’s an intentional paradox.

The Jewish audience would have picked up on this. That the sacrifice that is offered to God is killed on the altar. This was the one major aspect of worship in the OT

To live is ongoing. continuous

Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”

You are the sacrifice, and you are alive

Here's what he means: You die to yourself daily—your agenda, your comfort, your control—but you keep living for God. It's not a one-time decision; it's a daily posture.

Every morning you wake up and say, 'God, today I present myself to You. My time, my body, my choices—they're Yours.'"

When Paul says “present your bodies,” he doesn’t mean only the physical body.

He means the whole person. Your time. Your desires. Your plans. Your work. Your relationships. Your obedience.

WHOLE LIFE WORSHIP:

Paul call this offering of yourself as

English Standard Version Chapter 12

which is your spiritual worship

This is what worship looks like.

Worship is not confined to a song. It’s not limited to a moment on Sunday morning. True worship is the daily offering of our whole lives to God.

But Paul says, 'Present yourselves as a living sacrifice.'

Worship isn't just singing on Sunday morning. Worship is presenting your Monday-through-Saturday to God.

Your work? Worship.

Your parenting? Worship.

Your conversations? Worship.

What you watch, what you eat, how you spend your money? All worship.

God doesn't want parts of you. He wants all of you."

CHRYSOSTOM QUOTE (Optional if time allows):

"One of the early church fathers, Chrysostom, said it this way:

'Let the eye look on no evil thing, and it has become a sacrifice; let your tongue speak nothing filthy, and it has become an offering; let your hand do no lawless deed, and it has become a whole burnt offering.'

Everything becomes worship when it's offered to God."

POINT:

To live as a living sacrifice means we deny ourselves daily, not to lose life, but to live every moment for God.

It’s about walking in obedience, it’s easy when it’s some you enjoy doing, but what about you despise doing.

Presenting yourself to God will mean there will be moments where your will and God’s will collide. Be ready and willing to joyously come into agreement with God.

Application:

True worship is the daily offering of our whole lives to God.

Are you making yourself available to be use by God?

It’s says here i am Lord. I am your.

It’s a

Transition Statement:

God’s mercies, empower me to response a worship that offers my entire self to him,

III. THE PROCESS — TRANSFORMATION, NOT CONFORMITY

How do we present ourselves as living sacrifice?

Verse 2 “By not being conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of the mind

It is said that we are exposed to roughly 4,000–10,000 ads per day, counting both conscious and subconscious exposure, across digital and print environments.

Subconsciously:

Estimated range: 3,500–9,700 ads per day

Your brain processes these without conscious attention, but they still influence perception, familiarity, and decision-making.

World's pattern (comfort, consumption, instant gratification)

can be passive or intentional. but it’s idea of being molded into the shape of

Paul says DO NOT BE CONFORMED, meaning don’t let the world mold you.

There is no neutrality, either your being form by Christ or by the world.

Christian guy i knew who work as an editior for Playboy Magazine. He walked this line, that i couldn’t understand to work in a profession where you are willfully

I don’t know what effect it had one him but perhaps, perhaps mold so much he became numb in his sensors to it

EXPLAIN TRANSFORMATION:

"But notice the contrast: 'But be transformed...'

The verb is passive—you're not transforming yourself. God is transforming you.

But it's also present tense—it's ongoing. Transformation isn't a one-time event; it's a lifelong process.

How does it happen? 'By the renewing of your mind.'

Maybe you experience this. Co-worker,s or friends. I like to thnk

Pregnancy Craving Illustration

"I've noticed something funny since my wife got pregnant: her cravings become my cravings. Any dads in the room that can relate? No, must be a New York thing lol. My wife two things my wife has been craving almost pregnancy. Playa bowls. that is acai bowls and very recently Ramen. and My craving for it has increased

The point is, what we're around shapes our desires.

“Renewal of the mind is not just changing a thought or fixing a habit. It is God reshaping the control center of your life — how you think, what you desire, and how you discern what pleases Him.”

God is reshaping your desires. He's teaching you to want what He wants, to think like He thinks. It's not about trying harder; it's about being near Him consistently so His desires become yours.

something is always shaping you. You’re either being shaped by God or you’re being shaped by the world. There is no neutrality .

So God transforms us from the inside out. But what's the goal? Why does He do this? That's Movement 4

IV. THE RESULT: DISCERNING THE WILL OF GOD

"...so that you may test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

“Here's the goal of transformation: so you can discern God's will.

Back in Romans 1, Paul described how sin corrupts our minds—we become unable to discern truth. We call evil good and good evil.

But here in Romans 12, the gospel reverses that. Now, through mind renewal, you can discern God's will. You can think clearly again. That's the power of transformation!"

Discernment is the fruit, not the starting point

God’s will is recognized by transformed people.

God’s primary will: conformity to the image of His Son

Romans 8:29 “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers.”

In the same way that Church exist for nothing else, but to draw men into Christ, to make the little Christs. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time. God became man for no other purpose.

C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity

at the heart of Christianity is not producing ethical people, but union with Christ. Being made in the likeness of Christ. that is participation in sonship.

Knowing God’s will is relational, not mystical

Key Truth:

As we offer ourselves to God, He shapes us to recognize and walk in His will.

CONCLUSION

Mercy is the foundation — We respond because we've received

Whole-life worship is the call — We present ourselves daily

Transformation is the process — God renews us from the inside out

Discerning God's will is the result — We learn to walk in His good will

Purpose: Call for response without pressure.

Fasting:

As a church you guys are entering into 21 days of fastings. Make this opportuunity to set the tone spiritually. This is about spiritual formation

Fasting and prayer goes hand in hand. without prayer, your just starving yourself

Give yourself wholly in these 21 days to God. ask Him to help form you, shape you. Ask Him to develop your hunger. to grow deeper in relationship with Him is to grow deeper in union with Him

An invitation — by God’s grace — to pursue Him. To offer yourself fully to Him. To make room for His leading. To be transformed, not by pressure, but by mercy.