Romans 15
by Philip Layton
Christians should accept one another
Discussion Questions
- Can unity be expressed through diversity (vv 5-7)?
- What is the difference between unity and uniformity?
Share your thoughts below, or tweet about it with the #boundlessbible hashtag. Don't forget this week's Children's Challenge!
Going Deeper From 'Words of Life'
J.S. Bach said that the aim and final reason for all music should be nothing else but the glory of God and the refreshment of the spirit. In everyday life, it means giving glory and honour to God always. We do this out of gratitude and thanksgiving:
To God be the glory, great things he hath done!
So loved he the world that he gave us his Son;
Who yielded his life an atonement for sin,
And opened the life gate that all may go in.
(SASB 22)
Fanny Crosby, writer of that hymn, went to her room each night, closed the door, then sensed words coming to her. Her capacity to memorise was amazing – having learned the skill so well, due to her blindness. Each morning she would then dictate up to 40 complete poems.
This hymn was one such poem, put to music by William Doane and later introduced at a Billy Graham crusade meeting in London during 1954. It caught on immediately, soon going around the world. It speaks of salvation, holiness – and our future with Jesus in glory:
Our wonder, our rapture, when Jesus we see.
(v 3)
As parents, we often praise our children. Yet far more than this, we need to praise God for who he is. To celebrate him, together. So, please sing the refrain with me – and with others around the world:
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the earth hear his voice!
Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord! Let the people rejoice!
O come to the Father through Jesus the Son,
And give him the glory; great things he hath done!
Beverly Ivany
Image courtesy of freebibleimages.org