What do you do when the leaders in charge are not the ones you wanted, and the Bible still says to submit to them? Most of us feel that tension every election season.

In this message, Pastor Josh Slater walks through Romans 13:1-7 and starts with a question underneath the politics: what does God say about authority? Paul was writing to Christians in the Roman Empire who had no vote and no voice, and he still told them to submit. Josh unpacks what that word really means (it is something you do, not something done to you), why God appoints rulers without endorsing them, and what government is actually for.

Then he takes on the hard part. When must a Christian disobey? Using Acts 5, Daniel 3, and two modern stories, he shows the only two situations where the answer is yes, and what it costs. From there the message turns personal: why paying taxes can be worship, why "we can hate policies, but we cannot hate people," and why praying for politicians beats complaining about them.

It ends where every Romans message ends, at the gospel. Jesus stood under Pilate's authority so we could be forgiven, and now all authority belongs to him.

Key scripture: Romans 13:1-7, because it is the clearest passage in the New Testament on how followers of Jesus live under earthly government.

New sermons from Prairie Valley Church drop every week. Find all our links at https://link.content360.io/PVC and subscribe so you never miss one.

Someone hurt you. Maybe recently, maybe years ago, and some part of you still wants them to pay for it. So what does Jesus actually ask you to do with that feeling.

This episode walks through Romans 12:9-21, where Paul gives the church in Rome, and us, a picture of love with no fine print attached. Pastor Josh Slater starts with the foundation: our love for other people is never based on how they treat us, it is based on how God already treated us while we were still His enemies. From there the text gets specific. Love without pretending. Detest what is actually evil, not just what bothers you personally. Take the lead in honoring people before they have earned it. Bless the people who are working against you instead of cursing them back. And when someone genuinely wrongs you, release the right to get even, because vengeance was never yours to collect in the first place.

The sermon does not stop at good advice. It lands on a promise: evil does not get the final word unless you let it turn you into something evil too, but good, real and costly good, has the power to overcome it. That is the same confidence that put Christ on a cross to absorb evil instead of returning it.

Key scripture: Romans 12:9-21, closing with Paul's summary of the whole passage: do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.

New sermons from Prairie Valley Church drop every week. Find all our links at https://link.content360.io/PVC and subscribe so you never miss one.

Ever feel like you're just supposed to try harder to be a good Christian? Paul says that's not the plan at all.

In Romans 12:1-8, Paul makes the turn from eleven chapters of theology into practical instruction, and he starts in a surprising place: not effort, but mercy. In this message, Pastor Josh Slater walks through what it means to offer your whole life to God as a "living sacrifice," why staying humble is the hinge everything else swings on, and why the gifts God gave you were never meant for you to keep to yourself. Along the way, he unpacks the difference between being "conformed" to the world and "transformed" by the renewing of your mind, and makes the case that worship isn't something you do on Sunday morning, it's your whole life.

Key scripture: Romans 12:1, "Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. This is your true worship."

New sermons from Prairie Valley Church drop every week. Find all our links at https://link.content360.io/PVC and subscribe so you never miss one.

Outline and Transcript