Good Morning!
Let’s focus our day by spending some time with Jesus before it begins.

WORSHIP | 5-15 Minutes
Worship can be as simple as thanking God for who He is & what He’s done.
Start by playing some worship music you love, or choose from one of our Spotify Playlists.
Journal or say out loud 3-5 things you’re thankful for in the last 24 hours.
Going Deeper: Pray 1 Corinthians 12:12-14. Focus on one truth about who God is & thank Him for it.

PRAYER | 5-15 Minutes
Prayer is a conversation that involves both talking and listening to God.
Start praying for yourself using the Lord’s Prayer or pray for others using a Ripple Prayer.
Going Deeper: Learn more about prayer & try out a practice at paradoxchurch.com/pray.

SCRIPTURE | 5-25 Minutes
Our scripture focus for this study is Romans 3:23-24. Try memorizing it!
Today’s reading is from Romans 12:1-8
Ask the following SOS Questions & journal your thoughts…
S = Say. What is the main point? What does it teach about God (Jesus) & yourself?
O = Obey. What can you apply (practice) from this passage today?
S = Share. Who can you share what you’re learning with today?
Going Deeper: Read Ephesians 4:1-16. From this reading, why is unity so important? What does unity look like in the body? What does how we live as individuals have to do with it?

A THOUGHT FROM TODAY’S READING
Don’t you just love when a movie starts with the end and then works backward to show the viewer how we got there? Often a writer will build on the previous point when making a case or an argument. So it can be helpful to look at the bigger picture, or end game to get a better idea of each piece or point. Let’s try starting at the end of this familiar passage to make it a little less familiar, a little less American/individualistic, and a little clearer. Verses 6-8 essentially say that every believer has gifts, and that they should be used (even if you don’t feel they’re very big, important, or even appreciated). Verses 4-5 say that if you’re a believer in Jesus, YOU are a part of his body, the church, and you have been given gifts to use. (Stop at that one for a moment - are you?) Continuing our travel back in time… Paul says that that using our gifts will often require humility - or not thinking “more highly of ourselves than we should.” (Meditate on that one too. How might we think more of ourselves, our time, our priorities, our preferences, etc than we ought?) Ok, we’ve arrived at the beginning… you want to know what God’s will for you is - what God wants you to do? You might have to change (or renew) your mind about this. And it probably doesn’t look like the values, thoughts, and priorities of our culture. Be part of the body with your body. Give it (all of it) to God, like putting it on an altar. (That’s saying to sacrifice something real. Something tangible. Something physical.) That’s worship. - Dave Kubiak

SHARE | 1-5 Minutes
Text someone a prayer/encouragement, or share a thought/question with us in the Forum.
Going Deeper: Invite someone to read the Focus with you. Text “FOCUS” to (586) 200-6277.

That’s all for today.
Stay focused on Jesus, and make it a great one!