Series: Called
Message: Grapes of Wrath
Preacher: Japhet De Oliveira
Reflection: Nathan Brown
Live Wonder: Zan Long
Live Adventure: Zan Long
Live Purpose: Kyle Smith
Editor: Becky De Oliveira

Refresh: Begin with prayer. Ask for the Holy Spirit to open your heart to new understanding and for God’s character to be revealed.

Read: Romans 1:18-32 in the English Standard Version (ESV). Note 1–3 insights or questions.

Reflect: Some commentators suggest that the sins Paul details in these verses describe many of the vices of the powerful people of Rome in his day. Note that the description is couched in the past tense. Instead, Paul is offering a prophetic critique of his society.

In The Prophetic Imagination, Walter Brueggemann begins with the story of Moses and his call to lead his people out of Egyptian slavery, sketching the powers that oppress all people and work to entrench and perpetuate that power. He describes this as a “royal consciousness,” held not only by the ruling class but also presented to and insisted upon among those it oppresses. Part of its mythology is the assumption of its inevitability, by which it seeks to preclude any alternative imagination or possibility. Thus, Moses’ call to the enslaved people was not merely escape from Egypt and slavery but to begin to think that such freedom might be possible. While seemingly less dramatic than a slaves’ revolt, this is actually the larger work: Moses’ “work is nothing less than an assault on the consciousness of the empire, aimed at nothing less than the dismantling of the empire both in its social practices and in its mythic pretensions.”

Despite the seeming success of Moses’ project and the detail to which the biblical text goes to establish an alternative society among the newly freed Hebrew slaves, the perennial temptations of the royal consciousness is demonstrated in the reign of Solomon. The lavishness of Solomon’s household, lifestyle and building projects—including the Temple—contrasts starkly with the oppression, forced labour and poverty of the people. Although enjoyed by only a privileged few, the growing affluence is built on political oppression, and the “static religion” Moses confronted is used to give theological justification for the political and economic status quo.

This loop of power, oppression and theological self-justification leads to a failure of imagination among both the powerful and the powerless. Focused so much on maintaining their power and privilege, the powerful are unable to conceive of the end of their power, as inevitable as that might be.

In the tradition of the Hebrew prophets, Paul’s condemnation of the powerful people of his day is a reminder that their sins have consequences and that God will not always protect from these. The inevitability of God confronts the supposed inevitability of the culture—and that’s good news.

Recalibrate: What do you think it would mean to have more prophetic imagination today?

Respond: Pray for greater imagination in how we interact with our communities.

Research: Think about some of the ways that reading Paul as a Hebrew prophet might help us understand his writing.

Remember: They exchanged the truth about god for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the creator- who is forever praised amen. (Romans 1:25 NIV).

Nathan Brown is a writer and editor at Signs Publishing in Warburton, Victoria, Australia. He has written numerous books; his most recent is Engage: Faith that Matters. ​

Let's practice our Words to Remember. They (pointing fingers out) Worshipped (prayer hands) the God they made (hold hands apart palms up) instead of (turn head from side to side for no) the God (point up) who made them (point to self). Romans 1:25 (hold hands as if holding an open book). Put some worship music on and hold your little one in your arms or by the hand. Dance and sing together and worship your Father God. Show your little one whom you worship and whom you choose to love more than anything else. Pray together holding hands thanking God for making all things right, in Jesus' name.

Stand in front of your string today and go over all that you have stuck on it from one end to the other. See where you have tied the string that has your name on it. Where would you like to be? Love lets you choose (if you choose love). Look at the words that describe who God is and ask him to help you live love every minute of every day. (Part 5 of 5)

When I was very young I remember the first time I met one of my aunt's girlfriends. I had never seen a woman date a woman. My first reaction was to dislike the whole situation because it was different than what I was used to. Verses 26 and 27 have to be some of the most discussed and debated verses in the whole Bible. I'm not writing this to prove any kind of point about sexuality. Yet, I think we often stop reading too soon. What are some of the things listed in verses 28-32? Have you ever done any of those things? Do you ever judge others for doing any of those things that are “different” than you? How does it make you feel that the Bible talks about homosexuality and disobeying your parents in the same paragraph? What I have come to realize is that often times I'm not as different from others as I think I am.