Romans 8:18-25

Guest preacher Ian Paul explores Romans 8:18-25 and the tension of living in a world that is both beautiful and broken. We see wonder and pain not only in our own lives, but woven into creation itself - even in seemingly unanswered prayers, where we feel the ache of a world not yet as it should be. Romans 8 lifts our eyes to the bigger story of Scripture - a world created good, then damaged by sin, yet longing for restoration.

Ian highlights how Scripture asks if creation can be made whole again, and answers yes, through Jesus’ costly love on the cross. This restoration is like childbirth: painful, but full of hope. In Christ, we receive new life now as the “first fruits”, a foretaste of the full redemption still to come. Until then, we wait with patience, trusting that God is at work and holding fast to the promise of new creation, where every tear will be wiped away, and there will be no more death, or mourning, or crying, or pain.