Who here is pro-casual sex? Today, I am so excited to bring to you guys this conversation I had, this candid conversation on casual sex that I did in partnership with an app called Pure, which is exclusively for people interested in finding someone to hook up with, not necessarily to couple up with. So it's been a while for me since I have been in the casual sex market, mind you I did do it years ago, but I wanted to find people who had some relevant and relative experience to share with you guys. And so I invited six beautiful women into my home and had a very naked conversation where some cool things were said like this. But I do love all manner of men, I'm attracted to gay men, bisexual men, trans men, most interesting thing, I'm very attracted to masculinity.   I'm not like solicited. I'm not solicited.  Are we like split evenly right now? No way. But mostly we just talked honestly about our experience, our triumphs, our struggles as sexual women. So I want you guys to officially meet these women and hear how they define sex. My name is Mae. I guess I define sex as just an activity where two people are really vulnerable with each other. To me over the years it's become something that's not as much of a big deal. And it was always a big deal and now I just kind of see it as just another way to get to know someone. Hi, my name is Mia. Sex to me is exploring someone deeper than the surface because I think when you have an intimate relationship with someone, you would never see that side of them. If you're just talking to them or even touching them with clothes on, I think it's such a deep bonding experience with someone. Yeah. I'm Shezza and sex is simply the most integral part of the human experience. I guess to me that's how I look at it. I feel you on so many levels with that answer. Because the only thing I can think of is that it's a gift from God. Anyway, I'm Chelsea and I have a lot of sex moments. I'm Lori and I guess sex is like to me the most carnal, enjoyable thing that we do in our lifetime. Maybe it's like eating good food. Yeah. And I think it's something that we should do as much as possible while we still can. You know, of course as much as it makes us comfortable too. So yeah, that's what I think. I'm Colleen and what they said. But also I think for me, sex is the closest thing and I'm magic. So magic. Sex is magic. I think that sex is up to the individual to define what it is, what it includes. I think sex is expansive, open, it's limitless. What I define sex now is so different than how I defined it two years ago or even, you know, five years ago for that matter. So next up, I asked the ladies to define casual sex or if it even needed a separate definition at all. But this question in general though led to like my most favorite portion of the entire conversation. I shouldn't, I don't draw lines. Like it's not casual sex, it's just sex. And it could become a relationship, but maybe it won't. It doesn't matter.  And other things. It others it and it's really just sex at the end of the day. If it's a situation where you're not in a partnership having sex, to me it's really good if we can both hold our shit together enough to completely let go in this moment and respect each other. And I feel like even with me just recently, I was in a casual relationship with someone and I found myself thinking like, oh, like when is he going to ask me to be his girlfriend? You know, like when are we going to define this? And you shouldn't have to have that thought. Like people push it on you.  You should definitely talk about what this is.  And it's so ridiculous to expect to know whether you want to have a relationship with him just because you love him. Yeah. I mean, yes, it's very intimate. You need to know what they're like in bed, but like there's so much more about them. Like they could be the best thing that ever happened in your bedroom. That doesn't mean you have to be with them. I don't know about this one because this is a thing that a lot of I think women share amongst each other. This idea that soul ties, that when you invite someone into your body, like you are intrinsically tied to that person. Does that feel true to you? It does not feel true to me. It's never felt true to me either. I've always thought that was kind of a weird thing. Like, no, I've been hurt more by friendships than any of the people I've had sex with. Like my partnership right now is completely platonic and that's the one that gets in my head.  So it's, I don't think so. I think it gets put on us so much though that we start to believe that and that's all it takes. If you believe it, that's all it takes. I mean, there is like a biological truth to that where it's like oxytocin is released. There are certain things that chemically would bind together with someone. As long as you're aware of that, it's fine. Like my first Friends Benefits relationship is my current relationship. But that prior to him, I wrote an article saying oh, Friends Benefits don't work. It doesn't make any sense because the way the woman gets pleased is by somebody who is like prioritizing her pleasure. Unless a man cares for you, he's not going to do that. And I ended up with like a long-term relationship.  Like it was just like, that was an idea in my mind and then I was auditioning dudes. Like I would bring them over and make out and be like, ah, not you. You know, it's not good. And then when I found the right one, I was like, you. And then we engaged in a long-term, successful Friends Benefits where like, that was clear that that's all that that was.  But like, it was a matter of me having to control my biology because I knew the choice that I made was more powerful than the choice my body wanted to make. I find there's an intimacy bond when you have it and it's usually asked about some of the two hours I find where after you, there's something that does feel a little, but I also feel that way about Cheetos. Yes! And you have a break. Yes! And you know those Cheetos are in there, right? Yeah!  Well, I want to say, like going back to the Friends Benefits thing, I don't know if this is like super logical of me, but I just had this experience like a few weeks ago. And I find that if I can have a friend and I can look at this friend that I have really good sex with and I can look at him and say like, there is a characteristic about you that I know and like a long-term partnership would not work out. I can relate to you in the compartmentalization aspect of it because the same way relationship wise, that is not always good. Sex wise, chemistry wise, a little bit of adventure. Perfect.  You don't have to judge me.  Because really honestly, the dudes that I find always beautiful and attractive and intriguing, I find those things in them because of some characteristics that just wouldn't make them good partners. And that's okay. You don't have to be a good partner. You know what I mean? You don't have to be that.  Yes. That's what your role is.  I was like a career or a good job. You hire people for the given role. I wouldn't give the CEO responsibilities to the male boy. If you're the male boy, that's what I hired you for. And I'm happy as long as you're satisfying those needs. So in a world where this kind of mindset is absolutely not applauded, I was curious, how did these women come to embrace it? Growing up in the South, growing up in Texas, it's the one place where people won't practice but will still call themselves a Christian. And so having that on me, I just went through a lot of struggle with how I felt about sex. Because I was a horny kid. You know what I mean? I started masturbating so young and watching porn so young and humping teddy bears and fantasizing about any and everything, all of it. And I grew up with life-putting on me that maybe that wasn't a good idea and if relationships wouldn't work out, then I would think maybe it's because we had sex too fast and it's completely ignoring the fact that I just wanted to be having sex and there was nothing wrong with that.  That's the kind of feeling that grew up. And my only, but I sort of instinctively always felt like that can't be right. I lost my virginity with a guy when I was 14 and we were in love, you know? We stayed together for three years but ever since that part opened, when I discovered sex, I was like, wow, there's so many different people I can have sex with, like, there's not just this guy. So, yeah, that's how I experienced sex for myself. I just really wanted to experience other people. That's why I really love to embrace the hashtag How Is Life because it normalizes this idea that women who are open and sexual are hoes but it's this idea that being a woman who's free is it that's life and that's beautiful. One of my favorite parts of online dating is that no longer is it a solo sport. It can absolutely be a thing that you do with a group of friends. Taking my friend's phone and swiping for them is one of my favorite activities and so I wanted to bring that spirit to these group of women. So I had everyone download the app and try it for the very first time on camera. Now, Pure is an app designed for awesome people who are interested in hooking up. Now, what's cool about it is that it is a one-hour experience. You put out a request saying that you're down for a hookup. They find people in your area, you match and then you have an hour to chat. If you guys don't come to an agreement in that hour, the conversation disappears and aside from that, everything disappears. They don't log any information about their users and best of all, it's available on the Android and on iPhone worldwide. But because it is a city app, it's most active in certain cities like London, Moscow, New York and Los Angeles. And what do you guys know? We just so happen to be in Los Angeles. Well, I do want to try the app right now. So for you guys at home, if you want to try along with us, it's free for women, which we all happen to be cis women. So let's go ahead and look at you guys today. I already did this yesterday. This is my trap photo. Should I put a sexier photo then? No, I think it's whatever it means. Whatever you want. Oh wow, I just got one. You just got what? I just found the same thing. So when it says he's down for a meeting, does that mean they like you? Yeah, they put yes. Would you yes anybody here? I would yes. I appreciate this guy. Is he keeping it real? Yeah. You know what I mean? I just need to know what to expect. He's got some class. Is it just an hourly thing? At the bottom, this is my request. You can cancel your request. So you can play delete now. So if you say me too, what happens? Are we meeting? No, then the chat opens up. I'm going to chat with this guy.  I asked the ladies to provide some advice just for you. Once I started just being in the moment and remembering or visualizing this golden crown on my head that I'm appointing and I hold the power then I stop giving other people power. So that has been very liberating to where it's like, yeah, you can give me head. That'll be great. Yeah. All right. Thank you. That's great.  Don't do this. Be a woman. But no, I am being a woman. I'm being my type of woman. I think that at the same time I agree with all that but also women have to be very real with themselves because I do have a sort of come into the thinking in the older age. I have a lot of friends who are still very inhibited and I think there are people that really can't handle it and I think that if you really think you can't you shouldn't try until you're right. There are women who will be like, you know what? I will try the sexual liberation thing and then they will fall in love with the first guy they sleep with and it can be sometimes even more damaging than it is. You just said everything that I wanted to say because that is it. You just know yourself. You know if you're somebody who... you might really want to experience sex only with one person in the context of this very intimate relationship. There is nothing wrong with that as long as you're constantly honoring your desires. You know what I mean? And it's just... the only advice I would give is constantly question whether your feelings are your own. I will be like, I'm this way and I'm this way and then two years later I'm doing something that's more I never would do. That's cool too though because that could have been your truth two years ago. Exactly. And I'm more open. To yourself that space, that flexibility. Just saying like, yeah, casual sex is a no for me right now and then two years later and I've been that person. The same existed in all spectrums and I'm proud of that and I'm proud of my contradictions. And to me that's what freedom is as a woman. In a 2013 paper by Social Science Research it found that 28% of men and 4% of women said that they would lose respect for women but not men who hooked up frequently. So there's no denying that there is a stigma and probably will continue to be one.  It's a stigma and it's a taboo for women to even just be talking about sex which is silly to me. But to get through that I try to be, I'm just transparent with that individual. Yeah, I think I find the stigma not directly to me but I find that in my circle of friends I feel like I'm kind of the only person that is super open with having sex maybe on the first date, maybe after three dates. I feel like my friends wait and they are more the type of people that are like, I want a relationship and therefore I'm not going to have sex right away. And when I'm like, oh yeah, well I like him and I don't know what I'm doing but we decided to just have sex. He came and visited me and we just talked and they're like, wait, why? Don't do anyone. Think about that first and I'm like, these are my friends. I feel kind of alone in that space a lot of the time. I find it kind of ironic when I feel that from other women because I had this, as I became more like sexually open I would talk to my friends about it and I had this repetition about my girlfriends of being like, oh, because you don't, you just are pro-sex everything and you're just have sex and on the first date and all this other stuff but I had sex ultimately with fewer people sometimes than they did but they didn't see it that way because I didn't have to be like, and it's like for me when I really feel a connection with someone which is very rare but for them it's like, well, you bought me dinner three times and you fulfill the requirement so why not try it. So it's very, it's almost like I felt that people who projected that stigma onto me were more obsessed with sex even than I was. Absolutely. I would consider myself demisexual and so and sometimes I borderline asexual to be honest like when I'm just not like I can go years and like not even think about it and not date and not do any of that and then sometimes I'm really, really, really horny and it just depends if I meet someone and that connection is there and that chemistry is there then I want to bang you let's do this kind of you know and I respect your humanity and all that good stuff but you don't have to be my partner and that's the only place for me that the stigma gets on my nerves is with because this is a partner situation for this moment right and if you are wrestling with my humanity after this because really you're wrestling with your own like if you don't respect me for having sex with you too soon it's because you think you're dirty and that has nothing to do with it and I don't have time for that. Alright, so last but definitely not least you should never have a conversation about sex whether it's with seven women or just one person without discussing safe sex Alright guys, so we are finished playing right now are we finished playing right now?  I have I keep condoms with me if you look in my wallet I have them in different purses there's at least one if there's two they have two different sizes not for the discriminate not for the discriminate but I mean it's there so there's never like why I don't have one because I always have one I think that's that's really important for me as a standard it doesn't even have to be much of a conversation like we aren't having sex if there is no common person in the period I'm very nope, not my body and there are also ways to ask about it without making an interview sometimes because like people who are ignorant about their sexual health it comes out so easily I'm shocked the things that some people say like I've had and this was like just a friend but my friend was like oh I mean I've never had contact with you know the sex industry so why should I get tested we're gonna exchange body fluids that conversation should be the easiest part yes exactly and it's not that's easy I've finally gotten to the point of being brave enough to not give oral sex until I know that person has been tested and I feel like that got took me a while to be able to have that conversation but I'm like okay I'm not gonna just touch anything and I'm not gonna do it and so I'm like really like psycho conscious about that thing but like it just it makes me feel better at the end of the day and I'm like I let that person know like you'll get tested I'll get tested like it doesn't even bother me that I'm not gonna give it or you don't have to give it to me like I can wait thank you to all of the amazing women who took part in this discussion if you go on the info box below there is their links, initiatives and blogs down there also in the info box is a download link to the app as well as more information if you're still not quite convinced if it is for you remember it is free for women hi and also in the info box I put some suggested questions that you guys can use to spark your own conversation on casual sex amongst your friends but let's not wait till then let's start the conversation right here right now I wanna know what are your thoughts on casual sex when it comes to your sex life


I never counted I don't know how many but I know that it was set a world record. Well the moist changed a bit hasn't she? Yes, I was just telling him when we came in here just coming in from the airport everything looks so natural But I was a great surprise. I just in my mind. I was going to go to 914 Walnut. Yeah, right? I was wondering whether we'd be in The studio on the right or the one on the left? Got some lovely water with you. Oh, yes, and we've been hearing for days and You got much news today You got much news today Yeah, you have My name is Jim Zabel I've been sports director of WHO radio since 1944 and Obviously, we're honored and excited today to have the president of the United States Ronald Reagan who sat behind his microphone on many occasions From 1933 to 1937 when he had my job. He was sports director here at WHO president Great to have you here and of course your friend and a great friend of WHO's Charlie Gross HR gross the former news director here Yes, now the memories that this microphone right here evokes in you. What are they? Oh, my goodness There are so many it's it's like a film montage there of everything the various events and the I Remember probably one outstanding occasion the microphone of that kind out at a Berlin park and they were having the Olympic tryouts out there the AU tryouts for the for the Olympic team and We were feeding network going to feed the NBC network and that was really tops for when we had a half an hour to fill and some of the Olympic officials got in an argument and I was on the air for 30 minutes Nationwide and they did not run off one single swimming event. I think I described every drop of water in the pool Everyone that was warming up and what they were doing and talking about what events were going to be held Went off the air in two minutes after we were off the air They had the first event, but your ad libability really was put to a super test of that machine right there The old Western Union ticker tape that used to bring in the Chicago Cubs Recreations to you. Yes, you had a stick one time in that famous story you fouled it off 34 times 35 times Yes, it was you sat there was a window here curly Waddell was the operator sat on that side and With the headphones and he would type and slip it under the window to me And they used to keep track because there'd be seven or eight stations competing and broadcasting and most of them live right at the park and We were within a half a pitch of right up with the live ball game all the time to do that He had to abbreviate things down like in would come the paper and it would say out for three Well that meant out from second base to first base that meant it had to be a grounder. So you take it and you'd say and Dean comes out of the wind up and here comes the pitch and it's a hard-hit ground ball down towards second base So and so going over after the ball picks it up Puffs it over to first just in time for the out and by this time you're waiting for the next one Or he would send you s1c and that meant strike one calls So you'd say he's got the sign comes out of the wind up Here's the pitch and it's a call strike breaking over the outside corner just above the knees and all of that but the thing that you're talking about was the time that it was the night thinning the cards and the Cubs tied up zero zero and He was typing and I thought there's gone a play coming And he kept shaking his head when I had and it was Dean on the mound And I had to Billy Jurgers at the plate And I had him getting his sign from the catcher and finally here comes the slip of paper and said the wires have gone dead And I knew in that night thinning if I suddenly Said well, we'll have a little interlude of music while we get back connected with the ballpark We'd lose every they'd all turn on some of those other stations So I thought there's only one thing that can get in the doesn't get in the scorebook Foul balls so I had Jurgers foul one And then I had him foul another and then I had him foul one that missed a home run by a foot Then I described two kids down back a third baseman and fight over the ball that had gone into the stands And pretty soon I know I'm beginning to set a world record for somebody standing at the plate and hitting successive fouls If anyone ever kept those figures and I was beginning to sweat a little because I knew now that if I told him We'd lost the wire. They'd know I'd Wasn't had been telling the truth finally didn't get the hit in that game Well, just pretty soon Curly started typing and I had him throw another pitch and in came the slip And then I started giggling. I had trouble getting it out because the slip said Jurgers popped out on the first ball pitch That's good Charlie gross. Let's bring you in here. You were known as kind of a meticulous Perfectionist at the time. It was a young sportscaster. Did he live up to your standards when you were here a young sportscaster. Oh, yes, sir Yes, sir, you can I made it to the source of all sports news around here by way of radio this gentlemen here president Did you project in him at that time when he was 22 23 years old the qualities that enabled him to become president of the United States No, never he was Democrat. He belongs to the wrong party Yeah, but I outgrew that but he outgrew it. That's right. Okay No, I Never thought of course that he would become president of the United States and that I would be here But he sighed tonight Mr. President this microphone brings back you were selected a Wheaties sportscaster of the year one time He did a Wheaties commercially to the Kentucky Club. Yeah, they they sponsored an awful lot of Baseball Wheaties did and when you came into Des Moines today a down-floor drive from the airport Did you notice some changes about the city of Des Moines? Well along about the time we got here by the time that I got here I was just prepared to turn right and go to 914 Walnut Street and I Have a whole new institution I've got to tell you one about Well, let me just tell you he is a pioneer and a true pioneer under the Fair Trade Practices Act back in those depression days radio was not allowed to do news and Because it would be unfair they thought that you could just go and put it in the microphone instead of having to have it put in print and out on the streets and B.J. Palmer was then the head of the Central Broadcasting Decided that he was going to challenge that we were going to have news and only one news service would provide us with a news wire and Charlie was the whole news department including the Writing and rewriting of the stories and we went on the air with news and it was a first-in radio that and became a daily twice a day feature for his news and and Then of course he was a pioneer in another thing as you know when he went to Congress It was no surprise to those of us that knew him That he would be known as the conscience of the Congress that His colleagues would go to him because they knew he had read the bills and they'd go to him before they voted to find out I'm not okay, Charlie Mr. President you told me when I did an interview with you in 1974 on the 50th anniversary of whl radio But the five years you spent here were five of the happiest years of your life. Oh, yeah, that's that finally Oh, yes, they were really those were foundation years, and I think everything that Happened came out of came out of this well It's the true American hero story hitchhiking to Davenport, I believe to get the job in the first place Yes Had a rather unusual audition from Pete McArthur who was the program director then I Had been told that in looking for a job on those depression days And I'd hitchhiked all the way around the country quite a bit. I've been told that you should Ask an employer not for what you wanted to be a sports announcer Just tell him you'd take any job to get in the Station and then take your chances on moving up from there So I made my usual pitch of that kind after a number of turn downs to Pete and This time the turn down was Really disappointing because he said where were you last week? We auditioned 90 people and hired an announcer and on my way out the door I said, how do you ever get to be a sports announcer if you can't get in a station and went on down to the Elevator which fortunately wasn't there and Pete who was badly handicapped with arthritis and on two canes I didn't know until I heard him thumping down the hall yelling at me and he Asked me what that was I said about sports and I told him that's what I'd like to be and he said You know anything about football and I said I played it for eight years He said do you think he could tell me about a game and if I was sitting there listening? I could see the game was and I said I think so He took me in a studio Put me in front of one of these No, they weren't even this one. This was a modern. Yeah, this was the old carbon Mike Right and he put me in front of that and he said when the red light goes on you start broadcasting an imaginary football game And I did for about 15 minutes. It wasn't really imaginary. I knew I had to have names so I picked a game that I'd played in college the year but previous fall and Which we won in the last 20 seconds by 65-yard touchdown run. I did not make the run So I chose that game and said when the light came on started that we were in the fourth quarter You know, I had everything I had the long blue shadows settling over the field the famous long blue Yeah, chill wind coming in through the end of the stadium. We didn't have a stadium. We had bleachers and I Did it for about the 15 minutes and made that winning touchdown one thing I did put in As a running guard coming out around and leading the interference on that play that day Eureka College, I missed my man the first man in the secondary And I don't know how bud Cole got by and reverse the field because I missed him in the broadcast I nailed him. It was a magnificent block key to the whole success of the play and He came in and told me that to be there on Saturday That I was broadcasting the Iowa Minnesota game and he would give me five dollars in bus fare. The price hasn't changed No, I'm saying that facetiously. Well, Mr. President, obviously we're just thrilled and happy to have you here to reminisce about the old Well, let me ask you one question for sportscaster to sportscaster Would you have stayed a sportscaster of the telegram and not come from Warner Brothers? Do you think I? Think so. Yes There's always been a sneaking Lust in my heart for the theatric end of the of the business. Well, we have about eight to ten thousand people I think of a full house waiting up at the auditorium. Can you tell us what you're going to tell them up there tonight? Well, I don't think anything that I say is Has been said by any of the eight other candidates who've been running around the state I might have a little different twist on things than that, but I'm going to talk about This recovery that we have going and what I think is needed to keep it going How does it feel to be back in the morning? Oh great. It's it's too short as always but Give me another seven and a half minutes. I'd be so far down nostalgia lane Let me ask you one question a lot of people ask of me about you. What type of sportscaster were you? I mean, how do you categorize categorize your style? What? What was it? Oh, I don't know. I always thought I I always had in mind of a listener out there and I thought that I was painting a word picture If I was in the stadium over at University of Iowa broadcasting an Iowa football game I always tried to use references like Saying not just that they're on the 20 yard line 15 yards in from the side of the field I would say they're down here to the right On their own 20 yard line 15 yards in from this this side of the field or place them I always figured that he in his net viewer out there he or she must be able to To get a picture in their minds of what it what it looked like. Well, you give them a lot of pictures, mr. President the thrill to have you here. Listen, I've rambled on but you should return me loose Well, the fans love it. I'm sure. Thank you very much. Good luck to you tonight. Well, thank you Congressman gross. Thank you for being here with us. Oh, thank you, sir. Thank you Republicans Three weeks ago


Stevenson with a 43 win over Alvernia tonight. Christian Taylor with Austin Master after this one today. First and foremost, you scored the first two goals of this game. What was going so well for you tonight? Just luck, honestly. Definitely needed that, but they gave us the time and space to kind of create some plays out there. So I mean, we're going to take advantage of that and then it happened. That third period was kind of all over the place and you were able to hold it. How was this team able to see out this victory tonight? We're good defensively. We know what we got to do to win games now and we got a battle on the D-zone. It all starts in the D-zone, so got to get pucks out, eat shots and that's what we did and we were lucky we got the win out of it. How does this team readjust now going to Redding to play Alvernia again tomorrow? Good. I mean, we just got to be prepared. We got to set the tone right away. I think that's a major key for us to kind of compete in the game. I mean, we know they're fast, they're physical, I mean, we're also fast, physical and got some skills. So we got to put all those keys together and play a complete game. Austin, thank you very much. Congrats on the win. Thank you so much for having me. That's Austin Master. I'm Christian Taylor at GoMustangSports.com.


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Good morning, everyone. Welcome to the class. I have just started the recording, so we've caught that going. I'll just pray together and then we will get started. Thank you for connecting to the class early and well in time so we can get started. Could I please ask somebody to just pray and then we will get started. I would like to pray today somebody. Aaron, would you like to pray? Sure. Lord, thank you for this new day again. Lord, as we join you with the book of Romans, Lord, the early days, Lord, fill us with this spirit, help us to be holy and righteous. Lord, as we join you with this book, help us, Lord, to serve you with spirit and truth. Lord, let your spirit manifest in our lives. Lord, we will serve you with spirit and truth. So, Lord, fill us more each and every single day. So, I submit a bit of the time and do everything. Amen. Alright. Thank you. Thank you, Aaron. Good morning, everyone, once again. Alright, so last week we gave a little introduction to the book of Paul's episode to the Romans. We gave a little bit of background, a little history, how we know when this book was written, from where it was written, what were the reasons behind Paul's writing and so on, just a little background. And then we got started with chapter one. And what I would like us to do is just read through right from the start of the chapter, just read through. We've already read, I think we covered till about verse nine, ten, some of you are there and looking at it. But let's just read through verses one through twelve, and then we pick up from verse nine and move forward from there. But just a little, you know, get the context together. Somebody could read for us Romans chapter one, verses one through twelve, just read all twelve verses and then we will pick up from verse nine and move forward. Can somebody just read that for us, please? Sure. Can I go? Please go ahead. Okay. Romans chapter one, verse 12, reading from the NIV version. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God. The gospel he promised beforehand, through his prophets in the holy scriptures, regarding his son, who has to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the son of God. By his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. To all in Rome, who are loved by God and called to be saints, grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his son is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times. And I pray that now at last by God's will, the way may be open for me to come to you. I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong. That is that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith. Amen. Thank you. So, you know, we've commented on the first eight, nine verses. We were somewhere, it was nine, ten, eleven. So we're going to pick up from there just to remind us of some of the things we highlighted there from verse nine. Paul was saying, you know, for God is my witness whom I serve with my spirit or in my spirit or with my heart. No, on my heart, we heard it from the NIV. I serve with my spirit. So one of the things we said there was really the ministry, the serving God is a matter of the heart. It's a matter of the spirit that you have to emphasize or focus on that first. And then, you know, okay, the outside, the methods and the mannerisms and all of those other things come later. But most importantly, we serve God in the spirit. We saw how Paul was praying for these believers and he was giving thanks to God for them. And he was, for their faith, you know, how their faith has been spoken of. Of course, they were in Rome. So Rome was the capital of the Roman Empire. So things that happened there would easily spread throughout the empire. And so news believers in Jerusalem was spreading. Hey, so, you know, you can imagine that and obviously it's a good, good news or good report about them. So you can imagine that people in different parts of the empire, the Roman Empire are speaking about what's believers in Rome. Good things about them. And so Paul is grateful, is thankful that their faith is being spoken of in many other places. And he's praying for them.  Then he came to verse 11. And why does he want to go there? Why does he want to come to them? So remember that by this time, by this time, Paul is writing around 57 AD from Corinth. The day of Pentecost, approximately AD 30. So we have about 27 years have elapsed. What we said is, you know, the church in Rome, most likely happened because there were Jews from Rome who came to Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. Their lives were impacted. And then eventually they went back to Rome. So it's about seven years since those early believers, of course, new people would have new believers would have come into the church. But what I want to impress here is that this is not a, you know, a two year old congregation. This is a church that has been there for a good amount of time, you know, at least or approximately 30 years. But to them, he is saying, I want to come and impart to you some spiritual gift, right? Some gift from grace. So this is, and now, you know, I just want to just remind you that these notes have been put up in the coursebook section. So I hope you've downloaded it so that you could review these things after class or, you know, whenever you have time.  He's there, desiring to impart. Some things we can deduce from here that spiritual things can be imparted. So there is impartation and then there is training, right? Some things are taught and some things are caught. Just people use that phrase. So here Paul is talking about being, you know, coming to them and wanting to impart gift to them, something, right? So as spiritual gifts can be imparted, I mean somebody has something and they can pass it on to others. Now, of course, this impartation can take place through so many ways. One important way you have to be spiritually is shared with somebody else spiritually is through teaching, right? So you share, you speak about it, you talk about it, you teach about it. And so through the process of teaching and communicating the truth, there is an impartation of the gift. Spiritual gifts can also be imparted through association, right? So as people are together in fellowship, they're relating to each other, what happens, things pass from one person to the other person or to the other group of people or in relationship, fellowship, in association. So understand that, you know, spiritual things can be imparted. And if you look at the Greek there, it's really the same word that's used to, for impart is, it's used to share, you know, like if a man has too cold to give one to the other. So you've got something, you give it away to somebody else who's in need. And the outcome is verse 12, that there will be mutual encouragement. Paul says, you know, I also will be encouraged by our faith, the mutual faith. So Paul is desiring to impart to them, you know, he knows I can carry something I can give to you. And as ministers of God, that's part of what we want to do. We want to impart to people, right?  Paul is being intentional about it, right? He's saying, I'm coming, I want to come and I want to impart. That means he's aware of this, he is intentional about it. And he's desiring to do it. I want to give, right? So impartation from our side as ministers of God is an intentional thing.  And then you say, I want to go and give to people. I want to impart that, right? So we can be intentional, just like Paul was, to impart, to pass on spiritual things to people. Now we pick up from verse 13 and go down through verse 17. Let's pick up, can we read that please? Verse 13 to 17, somebody could read that. I'll read first. Go ahead Thomas. Now I don't want you to be unaware brethren that I often plan to come to you but was hindered until now, that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. I'm adapted both to Greeks and to the Barbarians, both to wise and unwise. So as much as in me, I'm ready to preach the gospel to you, who are in Rome also. For I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. For the Jew first, and also for the Greek, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it written, the just shall live by faith. Thank you. So where's the teen? Second time, Paul is telling the believers about his intent to come. He mentioned that in verse 10 earlier, that look I've been praying, I've been asking, seeking God, I want to come.  But various things have kept me away in there to stop me from coming. Could be his own business in his own business in in the ministry or in other things he was going through. So he designed to go there, he was designing to go there. I just want to point out a few things there.  In the ministry, you know, we have a desire to do many things, right. And we know, you know, from our case of Paul, I'm sure he had a desire to serve many people. And by this time he had already finished, or he was close to the end of three missionary journeys, which means he has already planted many churches, probably traveled to, you know, close to 50 cities by that time, to the end of his third missionary journey, which means he's got things happening in so many different places, not to mention the smaller towns and villages he may have visited along his journeys. And I'm sure inside his heart that there would be this desire to go to many places. You know, he cared for the believers at Rome, which he's expressing here. I'm sure he cared for, you know, believers at Corinth, at Philippi, you know, and so many places. His heart was like, I wish he could be in 50 different places at the same time to go and minister to them. And yet, you know, what do we, and I'm sure we also would have that same desire, God, I wish I could do this for them, for them, for them. One important thing, Paul discloses in 2 Corinthians chapter one, and it's just a little side journey, you know, in 2 Corinthians chapter one, he writes to the same, you know, to the Corinthians and he says, in verse 17, 2 Corinthians one verse 17, once again, he's writing to the Corinthians, expressing a similar desire, and I want to come to you by a way of Macedonia, I want to visit you and so on. But then in verse 17, he says, could somebody read that for us, please? 2 Corinthians one verse 17, keep your hand at Romans one, we'll come back. Yes sir. Therefore, when I was planting this, planning this, did I do it lightly? All the things I plan, do I plan according to the flesh that with me? There should be yes, yes, and no, no. So Paul is asking a question here, let me see, there's some alert here. So Paul is, you know, to the Corinthians, he's saying, look, I really was planning to come to you, and then he says, you know, the things I plan, do I plan it according to the flesh? So he's asked the question. The answer is giving us the insight that Paul is driving. The answer, obviously, you know, you're not planning according to the flesh, you're planning according to the spirit, right? So even in his plans, we can be sure the things that Paul was planning and is going to visit different churches and, you know, people that he was ministering to a responsible for, he was not planning according to the flesh, sorry, but he's depending on the Holy Spirit. So going back to Romans one 13, you know, even as Paul is saying, look, you know, I was very desirous that I should come to you. And of course, there are practical things that kept him away. There's also this whole element or aspect of and that's something we also should learn in the ministry that the plan according to the spirit, you know, who to go to, when to minister to them, and so on. If you, if we study what happened to Paul, so Paul is writing this from Corinth around 1857 and just, you know, subsequently, as soon as he goes to Jerusalem or that he's apprehended by the Jews, he's arrested and then they hold him in Caesarea for two years waiting for trial. And he appears before, you know, three different leaders, Kings, Felix and Festus and Agrippa. He appears before them and eventually he appeals to Caesar. So they say, okay, you've, you've appealed to Caesar, then you've got to go to Rome. So they send him, you know, with an escort of soldiers along with others by ship from Caesarea all the way traveling to Rome. And that takes about about a year. And by the time they eventually reach this, you know, they have shipwreck and other things on the way. So by the time he reaches Rome, it's about three years. So from the time of this writing, and it has not been a very comfortable journey. It has been in circumstances by which he reaches Rome. So on one hand, his, you know, his desire to be with the believers in Rome is being fulfilled. He gets there. But how he arrives there will be difficult journey. I don't want to read too much into it, because it is, you know, a life experience. But what we can take away is, you know, sometimes as we, in the ministry, as we're serving God, there are desires in our hearts. And, you know, how we, God will get us there. But how we get there, maybe through ways we really didn't expect or necessarily un, you know, anticipated. When God eventually got Paul was there in Rome, and he spent two years in Rome while waiting to come before Caesar. He was under what we would call as house arrest, meaning it wasn't in a prison cell, but he was able to have his own home and meet with people there. And, and so he was actually able to ensure that, you know, the believers in Rome came, he ministered to them and so on. So he got that distinct desire fulfilled. But it just took place in some unexpected, in an unexpected manner. Okay, just to keep that in mind, I don't want to build a theology around it, but you know, there, this is what happens. Now, verse 14 and 15, verse 14, Paul says, I am a data to the Greeks and to the Barbarians, to the wise and to the unwise. He says, I am a data. Now, that means I owe something to these people. Now, what did he mean by that? You know, how can we understand this? I owe these people something. I owe them something, the Greeks, the Barbarians, meaning Paul, little cross-reference, we go to Galatians chapter two. There are several verses on this, but let's just look at one Galatians two and verse eight, please. And what's Galatians chapter two verses eight and nine? Somebody could read that for us. Galatians two, eight and nine. Sure. For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. Verse nine, okay. James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the Jews. Okay. So, very, very interesting. Paul was a Jew and the Lord made him an apostle to the Gentiles. Peter, James and John were Jews. The Lord made them apostle to the Jews.  And in Paul's case, he was appointed as an apostle to the Gentiles. So the Gentiles, at least in those days in that context immediately, the major part of the Gentiles were the Greeks. The Greeks were everywhere. The Greeks were in power. The Greeks and Barbarians were getting a message here that my connection was interrupted. So in case you lost me, let me just repeat that. So Paul is saying, you know, so we see a Paul as an apostle to the Gentiles. The Gentiles, broadly speaking, had the Greeks who are the intellectuals, the highly, you know, the people who think, who reason, and then there are the Barbarians, meaning them. There's a genetic word for, you know, people who may not be highly educated and so on. But Paul says, I am a data to the Greeks and to the Barbarians, to the wise, that is, once again, the Greeks, and the unwise, meaning not very scholarly, not very educated, the Barbarians. But why is Paul saying, I am a data? Because he was appointed by the Lord, which we just read in Galatians 289, as an apostle to the Greeks and the Barbarians, to the Gentiles. So Paul is saying, I am a data to them. So here's a thought I want us to keep in mind. The call of God makes us indicted to science. That means we owe them something. Why do you owe them something? Because God has appointed you for them. And you've got to go and fulfill the call to serve them. And the only way you can pay that debt, so to speak, is by you going and serving. Because that's the call of God. The call of God makes us indicted to the people. God has assigned us to. And that's what Paul is expressing. He says, I am a data to the Gentiles, the Greeks and the Barbarians, whether they're educated or uneducated, they're Gentiles. I am a data to them. Because the Lord may be an apostle to them, send me to them, I owe them something. And that's why he's writing to the believers in Rome. He says, you know, I'm a debtor. In fact, I owe you something. I feel I owe you something. So I need to come and, you know, in some way pay this debt. And that's why he says in verse 15, so as much as it may, I'm ready to come to you who are in Rome. Because I owe something to the Gentiles, to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians, to the wise, and I owe something. So I want to come to you and preach the gospel to you who are in Rome. So, you know, there's that sense of indebtedness that the call of God places on our hearts. And sometimes you may feel it, even if you want to preach the gospel. And the gospel again, it's made a thing, like you said, last week. All right. Am I back now? Can you hear me? Yes, Pastor Noyes, but we just lost you for a moment there. Sorry. That's the last part. Can you hear me? Oh, okay. I just realized that. Okay. Yeah. So Paul, as he says, you know, I'm ready to come and preach the gospel to you who are in Rome, to the Gentiles. I'm ready to come. And I was just highlighting the gospel. Now, we saw that the gospel is a major theme here, right? He starts off by saying it's the gospel of the Son of God, right? The gospel of God. And so he says, I'm bringing that good news. I want to proclaim the gospel. That doesn't mean he wants to get them saved again. No, they are saved. But the gospel is not only the message of salvation, but it is the message of the kingdom. Everything about the kingdom has to do with the gospel. And when we see what actually happened, when Paul got to Rome, if you go with me to Acts 28, if you just turn one or two pages in your Bible, Acts 28, and you look at verse 30 and 31. Can somebody read that, please? Acts 28, 30, and 31. Acts 28, 30, and 31. Paul built two whole years in his own hired house and received all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those these things which concerned the Lord Jesus Christ with all continents, no man forbidding him. Okay, thank you. So verse 13, 31, I'm just telling us what Paul did at Rome. So he had said in Romans 1, I want to come bring the gospel to you who are in Rome. Acts 28, 30, and 31. He is in Rome. He is in his own rented house for two years. What is he doing? He is teaching them about the kingdom of God and about the Lord Jesus Christ. So that's what he was wanting to pour out unto them, right? And that's what he's getting to do right there. He's teaching them. He says, I want to bring you the gospel. What's the gospel? It's not just, you know, the message of salvation, but the good news of the Son of God is about the kingdom of God. And it's about the Lord Jesus Christ and who he is and all he came to do for us and all that God has given to us in the person of Christ. And so for two years, he was there teaching them these things. Verse 16, he says, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, the message of Christ. This message is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes for the Jew first and also for the Greek. So I'm not ashamed of the gospel. Powerful statement. You and I must not be ashamed of the message of Jesus Christ, the kingdom of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Not be ashamed of the gospel. Why? Because everything we preach and teach about Jesus Christ and the kingdom of God, it is the power of God for salvation, power of God for salvation. So think about the message is the power of God for salvation. What we preach and teach is really administering God's power into people's lives that will result in salvation. Now understand that in the New Testament, the word salvation is a comprehensive word. It includes forgiveness from sin and everything else, healing, deliverance, preservation of life, safety and victory and triumph over enemies. All of that is in that word salvation. It's a comprehensive word. Everything that delivers us from sin and Satan is included in that word. Sin, sickness and Satan is included in that word. So the message is the power of God. It brings God's power for salvation. As Paul says, I'm not ashamed because I know when I talk about Jesus, when I talk about his kingdom, the power of God is being made available for people to be saved, for people to be delivered, for the salvation of God to take place in their lives. And he says to the Jews and also to the Greeks, verse 17 is a very, very important verse. This verse gave birth to what we refer to today as the Reformation or the Protestant movement, Martin Luther. And everything he did, he drew inspiration from Romans 1, verse 17. So Romans 1, 17 is actually a monumental verse, as far as the Protestant movement. We call it the Protestant movement, but it's a monumental verse for the Protestant faith. It says here, for in it that is in the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the just shall live by faith. So in the gospel, God's righteousness is revealed, the fact that God is righteous and just from faith to faith. That means throughout the generations of faith, of people of faith, that God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith. And he says the just, and he's quoting from Habakkuk, chapter 2, verse 4, he says, the just shall live by faith.  The word righteous, so in the New Testament, the word righteous and just are righteousness, justification. They both come from the same Greek word. So they're actually synonymous, can be used explicitly, righteous, just, righteousness, justification. So the righteousness of God, the fact that God is right, the God is blameless, the righteousness of God is revealed, is unveiled from faith to faith, as we journey through faith to faith. So as in the gospel, we see that God is just to see that that righteousness is imparted to people of faith. And that is how we become just, how we become righteous. And he calls us therefore to live by faith. So this is what triggered Martin Luther's thinking when he read this verse. He said, hey, the gospel, which is a message of grace, the gospel is unveiling God's righteousness. And that righteousness is given to people who have faith. He's not calling us to do works. And that righteousness is given to people of faith, those who have faith.  Now, how does a man become just? It's because the righteousness of God is given to the man through the gospel. So he's become just. And he's going to live by faith, not by, you know, and in those times, the church was so steeped in tradition and they had all kinds of rituals and all kinds of things happening. And Martin Luther realizes that's not it. The gospel makes provision for the righteousness of God to be given to man, the just. And then what God calls us is to live by faith. And that's what prompted him to say, hey, we need to stop doing all these things and live by faith because we are justified by faith and we live thereafter, we live by faith. So this Romans 117, as Martin Luther, you know, ponder through on it and as Rebekah said to him, through Romans 117, he understood it. In the gospel, God's righteousness is revealed. God's righteousness is imparted to the man who has faith. That man is declared to be just. And thereafter that man is going to live by faith. He's going to walk by faith. So it's grace, righteousness and faith. There is no aspect of being, you know, buying my buying my forgiveness through any other means. No, it's all grace, righteousness and faith. Romans 117, really, really important scripture. So having, you know, having introduced, so you could consider it like verses one through 17 as, you know, Paul's the general introduction. And now from verse 18, he gets down to some serious things. He starts talking about God, God's wrath and then the proof of God's existence. And how man has denied the existence of God or denies the existence of God and therefore continues on in sin. But then there is the judgment for sin. Okay. So let's read Romans 18 and we will read verse one to 23, please. Romans chapter one verse 18 to 23. So I say Romans 18 to 23. Somebody could read it. Any questions so far? You're following with me now, have been following with me so far? Yes, Pastor. So I mean, if I may just recap verse 17, understood it correctly. So we see that God's righteousness is revealed in his gospel. And through that word, we are made righteous by faith and which empowers us to live by faith. And we don't live by deeds. We don't believe, we don't put our faith in deeds or our actions that makes us righteous. Is that correct, Pastor? Yes, that's correct. Yeah. Right. Sorry, go ahead. Sorry, Pastor. So the other thing is, I mean, in Acts, I think 22 or really that Paul is the citizen of Rome. Is that correct, Pastor? Yes. So the only reason that he took time for him to get to Rome was not necessarily, I mean, he could have gotten there early, but then just that he, like we read in verse 14, and he had the heart for other nations, other people surrounding nations also. That is the only reason why it delayed him to getting to Rome. You said three years, it took him three years, right? Yeah, that was one. And also, I mean, one is he was busy with the ministry already. He was on his third missionary journey in that region. But the second one was when he was arrested in Jerusalem. So what happened from Corinth, where he was writing this letter, he travels back to Jerusalem to, you know, deliver the collections, the offerings to the saints in Jerusalem. And he's there. And there in Jerusalem, he is arrested by the Jews. And then they actually keep him arrested for two years in Caesarea. Because, you know, the different leaders were sent kind of north, right, but they were sending Paul, you know, across to each other.   So it kind of is why he was delayed. Thank you, Pastor. Yeah, I just saw some highlights in the acts from 23. I think it mentions the same thing that you just said. Yeah, thank you, Pastor. Okay. All right, so, yeah, so Karen just wants us to repeat verse 17. So Paul says, in it, it is in the gospel. God's righteousness is revealed. So the righteousness of God, the fact that God is right. That's one aspect of righteousness, but that he also gives that righteousness to people. The righteousness of God is revealed. How is it revealed or how is it given? God gives that righteousness to people who have faith. And one, and that's what makes us just. So for example, that land of pathos, the just shall live by faith. You can also, we can also translate it, the righteous will live by faith. It's the same root word. So for in the gospel, the righteousness of God has been revealed from faith to faith. Just as it is written, the righteous shall live by faith. So the gospel through grace makes the righteousness of God available to those who have faith. And these people who have been made righteous just live by faith. Okay. So basically he's saying, hey, righteousness, which is made available through the gospel by grace is received by faith. And those who receive that righteousness, they will have to live by, they continue to live by faith. So the deeds doesn't earn us the righteousness. It's only an expression that God has made us right. And we are in right relationship with God. And therefore we do the works, we do the deeds that God wants us to do. Okay. So Paul now gets into, you know, talking about God. And now, you know, this is now he's getting into the teaching part of Romans, right? And he starts with a very basics. He starts with God, sin, creation, existence of God, and, you know, what has happened, how man is responding to that. Okay. So Romans 1, 18 to 23, somebody can read that passage, then we'll go for a break. Anyone can read it. Romans 1 verse 18 onwards, the wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppresses the truth by their wickedness. Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities, his eternal power, and divine nature have been clearly seen being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, there became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal men and birds and animals and reptiles. Right. So, I mean, this passage is very powerful. Paul is saying, hey, God is not just ignoring the sins that are going on.  But how did man end up like that? He says, you see, men have suppressed the truth instead of acknowledging the truth. And he says, verse 19, God has made it plain. God has revealed things to us. And what does he point to? Verse 20, he points to creation. He says, the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen in the things that are made. So he's pointing to creation. And he says, you know what? We have no excuse because look at creation. Look at everything around us. And he said, the attributes of God are actually put on display in creation. So, you know, many of us are saying, well, if God reveals himself to me, I'll believe that he's there. But Paul is saying, hey, God is staring you in the face through his creation because the invisible attributes of God are being revealed to us in the things he made in his creation. So for example, God is infinite. That's an invisible attribute. The universe or nowadays they use the term metaverse because it's like many universes. And we don't know if there could be other universes other than us, beyond us. We don't know how big, how great, it's infinite for us. So the infiniteness of God, the infinite attribute of God is seen right there. How many stars are there? It's like billions. We don't know. It's just billions. It's just that many. Have we counted all the stars? No. We just know they're just infinite number almost. Yeah. I mean, we don't know just that many. So the infinite attribute of God is revealed in his creation. Creation is infinite. So like that, there are other attributes of God seen in his creation, is what Paul is saying. Okay. So let's pause here for a quick break. We'll take our we'll take our tournament break and come back and continue from here. Feel free to, you know, bring up your questions as we go.