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August 22, 2026

Free For Abundant Life

Amy Oden   |   Read Romans 12:1-8

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Lectionary Week
August 17–23, 2026
Scripture Overview

Our passages share a common theme of being free for the full life God desires for us. In Exodus, we see the stark contrast between Pharaoh’s death-dealing fear and the fearless women who step forward to bring life. The psalm celebrates the soaring aliveness that comes with the freedom only God can provide. In Romans, Paul describes being free to not conform to the world’s values so that we live our everyday life completely transformed. In Matthew, Jesus offers another kind of freedom. He shows Peter who he truly is, free from labels that have defined him up to this point. Instead, Jesus offers Peter a wider freedom than ever before.

Questions and Suggestions for Reflection

Read Exodus 1:8–2:10. How do you long to be free from fear in your life? What might be God’s invitation for you?
Read Psalm 124. Where does being overwhelmed hold your life captive? What’s it like to trust that God is for us, setting us free?
Read Romans 12:1-8. What helps you pay attention and listen to your body’s wisdom? How might God be speaking to you through your body in everyday life?
Read Matthew 16:13-20. How does Christ show you who you really are? Who does Jesus free you to become?

Respond by posting a prayer.

Romans 12:1-8

1 So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. 2 Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature. 3 Because of the grace that God gave me, I can say to each one of you: don’t think of yourself more highly than you ought to think. Instead, be reasonable since God has measured out a portion of faith to each one of you. 4 We have many parts in one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function. 5 In the same way, though there are many of us, we are one body in Christ, and individually we belong to each other. 6 We have different gifts that are consistent with God’s grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, you should prophesy in proportion to your faith. 7 If your gift is service, devote yourself to serving. If your gift is teaching, devote yourself to teaching. 8 If your gift is encouragement, devote yourself to encouraging. The one giving should do it with no strings attached. The leader should lead with passion. The one showing mercy should be cheerful.

Unless otherwise indicated, scripture quotations are from the Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible. Used by permission.

As we move further into the twenty-first century, Christians are reclaiming our bodies as part of our faith life. In the twentieth century, much of Christianity focused on the neck-up, as though faith is a set of thoughts to think or religious concepts to hone. Now Christians are re-discovering a...

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Free me to listen for your voice in me, in this very body today. Amen.


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