One advantage of living and worshipping in a smaller town is the more natural (yet intentional and purposeful) connection among churches and the departments of police, fire and sheriff, so Pastor Brent opens with an anecdote about a recent First Responders’ Appreciation lunch hosted by Calvary Church in Hastings. He then opens the rest of Romans 13: “Problem: Desires of the Flesh (v. 14)”; “Remedy #1: Love (vv. 8-10)”; and “Remedy #2: Light (vv. 11-14)”. We were made to worship, but if we pursue a self-salvation project, we will be incapable of truly loving others and living in the light. Only in the free gift of the gospel of Jesus Christ can we be free from our own self-salvation project. Pastor Brent’s illustrations include Luke 15 (the equal dangers of license vs. legalism) and three ways (tenses) to speak of our salvation: we have been saved from the penalty of sin (past); we are being saved from the power of sin (present); we will be saved from the presence of sin (future).