About this episode
This episode explores the theme of God's promises, particularly in the context of death and resurrection, through the lens of Paul's teachings in Romans.
A land company promised poor settlers nearly two million acres of North Texas. For some of them the promise fell apart and left only graves on the prairie. That is where this sermon begins, at a roadside marker in Grapevine, and it turns out to be where Paul begins too. In Romans 4 he points us to a promise made to a man whose body was as good as dead and a womb that was closed, and he tells us why that promise held when so many others break. It never rested on anyone's strength. It rested on grace. This is not a lesson about having enough faith. It is the announcement that the God who makes the promise is the God who gives life to the dead, in a closed womb, in a house full of mourners, and in a sealed tomb outside Jerusalem. Part of Roman Roads, a summer series walking straight through Paul's letter to the Romans, one passage at a time, each week paired with a real Texas historical marker standing on the roads around us. Readings: Romans 4:13-25 and Matthew 9:18-26 Marker: The Peters Colony in Tarrant County and the Hedgcoxe War (Grapevine and The Colony)
People in this episode
Host: Alan Bentrup
Topics covered
- God's promises
- faith
- grace
- life after death
- historical context
- Paul's teachings
- Christianity
Keywords
- God's promises
- faith
- grace
- Romans 4
- life to the dead
- historical markers
- Christianity
- Hedgcoxe War
- settlers
- Grapevine
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Romans, Matthew
Places: North Texas, Grapevine, Tarrant County
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- The Sound of Hell Undone | The Great Vigil at St Martin's · April 5, 2026 · 5 min
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