One of the most stalwart lines any Old Testament women speaks is when Hannah tells Eli: “Do not regard your servant as a worthless woman, for I have been speaking out of my great anxiety and vexation all this time” (NIV 1 Samuel 1:16). Hannah’s tale is one of self worth; she is not useless. Rather, she is a woman with a grave problem that she has brought before God. Hannah’s problem which results in the birth of Samuel does not take up much room in the first two chapters of First Samuel. Indeed, the evil sons of Eli become the main topic in chapter two.

“Background characters”: now let’s be honest, didn’t your heart sink, even just a little, when you opened the Adult Bible Study Guide for the fourth quarter of 2010? Well, I’ve got good news if you haven’t gone further than the title page yet, because the authors, Gerald and Chantal Klingbeil are really to be commended for this concept, which has huge potential for affording rich insights into God’s Word and into the way He works in human lives.

At first glance, the term “living sacrifice” seems like an oxymoron. To sacrifice means to surrender, to renounce, to “permit injury or disadvantage to for the sake of something else.” In biblical terms we generally think of a sacrifice as something that is dead—perhaps a bull or a sheep or a pair of pigeons. But in Romans 12, Paul envisions a new kind of sacrifice that models not death, but rejuvenation.

I appeal to you… present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

Throughout the first eight chapters of Romans, Paul has repeatedly stressed the inclusiveness of the gospel. This emphasis is one that resonates with most of us. As tolerant, accepting, and open-minded readers of Paul’s letter, we rejoice in the announcement that the gospel is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). Paul’s proclamation that “righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Rom 3:22) rings beautifully in our sensitive ears.