SUNDAY (LIVE) - July 19, 2026 | UNASHAMED: Romans 1:1 - The Intro

Jul 19, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Clay in the Potter’s Hands: Removing Mars to Reveal Purpose

The image of God as a potter reshaping marred clay anchors this truth: He sanctifies what the world calls ruined. Life’s fractures and flaws become the very places where divine artistry shines. God doesn’t discard broken vessels; He patiently removes impurities, transforming raw material into vessels of honor. This process isn’t painless, but it’s purposeful. His hands work not to punish, but to perfect. The question isn’t whether we’re marred, but whether we’ll yield to the Potter’s touch. [37:11]

“But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand.”
(Isaiah 64:8, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you resisted God’s reshaping in your life? What “mars” do you need to surrender to His sanctifying hands today?

Day 2: Bad Theology’s Body Count and the Cure of Truth

Misbeliefs about God aren’t harmless—they poison souls. Like tribes attributing sickness to divine anger, many Christians live under a false “Santa Claus theology” of naughty-and-nice lists. This breeds either self-righteousness or despair. But Scripture reveals a God who pursues sinners, not a deity keeping score. Romans dismantles these lies, replacing fear with the scandalous truth: salvation comes not to the self-sufficient, but to those who admit they’re helpless. [38:46]

“For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
(2 Timothy 4:3-4, ESV)

Reflection: What false belief about God have you quietly carried? How would embracing Romans’ truth free you to love Him more fully?

Day 3: From Persecutor to Servant: The Alchemy of Grace

Saul’s story proves no one is beyond redemption. The man who guarded murderers’ coats became Christianity’s fiercest advocate. Grace didn’t minimize his sins—it magnified Christ’s sufficiency. Paul’s lifelong service flowed from remembering how much he’d been forgiven. Like the woman who washed Jesus’ feet with tears, those aware of their debt love lavishly. Service isn’t a ladder to earn God’s favor; it’s the overflow of hearts stunned by unmerited mercy. [56:03]

“And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.’”
(Acts 9:3-5, ESV)

Reflection: What past failure makes you doubt God’s ability to use you? How might His grace transform that story into fuel for serving others?

Day 4: Building Fires in Life’s Shipwrecks

After surviving a storm and snakebite, Paul didn’t demand comfort—he gathered wood to warm others. Service redirects focus from personal pain to others’ needs. Like Jesus washing grimy feet, mundane acts of kindness become holy when done in love. The storm still raged, but Paul’s fire became a beacon. Our greatest ministry often emerges not from platforms, but from faithfulness in life’s wrecks—offering warmth when we’re still shivering, hope when we’re still disoriented. [57:28]

“When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. He shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.”
(Acts 28:3-5, ESV)

Reflection: What “shipwreck” are you facing where serving someone else could bring unexpected healing—for them or you?

Day 5: The Pursuing God Who Climbs Trees for Traitors

The gospel isn’t a formula—it’s the story of a Father sprinting toward prodigals. From Eden to Emmaus, God chases rebels. He climbs sycamores to eat with tax collectors, defends adulterers, and dies for His killers. Romans unveils this relentless love: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Communion’s elements declare we’re accepted before we’re cleaned up. The table isn’t for the worthy, but for the wanted—those who’ve stopped running and let Love catch them. [01:11:35]

“And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, ‘Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today.’ So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully.”
(Luke 19:5-6, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you been hiding from God’s pursuit? What would it look like to “come down from the tree” and receive His joy today?

Sermon Summary

Romans comes in as a doctrinal chiropractor, straightening out what gets out of joint in the soul. Doctrine matters because bad doctrine has a body count, and wrong ideas about God can make a believer afraid of the Father instead of drawn to him. The “God helps those who help themselves” religion gets exposed as the exact opposite of the gospel, because Romans will say there is none righteous, no, not one. The gospel says God helps the doomed, the helpless, the ones who cannot fix themselves.

Bad theology paints God like Santa Claus with a nice list and a naughty list. Lamentations answers that fear by saying God does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of man. Job’s friends show how ugly theology gets when suffering gets reduced to payback, as if dead children, sickness, and disaster always mean God is mad. Scripture itself keeps curing that lie, because God comes to Adam and Eve in the garden, meets Isaiah in his uncleanness, and walks in Jesus Christ among sinners all the time.

Communion gets rescued from fear too. The table is not “do this in remembrance of how bad sin was this week.” Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of me.” Fencing the table with terror lets the self righteous Pharisee march forward while the sensitive saint stays seated, and that keeps the right people away from the very elixir of eternity. The bread and cup preach grace first: take, eat, drink, and be cleansed by the sanctifier of the human soul.

Romans 1:1 introduces Paul as a servant of Christ Jesus, and Paul is the last guy anybody would have picked. Saul hated Christians, stood by Stephen’s death, and wanted to franchise persecution out to Damascus. Jesus knocked him down, saved him, and turned the persecutor into a servant. Big forgiven sins birth brilliant lovers of Jesus Christ, and Paul never got over how much mercy he had received.

Paul’s service also shows that serving gives a purpose bigger than pain and problems. The apostle serves on storm-tossed ships, on broken beaches, by fires, after snake bites, and among sick strangers. The call of God does not crush the deepest desires of a person. God’s call matches what the heart most deeply craves when that heart delights in him.

The gospel of God is good news, not advice. News retells events that actually happened: Jesus, King of the universe, became man, defeated sin and death and the law on the cross, rose again, and offers adoption as sons and daughters by faith in his finished work alone. The Father, Son, and Spirit are not divided between angry God and nice Jesus. God has always been the pursuing one, coming after Adam, Cain, Jacob, Israel, idolaters, sinners, and finally the world in Christ.

Key Takeaways

1. Bad doctrine has a body count Bad doctrine does not stay in the head. It gets into the nerves, the conscience, the way a person reads suffering, communion, repentance, and the face of God. Romans is meant to straighten out more than ideas, because wrong doctrine can make a child of God live like an orphan waiting for punishment. [38:30]
2. God pursues marred clay God is not skittish around sinners, as though holiness means distance from the broken. Genesis, Isaiah, and the life of Jesus show the holy God moving toward the unclean, clothing the ashamed, cleansing the guilty, and eating with the wrong people. The Father’s disposition is pursuit, not reluctance, and that changes how repentance feels. [44:43]
3. Forgiven sinners become servants Paul’s service did not come from forgetting his past, but from remembering mercy rightly. The one forgiven much loves much, because grace does not minimize sin, it magnifies the Savior. When forgiven sinners stop pretending to be impressive, service becomes joy instead of religious performance. [55:39]
4. God’s call fits deep craving The call of God is not a trick where the Father forces his children into misery and calls it obedience. God often calls before a person even knows what the deepest desire is, but his call fits the heart he is shaping. Delight in the Lord does not erase desire, it purifies it and gives it a holy direction. [61:42]
5. The gospel is good news The gospel is not advice, religious tips, or a better self-improvement plan. The gospel is news: Jesus came, died, rose, conquered, and now offers adoption by faith in his finished work alone. Good news means the decisive work has already happened before the sinner brings anything to the table. [63:02]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[36:04] - God’s Work Endures
[38:13] - Romans and the Need for Doctrine
[40:06] - The Gospel Is Not Self-Help
[40:45] - Bad Theology and the Santa List
[42:26] - God Does Not Delight in Affliction
[44:43] - God Comes Near to Sinners
[45:45] - Communion Without Fear
[50:21] - Romans 1:1 Begins
[52:40] - Saul the Persecutor Becomes Paul
[55:39] - Forgiven Much, Loving Much
[56:50] - Paul Keeps Serving
[60:10] - Called and Sent by God
[63:02] - The Gospel Is Good News
[66:34] - Two Ways to See the Gospel
[78:27] - Communion and Cleansing Grace

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 1:1
“Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God.” [50:32]

Lamentations 3:33
“For he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men.” [42:29]

Luke 7:47
“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” [55:39]

Observation questions

In Romans 1:1, what three things does Paul say about himself, and how do those words describe his identity and purpose?
What false pictures of God were named: God as a Santa Claus figure, God as always paying people back through suffering, and God as distant from sinners? [40:45]
In Luke 7:47, what connection is made between being forgiven and loving much? [55:39]
What examples were given from Scripture that show God moving toward sinners instead of staying far away from them? [44:43]

Interpretation questions

If Lamentations 3:33 says God does not afflict from his heart, how should suffering be understood without jumping to the conclusion that every hard thing means God is angry? [42:29]
Paul calls himself a servant of Christ Jesus in Romans 1:1. What does that suggest about what grace does to a person’s life after conversion, especially in someone with a past like Saul’s? [52:40]
Luke 7:47 ties deep love to deep awareness of forgiveness. Why do people who know they have been forgiven much often become glad and durable servants? [56:03]
The gospel is called good news, not advice. How does that change the way a person thinks about becoming right with God: by self-improvement, or by trusting what Jesus has already done? [01:03:02]

Application questions

Where does “God helps those who help themselves” still show up in real life? Does it show up in prayer, in guilt, in trying to clean up before coming to God, or in the way someone handles failure? [40:06]
Has there been a season when God felt more like a judge keeping score than a Father who pursues and adopts? What did that do to joy, repentance, and closeness with him? [49:20]
Communion is meant to say, “Remember me,” not “Remember how bad you were this week.” What usually comes to mind when taking the bread and cup: fear, shame, gratitude, relief, or love? Why? [47:17]
Paul’s story shows that forgiven sinners become servants. Where might mercy remembered rightly lead someone to serve right now: at home, in the church, with a neighbor, or with someone hard to love? [58:24]
Service gives a purpose bigger than pain and problems. When life gets heavy, does a person tend to turn inward or outward? What might it look like this week to step outside personal burdens and serve someone specific? [58:35]
God’s call is not a trick meant to make his children miserable. Is there an area where someone has resisted God because of fear that obedience will ruin life? What might trusting his good call look like there? [01:01:42]
God has always been the pursuing one. Where does someone most need to believe that right now: in repentance, after failure, in suffering, or in a sense of distance from God? [01:12:30]

Sermon Clips

71s

#GoodNewsNotAdvice

“``Gospel means good news. You guys tired of bad news? Droughts, inflation, wars, fires? I'm tired of bad news. Tired of problems? We have the solution, the gospel of God. Listen, the gospel is not doctrine. As important as doctrine is, it's not doctrine. The gospel is not end times eschatology, as important as that can be, as interesting as that can be. That's not the gospel. The gospel is not some kind of mode of salvation, how we got saved. The gospel is not how you translate a Greek verb. The gospel is not advice on marriage or health or parenting. The gospel is good news. What is news? It's the retelling of events that actually happened. That's what news is. News is not advice. Hey, take ashwagandha. That's advice. News is the retelling of advice that of events that actually happened. Here is the good news.”

64s

#JesusAdoptionByFaith

“Jesus, king of the universe, lord of all, creator of heaven and earth, the entire universe, Jesus, becomes a man. Defeat sin and death and the law on the cross. Demonstrates his power that he is God in the flesh. After three days, he rises again. And he is now the way, the truth, and the life. And no one gets to the father but by him. And he makes an offer to every single person. You can be adopted as a son, as a daughter of your heavenly father. You can become family, right relationship with your heavenly father as a gift when you put your faith in my work alone. That's the gospel.”

49s

#FatherPursuesForgives

“But we turned our back on him when we said we will not have this man rule over us. Crucify him. My sin put Jesus on the cross. I send my sin violently into him. And even on the cross, Jesus demonstrates the heart of the father when he says to the very ones that had nailed his arms to that cross, father, forgive them. They know not what they do. Jesus demonstrating the heart of the father, the pursuing one that keeps coming after you and me time and time again, leaving the ninety nine and one. This is this is the father's disposition towards us.”

64s

#CommunionPreachesGrace

“The very elements of communion preach the gospel. It's not clean ourselves up and make ourselves worthy, and then hopefully you'll come into us. It's take, and then drink and be cleansed. Because you are the sanctifier of the human soul. And so as we take and eat this morning, may every heart in here that's opened itself up to you, may we be reminded that you are the pursuing one. You came after me. You've accepted me. I've been adopted into your family the moment I said yes. I became a son. Day one, by your grace, may we eat of your acceptance this morning. Let's eat.”

52s

#GospelOfGodTriune

“But notice, it's not the gospel of Jesus Christ. It's the gospel of God. The triune, father, son, spirit. The triune, holy one of Israel. I say this because there's this idea that can creep in that in the old testament, the heavenly father is angry, and that's why the old testament. And the new testament, Jesus is the nice guy that kinda calms down the father. And that's very prevalent. In fact, going all the way back to the second century, you have that idea. Old Testament, angry God. New Testament, nice Jesus. That's not at all the bible. God has always been the pursuing one.”

42s

#BigForgivenessBigService

“Paul realized how bad he was. I murdered Christians. Paul realized how big his sins were. And because of that, he becomes one of the greatest servants for Jesus Christ. Big forgiven sins birth brilliant lovers of Jesus Christ. That's what happens. And I think sometimes we get so far away from it. We're ten, twenty years from salvation. We start to think, man, we're we are pretty special. We forget everything that we've been forgiven of, and we don't serve. Paul never did. Paul calls himself at the end of his life, I'm the chiefest of sinners. And because of that, he serves.”

52s

#RomansAsDoctrinalChiropractor

“That the doctrines here taught change the way I view things. And my prayer is, it does the same thing to all of us. Who whoever in here does the gritted teeth, miserable, religious thing that that changes and we realize God is our heavenly father. He's adopted us to become his sons and daughters. That like prodigals, when we return home, God throws a party for us, fatted calf, robes on us, ring on our finger, shoes on our feet, celebration that I want us to view God differently. My prayer is that Romans does the work of a doctrinal chiropractor. Whatever's out of joint in us, whatever's causing us pain and discomfort, Romans just straightens us out like it's done for hundreds and hundreds of years.”

43s

#GodWithSinnersGenesis3

“Oh, no. I grew up. This idea that god could not be around sinful people. He's too holy. He cannot be around sinful people. So I just thought, well, God's not gonna be around me. You ever heard that? Is that true? You know what cured me of that idea? Reading the bible. Because in Genesis three, you have the first two sinners. Does god say, man, I can't be around you guys. No. God comes to them, speaks to them, gives them the hope that the seed of the woman will come and crush the serpent's head. He actually clothes them.”

53s

#DontFenceTheTable

“I know first Corinthians 11. That is not what it's teaching. Not at all. When a church does that, it's called fencing the table. When you fence the table, what happens is when you start saying stuff like that, here's what happens. The self righteous Pharisee, like Luke 18, bragging that I'm not like sinful people. I fast and I pray and I've confessed all my sins. The self righteous, graceless pharisee marches up and grabs communion because they think they deserve it, while the sensitive saint stays seated because their conscience is bothering them. And they're then not allowed to the very elixir of eternity. It keeps away the wrong it keeps away the right people and allows the wrong people to be arrogant. That's what happens when you do that.”

48s

#GodsCallMatchesDesire

“We read about god calling people to things, and I think underneath, we're afraid. If God calls me to something, what's he gonna call me to be? He's probably going to want me to go somewhere that's scary, weird, dangerous, some horrible place like Portland or something. No. I'm kidding. Kind of. Here's what you'll find. God's call always matches what we crave deepest. Paul loved being sent out and going to place to place to place to bring the gospel. I think sometimes God's calling on our lives comes at a time that we don't even know what we most want.”

32s

#CalledToWhatYouCrave

“But I went, and it's the best year of my unmarried life. I love it. Such great memories, such great friendships made by doing that. God's call will be exactly what we crave. The bible says this, if you delight yourself in the lord, he will give you the desires of your heart. God's not gonna call you to something you hate. You're miserable. Talk to anybody that's been called by God and is doing what God has called them to do, and they have a gigantic heart for what God has called them to do.”

38s

#ServeToTranscendPain

“How about us? Do we serve? How much better would be how much better would the city of Grants Pass be if I learned to really serve people? My spouse, my kids, my neighbor. When you serve, here's what happens. You get a purpose that transcends your pain and problems. I think part of the thing, like, we get in our own heads, it's because we're not serving people. So then we just think about ourselves all the time. But when you serve, something happens. It's not about my pain and problems anymore. I'm helping somebody else, and so I transcend my own pain and my problems.”

33s

#GospelHelpsTheHelpless

“If you know the scriptures, that is the Christian paradox. Because the gospel is not God helps those that help themselves. It is the exact opposite. The gospel is God helps those that realize they cannot be helped. They cannot help themselves, that we're doomed. It's Romans chapter three. There's none righteous. No. Not one. All have gone astray. We'll get there. we don't have the best doctrine. We don't even have the best facts.”

48s

#TheologyAffectsLives

“So I want Romans to help Edgewater have really good theology because it affects your soul. Bad theology has body counts. I had a body count from it. So with that kind of idea, when I reengaged the Lord when I was in my twenties, I believed that Christianity was about moral behavior. Santa's list. And I want to stay on the nice list. So I believe it's all about how I performed. And when I was doing well, man, I was a self righteous Pharisee. I was judgmental. I was mean, and I thought I was it. It would not have surprised me if my face appeared on a grilled cheese sandwich. Hallelujah me.”

50s

#PerformanceFaithRollercoaster

“I was hard to be around. But then when I failed, I didn't read my bible enough. I didn't pray the way I should have. I slept in. I missed church. Whatever it was, whatever my list was, when I didn't make my list, man, I was like, oh, I was miserable. It's just this roller coaster, Anxiety and fear and worry. That's what I was on. And when I think back about those times, and I'm honest, I didn't actually like god. I just want God to leave me alone. I wanna do enough on this list so that God just left me alone. There was no love for God. I didn't even like him. It was God just stay away from me. I wanna do enough so that you don't hurt me. You don't take something away from me. It's the book of Romans that changed my life.”

36s

#LivingWaterNeverThirst

“So, God became a man, and God, in Jesus Christ, demonstrates his heart for us. When he meets a woman who'd been married five times and was trading sex for rent, and he says to this woman, I'm the water you want. You're looking for satisfaction in men, and they'll never give it to you. I'm the water, the living water, that if you drink of me, you'll never thirst again.”

51s

#GodKeepsPursuingUs

“God comes after Adam and Eve, gives them the promise of the seed, clothes them, and protects them. But we turned our back on God again when Cain murders Abel. But God came after Cain and puts a mark on Cain and protects the murderer Cain. But we turned our back on God again when Jacob lies to his father and deceives him and steals from his brother. But God came after Jacob at Bethel and meets him there, and makes a promise to Jacob, listen, I'm going to give you this land. But we turned our back on God again. So God sent us the law that it might turn our hearts back to him, but we chose the golden calf instead of God. But God came after us with the prophets, sending men to remind us of his love and his kindness, but we killed those prophets.”

31s

#GodIsNotSanta

“And I grew up with bad doctrine. And I don't know where I got it, but I just internalized this idea about God, and it was this. God is like Santa Claus. He has a list. He's got a nice list, and he's got a naughty list. And I knew which list I was on. I was on the naughty list. And I was just waiting because I was on the naughty list to get bad stuff. You're on the nice list, you get good stuff. You're on the naughty list, you get bad stuff. Bad things are gonna happen to you.”

37s

#RejectRetributionTheology

“Don't we have that kind of in us? You you you're lying about something, something big, your transmission blows up, you're like, yeah, God was getting me. You gossip about somebody, and you you kinda feel bad about it. Your kid gets the flu. Oh, God got me. If that's true with eight point three billion people on earth, how busy would God be? Right? How busy would god be with just me? Tire, tranny, car blows up, flu, epidemic, plague, you're all dead. That's what's gonna happen. And yet, a lot of us, we have this theology in us.”

36s

#ServingBringsJoyAndStrength

“When we serve, what happens is our pain and problems get shelved. They get put away. And instead, we're doing something that's outside of ourselves, and it brings you and me joy and happiness. I think part of the reason why Paul's able to go through hard things, read first Corinthians 11, is he learned to serve. And that learning to serve brought him joy and strength and courage. You want joy and strength and courage? Serve. Find somebody to serve. Serve Jesus like Paul, and you'll find joy and strength and courage.”

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SUNDAY (LIVE) - July 19, 2026 | UNASHAMED: Romans 1:1 - The Intro

Devotional

Day 1: Clay in the Potter’s Hands: Removing Mars to Reveal Purpose

Day 2: Bad Theology’s Body Count and the Cure of Truth

Day 3: From Persecutor to Servant: The Alchemy of Grace

Day 4: Building Fires in Life’s Shipwrecks

Day 5: The Pursuing God Who Climbs Trees for Traitors

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

SUNDAY (LIVE) - July 19, 2026 | UNASHAMED: Romans 1:1 - The Intro

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