Romans 12:1-2
A good way to prepare for the sermon is to listen to a song that inspired the title of the lesson (I Give Myself Away by William McDowell W/Lyrics – YouTube) and to read Romans 12:1-2 in light of other illuminating passages in the same book (Romans 3:21-28; 5:9-12; 6:4-18; 7:5-7; 8:1-17, etc.).
Reading those passages gives us a better idea of what “therefore” in Romans 12:1 is there for: Paul is building on what he’s just said (see chapter 11, esp. 11:32) and perhaps what he’s said much earlier. Based on his past argument, Paul in Romans 12 makes an urgent appeal (sacrifice yourselves to God), calling Christians to experience ongoing transformation to live out God’s will, while living in a culture that constantly calls us to conform to different values. A question Paul might ask us: to whom or to what are we offering ourselves?
Listen to the sermon: