I want to invite you to turn in your Bibles this morning to Romans chapter 12. for our time of study in the word this morning, Romans 12, we are doing a study through, various parts of the book of Romans, and we have been in chapter 12 for a few months now. And As we continue in our study of Romans chapter 12, we come this morning to verse 15. Paul is teaching us in chapter 12 how to unleash the glory and the freedom and the power of the gospel in our lives, and one of the things that he tells us to do in verse 9 is basically to walk in love.
And beginning in verse 9, he portrays for us what agape love looks like. We can look at verse 9 and following and observe what some would call a recipe for love, and Paul is telling us to love in response to the gospel, to love others, to love one another, and then he says, and here's the way that love behaves. And as he gives us these descriptions in verse 9, 1011, 1213, and 14 and 15, we come this morning to the second half of verse 15 where we will learn yet another way that love behaves. Look what he says in verse 15.
He says rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep. And this morning we'll be focusing all of our attention on those final words of verse 15, weep with those who weep. So if you want to give a title to the message this morning, it would be grieving with those who grieve. Paul says in verse 9, love, and then among the descriptions of love.
I verse 15 to rejoice with those who rejoice and to grieve with those who grieve. Love will express itself. In the emotion of grief displayed through weeping in togetherness with others who are weeping. Now you may think that this is a downer of a way to begin to launch the Christmas season....
